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Half Moon Bay
Windsurf spot · United States
Is it worth the trip?
11Poor out of 100 for your dates
Best on Tue 3: 14 kn gusting 29, side-onshore, Water: waves 2.4 m
Mon 2 · 0 out of 100
- Wind
- E 1 kn
- Gusts
- 4kn
- Shore
- offnot safe
- Water
- 1.8 mwaves
- Air
- 17°C
Tue 3 · 53 out of 100
- Wind
- S 11 kn
- Gusts
- 23kn
- Shore
- side-on
- Water
- 2.3 mwaves
- Air
- 16°C
Wed 4 · 0 out of 100
- Wind
- NE 6 kn
- Gusts
- 11kn
- Shore
- offnot safe
- Water
- 2.6 mwaves
- Air
- 18°C
Thu 5 · 0 out of 100
- Wind
- NE 3 kn
- Gusts
- 6kn
- Shore
- offnot safe
- Water
- 1.9 mwaves
- Air
- 19°C
Fri 6 · 0 out of 100
- Wind
- NNW 4 kn
- Gusts
- 10kn
- Shore
- side
- Water
- 2.8 mwaves
- Air
- 20°C
Sat 7 · 0 out of 100
- Wind
- NE 2 kn
- Gusts
- 6kn
- Shore
- offnot safe
- Water
- 2.6 mwaves
- Air
- 22°C
Sun 8 · 0 out of 100
- Wind
- ENE 3 kn
- Gusts
- 8kn
- Shore
- offnot safe
- Water
- 1.9 mwaves
- Air
- 23°C
Tap a day for wind, gusts, shore and air. Full forecast
Forecast: next 10 days
Full forecast- Sun 10, poor
- Mon 20, poor
- Tue 365, good
- Wed 40, poor
- Thu 50, poor
- Fri 60, poor
- Sat 70, poor
- Sun 80, poor
- Mon 90, poor
- Tue 100, poor
The spot in five facts
- Faces SWopen to the SW
- Best wind: NW or SEalong the shore
- Avoid: NEblows out to sea
- Open seato the swell
- Water 14 °C4/3 wetsuit and boots
Full forecast
every day, every number
The score doesn't know gusts, offshore wind, tides or your skill.
| Day | Score | Wind | Gusts | Shore | Water | Air |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sun 1Nov | 0, poor | wind from the east-north-east, 1 knot | 3kn | offnot safe | 1.6 mwaves | 17°C |
| Mon 2Nov | 0, poor | wind from the east, 1 knot | 4kn | offnot safe | 1.8 mwaves | 17°C |
| Tue 3Nov | 65, good | wind from the south, 11 knots | 23kn | side-on | 2.3 mwaves | 16°C |
| Wed 4Nov | 0, poor | wind from the north-east, 6 knots | 11kn | offnot safe | 2.6 mwaves | 18°C |
| Thu 5Nov | 0, poor | wind from the north-east, 3 knots | 6kn | offnot safe | 1.9 mwaves | 19°C |
| Fri 6Nov | 0, poor | wind from the north-north-west, 4 knots | 10kn | side | 2.8 mwaves | 20°C |
| Sat 7Nov | 0, poor | wind from the north-east, 2 knots | 6kn | offnot safe | 2.6 mwaves | 22°C |
| Sun 8Nov | 0, poor | wind from the east-north-east, 3 knots | 8kn | offnot safe | 1.9 mwaves | 23°C |
| Mon 9Nov | 0, poor | wind from the east, 1 knot | 5kn | offnot safe | 2.4 mwaves | 22°C |
| Tue 10Nov | 0, poor | wind from the south-south-west, 6 knots | 13kn | side-on | 2.0 mwaves | 19°C |
Wind is the day's best reading, mean and gusts, in knots; the arrow points where it blows to. Shore "off" blows out to sea. More
Tide
- Sun 1 NovHigh 04:38 +0.4 mLow 09:16 +0.0 mHigh 14:52 +0.7 mLow 22:20 −1.0 m
- Mon 2 NovHigh 05:30 +0.5 mLow 10:50 −0.1 mHigh 16:21 +0.6 mLow 23:19 −0.9 m
- Tue 3 NovHigh 06:13 +0.6 mLow 12:06 −0.3 mHigh 17:46 +0.5 m
Local clock times; heights about mean sea level. On open coasts the times are usually within a quarter of an hour; in bays, estuaries and on the Gulf of Mexico they can be an hour or more out. Tide: EOT20 global ocean tide model, Hart-Davis et al. 2021, DGFI-TUM (doi:10.17882/79489), CC BY 4.0. Times and heights computed by us. A model, not a tide table: check a local table before you go.
