What you are describing is sets of swells. Ocean swells can be produced by storms at a distance of one thousand miles or more. The further from
the storm, the more organized the sets become. Swells from a very distant storm become very regular, so regular that you can time them. For example, a
four wave set then calm for ten minutes before the next four wave set. It's this pattern that experienced surfers look for in order to select the
best waves. www.surfingvancouverisland.com...
Well sounds like the high tides caused little disruption 'Never, in their collective memory, had the water climbed so steeply—almost three cricket
pitches past its usual high-tide mark.' although was indeed the headline says it all: