Reading the water
Reading the water
Ponce Inlet · 29.08°N 80.92°W
We read the water before every lesson, this is the same panel we check, so you know exactly what you’ll need to bring and what the ocean is doing before you get to the beach.
01: Today’s water
LIVE · TIDE NOAA CO-OPS 8721147 (PONCE DE LEON INLET SOUTH) · SWELL + TEMP NDBC 41070 (PONCE DE LEON INLET, ~16 MI) · AS OF 18:03 ET
Mid-morning is usually the teaching window: the wind is lightest, the crowd is thinnest, and a rising tide puts the whitewater right where beginners want it. When the ocean says otherwise, we reschedule, never guess.
02: The forecast chart
The panel above is today. For the days-ahead picture, PierMonkey charts swell, wind, and tide for New Smyrna Beach, the beach immediately south of the inlet, and the closest forecast station to the water we teach in.
Checking conditions before a lesson? Read Know Before You Go, and if the water looks right, send a lesson request.