Nanwan Beach (South Bay) Surf Forecast and Surf Report

G'day, I'm Rusty. Let's have a look at what's on the table for Nanwan Beach (South Bay) over the next couple of weeks. We've got a bit of a slow start, but things are shaping up to get pretty serious.

Right now, the water's sitting around average for this time of year. The real story, though, is that big swell coming in. The first few days are a total write-off – Sunday the 5th through Monday the 6th have onshore winds and poor surf. You're better off staying home.

Tuesday the 7th sees a pulse of long-period groundswell, 15 seconds, from the ESE pushing through. The energy is moderate at 493, but the wind is light and cross-shore, making for a marginal session at best. By the afternoon, that energy jumps to a solid 726, still with light cross-shore wind. It's not firing, but there's a hint of life.

Then, hold onto your board. Wednesday the 8th is when things get interesting. A serious E swell starts showing, with a 19-second period. By the morning we've got strong energy (4905) and clean, cross-offshore winds from the WNW. The swell is 8ft. It's going to be big, powerful, and clean. This is a standout window for experienced surfers. The afternoon pumps it up even more: 10ft of swell with 6102 energy. It's still clean. This is for the experts.

Thursday the 9th is where it gets absolutely enormous. The swell hits 13ft in the morning with a staggering 10222 energy, period at 18 seconds, and clean cross-off winds from the NW. The afternoon is even bigger: 15ft, 13802 energy, and now a gentle offshore from the NNW. The break is going to be absolutely maxed out. This is big-wave territory only.

Friday the 10th continues the trend: 18ft swell, 17937 energy in the morning, 18-second period, and clean cross-off winds. The afternoon barely drops off at 18ft and 14867 energy. If you're an elite charger, this is your window. For anyone else, it's a spectator sport.

But then it all falls apart. Saturday the 11th is a total mess. Storm force winds from the SW, 62 mph, with a 20ft windswell and a 10-second period. Energy drops to 7002, but with those winds, it's unsurfable. This garbage weather lingers: Sunday the 12th through Monday the 13th stays in the cross-onshore, choppy, blown-out zone. The swell drops to 7-13ft but the quality is terrible.

Tuesday the 14th through the 16th are poor, with cross-shore winds and messy 6-7ft SW swell. Not worth paddling out.

We do get a small reprieve on Friday the 17th: a 5ft SW groundswell, period 9 seconds, and clean cross-off winds from the NE. Energy is a modest 412. The wind picks up into the afternoon, but it stays clean. Surfable, but small and nothing to get excited about.

Saturday the 18th through Monday the 20th sees the swell nudge back to 6-6ft from the SW, period 10 seconds, with clean but strong cross-offshore winds (19-22 mph from the NE). The energy is moderate at 647-762, but that wind is going to make paddling a chore and the surface might be a bit bumpy despite being clean. It's marginal at best.

The clear standout is Wednesday the 8th through Friday the 10th. If you've got the skills, that's a truly exceptional, clean, long-period groundswell window. The crowds at Nanwan Beach are often busy, but when it's that big, it might thin out to just the hardcore crew. For everyone else, the rest of the outlook is pretty slim pickings.

Rusty.

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