Ano Nuevo Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let’s chew the fat on what’s coming down the line for this stretch. I’ll be honest, it’s not a classic run for Ano Nuevo. The long-range looks interesting, but we’ve got a fair bit of quiet, messy water to sit through first.

The overall pattern starts slow. A decent, long-period groundswell from the SSW shows up right away on Friday morning, rolling in at 3ft with a period of 18 seconds. The combined wave energy is sitting at 830 (moderate), which sounds alright, but the real issue is the wind. It’s a light cross-shore, which is okay, but the wave comment tells us it’s marginal tide conditions, so nothing to get overly excited about. This sets the tone for the next several days. We get a string of mornings where the swell hovers between 3ft and 5ft, mostly from the SSW or S, with periods dropping from that long 18-second pulse down to around 13-14 seconds later in the week. The energy stays in that moderate range, but the cross-shore wind and building cross-chop kill the quality every afternoon. There’s a brief window Wednesday afternoon the 9th where the wind goes cross-offshore (clean), but the swell is only 4ft at 12 seconds, and it’s still just a marginal call.

Then we hit a real dry spell. From the 10th of September through to the morning of the 18th, the swell drops away to tiny, weak stuff—1ft to 3ft—with combined energy readings mostly in the 200 to 300 range (weak). The wind is a mess of onshore and cross-onshore directions, and every session is rated as poor conditions. That’s a solid week of hardly anything worth paddling out for. The water temperature is about average for this time of year, so no surprises there.

Now, the standout. The real reason to keep an eye on this forecast is the 18th and 19th of September. We see a new pulse of swell from the WNW, which is a different direction to the optimum SW that this spot favours, but the size gets your attention. On Friday morning the 18th, we’ve got 6ft at a short 9-second period, with light cross-shore wind (moderate energy of 727). That is the biggest swell of the whole outlook. By Friday afternoon it hits 6ft, and on Saturday the 19th it eases slightly to 5ft. This is solid size for Ano Nuevo—definitely too big for beginners (over 5ft), and getting close to that expert-only zone when it peaks. The short period (under 8 seconds) means it’s windswell, not a clean groundswell, and at a beach-and-reef set-up, that short-period WNW swell can be a bit crumbly and harder to line up. The better waves will likely be on the reef sections, if you can handle the power. The wind on Saturday morning is near glassy with a slight air, making for clean conditions, which is a big plus.

So, if you’re patient, the pick of the run is Friday the 18th morning, with the biggest swell and light wind, or Saturday the 19th morning when it drops back a touch but conditions are glassy clean. The 18th afternoon gets messy with a moderate cross-shore and chop, so get it early. It’s not a perfect forecast, but there are a couple of sessions with punch.

Stay patient, and keep an eye on that Friday window.

Rusty.

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