the ocean floor, that can cause the waves to be either very good or very poor, which make them extremely difficult to accurately forecast for. The quality of the waves is decided by the shapes of the sand bars at the bottom. These sandbars are always moving and adjusting due to big swells and storms, so a beachbreak will change qualities over time. There are some things that can affect the sand bars at a beachbreak: Water sources such as a river mouth or sewer drain can create well defined sandbars after a big outflow of water. Piers usually have deep channels directly under them which can form sandbars on the sides, making better waves at the pier. Jetties Smaller jetties cause sand to build up on the tip, allowing good sandbars to form. Large jetties can actually cause the waves to reflect off the jetty and wedge into the next wave making larger and better waves. The impact of jetties is especially evident at the breaks in Newport Beach. Reefs are breaks that have rock bottoms instead of sand bottoms. They have deeper channels next to the shallower water which gives a good form to the wave. They can often force waves to shoal quickly from deep to shallow water causing large and hollow surf. Pointbreaks are breaks in which the waves bend and break around a specific point, usually resulting in consistent and good shape. Point breaks are usually formed by river mouths with loose rock bottoms. Weather and tides There are many other factors that affect the wave quality at a specific surf break, including wind conditions and tides. In general, wave quality for surfing is usually better with less wind. If there is wind, wave quality is better if the wind is blowing gently offshore (away from the coast, towards the water.) This offshore airflow helps to hold up the face of breaking waves slightly longer, allowing a surfer to have more time to maneuver on the face of the wave. Tide levels are an extremely important factor that also impact surf conditions. Tides, which occur from varying gravitational forces between the sun, moon, and the earth, are easy to predict far in advance. However, the effect of tides on wave quality differs between surf breaks. Some breaks can be excellent on a low tide, but can suffer from a drastic drop in wave quality during