Gaviota · Santa Barbara County · California
Gaviota Surf Report & Forecast, California
Gaviota, California: 3 ft, waist to chest high, at 12 pm PST on Monday, Nov 9, rated Great. The main swell is 2.4 ft at 15 seconds from the southwest, with calm wind. Water is about 71°F, so a 2mm wetsuit jacket is the suggestion; the next low tide is -0.3 ft at 3:56 pm.
3 ft
waist to chest high · occasional 4 ft
- Swell
- 2.4 ft · 15 s · SW
- Wind
- calmcalm
- Tide
- 3.4 ft fallinglow -0.3 ft at 3:56 pm
- Water
- 71°F2mm jacket
- Air
- 77°Ffeels like 76°F
- Sun
- rise 6:29 amset 5:01 pm
Gaviota surf today and tomorrow
Best-rated hour today at Gaviota: 10 am, Great, on a falling 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 Gaviota: 7 am, Good, on a rising high tide.
Hour by hour as a table, today and tomorrow
| Time | Surf | Rating | Wind | Tide |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 am | 2–3 ft | Great | 5 mph offshore (NNE) | 4.7 ft |
| 7 am | 3 ft | Great | 5 mph offshore (NNE) | 5.6 ft |
| 8 am | 3 ft | Great | 3 mph offshore (NNE) | 6.2 ft |
| 9 am | 3 ft | Great | calm | 6.3 ft |
| 10 am | 3 ft | Great | calm | 5.8 ft |
| 11 am | 3 ft | Good | 4 mph onshore (SW), gusts 9 | 4.7 ft |
| 12 pmnow | 3 ft | Good | 5 mph onshore (SW), gusts 10 | 3.4 ft |
| 1 pm | 3 ft | Good | 5 mph cross-shore (SW), gusts 10 | 2.0 ft |
| 2 pm | 3 ft | Good | 5 mph cross-shore (WSW), gusts 10 | 0.8 ft |
| 3 pm | 3 ft | Great | 5 mph cross-shore (W) | -0.0 ft |
| 4 pm | 3 ft | Great | 5 mph cross-shore (WNW), gusts 10 | -0.3 ft |
| 5 pm | 3 ft | Great | 7 mph offshore (NNW), gusts 14 | 0.0 ft |
| Time | Surf | Rating | Wind | Tide |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 am | 2 ft | Good | 8 mph offshore (NE), gusts 13 | 4.3 ft |
| 7 am | 2–3 ft | Good | 7 mph offshore (NE), gusts 13 | 5.2 ft |
| 8 am | 2 ft | Good | 7 mph cross-shore (ENE), gusts 12 | 5.9 ft |
| 9 am | 2 ft | Good | 5 mph cross-shore (ENE), gusts 10 | 6.2 ft |
| 10 am | 2 ft | Good | 4 mph cross-shore (ESE), gusts 9 | 6.0 ft |
| 11 am | 2 ft | Good | 4 mph onshore (SSE) | 5.2 ft |
| 12 pm | 2 ft | Good | 4 mph onshore (S) | 4.1 ft |
| 1 pm | 2 ft | Good | 4 mph onshore (SSW) | 2.7 ft |
| 2 pm | 2 ft | Good | calm | 1.4 ft |
| 3 pm | 2 ft | Good | calm | 0.4 ft |
| 4 pm | 2 ft | Good | 4 mph cross-shore (W) | -0.2 ft |
| 5 pm | 2 ft | Good | 5 mph cross-shore (WNW), gusts 10 | -0.2 ft |
Gaviota waves today: sets, lulls and how they break
At 12 pm, sets at Gaviota arrive about every 5 minutes with about 4 waves each, and the waves are mostly barreling and hollow.
- Set waves
- about 3.4 ft faces
- Waves per set
- about 4
- Sets
- every 5 minutes or so, each lasting about 42 s
- Lulls
- about 192 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
- 22% of waves stand up and break where surfers sitThe rest roll through.
- Along-shore current
- moderate, about 0.8 mphThis is not a rip current forecast. For rip current risk, see the National Weather Service.
Gaviota surf this weekend and the next 10 days
Next 10 days at Gaviota: the biggest day is Monday, Nov 16 at 5–7 ft, and the best-rated day is Friday, Nov 13 (Great). This weekend: Saturday, Nov 14, 3–5 ft and Great; Sunday, Nov 15, 3–4 ft and Great.
