How much do you guys notice the tide effecting bigger swells (like the one hitting tomorrow)?. I find low-incoming the best for spots around OCMD, but with wave heights over 5' will we still have good surf in the deeper water tomorrow afternoon when the wind is predicted to be better?
It's totally dependent on the break. To keep it as simple as possible, you want the waves to break far from shore so you can get longer rides. When the waves are small my home break sucks at high tide because they break right on sand. When the swell is chest-high + it's much less of a factor, but low tide is still a bit better. It could be the other way around at other spots. To make a general statement, when the waves are big the tide is typically less of a factor.
In Delmarva, the tides are very influencial, and I agree with Mad Atom that it varies for each break. Even in Ocean City, some areas are better at lower tide and others at a higher tide. But, in general, in our area, the incoming tide is better. In Ocean City, it can often be best around mid tide, but it varies with how the sand bars are setting up and the wave period. Longer period swells often do better during a higher tide, and vice versa with shorter period swells.
Yeah and down here on Hilton Head Island, we have the largest tide swings in the continental US. And they make or break a session. you CANNOT, ever surf here at low tide. Period. You need mid-tide incoming about 2 hours before the tides peak and then it starts crapping back out on its way out. Sandy was 4-6 feet and perfect 2 hours before high tide. When the tide dropped out, it was literally a lake. ANKLE HIGH. I used to surf many different tides in OC MD. low tide is never ideal, but you get a MUCH bigger window up there.
If you surf near an inlet, tide is important and fast changing. I like the incoming push. More energy is focused on the impact zone. If it is really big, high tide can cause backwash at certain beaches with lots of slope. This can be really fun, or it can ruin a swell. Luckily we have some reef breaks - when it is too deep everywhere else it can still be longboardable at the reef. As long as it is waist high or better. Youze guyz get higher/lower tides than we do down here in Florida. I always wondered if you can get a wave off a full moon incoming flood tide on a flat day up there in certain spots like Chatham or Hilton Head.
Great thread and posts. Keep em coming. Not enough people check differential between tides when looking at a report. Two full moons ago I was up in Maine and it was a difference of like 11-12ft from high to low. Then you go to Rhodey and it's only 2.5ft difference at times. Tide has a ton to do with conditions and that makes windows of good surf very tight at some spots certain days.
When I'm talking "not enough people" I'm talking about the whole surfer population, not the informed, calculating ones that make up a lot of the posters on this forum. And as we know, "most" of the surfer population (including all those who surf just a couple times a season) doesn't know their arse from their ear. If anything, I'm saying tide IS key.
Spicoli raises a good point. In NewEngland mostly especially Maine (having 12 ft tides) rock reefs tend to appear as good surf then suddenly vanish with the tide making a spot entirely rocks and not surf worthy. I find that that beach breaks are more immune to the shifts of tide but it's so hard to really define it because each spot has it's own unique details.
I think the Canadian surfers in nova scotia would have some cool things to say. They deal with insane tides !
I notice the tides have a huge impact on wave quality. I'm sure there will be good waves for you with the higher tide. I usually prefer the higher tide when its big because the wave is fatter and easier for me to stand up on and ride around on. It's all judgement, it's your world brah.
On big days it is always good to have an exit strategy. In Costa Rica I have stayed out for hours on big swells, and if you are ignorant of tide, you can get dry docked on boulders that you were surfing over an hour or so ago, and the long climb back to shore over exposed slippery rocks can be a biotch. That's what happens sometimes when you're greedy and stay out too long.
Outside of rising and lowering water level, inlets and openings to bays have are very influencial to nearby breaks, and are highly influenced by the currents created by the moving tides. For example, when the tide is coming in to the inlet, then it creates a fast current, which has significant impact on the swells moving toward the current. In some cases, it can focus the swells and in other circumstances swells will refract away from the current. Large openings to bays can have a larger scale influence. The interactions of currents and nearshore waves are one of the more complex aspects of wave mechanics, where local experience certainly holds an edge.
