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Map / Santa Barbara / El Capitan State Beach
Reporting at El Capitan State Beach
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El Capitan State Beach

TAR/OIL 6.6/10 0 reports today Β· last 3 days ago
Tar/Oil scores 0–10 Β· 10 clean
8.4 Sand
6.6 Water
Surf
SURF 3-5 ft Β· chest-to-head
Offshore swell 6.2 ft @ 11s W Β· obs 1h ago
CDIP MOP nearshore model (Scripps, DOI 10.18437/C7WC72) + local windsea
Wind
4.6 kt
offshore Β· NNE
Tide ft MLLW
H 4:27 PM
now 2.0 ft rising Β· next H 5.1 Β· 4:27 PM
Temps
64.6Β°F Water
67.7Β°F Air

Tar/Oil Conditions

TAR/OIL SCORE (0-10 Β· 10 = clean) Β· 7 DAYSHow scoring works β†’
now 6.6

Surf

Offshore Buoy β€” West Santa Barbara46054 Β· obs + forecast Β· NDBC / wave model
no data
Swell direction Β· every 6h
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Sat 2 AM
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Sun 2 AM
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Mon 2 AM
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Tue 2 AM
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Wed 2 AM
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Thu 2 AM
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Fri 2 AM
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Sat 2 AM
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Mon 2 AM
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Tue 2 AM
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Wed 2 AM
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Thu 2 AM
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Fri 2 AM
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Sat 2 AM

Loading swell x tar…

more in Research β†’

Weather

Weather
67.7Β°Fsunny4.6 ktUV 0Sunrise 6:36 AM Β· Sunset 7:20 PM
Today, hour by hour
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Wind direction
Sat 12 AM
Sat 4 AM
Sat 8 AM
Sat 12 PM
Sat 4 PM
Sat 8 PM
TodayUV 7 HighSunrise 6:36 AMSunset 7:20 PMMoonrise 12:17 AMMoonset 3:45 PM🌘 Waning Crescentnext full moon Sep 27

Live Observations

Jul 18, 11:25 AM sandy_toes Waterline Clean Sporadic 1-10% Balls Plate Hard None – C
Jul 18, 9:54 AM anon Dry sand Clean Trace <1% Balls Coin Hard Sheen – C
Jul 18, 7:18 AM copr_val Waterline Black line Sporadic 1-10% Balls Slab Firm None – A
Jul 16, 11:06 AM anon Dry sand Clean Trace <1% Balls Coin Hard None – A
Jul 16, 7:07 AM campuspt_cam Dry sand Clean Trace <1% Balls Coin Sticky None – A
Jul 15, 3:13 PM anon Waterline Clean Trace <1% Balls Coin Firm – – A
Jul 12, 11:58 AM anon Waterline Sheen Trace <1% Film – – None – B
Jul 11, 6:17 PM anon Wrack line Clean Sporadic 1-10% Balls – Hard None – B
Jul 11, 6:10 PM haskells_hal Dry sand Clean Trace <1% Balls Coin Hard Tar balls – B
Jul 11, 3:07 PM anon Rocks Clean None Balls – – – – B
Jul 11, 6:26 AM channelkeeper_owen Rocks Clean None Balls – – – – C
Jul 10, 6:13 PM anon Wrack line Clean None Balls – – None – C
Jul 10, 5:58 PM anon Waterline Clean Trace <1% Balls Coin Hard None – B
Jul 10, 12:05 PM anon Dry sand Clean Trace <1% Balls Coin Hard – – C
Jul 10, 11:40 AM anon Rocks Clean None Balls – – – – B
Jul 10, 6:24 AM anon Waterline Clean None Balls – – – – B
Jul 9, 4:46 PM UCSB COPR Lab β˜… Dry sand Clean Trace <1% Balls Coin Firm Odor – A
Jul 9, 3:27 PM anon Wrack line Clean Trace <1% Balls Coin Firm – – C
Jul 9, 2:11 PM anon Wrack line Clean None Balls – – None – B
Jul 8, 10:39 AM anon Wrack line Clean None Balls – – None – B

