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PURESURFERSLIVE SURF ATLAS
CALIFORNIA / La JollaSPOT / 889

Windansea.

A name that says what to watch.

A-frame / left & right32.830° N / 117.282° W
Color satellite and aerial imagery centered on the approximate Windansea 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 Windansea 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 face2.5 ftOlder cached forecast Wed Nov 11, 12:00pm Pacific
Coastal wind7.4 mphNW from
NOAA tide reference3.7 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.

Wed Nov 11, 12:00pm Pacific

MFWAM · 2 components
Primary swell
3.2ft Hs

W from · 272° · 9.7 s

3.2 feet
Wind sea
0.1ft Hs

WNW from · 282° · 1.3 s

0.1 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 Wed Nov 11, 12:15pm. This is regional modeled wind, not a beach measurement.

Source retrievals: GFS Nov 11, 12:00pm (older cache) · ECMWF Nov 11, 11:45am (older cache) · MFWAM Nov 11, 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, 5 km reference; retrieved Wed Nov 11, 12:00pm. 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
Wed Nov 112.5 ft5.9 mph14/14
Thu Nov 122.6 ft5.8 mph14/14
Fri Nov 133.2 ft8.0 mph14/14
Sat Nov 144.7 ft7.1 mph14/14
Sun Nov 153.9 ft5.2 mph14/14
Mon Nov 163.4 ft7.3 mph14/14
Tue Nov 173.6 ft9.2 mph14/14
Hourly details · next 72 hours
Pacific timeEstimated surf faceModel rangeSet proxySwell fromWindTide MLLWModels
Wed 12:00pm2.5 ft2.5–2.5 ft3.7 ftW · 12.2 s7.4 mph NW3.7 ft2
Wed 1:00pm2.5 ft2.5–2.5 ft3.7 ftW · 12.2 s8.0 mph NW2.5 ft2
Wed 2:00pm2.5 ft2.5–2.5 ft3.7 ftW · 12.2 s8.8 mph NW1.3 ft2
Wed 3:00pm2.5 ft2.5–2.5 ft3.8 ftWSW · 12.6 s8.0 mph NW0.3 ft2
Wed 4:00pm2.5 ft2.5–2.5 ft3.8 ftWSW · 12.6 s6.4 mph WNW-0.2 ft2
Wed 5:00pm2.5 ft2.5–2.5 ft3.8 ftWSW · 12.6 s4.5 mph WNW-0.2 ft2
Wed 6:00pm2.6 ft2.5–2.6 ft3.8 ftWSW · 12.6 s5.2 mph NW0.2 ft2
Wed 7:00pm2.6 ft2.5–2.6 ft3.8 ftWSW · 12.6 s4.1 mph NNW1.0 ft2
Wed 8:00pm2.6 ft2.5–2.6 ft3.8 ftWSW · 12.5 s2.7 mph NE1.8 ft2
Wed 9:00pm2.6 ft2.5–2.6 ft3.9 ftWSW · 12.5 s3.5 mph E2.6 ft2
Wed 10:00pm2.6 ft2.5–2.6 ft3.9 ftWSW · 12.5 s3.6 mph E3.1 ft2
Wed 11:00pm2.6 ft2.5–2.6 ft3.8 ftWSW · 12.5 s4.2 mph E3.3 ft2
Thu 12:00am2.6 ft2.6–2.6 ft3.9 ftW · 12.5 s5.4 mph ENE3.2 ft2
Thu 1:00am2.5 ft2.5–2.6 ft3.8 ftW · 12.5 s4.3 mph ENE3.0 ft2
Thu 2:00am2.6 ft2.6–2.6 ft3.9 ftWSW · 12.4 s2.8 mph ENE2.8 ft2
Thu 3:00am2.5 ft2.5–2.5 ft3.8 ftWSW · 12.4 s3.8 mph NE2.6 ft2
Thu 4:00am2.6 ft2.5–2.6 ft3.9 ftWSW · 12.4 s5.0 mph NW2.8 ft2
Thu 5:00am2.6 ft2.5–2.6 ft3.8 ftWSW · 12.4 s3.8 mph ENE3.2 ft2
Thu 6:00am2.5 ft2.5–2.6 ft3.8 ftWSW · 12.4 s5.1 mph ENE3.8 ft2
Thu 7:00am2.5 ft2.4–2.6 ft3.8 ftWSW · 12.4 s3.8 mph E4.5 ft2
Thu 8:00am2.5 ft2.4–2.7 ft3.8 ftWSW · 12.4 s1.8 mph SE5.1 ft2
Thu 9:00am2.5 ft2.4–2.7 ft3.8 ftWSW · 12.4 s2.5 mph SSW5.5 ft2
Thu 10:00am2.5 ft2.3–2.7 ft3.8 ftWSW · 12.4 s4.4 mph SW5.5 ft2
Thu 11:00am2.6 ft2.3–2.8 ft3.8 ftWSW · 12.5 s8.9 mph WSW5.1 ft2
Thu 12:00pm2.5 ft2.3–2.7 ft3.8 ftWSW · 12.5 s10.0 mph WSW4.3 ft2
