is windswell ever superior to groundswell ( like at a beach break)?

8, 9, 10 second swell periods seem the best to me at my beach break. Anything more it's lots of closeouts.

 

Depends on the beach, some handle long period ground swell better than others. Lot's of spots around here hold the swell just fine, but there are a few that close out too easily and require a shorter period. Not sure about windswell being better but it's fun too. Anything that creates a surfable wave is good w/me.

 

I only paddle out on 23ft @ 3sec swells. The paddle out is easy if you ain't a kook. It never closes out due to the fact it's the south , we have no closeouts tey don't exist. Viva la Allah.

 

Depends. I like a long line, but 8-10 is typically best. With this supermoon on the other hand...a fat, long period swell would be great (but likely not too great at low tide)

 

depends on bathymetry and swell direction...and whether the stars are aligned "just so".

 

Long period swell requires good bottom contours (good sand bars or a jetty) or an optimal swell direction to get a beach break to peel. If things come together perfectly a beachbreak can reel for hundreds of yards.

 

yes, wind swell does not suck here. some longer period swells closeout more. I surf beach breaks.

 

we can get some really tasty 7-9sec windswells from cold fronts that will be more memorable than 11-12 sec groundswell closeouts. windswell is crucial to surfing on the east coast, ignore my name and most of the assanine sarcastic bull**** that i post

 

Exactly! Windswell usually always breaks better for beach break which makes for better quality waves. Ground swell produces a lot of closeouts unless all factors align. When all factors align (swell directly, bottom contour, wind, etc.), you can have a perfect peeling wave from a groundswell at a beach break. It just doesn't happen too often at a beach break though. I'm not talking about quick barrels. I'm talking about long peeling lines which is definitely a surfers dream. Now, give me a long peeling barrel and I would be happy. If barrels didn't exist, I don't think I would continue surfing. That is the best part of surfing.

 

Windswells don't get named by the World Meteorological Orginazation and are therefore less crowded. Less crowds=more fun. Plus all of that stuff that was already mentioned about closeouts

 

I know of a place that is way better on windswell than groundswell.

Get to know your area and you'll find certain spots for certain conditions.

 

windswells are underhyped and often undercalled on the forecasts, love it

 

This is true, big fan of forecasts being undercalled

 

time to get scientific.

windswells over groundswells,all day errday.groundswells on the eastcoast are usually closeouts,like 99 percent of the time,if ur lucky to live near a spot that can handle the long period,like Manasquan,montauk,ruggles,etc then ur lucky.windswells in nj I found out to be the best days of the year.usually winter time.waves break perfectly,somewhat easy paddle out,long makeable barrels.

 

yea depends where you are. generally the west coast would like a ground swell better because the continental shelf is very close to the coast. on the east coast, and i would think its the same for the gulf, the continental shelf is much farther from the coast so generally our beach breaks like a wind swell.

 

Depends on the Spot and the length of the Period swell. If its a period swell of longer then 15 seconds its gonna close out no matter ground or wind. Just too much water commin in at once for a beach break to handle (general statement) Normally the exact opposite occurs when a short period swell comes in. At least in Florida normally it'll be a peakey drop with nothin but mush to work with.

Also Normally groundswells are cleaner, and provide more waves for more days.(Leftovers)
These are all just general statements for general beachbreaks on the east coast.

 

the irony

 

We have been getting some long period (>12) last few days. Although the height was 1.5 to 2', it was producing some small but nice and clean (w/ favorable winds) LB waves and some long rides. Some of set waves were thigh / waist.

 

Right on, the long period is like a multiplier for the swell, love those small but loooong lines that you can just rip to pieces, at 12 secs it probably has some punch to them too.