El Capitan Beach

El Capitan Beach is an SSW-facing point break in Santa Barbara County, California, United States. It picks up swell from SW to W, and land, islands, reefs or shallow banks block about 74% of the directions it faces. Offshore wind here blows from the NNE: light winds or NNE breezes usually mean the cleanest surf, while SSW onshores chop it up.

Rare slot: the Santa Barbara Channel lets in swell from 169.5° (S) and nothing either side. It only lines up when a storm sits in that exact direction, more than 54 km out. How slot swells work

Rare slot: the Santa Barbara Channel lets in swell from 205.2° (SSW) and nothing either side. It only lines up when a storm sits in that exact direction, more than 52 km out. How slot swells work

Break

Point

Faces

SSW (202°)

Best swell

SW to W (221°–273°), 12 s or longer

Best wind

NNW to ENE offshore, or glassy

Best surf height

3–8 ft at the beach

Swell window

SW to W (221.5° to 273°)

Rare slot

Santa Barbara Channel, 169.5° S

Rare slot

Santa Barbara Channel, 205.2° SSW

Offshore wind

NNE

Tide

NOAA station 9411399

Wave buoy

EAST SANTA BARBARA - 12NM Southwest of Santa Barbara, CA · 29 km away

Cams

None yet