Turtle Cove Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Righto, let’s have a look at what’s on offer at Turtle Cove (Big Island) for the next couple of weeks.

Honestly, mate, the outlook is pretty flat. There’s a long stretch of poor conditions, and it’s going to be a real waiting game. The water temperature is 72°, which is pretty average for this time of year, so nothing to write home about there.

We kick off on Thursday morning, 20 August, with tiny 0.4ft SE windswell, period a short 7 seconds. The wind is light offshore from the W, so it’s clean, but there’s barely any energy (28). It’s a real struggle for a proper wave. The whole of that first week is a write-off: Friday through to Monday see onshore or cross-onshore winds, minimal swell heights under 3ft, and energy levels staying under 100. The best of the first week is really just a few afternoons where the wind goes cross-offshore, but the swell is too small to get excited about. The energy stays weak.

Around Tuesday morning, 25 August, we finally see a small spike in quality. Nothing huge – 2ft SSW swell, period still short at 6 seconds, but the wind is light cross-offshore from the S, making the surface clean. The energy is only 50, but the wave comment says “surfable waves but very ordinary conditions”. It’s not a standout, just the best of a bad bunch. Still, if you’re desperate for a paddle, that’s your window.

Then there’s a gap of a few days with poor conditions again: Wednesday through Friday have onshore windswell from the ENE and ESE, bumpy and choppy. The energy climbs a bit on Wednesday (137 and 168), but the wind is either onshore or glassy with poor conditions. The glassy Wednesday afternoon with 4ft SSE swell and 7-second period is technically the cleanest wave of the period, but the wave comment says it’s still “very ordinary”.

The second week is quiet. From Saturday, 29 August, to Wednesday, 3 September, the swell stays tiny (1ft to 3ft) mostly from the S or SSE. The wind is cross-offshore for most of it, so the surface is clean, but the energy is weak and the wave quality is poor. There’s no real standout swell.

The only notable event is way out on Friday, 4 September. The afternoon brings 6ft E swell with a short 7-second period – that’s moderate energy (262) – but it’s coming straight onshore from the ESE at 20 km/h, so it’ll be messy. That’s the biggest swell of the lot, but the wind ruins it. For a reef and point, a longer period would have been better.

Overall, there’s nothing here worth a mission. The best chance for a surf is that Tuesday morning, 25 August, for a cleanish but tiny wave. Everything else is either too small, too choppy, or too windy. If you’re a kiteboarder, the strong onshore winds later on might be more interesting than a paddle.

Rusty.

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