Sunday had exceptional weather conditions.  The light offshore winds and blue skies conditions from yesterday are the exception to the rule.  Much more frequent, waves arrive at the beach accompanied by onshore winds.  The onshore winds can have varied effects on the surf.  The washing machine conditions are the most well known.

Washing machine conditions only come when strong winds are interfering with waves.  The swell comes in from one direction and the winds create additional waves that cross over the dominant swell direction.  The crossover creates different peaks on the same wave.  It is called washing machine because when you are trying to paddle back out to the lineup waves are crashing into you from different directions, making it feel as if you are being washed around.  

Washing machine conditions can occur at any type of beach, but usually doesn’t occur throughout the entire day.  The conditions may only occur for part of the day.  Windy and mild onshore wind chop is not the same as washing machine conditions.  

Victory at sea (VAS) conditions look a lot like washing machine waves, but VAS can have high quality waves whereas washing machine waves are considerably lower quality.

While washing machine is difficult to predict, it tends to last only for a few hours before returning to normal onshore or VAS conditions.  A short two or three hour wait will, like today, be a long enough wait until the waves begin to reorganize and the waves begin to fire again.