Forecast updated . It refreshes every three hours. Forecast data: ECMWF, DWD, Météo-France and NOAA, served by Open-Meteo.com (CC BY 4.0). Changed by us. Generated using E.U. Copernicus Marine Service Information.
Best time to go
No month stands out
Good windsurf days in a typical week, each month, from 2016 on (ERA5 history scored the same way).
- Jan1of 7: a trip from Sat 2 Jan
- Feb2of 7: a trip from Sat 6 Feb
- Mar2of 7: a trip from Sat 6 Mar
- Apr2of 7: a trip from Sat 3 Apr
- May2of 7: a trip from Sat 1 May
- Jun2of 7: a trip from Sat 5 Jun
- Jul1of 7: a trip from Sat 3 Jul
- Aug0of 7: a trip from Sat 7 Aug
- Sep1of 7: a trip from Sat 4 Sept
- Oct1of 7: a trip from Sat 2 Oct
- Nov1of 7: a trip from Mon 2 Nov
- Dec1of 7: a trip from Sat 5 Dec
Tap a month to see this spot for a trip then.
Typical, not a forecast. Reanalysis wind misses some local thermal winds, so a spot known for an afternoon breeze may do better than this.
Map
the spot, its town, photos
Half Moon Bay on Google Maps · Directions
Each place wears its best day on these dates: green good, amber fair, pale red poor, as the key says.
The map needs JavaScript. Every place on it is listed on this page, and each place's page links to Google Maps.
One finger scrolls the page; two fingers move the map. Pins are our own positions. Map OpenFreeMap, © OpenMapTiles, data © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Photos of Half Moon Bay
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About
the place in full, sources, credits
About Half Moon Bay
Known for kitesurfing and windsurfing, by the OpenStreetMap map of the area. The shore faces SW, so wind from the NE blows out to sea (our estimate from the coastline).
Water about 14°C: 4/3 wetsuit and boots. Typical sea temperature for the time of year, not a forecast.
A spot for kitesurfing and windsurfing, as OpenStreetMap maps it, on a shore facing SW. Wind from the SW blows onshore, wind from the NE blows out to sea, and wind from the NW or SE runs along the shore. It is exposed to the open sea. The sea floor shelves gently: 10 m deep about 550 m out (1 in 55). The sea is about 12°C in January, its coldest month (4/3 or 5/4, boots and gloves), and 16°C in September, its warmest (3/2 wetsuit). The town to stay in is Half Moon Bay. Within 5 km we also list 3 surf spots.
The score is the conditions only: the journey, the price and the partners never change it (how we score, how we earn).
Rough cost (estimate): about US$945–US$1,750 each
about US$945–US$1,750 each · 6 nights, 2 sharing: flights, taxi, stay, food.
Our estimate from typical public prices, not a quote: check the real prices before you book (where they come from). Prices are about, in US Dollar (USD): our pound figures at the European Central Bank's rate of 30 October 2026.
How we worked it out
| What | How we worked it out | Each |
|---|---|---|
| Flights | return MDW to SFO, estimated from distance and season, 1 airline on the route, with a hold bag | about US$261–US$536 |
| Taxi | airport and back, shared | about US$40–US$74 |
| Stay | 6 nights, a mid-range double, shared | about US$301–US$502 |
| Food | 7 days eating out | about US$342–US$636 |
| Total | about US$945–US$1,750 |
Kit hire is not priced yet: we have no sourced price, so it is not in it. Prices from public sources, checked in 2026.
Where to stay: Half Moon Bay
5 min by car · 10 places to stay
about US$114/nightcountry average
About Half Moon Bay its beds, food and every spot near it
About US$114 a night is our estimate of the country's average 2-star double room that month: not each town's price, and not a quote. Drives are estimates. Prices are about, in US Dollar (USD): our pound figures at the European Central Bank's rate of 30 October 2026.
Getting there: about 7h
About 7h door to door from Chicago
Fly MDW → SFO, direct, then 40 min by road
Flights MDW → SFO on your dates · Skyscanner
An estimate, one way; the journey never changes the score.