Gaviota · Santa Barbara County · California
El Capitan Surf Report & Forecast, Gaviota, California
El Capitan, Gaviota, California: 2 ft, knee to waist high, at 1 pm PST on Monday, Nov 9, rated Fair. The main swell is 1.7 ft at 15 seconds from the southwest, with calm wind. Water is about 73°F, so a rashguard is enough; the next low tide is -0.1 ft at 3:53 pm.
2 ft
knee to waist high · occasional 3 ft
- Swell
- 1.7 ft · 15 s · SWplus 0.8 ft · 6 s · WSW
- Wind
- calmcalm
- Tide
- 2.1 ft fallinglow -0.1 ft at 3:53 pm
- Water
- 73°Frashguard
- Air
- 78°Ffeels like 75°F
- Sun
- rise 6:28 amset 5 pm
El Capitan surf today and tomorrow
Best-rated hour today at El Capitan: 6 am, Good, on a rising high tide.
Blue band: surf face height from the low end to set waves; dotted: occasional larger sets. Grey line: tide, in feet on the right scale. Colour strip: the hourly rating. Arrows: wind direction and strength, teal when offshore, orange when onshore.
Best-rated hour tomorrow at El Capitan: 1 pm, Poor to Fair, on a falling mid tide.
Hour by hour as a table, today and tomorrow
| Time | Surf | Rating | Wind | Tide |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 am | 2–3 ft | Good | calm | 5.0 ft |
| 7 am | 2–3 ft | Good | calm | 5.9 ft |
| 8 am | 2–3 ft | Fair | calm | 6.5 ft |
| 9 am | 2 ft | Fair | calm | 6.5 ft |
| 10 am | 2 ft | Fair | calm | 6.0 ft |
| 11 am | 2 ft | Fair | 4 mph onshore (SW) | 4.9 ft |
| 12 pm | 2–3 ft | Fair | 5 mph cross-shore (SW) | 3.6 ft |
| 1 pmnow | 2–3 ft | Fair | 6 mph cross-shore (WSW) | 2.1 ft |
| 2 pm | 2–3 ft | Fair | 6 mph cross-shore (WSW), gusts 11 | 0.9 ft |
| 3 pm | 2–3 ft | Fair | 6 mph cross-shore (WSW), gusts 11 | 0.2 ft |
| 4 pm | 2–3 ft | Fair | 5 mph cross-shore (W), gusts 10 | -0.1 ft |
| 5 pm | 2–3 ft | Fair | 4 mph cross-shore (NW) | 0.3 ft |
| Time | Surf | Rating | Wind | Tide |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 am | 1–2 ft | Poor | 5 mph cross-shore (NE), gusts 11 | 4.6 ft |
| 7 am | 2 ft | Poor | 5 mph cross-shore (NE), gusts 12 | 5.5 ft |
| 8 am | 1–2 ft | Poor | 4 mph cross-shore (ENE), gusts 10 | 6.2 ft |
| 9 am | 1–2 ft | Poor | 3 mph cross-shore (E), gusts 8 | 6.5 ft |
| 10 am | 1–2 ft | Poor | calm | 6.2 ft |
| 11 am | 1–2 ft | Poor | calm | 5.4 ft |
| 12 pm | 2 ft | Poor | calm | 4.2 ft |
| 1 pm | 2 ft | Poor to Fair | 4 mph cross-shore (SW) | 2.9 ft |
| 2 pm | 2 ft | Poor | 4 mph cross-shore (WSW), gusts 9 | 1.5 ft |
| 3 pm | 2 ft | Poor | 5 mph cross-shore (WSW) | 0.5 ft |
| 4 pm | 2 ft | Poor | 4 mph cross-shore (W) | -0.0 ft |
| 5 pm | 1–2 ft | Poor | 5 mph cross-shore (WNW) | 0.0 ft |
El Capitan waves today: sets, lulls and how they break
At 1 pm, sets at El Capitan arrive about every minute with about 3 waves each, and the waves are mostly barreling and hollow.
- Set waves
- about 2.4 ft faces
- Waves per set
- about 3
- Sets
- every minute or so, each lasting about 9 s
- Lulls
- about 55 s between breaking waves
- How they break
- Barrelingwhich means the lip pitches out and can throw a barrel
- Shape
- Hollowwhich means throwing, barreling waves
- Breaking
- 38% of waves stand up and break where surfers sitThe rest roll through.
- Along-shore current
- light, about 0.5 mphThis is not a rip current forecast. For rip current risk, see the National Weather Service.
El Capitan surf this weekend and the next 10 days
Next 10 days at El Capitan: the biggest day is Monday, Nov 16 at 4–7 ft, and the best-rated day is Monday, Nov 16 (Great). This weekend: Saturday, Nov 14, 3–5 ft and Great; Sunday, Nov 15, 3–5 ft and Great.
Thu, Nov 19 – Tue, Nov 24
Days 11–16 for El Capitan are in the Current app with a Premium subscription.
Bars: surf face height from the low end to set waves, by day. Colour strip: the day's best rating. Arrows: main swell direction. Shaded: this weekend.
