What is an offshore wind in surfing?
An offshore wind blows from the land out to sea. It holds up the face of a breaking wave and smooths the surface, which is why light offshore winds give the cleanest surf.
Last updated · Surf & waves glossary
About Offshore wind
An onshore wind, blowing from the sea onto the land, does the opposite: it crumbles waves and makes the surface choppy.
- Also called
- offshores
Related terms
- Onshore wind
- An onshore wind blows from the sea onto the land. It pushes waves over early and roughs up the surface, giving messy, crumbly surf.
- Swell period
- Swell period is the time, in seconds, between one wave crest and the next passing the same point. Longer periods mean more energy: a long-period swell of the same height breaks bigger and more powerfully than a short-period one.