The Heck is a Swell Period?
Two waves walk into a bar. One wave is 8 second period, the other one is 14. The bartender turns to one of them and asks ...
Why the long face?
What a knee slapper! Okay that was a terrible joke and it needs some work. But, not as much work as packing the car and heading to the beach only to see a jumbled up mess of waves everywhere. So let's try not to do that anymore.
The Super Duper Short Version
- Swell period is the time it takes for consecutive waves to pass the same place
- Larger swell periods are generally better
Wave periods can range anywhere from 5 seconds to 25 seconds on up:
| Period | Description | English Translation | Emoji |
|---|---|---|---|
| < 5 seconds | Very Weak Waves | Unsurfable | 🤏 |
| 10 seconds | Medium Power | Surfable | 🏄 |
| 16 seconds | Powerful Waves | Sweet as | 💪 |
| > 22 seconds | Wowee | Insane in the Membrane | 🤯 |
The reason longer period waves are better has to do with the "area under the curve" from Calculus but let's be honest, you forgot that as quickly as you learned it. Luckily all you need to remember is that:
Longer period swells move faster, have more energy, and carry more water when the swell turns into surf and finally breaks.
Once you're familiar with wave period, you'll start seeing it everywhere (known as the Baader–Meinhof phenomenon).
Now that you have a better understanding of swell period, you'll be much better prepared next time you surf!