Nanwan Beach (South Bay) Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Imperial Units

Right, let's break down what's coming for Nanwan Beach (South Bay). The week starts off with some proper swell, but you gotta be sharp about when you paddle out. There are a couple of days that are absolute crackers, so here's the drill.

Don't even think about Sunday the 30th. The wind is messy, storms are about, and the surf is a write-off. Just save your energy.

The main event kicks off on Monday morning, the 31st of August. We're looking at a clean 8ft SW swell with a nice offshore breeze from the NW. The water temp is sitting right on average for this time of year at 84°. The energy is solid (1070). It's a good, surfable wave. But the real standout is that Monday afternoon. The wind goes dead glassy, calm from the SW, and the swell bumps up just a touch to 8ft from the SSW. The energy jumps up (1319) and it's a clean, smooth surface. That's your session. It's a fairly consistent break, but like most good spots, crowds are often a factor, so get out early.

Tuesday the 1st of September goes downhill fast. A 10ft SW swell shows up, but the wind goes cross-shore and then absolutely howls by the afternoon. It's going to be a messy, choppy mess. Wednesday the 2nd is a tricky one. You've got a massive 13ft SW swell with a long period of 11 seconds and clean cross-off wind. The wave energy is pumping (3731). But the word is it's just too big for this break. That is strictly for the experienced crew, and even then, it's a big call. For most of us, it's a day to watch from the beach.

From Thursday the 3rd through to Monday the 7th of September, the swell drops right off. We've got clean 7ft down to 2ft swells with light to glassy winds, but the energy drops to low levels (856 down to 142). It's small, but it's clean. Saturday morning the 5th with glassy 3ft waves would be a nice, easy longboard session. Sunday morning the 6th is also glassy with a tiny 2ft swell.

Then we hit a long, flat spell. From around Tuesday the 8th of September right through to the end of the period on the 14th, it's mostly poor. The swell goes tiny and the wind goes nuts – gale and severe gale force from the NW and WSW. There's a little bump on Thursday the 10th, but it's short period (6 seconds) and blowing straight onshore from the SSE. It's blown out and not worth the effort. You're looking at a solid week-plus of flat and ugly. For this area, when the trade winds get that strong, a blank run is pretty normal.

So, bottom line: your one true standout is Monday afternoon, the 31st of August at Nanwan Beach. Get out there for that glassy window. Monday morning is also very good. After that, the small clean days on the 5th and 6th are the only other options. Everything else is a no-go.

Rusty.

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