Chinamans Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let’s get straight into it. The first real surf to talk about comes up on Monday the 24th, but honestly, it’s a grim start. We’ve got a 4ft SW swell at Chinamans, but that ENE wind is blowing 12 mph right across the face, creating a messy cross-chop. The combined energy is moderate at 634, but the conditions are just marginal. Not one to get excited about – Monday afternoon gets even worse with rain and poor surf.

Tuesday the 25th is a write-off with a strong 7ft to 8ft SW swell, but that SSW wind at 22 to 19 mph is cross-onshore, lumping everything right up. Combined energy jumps to a strong 4424 on the morning, but it’s ugly. Kite surfers might have a look, but for paddle surfing, forget it.

Now, Wednesday the 26th is where it starts to turn. The swell drops to a clean 5ft SW, and we get a light NW offshore wind at 6 mph in the morning – glassy conditions. Combined energy is a moderate 877, but the quality is there. Afternoon holds with 4ft and a gentle offshore from the NNW. Clean, groomed lines. This is the first genuine window for a session.

Thursday the 27th surf is smaller, around 4ft to 4ft with clean conditions and north winds, but the energy is up and down – 839 to a strong 1651 in the afternoon thanks to a long 19-second period. That’s some real groundswell energy, but at a beach break like this, that long period might make things a bit too straight. Still, for a reef setup, it could be fun if you’re not after hollow barrels.

Friday the 28th builds again with 7ft SW at a solid 16-second period. The combined energy is strong at 2344. North-northeasterly cross-offshore winds keep it clean. It’s a bit of a handful for beginners at 7ft, but for the experienced crew, it’s looking tidy. Saturday the 29th backs off into the small, sloppy stuff with onshore winds again – not worth the paddle.

Here’s the standout – mark Monday the 31st of August on your calendar. We’ve got glassy conditions in the morning, not a breath of wind, and a solid 8ft SW groundswell with an 18-second period. The combined energy is a strong 4030. This is proper groundswell, perfect for Chinamans’ reef. It’s big enough to need experience – 8ft is expert territory – but the conditions are excellent. The afternoon holds at 8ft with light cross-offshore winds. This is the pick of the whole outlook.

Tuesday the 1st of September stays clean and fun with 5ft and offshore winds, energy around 1184. Good follow-up surf.

Into the second week, Thursday the 3rd of September sees a 7ft swell from the WSW with clean cross-offshore winds and moderate energy (1847) – promising but less certain. By afternoon, it jumps to 10ft with messy cross-shore winds (4567 energy), so morning is the window.

Saturday the 5th of September offers clean 6ft SW with a moderate offshore wind (12 mph) and combined energy at 1742. Good for experienced surfers again.

The big story late in the run is Monday the 8th of September: a massive 12ft SW swell with a very long 18-second period and a fresh cross-offshore WNW wind. The combined energy is huge at 8066 – very strong. This is for experts only. It’s clean, but the size and power will be intimidating. Worth watching, but don’t get too attached to long-range calls like this – it’s promising but far out.

Water temp sits around 59°F at Chinamans, about 1°F above normal – average for the time of year, nothing unusual.

Overall, the standout is Monday the 31st of August – glassy, solid, classic Chinamans. Get it while it’s good.

Rusty.

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