As of Tuesday 6:00pm, the best window this week is Wed dawn, 4.7 of 10 - rough, held back by swell.
A quiet week. Quiet since it was cast on August 17, 2026: 85 days without a ring.
Right now
Water, measured
75F
Newport Pier, 25.8 km away, this hour · context only - too far to judge the warm light
Turbidity, measured
0.3 NTU · very low
particles in the water at Newport Pier, 25.8 km away, this hour · the day's median 0.4 · a measurement, not a visibility promise
Buoy, right now
3.9 ft @ 13.0 s
from 268° · 24 min ago
Tide
0.5 ft rising
high 3.6 at 10:30pm
Satellite clarity
clear
Kd490 0.059, 14 days old · a witness, not a forecast
Dry spell
72 h+
the gate wants 72 hours without rain
Plankton
blue
chlorophyll 0.3 mg/m³ by satellite · green water is plankton
Plankton, measured
blue
chlorophyll 0.5 ug/L at Newport Pier · green water is plankton
Buoy vs model
1.04x
the buoy reads 4% higher than the model this week
Moon
new · 2%
full in 14 days · new in 28
The water index
Wed dawn - this bell's best window this week, scored on its own water.
The week, scored
Each window is scored 1 to 10 for this water alone; 7 is worth the drive. The bell rings only when every condition aligns and holds across two readings.
Wed dawn4.7
swell 2.5 ft @ 9.4 s from 276° · wind 1.9 kn · tide 4.1 ft ↑ · cloud 3% · first light 5:48am · sun up 6:18am
held back by swell · Dana Point Harbor breakwall (outside)
Wed dusk4.4
swell 2.7 ft @ 9.6 s from 277° · wind 7.0 kn · tide 0.6 ft ↓ · cloud 5% · sun down 4:50pm
held back by swell · Dana Point Harbor breakwall (outside)
Thu dawn4.5
swell 2.5 ft @ 11.8 s from 197° · wind 1.9 kn · tide 3.8 ft ↑ · cloud 31% · first light 5:49am · sun up 6:19am
held back by swell · Dana Point Harbor breakwall (outside)
Thu dusk4.0
swell 2.3 ft @ 10.6 s from 228° · wind 6.9 kn · tide 1.4 ft ↓ · cloud 19% · sun down 4:49pm
held back by swell · Dana Point Harbor breakwall (outside)
Fri dawn4.5
swell 3.0 ft @ 11.5 s from 280° · wind 6.7 kn · tide 3.5 ft ↑ · cloud 88% · first light 5:50am · sun up 6:20am
held back by swell · Dana Point Harbor breakwall (outside)
Fri dusk3.4
swell 3.3 ft @ 11.1 s from 277° · wind 7.2 kn · tide 2.2 ft ↓ · cloud 65% · sun down 4:49pm
held back by rain · Dana Point Harbor breakwall (outside)
Sat dawn1.0
swell 3.5 ft @ 10.9 s from 278° · wind 12.3 kn · tide 3.4 ft ↑ · cloud 100% · first light 5:51am · sun up 6:21am
held back by rain · Dana Point Harbor breakwall (outside)
Sat dusk1.0
swell 5.5 ft @ 11.9 s from 284° · wind 10.1 kn · tide 2.9 ft ↓ · cloud 50% · sun down 4:48pm
held back by rain · Dana Point Harbor breakwall (outside)
Sun dawn1.0
swell 4.8 ft @ 10.8 s from 279° · wind 2.9 kn · tide 3.4 ft ↑ · cloud 100% · first light 5:52am · sun up 6:22am
held back by rain · Dana Point Harbor breakwall (outside)
Sun dusk1.0
swell 3.7 ft @ 10.2 s from 280° · wind 8.1 kn · tide 3.4 ft ↓ · cloud 55% · sun down 4:48pm
held back by rain · Dana Point Harbor breakwall (outside)
Mon dawn2.6
swell 2.8 ft @ 10.3 s from 274° · wind 3.1 kn · tide 3.5 ft ↓ · cloud 88% · first light 5:53am · sun up 6:23am
held back by rain · Dana Point Harbor breakwall (outside)
Mon dusk2.5
swell 3.6 ft @ 12.3 s from 286° · wind 8.9 kn · tide 3.8 ft ↓ · cloud 86% · sun down 4:47pm
held back by rain · Dana Point Harbor breakwall (outside)
Tue dawn1.0
swell 4.1 ft @ 7.4 s from 276° · wind 3.9 kn · tide 3.8 ft ↓ · cloud 24% · first light 5:54am · sun up 6:24am
held back by rain · Dana Point Harbor breakwall (outside)
Tue dusk1.0
swell 3.9 ft @ 10.0 s from 283° · wind 15.6 kn · tide 3.9 ft ↓ · cloud 0% · sun down 4:47pm
held back by rain · Dana Point Harbor breakwall (outside)
Lights, left to right: flat · glass · dry · sun · warm. All five, held across two readings, and the bell rings.
The tide
Three days, from the same predictions the forecast reads. Shaded: the dawn and dusk windows.
Water temperature
The weather model's sea-surface temperature: four days past, three ahead (dotted), today marked. Where a pier or NOAA station measures the water, that reading is the card under Right now.
The water, mapped
Gold: the coves the bell names this week. Filled: placed where USGS place names and OpenStreetMap agree; hollow: one source. Blue: the instruments this bell reads, with their distance. The arrow: the week's best swell, arriving from its direction. Not drawn, because no public source places them: Salt Creek, Dana Point Harbor breakwall (outside).
The coves
Salt Creeknamed this week 20 ft · long beach walk · Dana Point SMCA — VERIFY current take rules
Dana Point Harbor breakwall (outside)named this week 30 ft · boat or long swim · VERIFY take rules before flipping take_allowed
The instruments
buoy 46253, tide station 9410580, water 74F now (the bell wants 62F or warmer).
When it rings: winter mornings, when the swell finally lets the headland rest. In its casting against years of this water, 19% of mornings reached 7. Rings since casting: 0.
Join this bell
Text DANA to 833-858-2355
You get a text the rare morning this water is perfect, and the week's forecast every Wednesday. Text BELL ONLY for the ring alone, FORECAST for the week any time. Msg&data rates may apply. Reply STOP to leave.
The ledger
This bell has not yet rung. When it does, the ring enters here the moment it is made, and the morning after, the buoy, the wind, the rain and the sky testify to whether it held. Every bell's record →