Old S groundswell (10–17s) is fading fast and a weak WNW windswell fills in behind it — period crashes from ~10.6s to under 6s during the dawn window itself. The -0.67ft low tide bottoms out at 6:13am, right inside the session, not pushing in ahead of it. Surfline's LOTUS independently rates both Ponto and Cardiff Reef POOR for tomorrow, forecaster: "small surf... crumble to bump on it all day." Wind stays light (~4–5kt S) through 9am but isn't offshore, and there's no PM window either — afternoon wind only "eases a little." Fri 7/17 is an off day per the training plan, so this is a pure conditions skip, not a scheduling one.
low-to-mid window (Tippers/Ponto, 0–3ft)Chris's session windows (5:30–8:30am / 4–6:30pm)tide height
Stoke Meter (dawn window)
Neither spot clears 60. Tippers' S/SSW angle sits closer to its 180–220° optimal than Ponto does to its own window, but both lose hard on period (good for barely 30–45min at first light before crashing under 8s) and tide (the -0.67ft low lands mid-window, not pushing in ahead of it — Surfline's forecaster calls this the main problem, not just a heuristic read). Blacks, Sunset Cliffs, Oceanside Harbor, and Windansea all sit out — buoy-derived faces (~2.2–2.9ft) fall under every conditional spot's 3–4ft floor.
Days to Watch
Sat Jul 18 evening — S wind winds down through the day per Surfline; the one window worth checking this week. Sun Jul 19 → Mon Jul 20 — Tropical Storm Elida sends a fun-to-locally-good pulse, LOTUS calling 4–6ft+ at Ponto by Sunday, best in the far north county, continuing Monday AM before dropping off.