Turtles Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let’s have a good look at what’s coming up for Turtles. It’s a reef setup, exposed to the swell, and it’s looking pretty solid for advanced surfers only for the majority of the run. There’s some real promise further out, but we gotta work through a fair bit of frustration to get there.

The first few days are a bit of a write-off, to be honest. A solid 6ft to 7ft WSW swell (period 15 seconds) is pushing in on Monday the 14th, but the wind is just messy – cross or cross-on from the south at 12 to 19 mph. That strong swell energy (1743) is getting chopped up. It’s gonna be lumpy and unappealing. Tuesday the 15th is much the same story with that fresh cross-on wind trashing the surface. Honestly, the first three days are almost a total loss for a clean wave.

Wednesday morning the 16th offers a small glimmer. We get a drop to around 7ft from the SW, and the wind goes light at 6 mph from the south. It’s still cross-shore, but with that light breeze we’ll get some small wind ripples rather than full-on chop. The combined energy is still strong (1494). It’s a marginal call, but *maybe* you can find a cleaner one if you’re patient.

We then hit a real lull. From late Wednesday through to the end of Friday the 18th, the swell drops out – we’re talking 4ft down to 3ft – but the wind is onshore or cross-on and strong. The energy drops into the hundreds (587-761), so it’s weak and messy. A total no-go for proper surfing.

Now, here’s where it gets interesting. Saturday morning the 19th of September. Hold onto your board. We get a big pulse of 10ft swell from the WSW with a 16-second period. That’s a very long-period groundswell, and the combined energy hits massive at 3684. That’s a serious amount of water moving. Because it’s a reef, that long period should line up nicely, but you’re looking at expert territory – 10ft is big, and these sets will pack a punch. The wind? Moderate cross-shore at 12 mph from the south. Not perfect, but with that much energy and a clean reef, it's going to be powerful. This is the standout of the whole run, hands down. Get on it early that morning if you’ve got the skill, because the afternoon gets fresh again.

Sunday morning the 20th is another decent look. The swell drops to a still-good 7ft from the SW (13 seconds), and the wind goes super light from the south-southwest at only 6 mph. That’s near-glass. The energy is still strong at 1613, and with that light breeze, Turtles could be absolutely pristine and lined up. This is your second best window.

Beyond that, it’s a bit of a mixed bag with clean sessions popping up. Tuesday morning the 22nd and Wednesday morning the 23rd both have cross-offshore winds (SSE and SE respectively), keeping the surface clean on swells around 6ft to 6ft. Conditions will be workable and much better than the early week chaos, but the swell isn’t as powerful as that weekend peak.

The final week from the 25th onward looks more onshore and lumpy again, with moderate to fresh cross-on winds. The swell stays in the 6ft to 8ft range, which has plenty of grunt, but the wind just won’t cooperate. It’s a frustrating end to a 16-day window that has a few epic moments bookended by a lot of chop.

Rusty.

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