So, I had this idea to check out the tides at Leo Carrillo State Beach. I’m not much of a surfer or diver, more of a beach walker, you know? But I figured, why not get a bit scientific about it?
First off, I had to figure out where to get the tide info. Turns out, the closest place to get accurate data is from Deer Creek, about 3.7 miles away from Leo Carrillo. No big deal. I also learned that the times are in PST, which is UTC -8.0 hours. Just some basic stuff to get started.
I then started digging around for a tide table for Leo Carrillo. Found one that had all the high and low tide times for the next seven days. It’s pretty cool, they even had this graph thing that shows the tide heights throughout the day. It looked really easy to understand, just match the time with the height, and bam, you know how high or low the water will be.
- Wed 25 5:20 am ▲ 4.92 ft, 12:47 pm ▼ 0.66 ft, 6:49 pm ▲ 2.95 ft
- Thu 26 5:51 am ▲ 5.25 ft, 1:25 pm ▼ 0.33 ft, 7:43 pm ▲ 2.95 ft
- Fri 27 12:01 am ▼ 2.3 ft, 6:23 am ▲ 5.25 ft, 1:59 pm ▼ 0 ft
- Sat 28 12:39 am ▼ 2.3 ft, 6:56 am ▲ 5.58 ft, 2:33 pm ▼ -0.33 ft
Here’s what the tide table looked like for the next few days:
I also stumbled upon something called “Mugu Lagoon (ocean pier)” which is apparently another place to get tide info for Leo Carrillo. It seems like there are a few different spots where they measure this stuff.
Now, the real deal is that these online tide predictions are way more accurate and up-to-date than the printed ones. And it’s not just for fun and games – both commercial and recreational boat people use these NOAA tide predictions to sail safely. It’s actually the NOAA’s Center for Operational Oceanographic Products and Services that puts these tables together every year.
I found out that if you want to figure out the tide height between the high and low water times, you can use something called the “rule of twelfths.” Or, if you want to get really precise, you can use a tide curve for the specific location.
Anyway, that’s my little adventure into the world of tide charts. Not exactly rocket science, but it’s pretty neat to know when the water’s going to be high or low at Leo Carrillo. Next time I go for a walk on the beach, I’ll have a better idea of what to expect!