16-Day Forecast

SAT SEP 5
Sat, 9/5 Morning 3.8ft Β· chest-to-head 3.5ft @ 11.5s – offshore Clear Β· 72Β°F 96%
Sat, 9/5 Evening 3.8ft Β· chest-to-head 3.4ft @ 11.5s – sideshore Clear Β· 77.1Β°F 96%
SUN SEP 6
Sun, 9/6 Morning 4ft Β· chest-to-head 3.9ft @ 11.2s – onshore Clear Β· 77.3Β°F 93%
Sun, 9/6 Evening 4.2ft Β· chest-to-head 4ft @ 11s – sideshore Clear Β· 83Β°F 93%
MON SEP 7
Mon, 9/7 Morning 4.7ft Β· chest-to-head 4.2ft @ 9.9s – sideshore Clear Β· 76.5Β°F 91%
Mon, 9/7 Evening 4.8ft Β· chest-to-head 4.1ft @ 9.9s – sideshore Clear Β· 79.6Β°F 91%
TUE SEP 8
Tue, 9/8 Morning 4.4ft Β· chest-to-head 3.5ft @ 9.8s – sideshore Clear Β· 79.9Β°F 88%
Tue, 9/8 Evening 4.4ft Β· chest-to-head 3.4ft @ 9.5s – sideshore Overcast Β· 85.5Β°F 88%
WED SEP 9
Wed, 9/9 Morning 3.6ft Β· chest-to-head 3ft @ 9s – sideshore Overcast Β· 83.3Β°F 86%
Wed, 9/9 Evening 3.5ft Β· chest-to-head 2.9ft @ 9.1s – sideshore Mostly cloudy Β· 91.6Β°F 86%
THU SEP 10
Thu, 9/10 Morning 3.9ft Β· chest-to-head 3.2ft @ 8.9s – sideshore Partly cloudy Β· 81.8Β°F 83%
Thu, 9/10 Evening 4.6ft Β· chest-to-head 3.7ft @ 7.8s – sideshore Clear Β· 93.5Β°F 83%
FRI SEP 11
Fri, 9/11 Morning 4.6ft Β· chest-to-head 3.6ft @ 7.6s – sideshore Partly cloudy Β· 76.1Β°F 81%
Fri, 9/11 Evening 2.1ft Β· waist-high 3.9ft @ 7s – sideshore Mostly cloudy Β· 87.6Β°F 81%
SAT SEP 12
Sat, 9/12 Morning 1.6ft Β· shin-to-knee 3.4ft @ 7.2s – sideshore Mostly cloudy Β· 70.8Β°F 78%
Sat, 9/12 Evening 2.2ft Β· waist-high 3.8ft @ 6.5s – sideshore Clear Β· 83.8Β°F 78%
SUN SEP 13
Sun, 9/13 Morning 2.2ft Β· waist-high 3.8ft @ 6s – sideshore Clear Β· 69.6Β°F 76%
Sun, 9/13 Evening 2.7ft Β· waist-high 4.3ft @ 5.6s – sideshore Partly cloudy Β· 83Β°F 76%
MON SEP 14
Mon, 9/14 Morning – Β· – – – Partly cloudy Β· 70.2Β°F 73%
Mon, 9/14 Evening – Β· – – – Partly cloudy Β· 83.8Β°F 73%
TUE SEP 15
Tue, 9/15 Morning – Β· – – – Overcast Β· 69.6Β°F 71%
Tue, 9/15 Evening – Β· – – – Mostly cloudy Β· 84Β°F 71%
WED SEP 16
Wed, 9/16 Morning – Β· – – – Mostly cloudy Β· 66.4Β°F 68%
Wed, 9/16 Evening – Β· – – – Clear Β· 80.3Β°F 68%
THU SEP 17
Thu, 9/17 Morning – Β· – – – Clear Β· 67.8Β°F 66%
Thu, 9/17 Evening – Β· – – – Clear Β· 79.3Β°F 66%
FRI SEP 18
Fri, 9/18 Morning – Β· – – – Clear Β· 68.6Β°F 63%
Fri, 9/18 Evening – Β· – – – Clear Β· 78.8Β°F 63%
SAT SEP 19
Sat, 9/19 Morning – Β· – – – – 61%
Sat, 9/19 Evening – Β· – – – – 61%
SUN SEP 20
Sun, 9/20 Morning – Β· – – – – 58%
Sun, 9/20 Evening – Β· – – – – 58%
Confidence is an estimate based on forecast lead time.

