August. The month tropical systems should start stoking us out. No tropical activity managed it's way up here. Two Hurricanes did form, but had no effect on California. Instead August was all about knowing when and where to go to catch windswell. No amount of sites online, swell models, bouys, or word of mouth could help you get fun waves in August. You just had to head to the beach a lot, and head out even if looked small, and you'd have fun.

Ironically, the best waves I got all month were up in Goleta. My searches down south for waves usually ended up with knee high waves breaking from some leftover south swell. The sessions up here in the North however uncovered some fun windswell sessions at local beachbreaks. One of the best days for me was August 17th, a session at Sands in offshore, waist high+ waves with plenty of speed. The winner for best session overall was up at Pleasure Point in Santa Cruz which doesn't qualify as a Santa Barbara based wave. Keep your fingers crossed for a fun fall...

11 August Sessions. 5 on the longboard. 6 on the shortboard. Surfline's August Report isn't up as of posting, but will be in about 3 weeks.

Santa Barbara Surfing