Santa Barbara Area Surf Report

December Overview 1997 Overview

Date/Time: Friday, December 19th, 12:00 noon - 3:00 pm
Location: Rincon Point
Weather: Sunny with clear skies and building afternoon onshore breezes.
Conditions: Fair, with an odd SE warble and a westerly chop atop that.
Swell: Fading NW swell, peaked overnight, 10 ft at 13 s on outer buoys. Windswell also apparent in the lineup.
Surf: Inconsistent, waist to chest high with sets to just overhead.
Comments: Late getting in the water today, but heard it was similarly weak and windswelly in the morning. Periods shorter than yesterday, but conditions worsening. As the wind picked up it started to feel less like a surf session and more like some sort of test of wills, or patience.

Most waves suffered the SE warble poorly, with thick lumpy waves rolling sideways across the curl line and making it hard to drive for sections. Best waves went just into the rivermouth before closing out. Cleaner in there, but I kept paddling all the way back up for some bizarre reason. I must like taking tests.


Santa Barbara Surfing -- Last updated 12/19/97.