Tunnels Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, Rusty here. Let’s have a look at what’s cookin’.

Alright, let’s be straight with you – we’ve got a bit of a flat spell to kick things off. The next week and a half is looking pretty average for Tunnels, but don’t you worry, the back half of this outlook is where we might finally see something worth paddling out for.

The main story is a long period, but tiny, SW groundswell hanging around. The issue is, for the first week, the energy is weak to moderate at best, with the combined energy mostly under 600 and often much less. The wind is a persistent cross-off from the ENE, which is okay for keeping the surface clean, but the swell heights are just too small – mostly 2 ft to 3 ft – to get the bank doing anything interesting. It’s a lot of time staring at a clean but gutless ocean.

Now, we start to see a bit of a pulse building around September 18. The Friday morning session shows combined energy hitting 632, which is moderate wave energy, with a 3 ft SSW swell and a period of 17 seconds. That’s a proper groundswell. But it’s still marginal, and the fresh breeze might make it a bit lumpy. Honestly, for a few days around the middle of the month, there’s hints of life but no real standout.

The real spark, the one you’ve been waiting for, shows up on September 27 – a Sunday morning. We’ve got a 2 ft SW groundswell with a 14-second period, combined energy of 241, and the wind drops right out to a light breeze from the ENE. That is clean, glassy potential, and the wave state says "expect good surf conditions". It’s not big, but for a spot that’s been starved, that’s the pick of the bunch. It’s an exposed SW reef, so this long period swell should wrap in nicely.

Then, to cap it all off, Monday September 28 morning brings another promising window. A 2 ft SSW groundswell with a very long 19-second period, combined energy of 474, and a light NE breeze. Again, the conditions are looking good. This is a groundswell with serious legs, and at Tunnels it should produce some clean, lined-up waves. Just remember, with that long period, the sets might be a bit spread out, but the paddling should be easier.

So, the bottom line: the first two weeks are a write-off for anything decent. But if you can hold out, the final Sunday and Monday of this forecast period are your best bets. It’s a classic case of waiting for the light at the end of the tunnel.

Rusty.

Read more