Nanwan Beach (South Bay) Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Righto, grab a seat. This is Rusty, and I'm looking at the coming weeks for Nanwan Beach down in South Bay.

First off, the water temp here is sitting right on 85°, which is pretty standard for this time of year, nothing unusual there.

The outlook for the next 16 days is a bit of a mixed bag, but there are a couple of windows where it might just come together. The biggest issue is the wind, which is going to be a factor for most of the run. We start with a bit of swell on Sunday, the 16th, but with a 16 mph cross-shore wind and some rain, it's going to be a bit of a mess. Not a great start.

Now, the real standout for the whole period looks like Monday morning, the 17th of August. We've got a solid 6 ft swell from the SW, an 8-second period, and the wind is forecast to be glassy – dead calm. That's the kind of morning you set the alarm for. The wave energy is moderate at 534, so there's enough to push you around. The break is a beach and reef setup and it's fairly consistent, so you should get waves. Just a heads-up, the crowds are often here, so you'll have some company, but for clean conditions like that, it's worth it.

After that, the surf drops off fast. From Tuesday, the 18th, through Wednesday, the 19th, the swell gets smaller, around 3 ft to 4 ft, and while the wind is offshore, it's also quite strong. It's not going to be great. There's a long gap of days here with no real recommendations, just small, ordinary conditions.

Things try to pick up again on the weekend of the 22nd and 23rd. On Saturday morning, the 22nd, we see a bigger 10 ft SSW swell with a 10-second period, and the wind is a cross-offshore breeze. That is a powerful one – the combined energy jumps to 1565 – but that size is really only for the experienced crew. The morning looks the best with cleaner conditions, but it's still a bit lumpy.

The following week, from the 24th onwards, is a bit of a weird one. The swell direction swings around to the east with a very long 15 to 16-second period. This is groundswell, and it's pushing a lot of energy, with values like 1064 and 1967. This kind of long-period swell can be tricky at a beach and reef break like this, often closing out or breaking too straight. The wind is mostly onshore or cross-onshore during this period, which isn't ideal, but there's a chance on Wednesday afternoon, the 26th, and Thursday afternoon, the 27th, when the wind goes cross-off or light and the energy is still high. It's a bit of a gamble, but there could be some sneaky clean waves for the dedicated.

To be honest, a lot of this period looks like it could be more appealing for the kite surfers than paddle surfers, given the strong winds and lumpy conditions. There's a lot of poor surf forecasts in there. The best bet is clear: get out there early on Monday, the 17th, for the cleanest waves. The bigger swells later in the month are for the experts only, and the long-period stuff is a wild card.

Rusty.

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