Nearby Buoys

Buoy 46054 just now
Wave ht 6.2ft
Period 11s
Water temp 64.6Β°F
Station 46054 on NDBC →

Photo Gallery

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Nearby Incident Reports

Aug 11, 2026 NRC raw raw report β€” unverified: THE CALLER DISCOVERED AN UNKNOWN SHEEN FROM AN UNKNOWN SOURCE IN THE PACIFIC OCEAN. 19.8 km β€”
Jun 21, 2026 NRC raw raw report β€” unverified: CALLER REPORTING AN UNKNOWN BROWN SHEEN IN THE PACIFIC OCEAN. CALLER STATES THERE ARE SOME THICK PORTIONS. 10.2 km β€”
Jun 7, 2026 NRC raw raw report β€” unverified: CALLER REPORTING AN UNKNOWN SHEEN NEARBY A PLATFORM. THE SHEEN IS RAINBOW AND ESTIMATED TO BE .25 MILES LONG. 13.9 km β€”
Show older (13)
Apr 16, 2026 NRC raw raw report β€” unverified: THE CALLER DISCOVERED AN UNKNOWN SHEEN INCIDENT IN THE PACIFIC OCEAN. THE SOURCE OF THE SHEEN IS UNKNOWN. CALLER STATES THAT THE SHEEN IS … 9.4 km β€”
Nov 11, 2025 NRC raw raw report β€” unverified: CALLER REPORTED AN UNKNOWN SHEEN FROM AN UNKNOWN SOURCE. 19.7 km β€”
Sep 25, 2025 NRC raw raw report β€” unverified: THE CALLER REPORTED THE DISCOVERY OF AN UNKNOWN SHEEN FROM AN UNKNOWN SOURCE ON THE WATERS OF THE PACIFIC OCEAN. AN ESTIMATE OF THE SIZE WAS… 12.1 km β€”
Aug 17, 2025 NRC raw raw report β€” unverified: THE CALLER DISCOVERED AN UNKNOWN SHEEN FROM AN UNKNOWN SOURCE IN THE SANTA BARBARA CHANNEL. 17 km β€”
Jul 26, 2025 NRC raw raw report β€” unverified: CALLER REPORTED AN UNKNOWN SHEEN FROM AN UNKNOWN SOURCE. 20.7 km β€”
Jun 8, 2025 NRC raw raw report β€” unverified: CALLER STATES DISCOVERING AN UNKNOWN SHEEN FROM AN UNKNOWN SOURCE IN THE PACIFIC OCEAN. THE CALLER STATES THE SHEEN WAS 1 TO 2NM LONG X 1NM … 20.5 km β€”
May 2, 2025 NRC raw raw report β€” unverified: CALLER REPORTS AN UNKNOWN SHEEN FROM AN UNKNOWN SOURCE IN THE PACIFIC OCEAN. CALLER STATES THIS IS POSSIBLY NATURAL SEEPAGE. THE MATERIAL … 11.5 km β€”
Feb 18, 2025 NRC raw raw report β€” unverified: THE CALLER IS REPORTING A RELEASE OF CRUDE OIL INTO THE SANTA BARBARA CHANNEL FROM AN OIL RIG. THE CAUSE OF THE RELEASE IS UNKNOWN AT THIS T… 13.4 km β€”
Dec 11, 2021 IncidentNews Sheen near Platform Holly; Santa Barbara, CA 13.5 km Source β†—
May 30, 2019 IncidentNews Ellwood Beach spill; Goleta, CA 11.6 km Source β†—
May 19, 2015 IncidentNews Refugio Incident; Santa Barbara, CA 5.5 km Source β†—
Oct 29, 2010 IncidentNews Barge transfer accident; Goleta Point, CA 13.6 km Source β†—
Nov 16, 2007 IncidentNews Platform Hondo; 5 nm off Santa Barbara, CA 10.5 km Source β†—