Thu 1:00pm2.5 ft2.3–2.8 ft3.8 ftWSW · 12.5 s9.8 mph SW3.2 ft2
Thu 2:00pm2.6 ft2.3–2.8 ft3.8 ftWSW · 12.6 s9.3 mph SW2.1 ft2
Thu 3:00pm2.6 ft2.4–2.8 ft3.9 ftWSW · 12.7 s7.7 mph SW1.1 ft2
Thu 4:00pm2.6 ft2.4–2.8 ft3.9 ftWSW · 12.7 s6.1 mph SW0.3 ft2
Thu 5:00pm2.6 ft2.4–2.9 ft4.0 ftWSW · 12.7 s4.1 mph SSW0.0 ft2
Thu 6:00pm2.7 ft2.5–2.9 ft4.0 ftWSW · 12.7 s4.0 mph SSE0.1 ft2
Thu 7:00pm2.7 ft2.6–2.8 ft4.1 ftWSW · 12.7 s4.0 mph SSE0.6 ft2
Thu 8:00pm2.7 ft2.6–2.9 ft4.1 ftWSW · 12.8 s3.9 mph SSE1.2 ft2
Thu 9:00pm2.8 ft2.6–2.9 ft4.1 ftWSW · 12.9 s4.7 mph SSE2.0 ft2
Thu 10:00pm2.8 ft2.7–2.9 ft4.2 ftWSW · 13.0 s6.4 mph SSW2.6 ft2
Thu 11:00pm2.8 ft2.8–2.9 ft4.2 ftWSW · 13.2 s5.7 mph ESE3.0 ft2
Fri 12:00am2.8 ft2.8–2.9 ft4.3 ftWSW · 13.3 s7.2 mph E3.1 ft2
Fri 1:00am2.9 ft2.9–2.9 ft4.3 ftWSW · 13.4 s8.4 mph ESE3.1 ft2
Fri 2:00am2.9 ft2.9–3.0 ft4.4 ftWSW · 13.5 s6.8 mph SE3.0 ft2
Fri 3:00am3.0 ft3.0–3.0 ft4.5 ftWSW · 13.5 s6.3 mph S2.9 ft2
Fri 4:00am3.0 ft3.0–3.0 ft4.5 ftWSW · 13.5 s6.1 mph S2.9 ft2
Fri 5:00am3.1 ft3.1–3.1 ft4.6 ftWSW · 13.5 s5.8 mph S3.1 ft2
Fri 6:00am3.1 ft3.1–3.1 ft4.6 ftWSW · 13.4 s5.5 mph SSE3.5 ft2
Fri 7:00am3.1 ft3.1–3.2 ft4.7 ftWSW · 13.4 s8.3 mph S4.1 ft2
Fri 8:00am3.1 ft3.1–3.1 ft4.7 ftWSW · 13.4 s9.9 mph S4.6 ft2
Fri 9:00am3.1 ft3.1–3.2 ft4.7 ftW · 13.4 s7.6 mph S5.0 ft2
Fri 10:00am3.2 ft3.1–3.2 ft4.7 ftWSW · 13.3 s8.4 mph SW5.2 ft2
Fri 11:00am3.2 ft3.1–3.2 ft4.8 ftWSW · 13.2 s9.2 mph SW5.1 ft2
Fri 12:00pm3.2 ft3.2–3.2 ft4.8 ftWSW · 13.0 s8.5 mph WSW4.6 ft2
Fri 1:00pm3.2 ft3.1–3.3 ft4.8 ftW · 12.9 s9.0 mph W3.8 ft2
Fri 2:00pm3.2 ft3.2–3.3 ft4.9 ftW · 12.7 s9.6 mph W2.8 ft2
Fri 3:00pm3.2 ft3.2–3.3 ft4.9 ftW · 12.5 s10.8 mph W1.9 ft2
Fri 4:00pm3.3 ft3.2–3.3 ft4.9 ftW · 12.4 s6.7 mph W1.0 ft2
Fri 5:00pm3.3 ft3.2–3.3 ft4.9 ftW · 12.3 s5.4 mph W0.5 ft2
Fri 6:00pm3.3 ft3.3–3.4 ft5.0 ftW · 12.3 s6.6 mph W0.3 ft2
Fri 7:00pm3.3 ft3.3–3.3 ft5.0 ftW · 12.2 s6.6 mph WSW0.4 ft2
Fri 8:00pm3.4 ft3.4–3.4 ft5.1 ftW · 11.7 s6.0 mph WSW0.8 ft2
Fri 9:00pm3.4 ft3.4–3.4 ft5.1 ftW · 11.9 s4.9 mph WSW1.4 ft2
Fri 10:00pm3.5 ft3.4–3.5 ft5.2 ftW · 11.6 s4.1 mph WSW2.0 ft2
Fri 11:00pm3.5 ft3.5–3.5 ft5.3 ftW · 11.5 s3.4 mph SW2.6 ft2
Sat 12:00am3.6 ft3.5–3.6 ft5.4 ftW · 11.1 s3.1 mph SSW2.9 ft2
Sat 1:00am3.6 ft3.6–3.6 ft5.4 ftW · 10.8 s3.5 mph SW3.1 ft2
Sat 2:00am3.7 ft3.7–3.7 ft5.6 ftW · 10.4 s3.6 mph SW3.1 ft2
Sat 3:00am3.8 ft3.8–3.8 ft5.7 ftWSW · 9.9 s5.2 mph W3.1 ft2
Sat 4:00am3.8 ft3.8–3.9 ft5.8 ftW · 9.9 s9.6 mph WNW3.0 ft2
Sat 5:00am4.0 ft3.9–4.0 ft5.9 ftW · 10.0 s12.2 mph WNW3.1 ft2
Sat 6:00am4.1 ft4.1–4.1 ft6.1 ftW · 10.3 s11.4 mph W3.3 ft2
Sat 7:00am4.2 ft4.1–4.2 ft6.3 ftWSW · 9.7 s8.4 mph W3.7 ft2
Sat 8:00am4.3 ft4.3–4.3 ft6.5 ftW · 9.9 s8.9 mph W4.1 ft2
Sat 9:00am4.4 ft4.4–4.5 ft6.7 ftW · 10.2 s8.1 mph W4.5 ft2
Sat 10:00am4.6 ft4.5–4.6 ft6.8 ftW · 10.6 s7.8 mph WSW4.8 ft2
Sat 11:00am4.7 ft4.7–4.7 ft7.0 ftW · 10.9 s7.3 mph WSW4.9 ft2
Sat 12:00pm4.8 ft4.7–4.9 ft7.2 ftW · 11.3 s7.2 mph SW4.6 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

