About

Q: What makes Spitcast different?

Spitcast is arguably the first and only accurate surf forecast. There's nothing else like it. I know this sounds unlikely, since people toss around the term 'surf forecast' all the time, so I'll explain. All that stuff that's often called a surf forecast is actually either a surf report or swell forecast, which are something quite different.

Surf Reports come in 2 flavors. Either someone stops by a surf spot and reports on their website the surf condition they saw, or you go to a website and use their surf cam to view a spot. These surf reports are great for finding out the current conditions at very popular spots, but current conditions become past conditions very quickly and surf conditions very often change by the time you make it to the beach.

Swell Forecasts, which almost always originate from the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration swell model, tell you what to expect in the coming week. But, swell forecasts don't report surf, they report swell, meaning waves way out at sea, miles from the coast or any surf spot. That 10 foot swell coming in tomorrow may mean 5 foot surf at one spot and 2 foot surf at another, but more often than not it'll mean neither at either.

Now I admit that with a surf report, a swell forecast, a little time, and a lot of local empirical knowledge you can keep very good tabs on your favorite handful of breaks. But I like to travel, I like variety, I like to stay out of the crowds, and I don't want to commit a decade to perfecting my knowledge of a just a handful of spots. This is why I built Spitcast's surf forecast.

Surf Forecasts predict the future wave height and shape at specific surf spots. When a surf forecast tells you Rincon will be 5 Ft and Fair tomorrow at 3PM, it'll be 5 Ft and Fair tomorrow at 3PM. This is true surf forecasting, and I haven't seen it offered anywhere but here. Give Spitcast a look and go for a surf, and I think you'll see what I'm talking about.

Q: Is Spitcast accurate?

My experience is YES. I use Spitcast everyday and I wouldn't if it wasn't accurate. The best way to find out is to try it yourself. Give it a look before your next surf. If you ever find it to not be accurate, contact me. I want to hear about it.

Q: What's the size and shape methodology?

Measuring surf is notoriously subjective, so I've gone to lengths to quantify my approach:

Size is measured on the face, meaning if Spitcast reports it as 6 FOOT, then it's HEAD HIGH. The bold black line on the chart below indicates the wave height.

Shape is measured by the length of ride, with a couple caveats. The color shading on the chart below indicates the wave shape.

Caveat 1: Makable barrels bump up the score, meaning a 5 second ride with barrel is considered GOOD, instead of FAIR.

Caveat 2: Only the workable portion of a wave counts toward length of ride, so a 5 second ride where you're stuck pumping the whole time is considered POOR.

Q: Are we qualified to bring you accurate surf forecasting?

I think so. Here's some background. Two decades regularly surfing Santa Cruz, Santa Barbara and Orange County. Extensive surf travel including Chile, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Australia, New Zealand, France and the list goes on. Received my bachelor in Engineering Physics and have spent over a decade in software development.