Turtles Surf Forecast and Surf Report

G'day, Rusty here. Let’s cut straight to it. We’ve got a run of swell on the way, but it’s not all going to be pretty. The opening days are a bit of a write-off, so don’t get too keen on the short term. The real action, and the best of the window, shapes up later in the week and again in the second week.

For the first few days, starting Friday afternoon (August 14th), it’s a bit of a messy affair. We’ve got a solid 7ft SW swell at Turtles, but that SSW cross wind is going to chop it right up. The water's 72°, which is pretty normal for this time of year, so no worries there, but the surf itself isn't worth paddling out for. Saturday morning (August 15th) is your first real look. The swell drops a touch to 6ft but the wind swings east and goes offshore. That’s a proper clean-up. It’s a long-period groundswell coming from the SW, and Turtles (Big Island) is a reef that loves that direction. It’s a bit of a standout for the early part, but it’s still only a 4/10 call. Sunday (August 16th) goes downhill again with the wind going onshore, and that’s how it stays through Monday (August 17th) – swell pulsing but the cross-onshore wind ruining any chance of clean waves. The energy is moderate, around the 1900-2100 mark, but the quality just isn’t there.

Now, here’s where it gets interesting. Tuesday morning (August 18th) is a big jump. That swell pushes up to 10ft, with a 17-second period, and the energy reading blows out to 4947 – that's moderate-to-strong power. The wind is a cross-offshore from the SE, leaving it clean. This is for experienced surfers only; 10ft at Turtles is serious. The afternoon adds a bit more size, 12ft, with even more energy at 6058, but the wind swings around to a cross-shore, so it gets lumpy. The standouts for this first week are clearly Tuesday morning (August 18th) and Wednesday morning (August 19th) which still has 10ft WSW swell, a long 16s period, and that clean cross-offshore wind. It’s big, powerful, and will have some real shape to it. After that, it drops off in quality and size into Thursday (August 20th) and Friday (August 21st), with the wind being the main issue.

The second week is a bit more hit-and-miss, which is normal for long-range calls. There’s a period from August 22nd to 24th that looks average at best – onshore winds and weaker swell. But keep an eye on Tuesday the 25th; the swell starts to build again and by Wednesday morning (August 26th) we’re back up to 8ft from the WSW with a cross-offshore wind again.

But the real jewels, the ones you should be marking on the calendar, are right at the end. Thursday morning (August 27th) has 5ft of SW swell with a light SSE cross-offshore wind, and it's glassy clean. That’s a great, fun-sized day. Then, seriously, look at Friday morning (August 28th). The wind is dead calm, glassy, with 6ft of WSW groundswell on a 15-second period. That is as good as it gets for Turtles. It’s a bit of a longer period, but this is a reef, so it will handle it beautifully. That’s the pick of the entire run. Then Saturday morning (August 29th) continues the trend with 6ft of clean WSW swell and a light offshore. It’s not as big as the mid-week stuff, but the quality will be through the roof. Those three mornings are your best bets, with Friday the 28th being the absolute standout. Remember, these are long-range calls, so treat them as promising, not promises. The days in between are just not worth your time unless you’re after a battle. So, be patient, let the swell settle, and get after it at the end.

Rusty.

Read more