Tunnels Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, Rusty here again with the same picture, just in feet and miles per hour. This whole forecast is all about one break: Tunnels. We’ve got consistent swell coming in, but the wind is going to be a real headache most of the time. It’s not looking like a classic week, but there is one brief window to snag a clean one.

Starting from Tuesday, September 15th. The water is a warm 81°, which is normal for this time of year. We’ve got a small SW groundswell rolling in – about 2ft with a long period of 19 seconds. The combined swell energy sits at 422, which is moderate. The problem is the wind: 20 mph from the east, and it’s cross-off. That keeps the surface clean but kills the quality. The swell holds around 3ft to 3ft for the first few days, period still long, but the wind just doesn’t let up. It’s a fresh breeze out of the ENE to NE for days on end, so don’t expect to get any joy from this first week. Tunnels is a reef, so with that long-period energy, it’ll be working, but the bump from the wind is going to ruin the face.

Going into the second week, the swell drops a bit – down to about 2ft to 2ft. The wind stays stiff out of the ENE. Then we hit Wednesday, September 23rd. In the afternoon, everything relaxes. The wind drops to a gentle 15 mph from the NE, the swell is a tiny 2ft but from the SSW with a period of 16 seconds, and the combined energy is 279. The report says “expect good surf conditions.” This is your shot. With the lighter breeze and a workable long-period swell, Tunnels will smooth out into clean, rideable lines. It’s not a big day, but it’s the only day that looks proper.

After that, it’s back to the grind. The wind cranks back up to 30 mph or more from the ENE for the rest of September, blowing cross-off and strong. The swell sits around 2ft to 3ft, and the combined energy bounces around moderate territory (300-651), but the onshore-or-cross-off wind means it’s going to be a messy paddle. Honestly, on those bigger wind days, this place might be more fun on a kite than a surfboard.

So, to wrap it up: if you’re an intermediate surfer who wants one clean session in a beautiful location, pencil in that Wednesday afternoon the 23rd. The rest of the run is a battle against the wind.

- Rusty

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