The 10-day forecast as a table, with swell and wind
| Day | Surf | Rating | Main swell | Wind am | Wind pm | Best time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mon, Nov 9 | 2–3 ft | Good | 1.5 ft · 16 s · SW | calm | 6 mph cross-shore (WSW), gusts 11 | 6 am |
| Tue, Nov 10 | 1–2 ft | Poor to Fair | 1.8 ft · 13 s · WSW | 4 mph cross-shore (ENE), gusts 10 | 4 mph cross-shore (WSW), gusts 9 | 1 pm |
| Wed, Nov 11 | 1–2 ft | Poor | 1.5 ft · 13 s · WSW | 5 mph cross-shore (E), gusts 10 | 4 mph onshore (S), gusts 11 | 11 am |
| Thu, Nov 12 | 1–3 ft | Good | 1.7 ft · 13 s · W | 5 mph cross-shore (SE), gusts 12 | 7 mph onshore (SSE), gusts 17 | 5 pm |
| Fri, Nov 13 | 3–4 ft | Good | 3.2 ft · 15 s · WSW | calm | 5 mph cross-shore (SW), gusts 10 | 5 pm |
| Sat, Nov 14 | 3–5 ft | Great | 3.6 ft · 14 s · WSW | calm | 6 mph cross-shore (W), gusts 11 | 4 pm |
| Sun, Nov 15 | 3–5 ft | Great | 4.4 ft · 18 s · WSW | 6 mph offshore (NNW), gusts 13 | 6 mph cross-shore (WSW), gusts 12 | 7 am |
| Mon, Nov 16 | 4–7 ft | Great | 4.6 ft · 15 s · WSW | 12 mph offshore (NW), gusts 23 | 15 mph offshore (NNW), gusts 30 | 4 pm |
| Tue, Nov 17 | 4–5 ft | Great | — | 12 mph offshore (NNW) | 18 mph offshore (NNW), gusts 28 | 7 am |
| Wed, Nov 18 | 2–3 ft | Good | — | 10 mph offshore (NNW) | 18 mph offshore (NW), gusts 24 | 7 am |
| Thu, Nov 19 – Tue, Nov 24 | Days 11–16 for El Capitan are in the Current app with a Premium subscription. Get the app | |||||
El Capitan tide chart and tide times
Tides at El Capitan today, Monday, Nov 9: low 2.7 ft at 2:17 am, high 6.6 ft at 8:36 am, low -0.1 ft at 3:53 pm and high 4.3 ft at 10:21 pm. At 1 pm the tide is 2.1 ft and falling.
El Capitan tide chart, November 2026
| Day | Tides |
|---|---|
| Mon, Nov 9 | Low 2.7 ft at 2:17 amHigh 6.6 ft at 8:36 amLow -0.1 ft at 3:53 pmHigh 4.3 ft at 10:21 pm |
| Tue, Nov 10 | Low 2.9 ft at 2:50 amHigh 6.5 ft at 9:04 amLow -0.1 ft at 4:25 pmHigh 4.0 ft at 11:06 pm |
| Wed, Nov 11 | Low 3.0 ft at 3:15 amHigh 6.1 ft at 9:32 amLow 0.1 ft at 5:10 pm |
| Thu, Nov 12 | High 3.7 ft at 12:10 amLow 3.2 ft at 3:31 amHigh 6.0 ft at 10:05 amLow 0.5 ft at 5:55 pm |
| Fri, Nov 13 | High 3.8 ft at 1:18 amLow 3.6 ft at 3:52 amHigh 5.8 ft at 10:42 amLow 0.8 ft at 6:46 pm |
| Sat, Nov 14 | High 3.9 ft at 3 amLow 3.9 ft at 4:29 amHigh 5.5 ft at 11:22 amLow 1.0 ft at 7:43 pm |
| Sun, Nov 15 | High 4.0 ft at 4:18 amLow 3.9 ft at 5:40 amHigh 5.0 ft at 12:12 pmLow 1.0 ft at 8:37 pm |
| Mon, Nov 16 | High 4.1 ft at 4:53 amLow 3.9 ft at 8:14 amHigh 4.5 ft at 1:25 pmLow 1.1 ft at 9:27 pm |
| Tue, Nov 17 | High 4.4 ft at 5:10 amLow 3.5 ft at 10:13 amHigh 4.2 ft at 2:51 pm |
Tide predictions, not observations. Heights in feet above MLLW.
El Capitan water temperature
The water temperature at El Capitan is about 73°F on Monday, Nov 9. With the air feeling like 75°F and a 3 mph wind, a rashguard is enough. Over the next week the water stays between 71 and 73°F.
Water temperature is a forecast for the water at this spot, not a buoy reading. The wetsuit suggestion uses Billabong's wetsuit temperature scale, adjusted for air temperature and wind.
Surf spots near El Capitan
- Refugio State Beach2.8 mi W · 2 ft · Good
- Tajiguas4.5 mi W · 3 ft · Great
- Haskell's Beach6.3 mi ESE · 2–3 ft · Fair
- Ellwood8.2 mi ESE · 3 ft · Good
- Sands Beach8.6 mi ESE · 3–4 ft · Good
- Coal Oil Point8.9 mi ESE · 3 ft · Good
Rated right now. The Current app animates the surf itself on a live map of the whole coast. See the app →
About El Capitan
El Capitan is a point break in Gaviota, Santa Barbara County, California, facing south. Also called El Capitan State Beach.
Follow El Capitan in the Current app
The first 10 days are free, and Premium adds days 11–16.
Forecasts are estimates. Never rely on them for safety. For rip current risk and beach hazards, check the National Weather Service. Forecasts from Current's novel physics simulation. No AI. No black boxes. Ocean and weather data: NOAA (U.S. government data). NOAA does not endorse this site.