A wave that breaks over a sandy bottom. Beach breaks are common, accessible, and generally safer for beginners than reef breaks.
Beach breaks form where incoming swell hits a sandy seabed. The sandbars shift constantly with currents and storms, so the wave shape and quality at a beach break can change from day to day — even hour to hour. This makes beach breaks less predictable than reef or point breaks, but also more forgiving.
Falling on sand hurts much less than falling on reef or rock. Beach breaks tend to produce A-frame peaks (waves that break left and right simultaneously), giving surfers options on each wave. Some of the world's best waves are beach breaks — Supertubos in Peniche, Hossegor in France, and Pipeline's inside section in Hawaii all break over sand.
Beach breaks are where most surfers learn and where most surf sessions happen worldwide.
Example usage
"The sandbars shifted after last week's storm — the beach break is producing perfect A-frames today."
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