La Jolla’s iconic reef with dramatic shape and image power.

Break type
Reef
Wave direction
A-frame / left & right
Reported difficulty
Advanced
Bottom
Rock / reef
Reported swell preference
SSW–W
Reported tide preference
Low–mid

Unique, memorable and unavoidable in any serious coast atlas. Source note: Imported 6.8 catalogue; place and confirm the takeoff.

Before paddling out: Shallow reef, crowd intensity and heavy days.

Public access Owner-placed takeoff; not a survey

Source references

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

THE FIELD GUIDE / Windansea

Read this stretch of coast.

What defines this setup

Windansea is catalogued as reef, with a-frame / left & right waves over rock / reef. Those details explain why the same offshore height can feel different here than at the next beach. Use the map to orient yourself, then watch how the sets actually meet the bottom and where the ride opens or closes. The catalogue is a starting description, not a surveyed takeoff.

What to compare before you go

The retained swell preference is SSW–W; the reported tide preference is Low–mid. Start with the component panel: check whether the stronger incoming swell is in that directional window and whether a second system approaches from a different angle. Then compare wind and water level for the same hour. These are planning comparisons, not new corrections applied to the displayed surf-face estimate.

A useful shore check

The reported difficulty is Advanced. Look at the interval between sets, the distance a surfer drifts while waiting, the room available to enter and exit, and whether the waves connect through the intended section. Catalogue hazards include Shallow reef, crowd intensity and heavy days. If the session you see differs from the forecast, record that difference with the time and setup; it is information for the next visit, not a reason to force today’s session.

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

Windansea ↗

The Surfers View · about 0.1 km from the catalogue pin · video-page

Publicly listed Windansea reef-camera page.

La Jolla Shores ↗

HDOnTap · about 3.7 km from the catalogue pin · video-page

Beach and surf view at La Jolla Shores.

Pacific Beach ↗

HDOnTap · about 4.3 km from the catalogue pin · video-page

Pacific Beach oceanfront surf view near the Crystal Pier area.

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

Awaiting shared model data

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.