Chinamans Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let's have a look at what's on the cards for the next couple of weeks at our local slab.

We’ve got a slow start, but a bit of a pulse arrives on Sunday, the 9th of August. It’s not going to be a classic, though. The early session at Chinamans shows a clean 5 ft SW groundswell with a period of 16 seconds and light offshore winds from the NNW. The water temp is sitting at 59°, which is pretty much bang on average for this time of year, so nothing freaky there. The combined swell energy is moderate at 1185, but it's that long period that gets the blood pumping. However, a storm risk in the morning and a score that only gets it a "fair" rating tells me the conditions might be tricky. By the afternoon, the wind swings onshore and things get messy with a cross-shore breeze, making it marginal at best.

Monday the 10th is a write-off for surfing. The swell jumps up to a solid 12 ft from the SW, but it’s getting hammered by a strong 35 km/h cross-shore wind. The combined energy is massive, over 7459, but it’ll be a lumpy, blown-out mess. This one’s for the kite crew, not the paddle crew.

Tuesday the 11th has a glimmer of hope with the swell dropping to 7 ft and some proper NNW offshore winds. But that wind is howling at 40 km/h. The forecast says "strong offshore and clean but hard to paddle into." It's a battle. The swell is a long-period 14-18 seconds, giving it heaps of grunt, but you'll be fighting the wind to get out back. Only for the brave and the strong.

Wednesday the 12th and Thursday the 13th are back to big, messy, and windy. The swell stays above 10 ft with cross-shore winds and a lot of chop. The energy readings are still in the thousands, but the quality is just not there for a decent paddle.

Now, listen up, because the best window in this whole forecast is shaping up for Friday the 14th. The morning session has the swell easing to 8 ft from the SW with a 16-second period. The wind drops right out to a light 10 km/h cross-shore breeze. The combined energy is still a robust 3803, meaning there's plenty of push, but the lighter wind should make for cleaner, more manageable conditions. The afternoon is similar but with a slight cross-onshore, so the morning is definitely the call. This is the standout for the whole run – solid, long-period groundswell with only a light breeze. It's still a big wave, so you need to know what you're doing, but it’s the best shot at a clean one.

From the 15th of August right through to the 24th, it's a tough run. The swell is inconsistent, the wind is predominantly cross-onshore or onshore, and the scores are all low. We get a period from the 15th to the 17th where the wind turns to a nasty ESE cross-onshore, making the 5-8 ft SW swell choppy and ugly. The energy drops off too, into the low thousands or even under 1000 by the 16th. The 18th and 19th see the swell drop to around 5-6 ft with cleaner cross-offshore winds from the NE, but the combined energy is weak, under 1700, so it’s not going to have much punch.

Then the 20th of August gives us one last tease. Thursday morning has a fresh 35 km/h NNW offshore wind and a 8 ft WSW groundswell, but it’s only rated a 2, so the tide or the overall quality is questionable. After that, it's a straight blowout until the end of the run with strong onshore winds and a messy, blown-out surf zone. The 24th shows a tiny 4 ft SW swell with a light SE breeze, but the energy is low at 1232 and it’s cross-onshore, so not a great way to end it.

So, to sum it up: the pick of the bunch is the morning of Friday the 14th. It's not perfect, but it's the cleanest, most powerful option in a pretty average forecast. After that, get the fishing rods out because the surf is going to be a tough slog.

Rusty.

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