Tankers Surf Forecast and Surf Report

G’day, Rusty here. Let’s have a look at what Tankers has in store for us over the next couple of weeks. Straight up, this is not a period for the faint-hearted or the impatient. We’re looking at a long, dry spell of marginal to poor surf for the first week and a half, with only a couple of late-blooming windows that might get the heart ticking. The water temp is sitting at 81°, which is about average for this time of year, so no surprises there.

The outlook kicks off on Friday, August 7th, with a tiny 1ft SW groundswell, but the 9 mph cross-off breeze is the only thing keeping it clean. The energy is weak (210), and it’s barely surfable. This carries on through the weekend and into the next week – Saturday, August 8th, has a slightly bigger 2ft SSW swell, but the wind is up to 19 mph from the ENE, and the energy is moderate (561). Still, the scores are low, and the comments say it’s marginal at best. Sunday, August 9th, sees a 4ft E swell with a short period of 7 seconds, meaning weak, mushy waves – the energy is moderate (483), but the wind is still strong. Monday, August 10th, is more of the same: 4ft E swell, period of 8 seconds, energy at 458, but still poor conditions.

The middle of the week offers a glimmer. Wednesday, August 12th, brings a 3ft S swell with a period of 18 seconds – that’s a proper groundswell with decent energy (1028) – but the wind remains a stiff 19 mph cross-off. It’s still marginal, but you can feel the ocean waking up. Thursday, August 13th, sees the swell building to 4ft from the south, period 16 seconds, and energy climbing to 1055. Still, that persistent 22 mph cross-off wind is a killer. This pattern holds into the second weekend, with Saturday, August 15th, offering a 5ft E swell (period 8 seconds, energy 672), but still not clean.

Now, the standout window. Skip ahead to Wednesday, August 19th. The morning is light cross-on with a 2ft SW groundswell (period 24 seconds – ultra long period) and energy at 342. But the real gem is the afternoon: glassy conditions, zero wind, and the same 2ft swell. This is the kind of session you wait for. The following day, Thursday, August 20th, is even better. Afternoon brings glassy conditions, a 3ft SW swell (period 19 seconds), and energy jumping to 710. The forecast says “expect very good surf conditions,” and for Tankers, that’s the best we’re going to see. This is the one to aim for. Then on Friday, August 21st, the afternoon is glassy again with a 3ft SW swell (period 18 seconds) and energy at 597 – another excellent call. After that, it drops back into poor, windy, cross-off conditions from Saturday, August 22nd, with 3ft SSW and strong winds.

The bottom line: a long, quiet start, then a short but sweet burst of clean, glassy groundswell on the 19th, 20th, and 21st. The 3ft SW on glassy afternoons is your best bet. Crowds? At Tankers, they’re often around, so expect company for those few good windows. If you can wait, that’s your move.

Rusty.

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