Santa Barbara · Santa Barbara County · California
Sandspit Surf Report & Forecast, Santa Barbara, California
Sandspit, Santa Barbara, California: 1 ft, at 8 pm PST on Monday, Nov 9, rated Poor. The main swell is 1.4 ft at 14 seconds from the west-southwest, with a 4 mph offshore wind from the north-northwest. Water is about 74°F, so a 2mm springsuit is the suggestion; the next high tide is 4.5 ft at 10:18 pm.
1 ft
- Swell
- 1.4 ft · 14 s · WSWplus 1.0 ft · 5 s · WSW
- Wind
- 4 mph (NNW)offshore
- Tide
- 3.3 ft risinghigh 4.5 ft at 10:18 pm
- Water
- 74°F2mm springsuit
- Air
- 67°Ffeels like 60°F
- Sun
- rise 6:26 amset 4:58 pm
Sandspit surf today and tomorrow
Best-rated hour today at Sandspit: 6 am, Poor, 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 Sandspit: 6 am, Poor, on a rising high tide.
Hour by hour as a table, today and tomorrow
| Time | Surf | Rating | Wind | Tide |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 am | 1 ft | Poor | calm | 5.2 ft |
| 7 am | 1 ft | Poor | calm | 6.1 ft |
| 8 am | 1 ft | Poor | calm | 6.7 ft |
| 9 am | 1 ft | Poor | calm | 6.7 ft |
| 10 am | 1 ft | Poor | 5 mph cross-shore (SW) | 6.2 ft |
| 11 am | 1 ft | Poor | 6 mph cross-shore (SW) | 5.1 ft |
| 12 pm | 1 ft | Poor | 6 mph cross-shore (WSW) | 3.7 ft |
| 1 pm | 1 ft | Poor | 7 mph cross-shore (WSW) | 2.2 ft |
| 2 pm | 1 ft | Poor | 7 mph cross-shore (WSW), gusts 12 | 1.0 ft |
| 3 pm | 1 ft | Poor | 8 mph cross-shore (WSW), gusts 15 | 0.3 ft |
| 4 pm | 1 ft | Poor | 7 mph cross-shore (W), gusts 12 | 0.1 ft |
| 5 pm | 1 ft | Poor | 5 mph cross-shore (WNW) | 0.5 ft |
| Time | Surf | Rating | Wind | Tide |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 am | 1 ft | Poor | 7 mph cross-shore (NE), gusts 13 | 4.8 ft |
| 7 am | 1 ft | Poor | 8 mph cross-shore (NE), gusts 14 | 5.7 ft |
| 8 am | 1 ft | Poor | 7 mph cross-shore (NE), gusts 12 | 6.4 ft |
| 9 am | 1 ft | Poor | 6 mph cross-shore (ENE) | 6.7 ft |
| 10 am | 1 ft | Poor | 5 mph cross-shore (ESE) | 6.4 ft |
| 11 am | 1 ft | Poor | 4 mph onshore (SE) | 5.6 ft |
| 12 pm | 1 ft | Poor | calm | 4.4 ft |
| 1 pm | 1 ft | Poor | calm | 3.0 ft |
| 2 pm | 1 ft | Poor | 4 mph cross-shore (WSW) | 1.6 ft |
| 3 pm | 1 ft | Poor | 5 mph cross-shore (WSW) | 0.6 ft |
| 4 pm | 1 ft | Poor | 5 mph cross-shore (WSW) | 0.1 ft |
| 5 pm | 1 ft | Poor | 5 mph cross-shore (WNW) | 0.2 ft |
Sandspit waves today: sets, lulls and how they break
At 8 pm, sets at Sandspit arrive about every minute with about 2 waves each, and the waves are mostly surging and crumbly.
- Set waves
- about 0.7 ft faces
- Waves per set
- about 2
- Sets
- every minute or so, each lasting about 4 s
- How they break
- Surgingwhich means waves surge up the beach without a clean break
- Shape
- Crumblywhich means whitewater rolls gently down the face
- Breaking
- 0% of waves stand up and break where surfers sitThe rest roll through.
- Along-shore current
- strong, about 1.2 mphThis is not a rip current forecast. For rip current risk, see the National Weather Service.
Sandspit surf this weekend and the next 10 days
Next 10 days at Sandspit: the biggest day is Saturday, Nov 14 at 2–4 ft, and the best-rated day is Saturday, Nov 14 (Fair). This weekend: Saturday, Nov 14, 2–4 ft and Fair; Sunday, Nov 15, 1–2 ft and Poor.
