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PURESURFERSLIVE SURF ATLAS
CALIFORNIA / Pacific BeachSPOT / 689

PB Drive.

Beach

Left & right32.786° N / 117.255° W
Color satellite and aerial imagery centered on the approximate PB Drive catalogue locationSATELLITE / N ↑
Satellite / aerial view · centred on the approximate catalogue pin. Not live imagery.
Powered by Esri · Esri, Vantor, Earthstar Geographics, and the GIS User Community.
CLOSE-UP / N ↑
OPEN THE LIVE ATLAS ↗
Approximate catalogue pin · check the actual shoreline. © OpenStreetMap contributors
Open PB Drive on the map ↗Best surf near me

Forecast & tide at a glance

Estimated surf face · feet · Pacific time. The existing PureSurfers face-estimation engine; not a measured or calibrated breaking-wave report.

Estimated surf face2.2 ftOlder cached forecast Thu Oct 22, 1:00pm Pacific
Coastal wind9.2 mphWSW from · older cache
NOAA tide reference1.4 ftMLLW · La Jolla

READ THE INDIVIDUAL SWELLS

Swell by swell.

Offshore component height (Hs), not surf-face height. Directions are where waves come from. Component heights do not add together.

Thu Oct 22, 1:00pm Pacific

MFWAM · 2 components
Primary swell
2.8ft Hs

SSW from · 197° · 11.9 s

2.8 feet
Wind sea
0.5ft Hs

W from · 273° · 2.0 s

0.5 feet
GFS · all-zero feed unconfirmed

This model reports only zeros across its cached partition forecast while another model reports swell. This is not confirmation of flat surf. Check the other source or try refreshing later.

Each model supplies its own partitions. Missing components remain unavailable; another model’s primary swell is not automatically the same wave system.

Coastal wind retrieved Thu Oct 22, 12:15pm · older cache. This is regional modeled wind, not a beach measurement.

Source retrievals: GFS Oct 22, 1:00pm · ECMWF Oct 22, 1:00pm · MFWAM Oct 22, 12:00pm (older cache). Retrieval time is not the model issue time. This page combines all available cached model families; map model selections are separate.

Tide predictions: La Jolla, 9 km reference; retrieved Thu Oct 22, 7:30am. Station predictions can differ locally.

