Tunnels Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Grab your board, but don’t rush out the door just yet. The next week and a half is looking pretty slim for any real surf at Tunnels. We’ve got a long stretch of small, weak swell and a persistent cross-off breeze that’s going to keep things clean but ultimately pretty gutless. The water’s sitting at 80°, which is right about average for this time of year, so at least you won’t need a thick suit.

The first few days, from Wednesday the 5th through to Tuesday the 11th, are going to be a real test of patience. Wave heights are hovering around 1ft to 3ft, with the combined swell energy mostly in the low to mid hundreds (95 to 430). It’s just not doing anything. The swell direction is all over the place—SSE, SW, SSW—but none of it has any punch. You’ll see clean, glassy-ish conditions, but it’s mostly a flat spell. Don’t bother paddling out unless you’re after a long, slow float.

Things start to change a little from Wednesday the 12th through Friday the 14th. The swell bumps up to 3ft to 4ft, and the energy jumps into the strong range, hitting 883 and 863 on the 12th, and staying in the 700s on the 13th. This is the most interesting stretch of the whole window. It’s still not huge, but there’s some life in it. The wind stays cross-off from the ENE, which will keep the face reasonably tidy. The swell direction swings around to the S, which is a bit off the optimum SW for Tunnels, but it’s worth a look. This is the closest we get to a real surf window, and honestly, it’s the standout pick for the whole 16 days. Still, it’s only in the “marginal” category, so keep your expectations in check.

After that, from Saturday the 15th onward, it fades back out. The swell drops to 2ft to 3ft, and the energy slumps back down to the 200-400 range. The breeze stays fresh out of the ENE, and it’s just more of the same small, clean, but unrideable stuff. The last few days, the 19th and 20th, show a spike in period (21 seconds), which is a long period groundswell, but the height is still only 1ft to 2ft. That long period at a break like Tunnels can be a bit weird anyway—tends to straighten out unless it’s got proper size behind it.

So, bottom line: the next week is a write-off. The only real chance you’ve got is Wednesday the 12th through Friday the 14th when the swell bumps up and the energy gets strong. It’s not going to be epic, but it’s the only thing on the menu that’s even worth wetsuiting up for. Keep an eye on it, but don’t cancel any plans.

Rusty

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