glide
Longboard
A 9-foot board and a clean point — the slowest, most elegant thing in the water.
noserides
swell, tide, wind — live
read thewater.
Swell, tide, and wind — forecast for your break, logged after every session, and shared with the coast.
photo · Jess Loiterton
● live · 6–8 ft · north shore
01
How it works
Three steps. No more guessing at the beach.
/ 01
Pick your break
Tell us where you surf. We pull the buoy data, tide, and wind for that exact spot — not the nearest city.
/ 02
Read the water
Height, period, direction, tide, wind. All of it charted, none of it hidden behind jargon.
/ 03
Log the session
Paddle out, then log it. Wave counts, conditions, and the year's numbers, kept for you.
02
Everything but the paddle
Know before you go.
Live swell forecast
Height, period, and direction — seven days out, updated hourly for your break.
Tide & moon
Highs, lows, and the phases that pull them. Know your window.
Wind that matters
Offshore, onshore, cross — the difference between glass and chop.
Session logging
Count your waves, log conditions, and watch the year add up.
Every break mapped
From reef passes to beach breaks, tagged and rated by locals.
The lineup
Find your crew, share sessions, and learn the local etiquette.
03
The coast, up close
Shot where the waves actually break.
04
The tide moves
Two highs, two lows. Same as your week.
We chart every swell, moon, and tide for your break — and turn it into a curve you can read at a glance. Steep water is moving water, and moving water makes waves.
high · 5:42 amlow · 11:58 amlive tide
05
The long ride
One wave, in slow motion.
slow motion · Ahmed
06
Four kinds of water
The break decides the wave.
turn
Shortboard
Pocket turns on a steep beach break, wave after wave.
2–4 ft
tube
Barrel
The moment the lip throws over you and the world goes quiet.
hollow
glass
Dawn patrol
First light, offshore wind, and the whole lineup to yourself.
5:42 am
From the desk of Kai Vasquez
Every forecast tells you the swell. None of them told me whether to paddle out.
I spent five years driving to the beach on the wrong days. The buoy said six feet, the report said clean, and I'd arrive to closeouts and a howling onshore.
The problem was never the data. It was the translation. Height, period, direction, tide, wind — five numbers that only make sense if someone who surfs your break turns them into a sentence.
So we built that someone. Saltwater reads the water for your break — and logs the day so the numbers finally learn from you.
Kai VasquezFounder, SALTWATER
07
By the numbers
Live, from our backend.
2.1M
sessions logged
1.4k
breaks mapped
340k
swells tracked
48k
surfers
08
From the lineup
Surfers who finally stopped guessing.
★★★★★
"I used to check three apps before driving an hour to the coast. Now I read one sentence and go."
Dana R.Point-break regular
★★★★★
"The tide chart alone is worth it. I know exactly when my local reef is going to fire."
Marco T.Reef surfer
★★★★★
"Logged 214 waves last year. Didn't know I had 214 waves in me. It changed how I paddle out."
June A.Weekend warrior
09
The roadmap
Where we're going.
Q3 2026
Live swell + tide forecast for 1,400 breaks, in beta.
Q4 2026
Session logging with wave counts and year-over-year stats.
Q1 2027
Local surf clubs and lineup chat, organised by break.
Q2 2027
Buoy hardware for breaks the satellites can't see.
10
Questions, answered.
How accurate is the swell forecast?+
We pull from the same buoy networks the pros use, then correct for your specific break. Within 0.5 ft most days.
Does it work everywhere?+
Any coast with buoy coverage, plus thousands of hand-mapped breaks. If your spot is missing, you can add it.
What's the difference from a normal surf report?+
A normal report covers a region. Saltwater reads your break — its tide, its wind window, its direction — and translates it into plain English.
Is it free?+
Yes — the forecast, tide charts, and session logging are free during beta and stay free after launch.
Do I need to know surf jargon?+
No. That's the point. We translate the numbers so you don't have to.
Can I log sessions offline?+
Yes. Logs save locally and sync when you're back in range.
Know the water before you go.
read the water.
photo · Optical Chemist