Tunnels Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, Rusty here. Let’s chew the fat on what’s gonna be happening in the water.

Honestly, it’s a pretty rough start. The first week is a real dud. There’s some southerly swell showing up, but it’s getting hammered by a strong easterly breeze, making everything choppy and ugly. The wave energy’s all over the place, from 360 (weak) to over 500 (moderate), but it just doesn’t matter when the wind’s that bad. You’re looking at a solid gap of almost a week before anything decent comes along.

The real gem shows up on Tuesday, September 8th. That morning at Tunnels, we’re looking at a 3ft swell from the SSW with a 15-second period – that’s pure groundswell, packing a punch with a moderate energy reading around 580. The wind is a light southerly cross-off, so it’s gonna be clean and lined up. Tunnels is exposed, so it’ll eat that swell up. The water’s sittin’ around 81°, which is pretty much normal for this time of year. Crowds are a regular thing here, so expect some company. That Tuesday morning is your absolute best bet – the standout of the whole run.

Then, on Tuesday afternoon, the wind just dies. Absolute glass. The swell drops a bit to 3ft, but it’s still that solid 14-second SSW groundswell. Glassy conditions at Tunnels are about as good as it gets – silky smooth faces. That’s your second best option in the whole 16 days.

After that, it gets iffy again. Wednesday the 9th has some 3ft WSW swell, but the fresh easterly wind comes back and makes it just marginal. Not worth the effort. The second week fades out into smaller, weaker swells with the energy dropping to just 133 (weak) by the 14th. There’s a tiny bump on Sunday the 13th morning with 2ft SSW groundswell and very light easterly winds, which would be clean, but it’s just small. Surfable, but nothin’ special.

So, put it this way: if you can get out on Tuesday, September 8th, especially the morning, that’s your session. The rest of the time, you might as well wax your board and wait.

- Rusty

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