Tunnels Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, this is Rusty checking in with the look ahead over the next couple of weeks. Honestly, it's a pretty quiet stretch for our region, with a lot of small, weak pulses and persistent wind issues.

The whole 16-day window is looking at one break only, and it's going to be a test of patience. We've got Tunnels on the radar, and it's fairly consistent, but the conditions are far from ideal. The main issue is a constant, fresh cross-offshore wind that is going to keep things bumpy and tricky, especially for a spot that's exposed to the swell.

We start off now with a few days of really marginal surf. Friday the 3rd into Saturday the 4th, the swell is tiny at around 2ft. It's a long-period groundswell from the SSW, with 17 to 20 seconds between sets. That sort of period is great for power, but the combined wave energy is only moderate. Honestly, the "poor surf conditions" tag says it all for the first few days.

There's a slight bump in size heading into Sunday the 5th and Monday the 6th, with the swell pushing just under 3ft. The period drops, but it's still a solid 16 to 18 seconds from the SSW. However, with that fresh cross-off wind at 18 to 22 mph, it's just not coming together. The wave comment is still 'poor surf conditions,' and the energy stays in the moderate range.

The second week, from around the 9th of July onwards, the swell drops right back. We're looking at 2ft to 2ft for days on end. The combined wave energy dips into the low hundreds, which is very weak. The period also shortens up. There are glimmers of hope around the 16th of July, where the energy picks back up with a 16 second SSW swell, but the wind is still a problem, and it's only rated as 'marginal.'

If you are an absolute die-hard and Tunnels is your local, you might get a few rideable, albeit small, waves when the tide is right during the 16th and 17th of July, especially if that wind eases just a touch. But this is not a stretch for a session you'd plan around. The water temp is about average for the time of year with no big anomaly, so the wetsuit you're already in should be fine.

For now, this setup is more interesting for a kite session than a proper paddle surf, given that constant cross-off wind and small, weak swell. But hey, it never stays flat forever. I'll keep an eye on it.

- Rusty

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