How to read a surf report

There are many surfs reports out there. Some popular and accurate ones are Magicseaweed, Surfline, and Cornish wave. The images I have above are from magicseaweed. Now, you may be wanting to go surfing but do not understand what the forecast is trying to tell you! First off, we have an example of a good day, and a bad day. The top/first image is an example of a good day, and the bottom/last image is an example of a bad day. What separates these two apart you may ask? We can notice the wind direction and strength on the right-hand side which shows the green and the red. Red means very onshore, and green either means very light winds, or offshore. On the left-hand side, we can see the wave size. Now, depending on which forecast you are using, you can switch the measurements from meters to feet depending on what you prefer. You must be able to go surfing when the size is appropriate for YOU. Do not go out when the size is too big, you can put your life at risk. In the middle, we can see a secondary dune, and seconds. The secondary dune shows the size of a common set on that day. Meaning the biggest wave during a set of waves. The seconds show how powerful the waves are. The less seconds, the less powerful, the more seconds the more powerful. Dependingon the break/beach you are going to, the seconds can either be amazing, or too small or big for that spot. You should get some local knowledge to know when it is a good day to surf on a specific break. On the bottom right, we can see tides. Now, tides are crucial when it comes to breaks with rocks or reefs. If the tide is too low, there will be less water meaning the rocks/reef are more exposed or higher to the surface of the water which may cause injury (don’t get inspired by mason ho!). When the tide is too high, you may see the wave as funky and messy. There is too much water that is carrying the wave away from the sand which doesn’t give it as much power and makes the wave soft and unsurfable at some stages. In general, it is best to go surfduring mid-tide. When the tide is not too high, or too low to make a fun surf with good waves.