Tankers Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, folks, Rusty here. Let’s take a good, hard look at what’s on offer at Tankers over the next 16 days. I gotta be straight with you: it’s shaping up to be a pretty quiet run, especially for a spot that’s usually got a bit more grunt. There are some windows where things get interesting, but we’ll be waiting a while for the real juice.

The overall pattern is dominated by a persistent cross-offshore wind from the east-northeast, which is a decent direction for keeping things clean, but the swell is just not cooperating. For the first week and a half, we’re looking at mostly small, weak surf. The water temp is sitting at a comfortable 26°, which is bang on average for this time of year, so no surprises there.

The first few days (Thursday 9th through Friday 10th) are pretty much a write-off. We’ve got tiny 2ft swell from the south with a 12-second period, but the wave energy is weak (139 to 180 bracket) and the conditions are just poor. Don’t bother paddling out.

Then we hit a bit of a weird one on Saturday 11th July. The morning shows a jump to 5ft from the east, but the period is a short, weak 7 seconds. That’s straight up windswell, and the energy is still only moderate (642). It’s a “marginal” call at best – questionable tide, and the wind is a fresh cross-offshore. It’s rideable, but it’s not going to be pretty. The afternoon flattens right back out.

From Sunday 12th through to Thursday 17th, the swell hangs around 2ft to 3ft from the south-west or west, with periods between 14 and 16 seconds. The energy is creeping up into the moderate-to-strong end (700-894), but the wave height is just too small to get excited about. It’s clean, but it’s a long-period dribble. You’ll be waiting for sets.

The next couple of days, Friday 18th and Saturday 19th, are a bit of a mess. The wind shifts to a cross-shore on Saturday morning, creating a bit of chop, and the swell is a mix of a weak east windswell (4ft at 7 seconds) and small south-west groundswell. Not worth the drive.

Now, here’s where my ears perk up. The first real standout of the outlook is Tuesday 21st July. The morning session shows a 3ft swell from the east with a solid 16-second period. The combined energy hits 1076, which is strong. That’s a proper groundswell pulse. The wind is a moderate cross-offshore breeze. This is the best window of the whole 16 days. It’s still not huge, but the quality of that long-period east swell will make for some nice, lined-up waves. The crowd situation at Tankers can be “often” busy, so expect company, but the conditions should be clean and the juice worth the squeeze. This is the one to circle on the calendar. Just remember, it’s a reef, so watch your fins.

After that, the end of the run (Wednesday 22nd through Friday 24th) fades back into small, weak 1ft to 3ft swell with shorter periods and a return to cross-shore wind. It’s a flat finish.

So, to sum it up: the first 11 days are mostly a bust with one or two marginal mornings. The clear standout is the morning of Tuesday 21st July. If you can wait, that’s your day. The long-range stuff is promising but a bit less certain, so keep an eye on the forecast.

- Rusty

Read more