How about the surf classic on August 29th – are you promising killer breaks and lots of prizes! How about the party at the surf house – can’t beat that setting for a true surf party experience!

Cheers,
Surfer BoB

Any day is a great day to come for lessons but if you want to know before you go call the 227 1230 number for surf conditions recording. You can also email surfinglassie@yahoo.ca now but during the months of July and August I do not have computer access on a regular basis.

We can take up to 10 people at a time for surf lessons. Surf lessons are available on the spot but on very busy days you will only ever have to wait 1 hour and 30 minutes at the most if you did not pre book.

Please let me know what’s best.

Janine

We will be posting a surf report line that everyone can call soon for up to the minute conditions. If the weather is extreme as in gusting winds, heavy rain and/or thunder and lightning surf classes will be cancelled on those days and indicated on the surf line.

If you want to look for perfect conditions yourself read the info below. Buy a nautical chart for the area you want to surf for the people wanting to get hard core about it. Hope all this info doesn’t hurt your brain to much.

One of the amazing and challanging things about wave conditions is that they are always changing.

Waves occur when we have a swell that was created in the ocean due to wind, low pressure system and/or some sort of turbulence. It is like when you throw a rock in the water and it sends out ripples. Same idea with the ocean only those ripples are much larger. As the swell travels, eventually it has to reach a coast line or shallower section. When the swell hits this shallower section it forces the water up which creates the waves.

Now the face and shape on the wave is going to be affected by wind and tide. These 2 factors are always changing too.

Tides: If we have a super high tide the wave may not be able to form until it reaches the shallower section being closer to shore. This results in a very short surfboard ride. If the tide is super low then the wave may be able to form further away from shore. Resulting in a longer wave to ride but sometimes the wave may all crash at once because it is too shallow.

Lets say the wave is 2 feet in height, it breaks in about 3 to 4 feet of water. If the wave is 1 foot it breaks in about 2 to 3 feet of water. A 10 foot wave may break in 15 to 20 feet of water. On a 1 foot swell day you may want to come at a lower tide.

Times for tides change everyday. Roughly every 5 and a half hours it switches from High to Low then Low to High. On full moons we tend to have much higher tides and very low tides.

Now the second thing affecting the wave is wind. For the perfect wave we want offshore wind (not gusting)or a very light to no wind. An offshore wind will hold the face of the wave up longer giving it a better shape.

If the wind turns onshore it tends to make the wave face crash earlier turning the wave to white water much sooner. White water is airated so it is unstable. A cross shore wind tends to put a bump or chop on the surface of the water and wave. This makes the wave harder to read, catch and stand up on.

Winds may tend to be light and offshore for early morning and closer to sunset. Sometimes in the afternoon they turn onshore or cross shore. This is because of land and sea winds. Just keep in mind this may not always be the case depending on weather systems.

Now ideal conditions for surfers would be to find the perfect wave. That is why many of us are checking websites that report swell size and direction, wind speed and direction. We are also seeing if the swell is a wind swell or ground swell. Ground swell is always better because it has had more time to get organised. Ground swell is the higher number when it says swell second period. Wind swell can be messy and will be indicated by a lower number on the section saying swell second period on the surf forcasts. Both are surfable though.

Most of these surf forcasting sites can give a rough 1 week prediction for conditions. Check this website http://www.scotiasurfer.com you are on now for those links.

Keep in mind we are trying to find the best wind being light to offshore. Tide (depends on the spot sometimes and swell size). If in doulbt go with a mid tide. Also look for the swell direction. This will depend which direction the shore faces. Example: East facing shores go with any variation of an East swell. Now look at the swell second period section. Usually above 8 is good. Try to avoid numbers like 2 to 4. This would be a very messy wind swell. Take all this information and try to figure out the best time to go.

Here is an Example for an East facing shore:

On Wednesday the surf forcast says 10 feet East Swell direction at 3 seconds with an 40 knot East Wind.

The next day it reports 5 feet East Swell direction with 8 second swell period with a West wind of 10 knots.

In this case the second day is better. Wind is offshore and the swell second period is better. The swell has had some time to clean up.

Most of the conditions we get in Nova Scotia are wind swells but during Hurricane season we are lucky to get warmer water and ground swell. Hurricane season is June to November. We tend to get the best waves from Hurricane ground swells September to November. In November our hurricane swells are starting to be replaced by our Nor’ Eastern storms which also create ground swell. However by this time the water is starting to be extremely cold and we need to switch to winter suits, boots and mitts.

Now the good news about Point Michaud Beach is that there is always some sort of wave for surf lessons. It is one of the most consistant surf breaks on Cape Breton Island. We have sand bar after sand bar that help the wave to form. The wave itself is very easy and forgiving. Perfect for beginners. We are very open to the ocean so we tend to pick up South, South East, East and North East swell directions. Some days we do get a cross shore wind in the afternoon. Which is not the best wind but it is still surfable. No matter how small or big the swell is at Point Michaud it is a great place to learn.

What would be the best dates to go for the lessons? what time of the day the biggest waves come at?

My wife and I will be flying from Toronto only for the surfing lessons, so I will really like to know this ahead of time.

Anything else I should be considering before I go, please let me know, we would really appreciate it.

Thank you