Find your water.
A window to the coast. A little closer to the ocean.
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Harbor and Morro Rock view. This is inside the bay, not the surf north of the Rock.
Feel the energy.
Read the water.
A swell carries energy across the ocean. Change its period—the time between crests—and see why it matters.
Illustrative simulation. These are not today’s waves or a camera feed. Reduced-motion settings keep animation still.
Linear deep-water theory: wavelength = gT²/2π; group speed = gT/4π. Ignores currents, depth changes, dispersion within a mixed sea and dissipation. No storm origin or arrival forecast is inferred.
Longer period. A longer reach.
In deep water, longer-period wave energy travels faster. Water particles mostly move in orbits as energy passes through. A buoy’s dominant period describes the strongest part of a mixed sea—not every wave, and not necessarily a distant swell.
NOAA · Waves carry energyNOAA · What buoy measurements meanAbout the cameras, maps & recommendations
Camera sources checked September 13, 2026. Owners control stream uptime, replay, ads and geographic restrictions. Owner-page cameras open externally where free embedding has not been established. Camera pages are not surf-safety assessments.
Satellite: NASA GIBS daily MODIS Terra true-color imagery. Swell: Windy’s public forecast widget. Satellite pixels show weather and coastal context, not individual rideable waves. The educational wave diagram is an illustration. La Jolla has a NOAA buoy integration; other spots do not inherit its readings.
Wetsuits: current Patagonia model-specific ranges, with direct product links. Your board list, saved spots and journal stay in this browser. Surf arcade uses a public-domain USGS snapshot or a video you open locally; it does not analyze waves.