Seven-day overview

06:00–19:00 forecast hours; daily values are not a full-day maximum.
Pacific dayEstimated surf faceMean windHours available
Thu Oct 222.3 ft8.4 mph14/14
Fri Oct 232.2 ft3.7 mph14/14
Sat Oct 242.7 ft6.0 mph14/14
Sun Oct 251.7 ft6.7 mph14/14
Mon Oct 261.7 ft6.7 mph14/14
Tue Oct 272.1 ft5.4 mph14/14
Wed Oct 281.9 ft5.9 mph14/14
Hourly details · next 72 hours
Pacific timeEstimated surf faceModel rangeSet proxySwell fromWindTide MLLWModels
Thu 1:00pm2.2 ft2.2–2.3 ft3.4 ftSW · 9.3 s9.2 mph WSW1.4 ft2
Thu 2:00pm2.3 ft2.2–2.3 ft3.4 ftWSW · 9.2 s9.9 mph WSW1.4 ft2
Thu 3:00pm2.3 ft2.2–2.4 ft3.4 ftWSW · 9.2 s10.1 mph W1.8 ft2
Thu 4:00pm2.3 ft2.2–2.4 ft3.5 ftWSW · 9.2 s11.6 mph W2.6 ft2
Thu 5:00pm2.3 ft2.2–2.4 ft3.5 ftWSW · 9.2 s11.4 mph W3.4 ft2
Thu 6:00pm2.3 ft2.2–2.4 ft3.5 ftWSW · 9.3 s9.3 mph W4.2 ft2
Thu 7:00pm2.3 ft2.2–2.4 ft3.5 ftWSW · 9.4 s10.5 mph WNW4.6 ft2
Thu 8:00pm2.3 ft2.2–2.4 ft3.4 ftWSW · 9.5 s6.9 mph WNW4.6 ft2
Thu 9:00pm2.3 ft2.2–2.3 ft3.4 ftWSW · 9.5 s9.2 mph WNW4.1 ft2
Thu 10:00pm2.3 ft2.2–2.3 ft3.4 ftWSW · 9.6 s7.3 mph WNW3.2 ft2
Thu 11:00pm2.3 ft2.2–2.3 ft3.4 ftWSW · 9.7 s9.8 mph W2.2 ft2
Fri 12:00am2.2 ft2.2–2.2 ft3.3 ftWSW · 9.8 s8.1 mph W1.3 ft2
Fri 1:00am2.2 ft2.2–2.2 ft3.3 ftWSW · 9.9 s10.0 mph W0.8 ft2
Fri 2:00am2.2 ft2.1–2.2 ft3.2 ftSW · 10.4 s7.3 mph W0.7 ft2
Fri 3:00am2.1 ft2.1–2.2 ft3.2 ftSW · 10.4 s8.5 mph W1.2 ft2
Fri 4:00am2.1 ft2.1–2.1 ft3.2 ftSW · 10.4 s5.5 mph W2.1 ft2
Fri 5:00am2.1 ft2.0–2.1 ft3.1 ftSW · 10.4 s7.9 mph E3.3 ft2
Fri 6:00am2.1 ft2.0–2.1 ft3.1 ftSW · 10.4 s4.7 mph ESE4.3 ft2
Fri 7:00am2.1 ft2.1–2.1 ft3.1 ftSW · 10.3 s6.1 mph SE5.0 ft2
Fri 8:00am2.1 ft2.1–2.1 ft3.1 ftSW · 10.3 s3.1 mph ESE5.3 ft2
Fri 9:00am2.1 ft2.0–2.1 ft3.1 ftSW · 10.3 s6.0 mph ESE4.9 ft2
Fri 10:00am2.1 ft2.1–2.1 ft3.2 ftSW · 10.3 s6.3 mph SE4.1 ft2
Fri 11:00am2.1 ft2.1–2.1 ft3.1 ftSW · 10.3 s3.5 mph SSE3.0 ft2
Fri 12:00pm2.1 ft2.1–2.1 ft3.2 ftWSW · 10.0 s3.5 mph SSE1.9 ft2
Fri 1:00pm2.1 ft2.1–2.2 ft3.2 ftWSW · 10.0 s1.4 mph SE1.1 ft2
Fri 2:00pm2.2 ft2.1–2.2 ft3.3 ftWSW · 9.8 s1.1 mph SSE0.7 ft2
Fri 3:00pm2.2 ft2.1–2.4 ft3.4 ftWSW · 9.4 s2.6 mph W0.9 ft2
Fri 4:00pm2.3 ft2.1–2.6 ft3.5 ftWSW · 9.0 s2.3 mph W1.6 ft2
Fri 5:00pm2.4 ft2.2–2.7 ft3.6 ftWSW · 8.7 s2.0 mph W2.6 ft2
Fri 6:00pm2.5 ft2.3–2.8 ft3.8 ftWSW · 8.6 s3.4 mph NW3.6 ft2
Fri 7:00pm2.6 ft2.4–2.8 ft3.9 ftWSW · 8.5 s5.1 mph NNW4.3 ft2
Fri 8:00pm2.7 ft2.5–2.9 ft4.1 ftWSW · 8.4 s5.2 mph N4.7 ft2
Fri 9:00pm2.8 ft2.6–2.9 ft4.2 ftWSW · 8.4 s4.5 mph N4.5 ft2
