Butterfly Beach

South-facing Montecito beach sheltered by the Channel Islands, with most directions heavily attenuated. The channel's westerly windswell arrives only as a small wrap, while southerly energy threading past Anacapa and the eastern channel entrance gives southeast through south a modest summer window with occasional surge. Typically flat to calm - even when the nearby reefs show small surf, conditions here stay gentle. The gentle slope means even small waves break far from shore, so expect a long surface swim to reach diving depth.