Tankers Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, Rusty here. Let’s have a look at what’s coming our way.

Honestly, the next 16 days are looking pretty average for Tankers. There’s nothing in this window that screams “drop everything and go.” Most of the time, the swell is small and the conditions are only just surfable. The combined wave energy stays moderate for the most part, hovering in the hundreds (between 152 and 1088), which tells you the ocean’s not exactly firing.

We start off on Thursday the 10th of September with a tiny 2ft swell out of the SSW. It's got a nice long period of 16 seconds, which usually means proper groundswell, but at this size it’s more of a wet-suit paddle than a real session. Wind’s cross-shore from the E at 12 mph, so it’s not going to be glassy. The water sits at a warm 81° – about average for this time of year, with no anomaly to speak of.

Friday the 11th looks similar: 2ft SSW swell, period holding at 16 seconds, but the wind turns cross-offshore from the ENE, which keeps the surface clean. Still, it’s tiny.

The weekend and into next week doesn’t bring much joy. Swells stay below 3ft, with periods lingering in the 15-20 second range, but the energy stays moderate. It’s just not happening. By Monday the 14th, we’ve got a 1ft swell with a 24-second period – that’s an incredibly long period for such a tiny wave. At a reef break like Tankers, that long period might give a little shape, but there’s just no push.

Now, there is a bit of a pulse around Tuesday the 15th. We see 3ft of SSW swell, period still solid at 20 seconds, and the combined energy climbs to 623. The wind stays light from the E, so it’s clean-ish. This is probably the best bet in the first week, but it’s still only marginal.

Towards the middle of the second week, the swell picks up a bit. Thursday the 17th of September brings a 5ft swell, but it’s coming from the E with a short period of 9 seconds – that’s windswell, not groundswell. The energy is strong (989), but the quality won’t be there. The wind also picks up to 22 mph from the ENE, so it’s going to be lumpy and tough. This is expert territory, size-wise, but with poor quality, it might actually be more interesting for kite surfing than regular paddle surfing.

The real standout, if you can wait, is on Wednesday the 23rd of September. The afternoon session looks like a genuine winner. The wind drops to glassy – 0 mph from the SSE – and the swell is a clean 2ft out of the SSW with a period of 19 seconds. The combined energy is a solid 723. That’s the kind of window where Tankers can show its true colours, with really clean, lined-up waves. This is the one to aim for.

Following that, Thursday the 24th and Friday the 25th still offer surfable 3ft to 3ft SSW swell, but the wind comes up again, so it won’t be as good as that Wednesday afternoon.

Bottom line: it’s a long, flat run with one bright spot. That Wednesday the 23rd afternoon is your best chance for a decent session. The rest is for getting wet and not much else.

Rusty.

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