Ben, the shore is what makes them break at the beach. It's called the surf break.
When there is a hide tide or the sun not directly overhead, you probably will not be able to see the bars. They're there alright, just hav'ta wait for optimum conditions to see the sandy color of the bar.
The area between the surf break and the first bar is called a trough. You will see waves break on the bar then no break (trough), then the surf break.
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