Steamer Lane Swell Window
California, USA · part of the Steamer Lane spot guide
- Swell window (from)
- 180°–290° (S–WNW)
- Best direction
- ~275° (W)
- Period sweet spot
- 12–18 s
- Open-ocean height (Hs)
- 2–12 ft
- Resulting faces
- 2–12 ft
Open-ocean vs. the face: the heights on buoys and forecast models are significant wave height (Hs) in deep water. What you ride is the breaking face, which depends on period, direction and this break's bathymetry — that's why the two rows above differ. PierMonkey's spot ratings already do this conversion for you.
The window runs from south-southwest through west to west-northwest. West is most consistent for the Slot, northwest is best for Middle Peak and Indicators, and southwest or south lights up the Point. Long-period groundswell of roughly 12-to-18 seconds refracts more efficiently around the point and organises the outer sections; short-period windswell underperforms and comes in disorganised.
The bay knocks the open-ocean height down through refraction, but the point holds size — as swell builds the outer sections keep organising and standing taller rather than closing out, which is why the Lane can look small on paper yet deliver overhead-plus faces. Read the height as open-ocean, and the face separately.