Surge is the limiter, viz 28 ft.
Scripps Pier Cam observation: visibility 26–32 ft (auto, high confidence). The 4 ft right-edge piling and the 11 ft piling both show resolved algal growth, hardware and crossbracing, and the 14 ft back-left piling reads as a solid outline with softened texture. The far 30 ft piling left-of-center is still discernible as a low-contrast silhouette against the bright blue water, with sand ripples visible well into the background, indicating an exceptionally clear day.
Shore-accessible rocky reef with kelp patches off 15th Street. Quieter than the La Jolla ecological reserve; visibility swings with south swell and Peñasquitos lagoon runoff.