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The largest surfing community in Alaska (about 30 surfers) is now located in the remote town of Yakutat (pop. 800), on the Gulf of Alaska midway between Anchorage and Juneau, regularly surfing good beachbreaks and a quality left on big swells.
When to Go
The most dominant swell source is from mid-latitude depressions tracking across the North Pacific, typically born around Kamchatka or the Aleutian Islands and striking land in Western Canada or the Northwest U.S, way south of Sitka. The swells from these lows come in from a S-SW direction, or sometimes W and are biggest in winter (October to March) but low daylight and freezing temps mean it’s probably not the best time to visit. Quite long-period swells are possible, especially if the depressions deepen around Asia. The North Pacific is pretty seasonal so summer flat spells need the local storms to produce some windswells to keep things interesting. Be quick as conditions constantly change. Favour mid-seasons for the best conditions, September being the ultimate month for scoring classic days. Conditions can be very inconsistent, don’t expect surf every week. Buoy Station 46084 - Cape Edgecumbe Buoy AK is the one to watch. Expect 14ft (4.3m) tidal range on spring tides with irregular semi-diurnal variations, while the variations become more extreme further north.
Surf Spots
Statistics |
J
|
F
|
M
|
A
|
M
|
J
|
J
|
A
|
S
|
O
|
N
|
D
|
| dominant swell |
S -W |
S -W |
S -W |
S -W |
S -W |
S -W |
| swell size (ft) |
6-7 |
5-6 |
4-5 |
3-4 |
6-7 |
7 |
| consistency (%) |
20 |
50 |
60 |
40 |
30 |
20 |
| dominant wind |
E -S |
E -S |
SE -SW |
SW -NW |
SE -SW |
E -S |
| average force |
F5 |
F5 |
F4 |
F3-F4 |
F4-F5 |
F5 |
| consistency (%) |
43 |
44 |
45 |
49 |
47 |
48 |
| water temp (C) |
2 |
3 |
9 |
11 |
8 |
4 |
| wetsuit |
6/5 |
6/5 |
5/4 |
4/3 |
5/4 |
6/5 |
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