Tankers Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let's break down what the next couple of weeks are looking like for your stretch of coast. It’s a bit of a mixed bag, so let’s get into it.

We kick things off with the first real surf showing up on Thursday the 3rd of September. Tankers is a reliable spot, a consistent reef break that’s exposed to the south, but the beginning of this run is all about the east in the swell. We're looking at a chest-high 6.2ft of easterly windswell with a short, punchy 7-second period. The water’s sitting at 81°, which is right about average for this time of year, so nothing out of the ordinary there. The wind is a cross-offshore breeze, which is making the surface clean, but to be honest, that short period swell is going to be a bit sectiony and without much push. It’s rideable for sure, but we're not talking about anything that will blow your mind. There’s a decent amount of energy in the water though, with a combined reading of 1051.

Now, into Friday the 4th and Saturday the 5th, the swell drops a touch to 4.9ft and 5.9ft but the quality gets better. The period jumps up to the 12-14 second range, so you’re getting proper groundswell here. It’s still coming from the south, and the winds stay in that cross-offshore zone, keeping things pretty clean. Saturday morning looks like the pick of this little run with the swell coming from the east at 5.9ft and a 14-second period, with the combined energy pushing over 2001. It’s still not gigantic, but the longer period is going to make it feel so much better and more powerful than the earlier windswell. You'll get some proper lines at Tankers.

Then we get a real standout window on the afternoon of Sunday the 6th. The morning is a bit junky with a cross-wind, but by the afternoon it settles into a gentle cross-off breeze. The swell is still around 5.9ft from the east with a 12-second period, but the combined energy is up to 2400. The forecast notes this as excellent surf for experienced surfers, and I'd have to agree. It should be clean, hollow enough for a good time, and the longer period will give those waves some real grunt. This is the first highlight of the period, and a great chance to score some fun ones at a spot that can be world-class when it lines up.

Don't get too excited though, because Monday the 7th turns ugly. A big south-southwest groundswell arrives, and it's a brute. We go from a manageable 11.5ft in the morning, then up to a massive 18ft by the afternoon. The period is a long 15 seconds, so there’s a ton of energy, with the combined swell energy reading an enormous 12469 in the afternoon. This is seriously powerful. The problem is the wind. It swings strong cross-onshore and, by the afternoon, it’s a strong breeze creating a messy, lumpy surface. This isn’t surf for the faint-hearted; it's expert-only territory, and with the onshore wind, it’s likely to be a washing machine. Keep your feet on the sand that day unless you’re a proper charger. This setup looks way more interesting for a kite surfer than us paddle guys.

The ocean takes a breather on Tuesday the 8th. The swell drops to 6.6ft in the morning with a southerly wind, but it quickly fades to 3.6ft with a gentle cross-onshore breeze. The quality is pretty poor and the forecast is calling it marginal. After that big pulse, it’s time to rest and let things settle down.

From Wednesday the 9th of September all the way through Friday the 18th, it’s a long, drawn-out period of small surf. We get a string of south and southwest swells, mostly in the 1.6ft to 4.3ft range. The winds are mostly cross-offshore and the conditions are clean, but there’s just no size or power. The combined energy readings are mostly in the low hundreds, showing that it’s weak. There’s one interesting day, around Tuesday the 15th, where the period gets up to 20-21 seconds and the swell is a foot-high 3.3ft. It’s super clean, and for a log or a fun mid-length, it might be glassy goodness, but the score is still low. Then on the 16th and 17th we see the swell period hold in the 16-18 second range, but the height is still just over 3.3ft. It's teasing us with long-period energy but nothing behind it. The final day on the 18th sees the swell bump up to 6.2ft, but it’s back to short-period easterly windswell at 8 seconds, which is just poor.

So, to wrap it up: the standout is definitely the Sunday afternoon session on the 6th. It’s got the clean conditions, the long-period energy, and just enough size to be super fun. If you miss that, you

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