Tankers Surf Forecast and Surf Report

G’day, Rusty here. Look, I’m not gonna sugarcoat it – this 16-day stretch for Tankers (Tankers) is a proper mixed bag with a lot of waiting around. The water is sitting at a warm 81°, which is about normal for this time of year, so no surprises there.

The first sniff of anything decent won’t come until Thursday the 20th. Wednesday the 19th is a write-off with tiny 2 ft SW groundswell and a light cross breeze – just marginal pond slop. The standout for the whole run is Thursday morning, 20th August. That’s your best bet. We’ve got a clean 2 ft SW groundswell from the south-west, building with a solid 18-second period. That long-period groundswell will wrap into the reef with real shape. The wind is glassy, dead calm – there’s nothing better. The combined swell energy is moderate at 411 – enough to feel it push through. It is a consistent reef break, so expect a few others out there, but it’ll be worth it. Friday afternoon the 21st also looks nice with 3 ft SSW groundswell at 16 seconds and glassy conditions – clean, but not quite as big as Thursday.

Then we hit a wall. From Saturday the 22nd right through to Tuesday the 25th morning, the wind cranks up from the east-northeast at 22 to 25 mph. Swell stays low around 2 ft to 3 ft, but with that strong breeze, it’s just a mess. The combined energy is moderate (482 on Saturday), but the wind is too strong for a clean paddle. The setup looks more interesting for kite surfing than paddle surfing for those days.

Tuesday the 25th morning sees a shift – a 4 ft east swell with a short 8-second period, but still cross-shore winds. Not great.

From Friday the 28th through to the end of the run, we get a persistent east swell building to 5 ft-6 ft, but with periods as short as 7-8 seconds. That’s short-period windswell. The wind stays cross-off from the east-northeast, so the waves are clean but mushy. The combined energy climbs into the strong range (643 on the 31st, 750 on 1st September). It’s not terrible, but it’s not the classic reef bowl you’d want. By the 1st and 2nd of September, that period extends to 10-11 seconds, which is better, but still not the standout quality of that Thursday the 20th.

So, bottom line: if you’re free, get out Thursday morning the 20th – that’s the day. The rest is either blown out or boggy windswell. Things might improve by the first week of September, but it’s a long way off and the forecast gets less certain. I’d be keeping an eye on it.

Rusty.

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