Neap tide

Neap tides happen twice a month, at first and last quarter moon, when sun and moon pull at right angles. Their gravitational pulls partially cancel, so the range shrinks — smaller highs, smaller lows, less water moving in total.

For a rider, a neap is the gentler week:

• Less bottom exposed at low water; reef and sandbar spots stay rideable across more of the cycle
• Tidal currents are weaker — channels are easier, wind-against-tide chop softer
• Lagoon spots that drain on a spring stay filled on a neap
• Tide-sensitive surf breaks have a wider working window

The trade-off is on spots that need the spring drop to wake up — sandbars that produce flat water inside an exposed lip, slab reefs that only break on a low. Those spots go flat on a neap.

Cycle length from one neap to the next is about 14.77 days. Full context in Tides for Kiters and Tides for Surfers.