Turtles Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Right folks, let’s have a look at what’s coming our way. The whole sixteen-day window is all about one spot: Turtles. It’s an exposed reef break that only the advanced crew should be looking at, and it’s a fairly consistent setup. The water temp is sitting at about 73°, which is pretty normal for this time of year, nothing unusual there.

The opening act kicks off Tuesday, August 11th. To be honest, the surf is there—a solid 8ft SW swell—but that 22 mph cross-off wind makes it a tough paddle. The wave energy is strong at 3715, but it’s a bit of a battle out there. It’s a marginal call at best.

Wednesday the 12th is when things start to look interesting. The morning has a clean, fresh offshore breeze from the East at 22 mph with an 8ft SW swell and heaps of energy (2941). That’s clean but still a handful. The real standout, the best on offer across the whole run, is Wednesday afternoon. We’ve got a 8ft SW groundswell with a long 16-second period, a light 16 mph offshore wind, and total wave energy at 2687. This is clean, powerful, and will be offering up some proper shaped waves for the experienced. The water is warm, the conditions are excellent—this is the one to circle.

Thursday the 13th is a step down. The morning is clean enough with a 6ft SW swell (1475 energy), but a cross-off wind keeps it from being special. By the afternoon, it goes light cross-onshore and drops off.

Friday the 14th has a bigger 7ft WSW swell (2345) on the morning with clean cross-off winds, but the set-up starts to get messy into the afternoon as a cross-shore breeze picks up. Saturday the 15th looks like a write-off with fresh cross-onshore winds and poor conditions by the afternoon.

Sunday the 16th sees the swell drop right back to 5ft. The morning has a light onshore breeze, but it’s weak. Not worth the paddle. The following week is a bit of a mixed bag. Monday the 17th is choppy and onshore. But look out for Tuesday the 18th morning. The swell jumps back up to a punchy 8ft from the WSW, with a long 16-second period and a light cross-off breeze. The wave energy is huge at 3593, and while the rating says it’s for experienced surfers only—this is a serious, powerful groundswell. It’s a close second best for the whole period, but you need your wits about you. The afternoons from there on tend to get ruined by a strong cross or onshore breeze, chopping up the lineup.

Wednesday the 19th through to the end of the month is a pattern of clean mornings with moderate to solid WSW swell (7ft to 8ft) and decent cross-off winds, which offer a window, but the afternoons are consistently poor. The mornings of the 23rd, 24th, and 25th of August will give you clean 6ft+ surf with good energy, but the crowd factor at Turtles is something to keep in mind—it does get busy.

The very end of the run, Wednesday the 26th of August, sees the energy dropping to 1137 and the swell fading to 5ft. You can still get a wave, but the magic is gone.

So, the clear winner is Wednesday afternoon, August 12th. The runner-up is Tuesday morning, August 18th. Everything else is a case of picking the clean morning windows and getting out before the wind turns.

Rusty.

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