Tarcoola (Chanteez) Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, let’s get into it.

The opening stretch of this outlook is a bit of a tease. We’ve got solid, long-period southwest groundswell in the water, and Tarcoola (Chanteez) is looking at some decent size. But there’s a catch – the first standout window is tight, and then we go through a long stretch where it’s just too big and messy for this place.

The real moment to be out there is Sunday afternoon, the 16th. The swell is building to a clean 6ft from the southwest with a 16-second period. The wind is light out of the ESE, giving us a clean, cross-off texture. It’s not huge, but it’s powerful and lined up. That’s the one to circle early. The energy reading is moderate at 1537, but the quality is what matters here. Water temp is 67°, which is about normal for this time of year, nothing wild.

Monday the 17th is a wipeout. The wind swings around and gets fresh and cross-onshore, and the swell jumps up to 8ft, making it lumpy and poor. Not your day.

From Tuesday the 18th through to well past the following weekend, the swell just gets too big for Tarcoola. We’re talking 10ft on Tuesday, and it hovers in that 7ft to 10ft range for days. The wind and tide are sometimes favorable, but the size is just too much for this break, it’s only for experts, and even then, it’s pushing the limits. The energy readings show this clearly, from a strong 5151 on Tuesday morning down to a still-potent 2465 on Wednesday. It’s a long stretch of “no thanks” for the average punter.

There’s a brief window on Saturday morning, the 22nd, where it drops to a cleaner 7ft with a nice NE cross-off breeze and the period is still a solid 15 seconds. But it’s still big, and the afternoon turns to chop. It’s a marginal call at best.

After that, the swell backs off but the wind stays messy. We get a few days of poor and marginal conditions from Sunday the 23rd through Tuesday the 25th. The swell drops to 4ft – 6ft, but it’s cross-onshore and lumpy, with periods dropping. Not worth the paddle.

Things start to get interesting again on Wednesday morning, the 26th. The swell jumps back up to a powerful 8ft from the SW with a 17-second period. The wind is light out of the SE, giving a clean cross-off look. But it’s again over that 8ft mark on the afternoon. Too big for the average surfer.

Now, here’s the real second standout. Thursday morning, the 27th. The swell drops to a much more manageable 6ft, still from the SW with a 15-second period. The wind is light offshore out of the ENE. It’s clean, it’s got power, and it’s the right size. This is another excellent window, less than a week and a half out, so keep an eye on it. The energy is at 1538, which is moderate, but the conditions are prime.

The last few days are a mixed bag. Friday the 28th morning is small and clean at 3ft with a long 19-second period and light wind, but it’s a bit marginal. The afternoon gets too big and messy again. Saturday the 29th is blown out. Sunday and Monday drift back down, with some cleanish but small surf at 5ft – 6ft, but the period drops off and the wind is mostly cross-onshore.

So, honing in on it: the standout is Sunday afternoon, the 16th, a clean, powerful 6ft SW swell with light cross-off winds. The other one to watch is Thursday morning, the 27th, with a clean 6ft SW swell and offshore breeze. The rest is either too big, too messy, or too weak. It’s a frustrating pattern, but those two windows are real. Make them count.

That’s the long and short of it.

Rusty

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