Chinamans Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, Rusty here again, giving you the same read on Chinamans but in feet and miles per hour so it feels more familiar.

We’ve got a solid run of south-west groundswell coming through, but this spot doesn’t mess around – it’s a reef break that wants advanced surfers only, and there’s plenty of size to keep it honest. Water temp is 59°F with the anomaly barely half a degree off normal, so about average for the season. The energy numbers are massive – the combined swell energy hitting a huge 11618 early on (August 12th Wednesday afternoon) is very strong, backing up a 12ft swell from the south-west with a 17-second period, proper long-period groundswell. For a reef that’s exposed to that direction, it’s gonna wrap in nicely, but that size and period means it’s only for the real deal surfers.

The wind’s a bit of a problem at first. That Wednesday afternoon (12th) has a fresh cross-shore breeze at 19 mph and lumpy cross-chop. Thursday (13th) the morning’s still a bit messy, but the afternoon cleans up with a cross-off breeze at 12 mph and still 10ft of south-west swell. The real standout early on is Friday morning, 14th August. A light westerly at 3 mph, nearly glassy, cross-off, with a solid 10ft south-west swell and a 16-second period. The combined energy sits at 3937 – moderate but clean. That’s the session to get before the wind turns cross-on in the afternoon.

The weekend (15th–16th) gets messy with an east-south-east onshore breeze at 12 mph, dropping the quality even though there’s still 7ft to 7ft of long-period swell. It’s choppy, not worth paddling for unless you just want a beating. From Saturday afternoon until mid-week, it’s pretty average.

Then the second week fires back up. Thursday 20th August afternoon: rain showers but a moderate offshore from the north-north-west at 12 mph, clean, with a 5ft south-west swell and 16-second period. Energy at 1101 – moderate. Good for experienced surfers.

But the absolute standout of the whole outlook? Monday morning, 25th August. A 10ft south-west swell, 15-second period, combined energy of 5910 – that’s strong to very strong. The wind is light north-east at 6 mph, cross-off, glassy clean. The forecast says “exceptional surf conditions for expert surfers.” Mark that day. Tuesday 26th still has clean conditions with a fresh offshore, but the swell drops to 8ft. Monday the 25th is the one.

Crowds are listed as “sometimes” – so when it’s good like that Monday, expect a few others with the same idea. The reef handles the south-west groundswell perfectly, but with that size and long period, you’ll have long waits between sets and a serious paddle out. Worth the trouble.

So the picks: Friday morning 14th August for glassy 10ft waves, and Monday 25th August for the big, clean stand-out pulse.

Rusty.

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