What are the common misconceptions when it comes to surf reports, forecast, date and/or charts?
MS: For me, a surf report that does not include specifics about pure swell height and period, and direction is kinda worthless. What most people don’t get is that the swell period is often way more important that the size of the swell itself. 2 ft @ 20 secs will get you as big or bigger of a wave than 7 ft @ 6 secs. Both result in about a 4 ft face, but with a decent bottom you can get up to 5-6 ft of face size on the longer period swell. The period (which is really a reflection of wind speed that generated the swell) is key to producing long walled up and peeling surf. Once you know the period, then you can use your local knowledge of which breaks react better to ground swell versus wind swell. Typically I try to stay away from beach breaks if the period starts exceeding 13 seconds. SS: Many of our readers are looking to improve their surf experience and surfing skills. Will understanding how to forecast waves help this group of surfers? MS: Good question. For beginners and intermedia
