Turtle Cove Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, let's get into it. The outlook starts on Sunday, September 6th, and we are looking at Turtle Cove, a reef and point set-up. The water temperature is 70°, which is about 1° warmer than average for this time of year—nothing too wild, just a touch on the mild side.

Right off the bat, the first week is a bit of a struggle. Sunday and Monday have next to nothing on offer. Sunday morning has a tiny 1ft easterly windswell with a short 8-second period, but the cross-onshore breeze messes it right up. The combined swell energy is a weak 39, so you can basically forget it. Sunday afternoon is even smaller at 1ft and the energy drops to 21. Not worth paddling out for.

Monday morning looks clean with a cross-offshore breeze from the northwest at 12 mph, but the swell is still a pathetic 1ft from the east at 10 seconds. The energy is only 45, so it's clean but gutless. Monday afternoon has proper offshore wind from the west at 9 mph, but the swell is down to 1ft. You could take a log out for a cruise, but don't expect any push.

Tuesday and Wednesday stay flat and clean but tiny. Swell heights hover around 0.3ft to 1ft, and the energy numbers are in the single digits or teens. It's all clean because of the offshore or cross-off winds, but there is no wave energy to speak of.

Then things change quickly on Thursday, September 10th. We get a pulse of swell from the southwest, 7ft on Thursday morning and 7ft in the afternoon. The period is short though, only 7 seconds, and the wind is a fresh cross-offshore at 22 mph. That's a solid amount of wind for a wave that size. The combined swell energy jumps to 418, which is strong and noticeable. The problem is, with that short period and the strong wind, it's going to be a bit of a washing machine out there. This is more likely to appeal to the experienced crew, as 6ft+ on a short period is punchy and messy. Not the cleanest session, but at least there is some real power in the water.

Friday, September 11th, the swell drops back to 3ft in the morning with a cross-off breeze and the energy is 94. Still not great. By Friday afternoon, the wind goes offshore from the west at 9 mph, and the swell is 3ft from the southwest with a 7-second period. The energy is 91, and the report calls it "surfable waves but very ordinary conditions." That's the best of a bad lot so far, but it's hardly a standout. It's clean, but small and short-period.

Saturday and Sunday, September 12th and 13th, we are back to small, poor conditions. Cross-shore and cross-onshore winds, swell under 3ft, and energy in the 30s to 90s. Not worth getting excited about.

The second week, from Monday, September 14th onward, stays small. Swell heights mostly between 1ft and 3ft, periods of 4 to 8 seconds, and energy in the 20s to 60s. The winds are often cross-offshore, so the surface will be clean, but there just isn't any real swell to work with. The occasional gusty onshore days like Wednesday, September 16th, and Thursday, September 17th, will be lumpy and messy.

The best on offer is honestly the Thursday, September 10th pulse. It's the only time the energy gets into the hundreds, and you'll see some size. But the short period and the fresh wind mean it won't be classic Turtle Cove. For the rest of the period, you are looking at clean but tiny conditions, or small and bumpy. There is a long gap of nearly two weeks where nothing really stands out, and the surf is mostly below 3ft.

So, keep your expectations low, watch that Thursday pulse, and otherwise bring a longboard or a kite. With those beach and reef setups, if the swell stays this small and the wind picks up, you might have more fun on a kite than a paddle board.

Rusty.

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