Turtles Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let's talk about what's on the menu for the next couple of weeks. We've got one solid spot to focus on, and it's going to be a bit of a waiting game for the really good stuff.

The main event is Turtles, a reef break that is fairly consistent and exposed to the swell. The water's sitting at a pretty normal 72°F for this time of year, so nothing out of the ordinary there.

The week starts off with a bit of a tease. A solid, long-period groundswell is rolling in from the WSW, with heights around 8ft and a very long period of 15 seconds, packing a massive punch of energy (2650). But the wind is a cross-on from the SW, so it's not going to be clean. Thursday morning, August 20th, is when things get interesting. The swell holds at 8ft from the WSW, period stretching to 16 seconds, and the energy jumps even higher (3192). The wind swings around to a light ESE breeze, making it cross-offshore and clean. That's prime for experienced surfers at this exposed reef break. The afternoon session on Thursday looks equally good, with a light SE breeze keeping it clean. This is the standout window of the whole forecast.

After that, Friday the 21st through Sunday the 23rd sees the swell start to drop a bit, but more importantly, the wind gets messy. Friday morning has a cross-on wind, and by Saturday afternoon, it's a moderate cross-onshore breeze chopping things up. Sunday is a write-off with strong, cross-shore winds.

We hit a bit of a lull from Monday the 25th until Friday the 29th. The swell energy drops significantly, bottoming out at 590 on Tuesday the 25th, and the winds are mostly onshore or cross-shore, making for choppy, poor conditions. The surf will be small and weak.

Things start to look up again on Saturday the 29th of August. The morning sees a moderate offshore breeze from the ESE, cleaning up a 5ft SW swell. It's not huge, but it's clean. The afternoon gets even better with a light cross-offshore breeze and a smaller 4ft swell, but the conditions are noted as "very good." Then Sunday the 30th of August morning is a real standout for the second week. The swell jumps back up to 5ft from the WSW with a very long period of 17 seconds, and the energy is back up to 2413. The wind is a moderate offshore from the ESE, meaning clean, powerful lines. That's excellent for experienced surfers. The afternoon on Sunday gets blown out again by a cross-on wind.

The final few days of the forecast, into September, show a pattern of moderate to large WSW swells with periods around 14-17 seconds, so the energy is there, but the wind is often cross-on or onshore, spoiling the quality. The cleanest window there looks like Monday morning, September 1st, with a cross-offshore breeze and a 7ft swell.

So, to sum it up: the best bet by a long shot is Thursday, August 20th. Get out there for the morning or the afternoon session. If you're looking further ahead, circle Sunday morning, August 30th. That has the potential to be a cracker, though it's a bit further out so keep an eye on it.

Rusty.

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