Tankers Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, let's look at what's on offer at Tankers over the next couple of weeks.

Right now, the water temp is sitting at 81°F, which is pretty much what you'd expect for this time of year – nothing unusual there.

To be honest, the outlook is a bit of a struggle. We're looking at a long stretch of small, pretty ordinary surf. The first real chance of anything rideable kicks off on Wednesday afternoon, August 5th, with a tiny 2ft swell from the SW, a period of 15 seconds, and clean conditions thanks to a light cross-offshore breeze. The combined energy is weak (147), so it's not going to get the heart pumping, but it's surfable. That's the best we've got for a while.

After that, we drop back into poor surf with tiny 1ft waves through the end of the first week. The energy stays low, mostly under 220. There's a glimmer of hope on Saturday morning, August 8th, when the swell bumps up to 2ft from the SSW, with a long 18-second period and clean conditions. The combined energy climbs to moderate (609), but it's still marginal and the wind is a fresh 35 km/h (22 mph), so it's not a standout.

The real story starts to unfold from the second week. On Wednesday morning, August 12th, we see a 3ft S swell with a 18-second period and moderate energy (851), but it's cross-shore and a bit messy. It's not until Thursday morning, August 13th, that things get interesting. A 4ft S swell, period 16 seconds, and strong wave energy (1207) pushes through, but the wind is a fresh 35 km/h (22 mph) cross-offshore, keeping it clean. This is the best of the run, but it's still more of a marginal session than a standout.

From Friday, August 14th, the swell size jumps to 6ft and higher, but the period drops to a short 8 seconds. That's all windswell, and with a steady 35 km/h (22 mph) cross-offshore breeze, it's going to be bumpy. The energy is very strong (over 1000), but short-period, clean but bumpy conditions make it challenging. By Saturday, August 15th, it's still 6ft with the same short period and strong wind. This setup is too big and messy for beginners, and the short period means it'll be a bit of a wall. For experienced surfers, there might be a few lumpy ones, but honestly, with that much wind and short period, this looks more interesting for a kite session than a paddle session.

The surf fades out again by Sunday afternoon, August 16th, back to 2ft.

So, the only true standout is Thursday morning, August 13th, with 4ft S swell, long period groundswell, and clean conditions. It's not perfect, but it's the best we've got. The rest of the period is either too small, too windy, or too short-period to get excited about.

Rusty.

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