Strong storms in the sea blow wind at the surface of the water which produces small waves on the surface of the ocean. These surface waves become the smooth energy of water that moves away from the storm. This surge of water is called swell.
When the energy of a swell moves through the ocean, it cannot be stopped. This swell will move until it reaches a land mass. When the swell reaches a beach or surf break, it will become waves for surfing.
The size of a swell directly correlates to the size of the waves that will hit a surf break. A surfer will always have the ability to make good estimations on the size of the surf, after checking the swell forecast.
Does A Swell Break?
Groundswell from the ocean will bend and break at the shallowest points, then become a wave. All swell types will eventually break when it reaches some form of landmass.
Swell will always find somewhere to break, this is where the energy of the swell will be released.
Different Types Of Swell?
There are only really two different types of swell. Groundswell and wind swell. Groundswell is the best for surfing, whereas a wind swell is just a strong wind blowing mostly small waves at the beach.
Hurricane swell is just a stronger form of a groundswell, in my opinion, this is why I didn’t add hurricane swell to the list. There’s no need to complicate the types of swells just to sound smart.
Wind Swell
A wind swell has the least power because it’s generated by wind within a small area. Wind swell is usually generated off the coast in the form of onshore wind. The waves generated by wind swell are the least desirable by surfers.
Wind swells are classified as ”primary swells” because they are generated close to the coastline.
Groundswell
Groundswell and hurricane swell are both basically the same, only differentiated based on the size of the swell. Generally, a groundswell will be generated by a storm out to see, whereas a hurricane swell will be generated by a hurricane.
The hurricane swell is far more powerful than the usual ground swell that’s generated by a storm at sea.
Groundswells are classified as ”secondary swells” because they are generated far away from the coastline.
What Causes Swell To Turn Into Waves?
The difference between a swell and a wave is swell is the power moving through the ocean and the wave is what happens when the swell releases its power on the coastline.
Shallow water is what causes swell to turn into waves. This is most commonly referred to as a surf break. The power from a swell moves through the ocean until it meets shallow areas to break. This is how waves are formed from a swell into a wave.
Are Swells The Same As Waves?
Have you ever seen a movie where a boat is stuck in a storm out in the ocean? And massive waves are crashing on the boat, even though it’s in deep water.
This is only in extreme cases where a big swell meets a strong wind (hurricane or storm). Usually, a swell will have smooth tops that gently move a boat up and down without too much difficulty.
The tops of a swell can be pushed with a strong wind into forming a wave that will break in the ocean. But it will only ever be the tops of each swell that passes by that will break into white water.
From the shore you can look out to the horizon during a storm and see the white tops forming on top of the swell. Don’t confuse the tops of a swell breaking into white water with an actual wave that surfers catch.
These waves that break during a storm in the ocean cannot be surfed. It’s just a swell that’s being blown by the wind. Nothing more.
What Is A Good Swell For Surfing?
The two most important things to take into account are your personal surfing ability and what size swell your chosen surf break can handle.
For instance, if you are a beginner surfer, I would not recommend you surf waves that are over two feet in size. Surf that’s under 2 feet can make it too difficult to catch (unless it’s low tide) and surf that’s over 2 feet in size can be a little much for a beginner surfer to handle.
But, let’s say you are an advanced surfer who knows what they are doing. Then the sky is the limit for what you can handle out in the surf.
In that case, the most important thing to know about your local surf break is what size swell can it handle. Let me define handle. When the swell is too big for a surf break, the waves will often just become one big closeout.
That means that a surfer will not have the ability to ride the wave for very long before it just becomes whitewater.
Some surf breaks can handle massive swells. One example is pipeline in Hawaii, this break can handle massive waves. Whereas, a beach break like Bondi beach in Sydney Australia can only handle 6 foot surf before it just becomes one big closeout.
What Is The Difference Between Surf And Swell?
Swell is the energy that moves through the sea, it moves boats in the ocean up and down, in a relatively smooth way. Surf is what happens when the swell reaches a shallow patch of water or some form of land.
Swell can hit a headland with one big wave crashing against the rocks. Or a swell can become surf in the middle of the ocean, as it moves over a shallow rocky outcrop, island etc.
What Size Swell Should A Beginner Surf?
The perfect size waves for a beginner surfer have three parts. The surf must be around 2-foot in size. The surf break must be a sandbank for easily standing on and for safety. And the tide should be low to mid and coming in.
A beginner surfer should be able to stand on the sandbank the entire time, the water should come up to their shoulders. This makes the beginner feel safe by having the ability to stand at any time, plus not being too shallow that sandbank injuries can occur.
Hopefully this article has been useful for you