Chinamans Surf Forecast and Surf Report

G’day, Rusty here, and I’ve been staring at the charts for Chinamans. It’s a reef setup that’s exposed to the southwest, and the first week is a proper mixed bag—some clean windows, some real slop, and a bit of a wait for the good stuff to line up.

Right now, Wednesday morning, we got a solid 8.2ft of SW groundswell with a 15-second period, but the east-southeast wind is wrecking it. That’s cross-on and choppy, and the energy is strong—the combined swell energy sits at 2697, so there’s plenty of push, but it’s messy. Water temp is 59.5°F, which is bang on average for this time of year—nothing weird there. The afternoon cleans up a touch but it’s still cross-on, not worth your time unless you’re desperate.

Thursday morning is where I’d point you first. The swell drops a bit to 5.2ft, but the wind swings east-northeast, going cross-off, and it’s clean. The period’s still solid at 14 seconds, and the energy has backed off to 1082—still moderate, but it’s got shape. Thursday arvo goes glassy, which is rare—light westerly, zero wind, 4.6ft, period 14 seconds. That’s a quiet, clean session with the reefs holding. Not huge, but damn smooth.

Friday is the pick of the first stretch, honestly. Morning has NNW offshore at 25 km/h, dropping to 15 km/h by the arvo. Swell is down to 4.3ft in the morning, 3.6ft in the afternoon, with a long 16-17 second period. That’s proper groundswell, and it’s going to be clean. The energy is only 940 and 612, so it’s not cranking, but the quality is there—this is the kind of day where you’re trading size for perfection, and at this break, that’s a good deal. The caveat: that long period (17s) at Chinamans can get a bit walled on the takeoff, but it’s not a beachie, so it should hold.

Saturday’s smaller—2.6ft in the morning, 2.3ft in the arvo—and the offshore holds, so it’s clean but tiny. Good for a grovel, not for a headline. Sunday morning is okay, cross-off from the west, 3.9ft, but the arvo turns to junk—25-30 km/h westerly, cross-shore chop. Skip that.

Monday the 21st is a write-off. South-southeast wind, onshore, 7.9ft of bumpy, windblown mess. Energy spikes to 3163 and 4129, but it’s all over the place. You’d be fighting it the whole time. Tuesday the 22nd isn’t much better—east cross-shore, fresh and lumpy, 7.9-8.2ft again. Not your friend.

Then things get interesting again late in the month. Wednesday the 23rd—cross-off from the northeast in the morning, clean, 5.2ft. The arvo goes offshore from the northwest, light, 4.6ft, and it’s clean. Good day, solid energy at 1155 and 833. Thursday the 24th is less exciting—light onshore, small 3.6ft, forget it.

But Friday the 25th is the other standout. Morning is cross-off from the northeast, 3.6ft, but the arvo is where the magic is: a big jump in period to 23 seconds—that’s very long period groundswell, the kind that shoals up proper—with only a light 5 km/h offshore from the northwest. Swell is 2.6ft, but the energy jumps to 1232, which is way more than you’d expect for that size. This is a “shape over size” day. That long period at a reef like Chinamans? It’ll be smooth, lined-up walls, and the glassy conditions make it a classic. This might honestly be the best wave:quality trade-off of the whole window.

The weekend of the 26th–27th brings more size—7.5ft on Saturday morning—but it’s cross-on, a bit lumpy. Sunday the 27th improves: 6.9-7.2ft, cross-off from the west, clean. That’s a proper winter-style groundswell day with energy around 2576-2087. Strong, but still manageable for experienced surfers. For beginners, this is too big—over 5ft, and it’s pushing into expert territory.

After that, it fades again. Monday the 28th has some rain and a fresh west-northwest cross-off, 6.2ft, but it’s short-period and a bit junky. Tuesday the 29th falls apart—strong west winds, 45 km/h in the arvo, messy. Wednesday

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