Turtle Cove Surf Forecast and Surf Report

How’s it goin’, Rusty here. I’ve been through the numbers for Turtle Cove, and I’ll tell ya straight – we’re in for a long, quiet patch. The next sixteen days are mostly flat, with only a couple of moments that are even worth paddling out for. Don’t get your hopes up too high.

The pattern is weak overall. The combined swell energy stays mostly in the double digits – numbers like 41, 24, 17 (weak energy) – until we get a brief bump on September 10th. That bump is messy and short-period, so it’s not a good one. Water temp is 70°F, about average for this time of year near Turtle Cove, so the water’s fine, but the waves aren’t.

Let’s go day by day. Starting Monday the 7th and Tuesday the 8th of September, we’ve got tiny swell – 0.7 ft to 1 ft – with clean winds, cross-off and offshore. Combined energy is in the teens to low forties. Just not enough to ride. Wednesday the 9th is the same – small, weak, nothing.

Then Thursday the 10th of September brings a pulse: 7 ft from the SW in the morning, dropping to 6 ft in the afternoon. The combined energy hits 480 (moderate) in the morning and 296 (moderate) in the afternoon. Sounds big, right? But the period is only 7 seconds – that’s short-period, choppy, and weak for the size. Winds are fresh cross-off at 19-22 mph, so it’s clean, but the quality is poor. At over 5 ft, it’s expert-only and sloppy. Honestly, this looks more like a kiteboarding day than a paddle-surf day. Not a standout.

Friday the 11th of September fades fast. Morning has 3 ft swell, but combined energy is only 80 (weak). The afternoon is the first time we see “surfable waves” – 2 ft from the SSW with a 7-second period, and offshore wind from the W at 12 mph. Clean, but tiny and weak. That’s the best we’ve got, and it’s barely a session.

From Saturday the 12th through to Tuesday the 22nd, it’s a flat wasteland. Swell heights hang between 0.7 ft and 2 ft, with combined energy in the teens to low forties. Periods are mostly 8-10 seconds, occasionally hitting 12 seconds on the 19th, but with only 0.7 ft of swell, it’s not breaking. There’s a tiny blip on Friday the 18th afternoon with 2 ft swell and a 10-second period, combined energy 59 (weak), plus a light WSW breeze at 6 mph, keeping it clean. Again, just barely surfable. The rest of that stretch is plagued by onshore winds and lumpy conditions.

So the one true standout is Friday afternoon, September 11th. It’s not a classic, but it’s your best shot for a clean, surfable wave. Turtle Cove is a reef and point break, exposed to SE swell, and the optimum direction is SE, so that 2 ft from the SSW is a little off, but with offshore wind, you might get a few fun ones. Crowds are listed as “sometimes,” so expect a few folks.

There are no other highlights. It’s a long, flat run. With the forecast this poor and consistency low, a blank stretch like this is normal for the area – sometimes the ocean just goes quiet.

Keep your eyes on the charts, and I’ll catch ya down the line.

Rusty.

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