Tankers Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, Rusty here, lookin' at what's on offer at Tankers over the next couple of weeks. First thing to flag – Tankers is a reef break, consistent but exposed, and it's usually gotta have the right southeasterly or southerly direction to line up proper.

Right now, for the next few days, it's a quiet start. We're lookin' at small, messy stuff with barely any energy. Tuesday morning the 4th has a weak 2 ft SSW swell, only 109 (weak energy) and a cross breeze – not worth paddlin' out. Tuesday afternoon does bump up a bit to a 4 ft E swell and 462 (moderate energy), and the wind goes cross-off, so it cleans up. It's surfable, but it ain't gonna light your fire.

Wednesday the 5th and Thursday the 6th are even smaller all day – we're talkin' knee-high stuff with energy below 150 (weak). The wind is cross-off or light, keepin' it clean, but there's just no push. Friday the 7th picks up a bit of period – a 1 ft SW swell at 21 seconds, that's a real long period groundswell – but the cross wind is a solid 30 km/h, makin' it lumpy and tough. The energy is only 214 (weak). Not a day to get excited about.

Saturday the 8th morning has a brief blip: a 5 ft E swell with a short 7-second period, and 645 (moderate energy). The wind is a stiff 35 km/h cross-off, but the period is too short to hold together. That's more of a messy, blown-out thing, likely interesting for a kite surfer more than a paddle surfer. The afternoon drops right off.

From Sunday the 9th all the way through to Monday the 17th, it's a long slog. We're lookin' at small waves – mostly 2 ft to 4 ft – with a mix of short period E swells and some longer period S or SW groundswells. The problem is the trade wind machine cranks: constant ENE winds around 15 to 25 mph, cross-off or cross, keepin' it clean enough but the swell is just too weak or too straight for a reef like Tankers. Energy values hang mostly in the 300 to 500 range (moderate), but the scores are all zeros. Even the few "marginal" calls on the 12th and 13th with S swell up to 4 ft and moderate energy around 900-1100 (moderate to strong) – it's still with that strong breeze. Not a standout.

The water temp here is about average for the time of year, so no surprises.

The only possible window of interest – and I'm bein' generous – is Wednesday the 12th afternoon and Thursday the 13th. The afternoon of the 12th has a 4 ft S swell, 18-second period, solid 1110 energy (strong), and clean cross-off wind. That's the biggest groundswell in the whole run. It's a long period, so at a beach break you'd see it close out, but on a reef like this it could wrap in with some shape if the direction is spot-on. It's just heavily wind-affected still, with that fresh breeze. Not a true standout – more of a "maybe if you're desperate and local."

Friday the 14th morning keeps that S swell around 3 ft, but the afternoon jumps to a 7 ft E swell with a short 8-second period and 814 energy (strong). That's big enough for experts only, but that period is just a windswell bump, not a groundswell, so it'll be lumpy, bumpy, and a chore.

From the 15th right through to the 19th of August, it's back to small, short-period E swells with strong winds. Nothin' to get you out of bed.

Overall: There are no real standouts in this 16-day window. The best chance is a very brief window around the 12th and 13th with some S groundswell, but the wind never lets up. If you're a local and you're patient, you might snag a couple of clean-ish ones on the 12th afternoon. For the rest of us, it's a long stretch of onshore wind and small swell.

This is Rusty, signing off.

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