Wind

Offshore vs onshore

Offshore wind blows from land to sea, holding the wave face up — that's the glass you dream about. Onshore blows the other way and crumbles it.

The terms

offshore  land → sea, holds the face
onshore   sea → land, crumbles it
cross-shore  side-on, ruffles the surface
glass     no wind at all, pristine

Hourly

Wind changes through the day. Dawn is usually calmest — the reason dawn patrol exists.