Ano Nuevo Surf Forecast and Surf Report

G’day, Rusty here. Look, I’ve got to be straight with you – the next couple of weeks at Ano Nuevo (beach and reef) are mostly a write-off. We’re staring down a long, frustrating gap with hardly anything worth paddling out for, and when the swell does show, it’s usually getting trashed by cross-shore winds. The water temp is about average for the time of year, nothing unusual there.

The first half of the run is grim. Wednesday the 8th has a tiny 4ft SSW groundswell with a long 17-second period, and the wave energy is strong at 1250, but a 12 mph cross-shore NW wind is already putting a chop on it. It’s marginal at best and only for the most desperate advanced crew, and it quickly turns poor in the arvo with a fresh 19 mph cross-breeze. Thursday the 9th bumps up to 7ft, but it’s a short-period NW windswell (9 seconds) and again cross-shore winds. The energy is moderate at 1576, but the waves are lumpy and messy – a real battle. This pattern of middling, wind-affected swell just keeps rolling through until the 12th, with nothing reaching a decent score. We’ve got a solid 11 days of mostly poor conditions, with only a couple of “marginal” mornings that are still not really worth it.

The only faint glimmer comes on Sunday morning, the 19th of July. Overnight the wind drops right off, and we get a glassy 2ft SSW groundswell with a classic 16-second period – proper long lines. The wave energy is moderate (620). The forecast suggests good conditions, and for a rare, inconsistent spot like Ano Nuevo, that’s a big deal. It’s tiny, though, and it’s a sheltered spot, so you’ll be hunting for any little peak. Expect the local crew to be out, as crowds are sometimes a factor here. That window is brief – the arvo same day turns to light cross-onshore and the magic is gone.

Beyond that, Monday the 20th through Thursday the 23rd is just back to small, weak, and mostly messy. The swell drops to 2–3ft, the energy falls away into the 200s and 400s, and we’re back to poor surf conditions. Bottom line: mark that Sunday morning, July 19th, as the only real chance for a clean, albeit small, session. For the rest of the two weeks, save your energy.

Rusty.

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