Thu, Nov 19 – Tue, Nov 24
Days 11–16 for Gaviota 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 | Great | 2.1 ft · 15 s · SW | 3 mph offshore (NNE) | 5 mph cross-shore (WSW), gusts 10 | 10 am |
| Tue, Nov 10 | 2–3 ft | Good | 1.8 ft · 14 s · WSW | 7 mph cross-shore (ENE), gusts 12 | calm | 7 am |
| Wed, Nov 11 | 2–3 ft | Good | 1.8 ft · 13 s · SW | 5 mph cross-shore (E), gusts 10 | 5 mph onshore (S), gusts 11 | 8 am |
| Thu, Nov 12 | 2–3 ft | Good | 1.8 ft · 13 s · W | 6 mph cross-shore (SE), gusts 12 | 9 mph onshore (SE), gusts 21 | 5 pm |
| Fri, Nov 13 | 3–5 ft | Great | 3.4 ft · 15 s · WSW | 4 mph cross-shore (ESE) | 6 mph cross-shore (WSW), gusts 11 | 8 am |
| Sat, Nov 14 | 3–5 ft | Great | 3.9 ft · 14 s · WSW | 4 mph offshore (NNW) | 11 mph cross-shore (WNW), gusts 18 | 10 am |
| Sun, Nov 15 | 3–4 ft | Great | 4.8 ft · 18 s · WSW | 8 mph offshore (NNW), gusts 16 | 9 mph cross-shore (WSW), gusts 18 | 7 am |
| Mon, Nov 16 | 5–7 ft | Good | 5.3 ft · 15 s · WSW | 20 mph offshore (NNW), gusts 34 | 22 mph offshore (NNW), gusts 40 | 4 pm |
| Tue, Nov 17 | 3–6 ft | Great | — | 20 mph offshore (NNW), gusts 31 | 21 mph offshore (NNW), gusts 29 | 10 am |
| Wed, Nov 18 | 2–3 ft | Great | — | 12 mph offshore (NNW), gusts 19 | 19 mph offshore (NW), gusts 24 | 7 am |
| Thu, Nov 19 – Tue, Nov 24 | Days 11–16 for Gaviota are in the Current app with a Premium subscription. Get the app | |||||
Gaviota tide chart and tide times
Tides at Gaviota today, Monday, Nov 9: low 2.5 ft at 2:20 am, high 6.3 ft at 8:38 am, low -0.3 ft at 3:56 pm and high 4.0 ft at 10:25 pm. At 12 pm the tide is 3.4 ft and falling.
Gaviota tide chart, November 2026
| Day | Tides |
|---|---|
| Mon, Nov 9 | Low 2.5 ft at 2:20 amHigh 6.3 ft at 8:38 amLow -0.3 ft at 3:56 pmHigh 4.0 ft at 10:25 pm |
| Tue, Nov 10 | Low 2.7 ft at 2:53 amHigh 6.2 ft at 9:07 amLow -0.3 ft at 4:29 pmHigh 3.8 ft at 11:13 pm |
| Wed, Nov 11 | Low 2.8 ft at 3:18 amHigh 5.9 ft at 9:35 amLow -0.1 ft at 5:14 pm |
| Thu, Nov 12 | High 3.5 ft at 12:17 amLow 3.0 ft at 3:34 amHigh 5.7 ft at 10:08 amLow 0.2 ft at 5:59 pm |
| Fri, Nov 13 | High 3.5 ft at 1:25 amLow 3.4 ft at 3:55 amHigh 5.6 ft at 10:45 amLow 0.6 ft at 6:50 pm |
| Sat, Nov 14 | High 3.7 ft at 3:06 amLow 3.7 ft at 4:35 amHigh 5.3 ft at 11:25 amLow 0.7 ft at 7:47 pm |
| Sun, Nov 15 | High 3.7 ft at 4:20 amLow 3.7 ft at 5:46 amHigh 4.7 ft at 12:15 pmLow 0.7 ft at 8:41 pm |
| Mon, Nov 16 | High 3.9 ft at 4:55 amLow 3.6 ft at 8:19 amHigh 4.3 ft at 1:28 pmLow 0.8 ft at 9:30 pm |
| Tue, Nov 17 | High 4.1 ft at 5:13 amLow 3.3 ft at 10:16 amHigh 4.0 ft at 2:53 pm |
Tide predictions, not observations. Heights in feet above MLLW.
Gaviota water temperature
The water temperature at Gaviota is about 71°F on Monday, Nov 9. With the air feeling like 76°F and a 2 mph wind, a 2mm wetsuit jacket is the suggestion. Over the next week the water stays between 68 and 71°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 Gaviota
- Tajiguas7.3 mi E · 3 ft · Great
- Refugio State Beach9.0 mi E · 2 ft · Good
- Perko's11 mi W · 4–5 ft · Great
- El Capitan12 mi E · 2 ft · Fair
- Cojo12 mi W · 5–6 ft · Great
- Government Point13 mi W · 7–9 ft · Epic
Rated right now. The Current app animates the surf itself on a live map of the whole coast. See the app →
About Gaviota
Gaviota is a point break in Gaviota, Santa Barbara County, California, facing south. Also called Gaviota Pier and Gaviota State Park.
Follow Gaviota 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.