Turtle Cove Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let's get into it.

We're looking at a bit of a slow stretch ahead for our usual spot. The pattern is pretty flat and uninspiring, with long gaps of nothing really worth paddling out for. The first few days are a write-off, and it's not until the very end that we see a glimmer of something half-decent.

Alright, let's talk about the one spot with any real potential. The highlight of the whole 16-day window is Turtle Cove (Turtle-Cove), but you have to be patient. The water is a chilly 66°, which is 5° colder than normal for this time of year – that's a very unusual and notable drop, so you'll want a good thick wetsuit.

The first real hope comes on Thursday, July 24th. Friday morning sees a tiny 2ft S/SW swell with a short 7-second period. The energy is weak (78). But the wind is glassy, dead calm, which is a major positive. The conditions will be clean, but the waves are going to be tiny and very ordinary. It's a surfable option, but nothing to get excited about.

Then we hit a massive dry spell. From Friday afternoon right through to the end of July and the first few days of August, it's just poor surf conditions day after day. The wind is all over the place – cross-on, onshore, gusty – and the swell is either small, short-period, or both. There's a bump on Tuesday, July 28th afternoon with a 6ft swell from the SSE, but it's short-period (7 seconds) and the wind is a moderate cross-offshore. The combined energy of all swells directed here climbs to 397, which is moderate, but the forecast quality is marginal at best. That's a lot of wind and short-period energy for a reef and point break, making it messy and more of a challenge than a treat.

The next real chance shows up on Friday, August 1st – that's a week from this coming Friday. The morning sees a 4ft S swell, 8-second period, with glassy conditions (E wind at 3 mph). The energy is moderate (175). This is a clean, surfable window. The S swell direction is a good match for the optimum SE direction, and the glassy wind will make for some fun, clean lines at the point. Keep in mind the 8-second period means it's a shorter-period wind swell, not a long-period groundswell, so it won't be as powerful, but it should be rideable.

After that, we get a few more clean days with cross-offshore winds around Monday, August 4th and Tuesday, August 5th, but the swell drops back to 3ft and 2ft, and the energy is moderate to weak. By Wednesday, August 6th, the wind goes offshore and glassy, but the swell is tiny at 1ft with a 7-second period and very weak energy (23). That's a classic flat spell, not much you can do with that.

So, the only standout is the Friday, August 1st morning session at Turtle Cove. The 4ft S swell with glassy conditions makes it the best of a very average bunch. The crowds are listed as "sometimes," so you might see a few others out, but it won't be a circus. Everything else is either too small, too windy, or too ordinary to bother with. It's a tough outlook, but it’s the hand we’re dealt.

Rusty.

Read more