Turtle Cove Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here with a look at the surf ahead for Turtle Cove. Let's cut straight to it—this stretch is looking pretty grim for a solid stretch, with a bit of a pulse of size and energy showing up way out in the second week. You're gonna need patience.

Right now and for the first several days, we are really struggling. The water is sitting at a chilly 64°, which is about 5° colder than usual for this time of year. That's a notable drop, so you'll want a good thick wetsuit. The problem is small, weak, short-period swell coming from the south and southeast. The combined energy is really low, with values in the 20s, 40s, and 60s. It's basically flat or dribbly junk. The wind, when it's not howling, is often cross-shore or even onshore, keeping things choppy and messy.

There's a glimmer on Wednesday the 15th. We see a little bump in size to 4ft from the southwest, with the energy picking up to a moderate 160. The wind is offshore from the west-southwest in the morning, which might clean it up a bit, but the period is a short 6 seconds, so it's going to be weak, lumpy, and pretty ordinary. Definitely not worth making any plans for. The rest of that week stays tiny and unimpressive.

Now, hold on to your hats for the second week. Starting around the 21st, the energy starts to climb fast, hitting 418 and 464 on Tuesday the 21st with 4ft to 5ft swell from the south. But the wind is cross-on or onshore, so the quality is poor. By the 22nd and 23rd, we’ve got some serious grunt. Swell heights hit 7ft to 8ft from the south, and the combined energy is strong, reading between 777 and 1088. The wind shifts to a cross-offshore direction, coming from the southwest, so it should be reasonably clean. This is definitely expert territory though—8ft is serious, and with a 9-second period, it's gonna be powerful and a handful. The guidance says Turtle Cove (Northland) is a reef and point, which is exactly where you want to be for a longer-period south swell like this. It's a fairly consistent spot, but expect it to be busy as the word gets out. The morning of Saturday the 25th looks okay as the swell drops to 5ft with light offshore winds and clean conditions.

So, to sum it up: a long stretch of flatness and poor conditions followed by a very solid, expert-only pulse of south swell mid-to-late next week. If you're an experienced surfer, keep an eye on the 22nd and 23rd. If you're a beginner or intermediate, take the week off.

Rusty.

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