Tankers Surf Forecast and Surf Report

G’day, I’m Rusty. Alright, let’s get into it. The outlook for Tankers is a long stretch of so-so conditions that’ll test your patience. The best surfing window is right at the start and then right at the very end of the forecast period. There’s a big gap of days where it’s not worth paddling out, starting around September 18th and dragging on until the 29th—over a week of marginal to poor quality surf. The exception is a promising, but less certain, chance on September 30th. The water temp is about average for this time of year.

The only real standout here is the very first morning, Tuesday the 15th of September. It’s not big—3 ft of SW swell—but that light breeze from the east making it cross-offshore will have things looking clean. The swell period is 20 seconds, which is proper long period groundswell, meaning there’s some real grunt in the water and the energy is strong (598). Tankers is a reef break, so that long period will peel nicely. This is the pick of the lot for the whole run, but it’s a small window. The Tuesday afternoon is also clean with a 3 ft SSW swell and even better cross-off wind. After that, the onshore wind kicks up and the quality drops quickly.

From Wednesday the 16th, the wind freshens from the ENE and stays cross-off, but the strength (up to 15–19 mph) creates bumpy, lumpy conditions and the scores drop right off. The swell hangs around the 3 ft mark from the SSW with a dropping period, but the combined energy is still moderate (750 on Wednesday morning). By Friday the 18th, the wind is hitting 19 mph from the east, the swell bumps to 4 ft from the SSW, but the “fresh cross-shore with lumpy cross-chop” description tells you it’s messy. The energy is strong (1043), but the quality is not there for a good surf. This pattern holds for days: moderate to fresh breeze, clean but not clean enough, with a dropping period and marginal comments.

Then, on the 22nd of September, the swell swings to the east at 5 ft with a period of just 8 seconds. That’s short period windswell, and the combined energy is moderate (552), but it’s described as “poor surf conditions.” It’s too big for beginners and the short period means weak, lumpy waves. The 23rd sees the swell peak at 6 ft from the east with a period of 10 seconds and a combined energy of 1222—strong energy—but the wind is still strong (22 mph from the ENE) and it’s still only marginal. That much swell at a reef break like Tankers with a cross-off wind that strong is more of a challenge than a treat. From the 24th to the 29th, it’s a mix of small SSW swell (2–3 ft) and wind that’s either moderate or fresh breeze. The scores are consistently 1 or 0. Not worth your time.

The very end of the outlook, the morning of Wednesday the 30th of September, offers a glimmer. The swell is small—only 2 ft from the SSW—but the magic is in the wind: light offshore from the north at 6 mph. That’s glassy conditions on a reef break with a 15-second period swell. The combined energy is on the weaker side (318), but this is a “good surf conditions” call from the data. It’s a long way out, so treat it as promising but not locked in. If it holds, get there early because Tankers can get crowded.

Signing off, Rusty.

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