Thu, Nov 19 – Tue, Nov 24
Days 11–16 for Sandspit 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 | 1 ft | Poor | 1.3 ft · 16 s · WSW | calm | 7 mph cross-shore (WSW), gusts 12 | 10 am |
| Tue, Nov 10 | 1 ft | Poor | 1.3 ft · 7 s · WSW | 7 mph cross-shore (NE), gusts 12 | 4 mph cross-shore (WSW) | 12 pm |
| Wed, Nov 11 | 0–1 ft | Poor | 1.3 ft · 13 s · WSW | calm | 5 mph onshore (SSW), gusts 10 | 7 am |
| Thu, Nov 12 | 1 ft | Poor | 1.5 ft · 13 s · W | 6 mph cross-shore (ESE), gusts 13 | 10 mph onshore (SSE), gusts 19 | 1 pm |
| Fri, Nov 13 | 1–2 ft | Poor | 2.4 ft · 15 s · WSW | calm | 8 mph cross-shore (WSW) | 3 pm |
| Sat, Nov 14 | 2–4 ft | Fair | 3.1 ft · 15 s · WSW | 9 mph offshore (NW) | 15 mph cross-shore (W) | 4 pm |
| Sun, Nov 15 | 1–2 ft | Poor | 2.6 ft · 17 s · WSW | 6 mph offshore (N) | 7 mph cross-shore (WSW), gusts 13 | 7 am |
| Mon, Nov 16 | 1–2 ft | Poor | 1.7 ft · 15 s · W | 7 mph offshore (NW), gusts 12 | 12 mph offshore (WNW), gusts 20 | 4 pm |
| Tue, Nov 17 | 2–3 ft | Poor | — | 12 mph offshore (NNW) | 11 mph offshore (NNW), gusts 21 | 4 pm |
| Wed, Nov 18 | 1–2 ft | Poor | — | 11 mph offshore (N) | 15 mph offshore (WNW) | 7 am |
| Thu, Nov 19 – Tue, Nov 24 | Days 11–16 for Sandspit are in the Current app with a Premium subscription. Get the app | |||||
Sandspit tide chart and tide times
Tides at Sandspit today, Monday, Nov 9: high 6.7 ft at 8:35 am, low 0.0 ft at 3:50 pm and high 4.5 ft at 10:18 pm. At 8 pm the tide is 3.3 ft and rising.
Sandspit tide chart, November 2026
| Day | Tides |
|---|---|
| Mon, Nov 9 | High 6.7 ft at 8:35 amLow 0.0 ft at 3:50 pmHigh 4.5 ft at 10:18 pm |
| Tue, Nov 10 | Low 3.0 ft at 2:49 amHigh 6.7 ft at 9:03 amLow 0.1 ft at 4:23 pmHigh 4.2 ft at 11:03 pm |
| Wed, Nov 11 | Low 3.2 ft at 3:13 amHigh 6.3 ft at 9:30 amLow 0.2 ft at 5:07 pm |
| Thu, Nov 12 | High 3.9 ft at 12:05 amLow 3.3 ft at 3:30 amHigh 6.2 ft at 10:04 amLow 0.6 ft at 5:52 pm |
| Fri, Nov 13 | High 3.9 ft at 1:13 amLow 3.7 ft at 3:51 amHigh 6.0 ft at 10:40 amLow 1.0 ft at 6:42 pm |
| Sat, Nov 14 | High 4.1 ft at 2:51 amLow 4.0 ft at 4:24 amHigh 5.7 ft at 11:20 amLow 1.2 ft at 7:40 pm |
| Sun, Nov 15 | High 4.1 ft at 4:16 amLow 4.1 ft at 5:36 amHigh 5.2 ft at 12:10 pmLow 1.2 ft at 8:35 pm |
| Mon, Nov 16 | High 4.3 ft at 4:50 amLow 4.0 ft at 8:10 amHigh 4.7 ft at 1:22 pmLow 1.3 ft at 9:25 pm |
| Tue, Nov 17 | High 4.5 ft at 5:08 amLow 3.7 ft at 10:11 amHigh 4.4 ft at 2:50 pm |
Tide predictions, not observations. Heights in feet above MLLW.
Sandspit water temperature
The water temperature at Sandspit is about 74°F on Monday, Nov 9. With the air feeling like 60°F and a 4 mph wind, a 2mm springsuit is the suggestion. Over the next week the water stays between 73 and 75°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 Sandspit
- Leadbetter Point0.7 mi SW · 1–2 ft · Good
- Thousand Steps1.5 mi WSW · 2 ft · Good
- Mesa Lane Beach2.4 mi WSW · 2–3 ft · Good
- Butterfly Beach2.6 mi ENE · 1–2 ft · Good
- Arroyo Burro / Hendry's3.1 mi W · 2 ft · Good
- Hammond's Reef3.2 mi ENE · 1–2 ft · Poor
Rated right now. The Current app animates the surf itself on a live map of the whole coast. See the app →
About Sandspit
Sandspit is a sandbar in Santa Barbara County, California, facing south-southeast. Also called Santa Barbara Harbor, SB Harbor and Sand Spit.
Follow Sandspit 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.