Fri 10:00pm2.8 ft2.7–3.0 ft4.3 ftWSW · 8.4 s4.7 mph NE3.8 ft2
Fri 11:00pm2.9 ft2.8–3.0 ft4.3 ftWSW · 8.5 s4.8 mph NE2.9 ft2
Sat 12:00am2.9 ft2.8–3.0 ft4.3 ftWSW · 8.6 s4.2 mph NE1.9 ft2
Sat 1:00am2.9 ft2.8–2.9 ft4.3 ftWSW · 8.7 s4.2 mph NE1.1 ft2
Sat 2:00am2.9 ft2.9–2.9 ft4.3 ftWSW · 8.8 s3.3 mph NE0.8 ft2
Sat 3:00am2.9 ft2.9–2.9 ft4.4 ftWSW · 8.9 s3.8 mph ESE1.1 ft2
Sat 4:00am2.9 ft2.9–2.9 ft4.3 ftW · 9.0 s3.9 mph NE1.9 ft2
Sat 5:00am2.9 ft2.9–2.9 ft4.3 ftW · 9.1 s3.5 mph ENE3.0 ft2
Sat 6:00am2.9 ft2.9–2.9 ft4.3 ftW · 9.2 s2.6 mph ENE4.3 ft2
Sat 7:00am2.9 ft2.9–2.9 ft4.3 ftW · 9.2 s2.8 mph NE5.2 ft2
Sat 8:00am2.9 ft2.9–2.9 ft4.3 ftWSW · 9.5 s3.0 mph ENE5.7 ft2
Sat 9:00am2.8 ft2.8–2.8 ft4.3 ftWSW · 9.6 s2.0 mph ENE5.6 ft2
Sat 10:00am2.8 ft2.8–2.8 ft4.2 ftWSW · 9.6 s1.5 mph NNW4.8 ft2
Sat 11:00am2.7 ft2.7–2.8 ft4.1 ftWSW · 9.7 s3.8 mph NW3.6 ft2
Sat 12:00pm2.7 ft2.7–2.7 ft4.0 ftWSW · 9.7 s5.9 mph NW2.3 ft2
Sat 1:00pm2.7 ft2.7–2.7 ft4.0 ftWSW · 9.8 s7.2 mph WNW1.1 ft2
Sat 2:00pm2.6 ft2.6–2.6 ft3.9 ftWSW · 9.9 s8.5 mph WNW0.3 ft2
Sat 3:00pm2.6 ft2.6–2.6 ft3.8 ftWSW · 9.9 s11.0 mph WNW0.1 ft2
Sat 4:00pm2.5 ft2.5–2.5 ft3.7 ftWSW · 9.5 s10.4 mph WNW0.6 ft2
Sat 5:00pm2.4 ft2.4–2.5 ft3.7 ftWSW · 9.6 s9.4 mph WNW1.5 ft2
Sat 6:00pm2.4 ft2.4–2.4 ft3.6 ftWSW · 10.0 s7.4 mph NW2.6 ft2
Sat 7:00pm2.3 ft2.3–2.4 ft3.5 ftWSW · 10.1 s8.2 mph NW3.7 ft2
Sat 8:00pm2.3 ft2.3–2.4 ft3.5 ftWSW · 10.1 s8.8 mph NNW4.4 ft2
Sat 9:00pm2.3 ft2.2–2.3 ft3.4 ftWSW · 10.1 s8.6 mph NNW4.6 ft2
Sat 10:00pm2.2 ft2.2–2.2 ft3.3 ftWSW · 10.0 s7.7 mph NW4.3 ft2
Sat 11:00pm2.2 ft2.2–2.2 ft3.2 ftWSW · 10.0 s6.9 mph NNW3.5 ft2
Sun 12:00am2.1 ft2.1–2.2 ft3.2 ftWSW · 10.1 s5.6 mph NNW2.5 ft2
Sun 1:00am2.1 ft2.1–2.1 ft3.1 ftWSW · 10.1 s5.6 mph N1.6 ft2
Sun 2:00am2.0 ft2.0–2.1 ft3.1 ftWSW · 10.1 s4.9 mph N1.1 ft2
Sun 3:00am2.0 ft1.9–2.0 ft3.0 ftWSW · 10.2 s4.7 mph N1.1 ft2
Sun 4:00am1.9 ft1.9–2.0 ft2.9 ftWSW · 10.2 s4.5 mph NNE1.7 ft2
Sun 5:00am1.9 ft1.8–1.9 ft2.8 ftWSW · 10.3 s3.8 mph NNE2.8 ft2
Sun 6:00am1.8 ft1.7–1.9 ft2.7 ftWSW · 10.3 s2.6 mph NNE4.0 ft2
Sun 7:00am1.8 ft1.7–1.8 ft2.6 ftWSW · 10.4 s1.8 mph N5.2 ft2
Sun 8:00am1.7 ft1.6–1.8 ft2.5 ftWSW · 10.4 s2.8 mph NNW6.0 ft2
Sun 9:00am1.7 ft1.6–1.7 ft2.5 ftWSW · 10.5 s4.0 mph NNW6.1 ft2
Sun 10:00am1.7 ft1.6–1.7 ft2.5 ftWSW · 10.6 s4.6 mph NNW5.6 ft2
Sun 11:00am1.6 ft1.6–1.7 ft2.4 ftWSW · 10.6 s5.2 mph NW4.4 ft2
Sun 12:00pm1.6 ft1.6–1.7 ft2.5 ftWSW · 10.5 s6.5 mph NW3.0 ft2
Sun 1:00pm1.6 ft1.6–1.7 ft2.5 ftWSW · 10.3 s8.4 mph NW1.5 ft2

