Ano Nuevo Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let’s be straight with you – this outlook is a tough one to write. The data for Ano Nuevo, our only spot in the mix, just doesn't give us much to work with. It’s a long, flat, and choppy stretch ahead.

The whole 16-day window is a bit of a bust. Right from the start, things are grim. The first few days, from Thursday 6th August through to the end of the first week, are a write-off. We’re looking at tiny swell with a lot of cross-onshore wind, making for poor surf conditions. The energy is weak to moderate (160-644), but it just doesn't matter with the wind messing it up. The water temp is sitting at 60°F, which is about normal for this time of year, but you won’t feel it because you’ll be sitting on your board watching nothing happen.

The swell does start to pick up a little heading into the second week, but it’s a real tease. The wind stays mostly cross or cross-on, keeping the surface choppy. The best we can say is that from the morning of Tuesday 11th August through to the morning of Wednesday 12th August, there are a couple of sessions where the wind is light and offshore, but the swell is still small and the forecast is described as "marginal". We’re talking about 4ft of swell from the WNW, with a short period of 9 seconds. That’s not going to give you much to push into. The combined energy fluctuates around 374-466, which is moderate.

The only glimmer, and I mean the faintest glimmer, comes on the morning of Saturday 15th August. You’ve got a 3ft SSW swell with a 16-second period. That’s a long-period groundswell, which is a good sign, and the wind is a light cross-shore from the WNW. This could produce a few clean, lined-up waves at the reef on a good tide, but the spot is inconsistent and often crowded, so don’t bank on it being a solo mission. It’s still considered "marginal" by the forecast, so keep your expectations low. Saturday afternoon, the wind picks up again and ruins it.

The rest of the run into the final week, from 16th August onward, is more of the same: small, messy, and cross-shore wind. The swell stays small and the energy moderate, but nothing comes together.

Honestly, if you’re desperate for a paddle, keep an eye on that Saturday 15th morning window. But for the most part, this is a period where the beach and reef setup looks more interesting for the kite surfers than us paddle surfers. The forecasts can change, but for now, I’d leave the boards in the car.

Rusty.

Read more