Chinamans Surf Forecast and Surf Report

G’day, Rusty here. This is your 16-day surf outlook. We’ve got a bit of a quiet start before things get exciting. For the next few days, the swell is there, but the winds are mostly cross-on or cross, making it choppy and messy. The biggest and cleanest surf is a long way off, but it’s a beauty when it finally arrives.

We’re looking at Chinamans, a solid reef break for advanced surfers. It’s fairly consistent, but the first few days are a write-off. On Friday the 28th and Saturday the 29th, it’s all cross-onshore winds and marginal conditions. Swell is dropping from 7ft on Friday morning to 4ft on Saturday afternoon. The water’s sitting at 59°, which is pretty much normal for this time of year.

Sunday the 30th is a mixed bag—morning is small at 4ft, still choppy, but Sunday afternoon sees a jump to 5ft with a 18-second period. That’s long-period groundswell, great for a reef break like this, but still cross-on winds. It’s not the best, but you can feel the energy building.

Now, Monday the 31st is where things start to turn. Morning brings a clean 7ft swell from the SW with a 19-second period, and glassy cross-off winds. That’s a solid session. By Monday afternoon, it goes offshore from the north at 9 mph, still 7ft. That’s clean, lined-up waves for experienced surfers. It’s a standout in this first week.

Tuesday the 1st of September has fresh offshore winds in the morning (NNW 22 mph) but the swell drops to 5ft. Still clean, but smaller. The wind picks up again on Wednesday and Thursday, with swell around 7ft to 8ft, but the wind is fresh and cross-off. It’s clean but the energy is moderate.

Now, the real show is Friday the 4th of September. This is the standout of the whole outlook. You’ve got a 10ft SW swell in the morning, building to 12ft in the afternoon, with a 14 to 15-second period. And the wind is light WNW at 6 mph, making it clean and cross-off. The combined energy is massive (7242 in the morning, 9537 in the afternoon). That’s strong to very strong energy. This is for experts only—over 8ft, so don’t even think about paddling out if you’re not solid. Crowds are possible here, and on a day like this, you can expect a few others in the water.

Saturday the 5th keeps the size around 10ft in the morning, but the wind screams up to 22-25 mph from the NW. It’s offshore, but fresh. Conditions get messy, and by Sunday the 6th, we’re looking at 13ft swell with a near gale (37 mph) by the afternoon. That’s more kite-surfing territory. Swell drops back through the second week, with some clean moments on Friday the 11th and Saturday the 12th, when 8ft to 12ft SW swell lines up with light offshore and cross-off winds. That’s promising but less certain, as it’s over a week away.

In summary: if you’re a hardcore surfer, aim for Friday the 4th of September at Chinamans. That’s your best shot at something truly special. The week before has some clean days, but nothing like that Friday. The second week has potential, but keep an eye on the forecasts.

Rusty.

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