Model spread is not a confidence interval. Tide and wind are context, not new corrections to surf size. Larger sets and changing hazards remain possible.

This page reads the shared cache first. Refresh requests only this spot’s existing regional samples.

Know the spot

The open beach south of Crystal Pier.

Also known as Pacific Beach Drive.

Break type
Beach
Wave direction
Left & right
Reported difficulty
Intermediate
Bottom
Sand
Reported swell preference
SW–NW
Reported tide preference
Low–mid

This entry is mapped as a searchable surf zone rather than a claim of one frozen takeoff. Expect shifts with sand, tide, swell angle and crowd pressure.

Before paddling out: Currents, crowding, submerged rock or cobble, water-quality changes after rain, and shifting bars.

Public access Approximate imported surf-zone pin — verify locally

Source references

Provenance is not proof that every inherited claim or current access condition has been rechecked.

THE FIELD GUIDE / PB Drive

Read this stretch of coast.

Follow the swell window

The catalogue’s reported preference for PB Drive is “SW–NW”. Compare that description with each component’s incoming direction and period. An offshore swell number is a reference; the local wave still depends on the actual shoreline, bottom and tide.

Check the water level

Reported tide preference: Low–mid. Follow the named NOAA station and its trend through your intended session, then inspect the entry and exit at the beach. A station prediction is not a water-level sensor at this takeoff.

Read the bottom and the lineup

Catalogue bottom: Sand. Reported difficulty: Intermediate. Watch several sets before choosing where to enter, keep clear of riders, and compare the actual wave with your ability and equipment.

A useful note for next time

Record the section you actually surfed, the time, incoming swell direction and period, wind and tide trend. Add what the wave did: connected sections, closeouts, drift or exposed obstacles. Comparing that observation with the same model next time is more useful than treating one colored number as the whole session.

Camera references nearby

Pacific Beach ↗

HDOnTap · about 1.3 km from the catalogue pin · video-page

Pacific Beach oceanfront surf view near the Crystal Pier area.

Windansea ↗

The Surfers View · about 5.6 km from the catalogue pin · video-page

Publicly listed Windansea reef-camera page.

La Jolla Shores ↗

HDOnTap · about 7.9 km from the catalogue pin · video-page

Beach and surf view at La Jolla Shores.

Links to third-party camera pages, not owned feeds. Proximity does not confirm the camera sees this break. Playback and image freshness have not been verified by this page.

Make the next session easier

Lineup etiquette · Paddling technique · How these forecasts work

Nearby spots to compare

PureSurfers is built by Peter Ochabski. Spot profiles combine retained sources and contributor observations; this is not a claim he has surfed or verified every entry.

COASTAL WAVE GUIDANCE

Waves at the model cells

4.00–4.00 ft

Significant wave height (Hs) before the legacy spot reduction. This is not a measured breaking-face or set range.

Nearshore and buoy trends load here. Coverage and observation times are shown separately.