Chinamans Surf Forecast and Surf Report

G’day, I’m Rusty. Let’s talk surf in feet and miles per hour.

First off, the next few days are a write-off until the wind sorts itself out. From Wednesday 9th through Thursday 10th, we’ve got south-easterlies howling between 15 and 22 mph, wrecking a solid south-west groundswell that’s 8 to 10 ft with a very long 19-second period. That’s a heap of energy, but blown-out and lumpy. Not worth it.

Friday 11th is still average. Morning shows a 6 ft, 15-second SW swell with a moderate cross-shore wind. Afternoon is better — a light cross-onshore breeze on a 6 ft, 16-second swell — but still marginal. Saturday 12th is the first half-decent day. The wind goes cross-offshore from the north-northeast at 13 mph, and you’ve got a clean 6 ft and 5 ft SW swell with periods of 15 and 16 seconds. At Chinamans (reef), it’s fairly consistent, but crowds are possible. Water temp is about normal for this time of year.

Sunday 13th is where it cleans up proper. Offshore north wind at 13 mph in the morning, then light west-northwest at 6 mph in the afternoon. The swell is 4 ft from the SW at 16 seconds, clean and lined-up. Good for experienced surfers on the reef.

Monday 14th and Tuesday 15th are flat and onshore. Don’t bother.

Thursday 17th September is the standout. Morning has a clean 6 ft, 15-second SW swell with a light cross-offshore breeze. In the afternoon, it goes glassy — zero wind — on a 5 ft, 15-second groundswell. That’s the cleanest you’ll see all forecast. The reef setup loves that long period.

Friday 18th is still clean but smaller at 4 ft and 4 ft. Fun.

Saturday 19th morning is clean again with a 5 ft, 15-second swell. Then Sunday 20th morning brings a solid 8 ft SW swell at 12 seconds with a gentle offshore north breeze. That’s expert territory, but with clean wind it’ll be heavy.

The biggest swell arrives Monday 21st — 12 ft from the SW at 18 seconds, with a cross-offshore breeze. That’s an enormous amount of water and energy. The afternoon gets wrecked by a 45 km/h (28 mph) WNW gale, so the window is tight. After that, the rest of the week is messy with cross-shore winds and lumpy conditions.

The standout is Thursday 17th September for the glassy, clean 5 to 6 ft groundswell. The Sunday 20th morning is the best for power. Expect a crowd at Chinamans on the good days.

Rusty.

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