Turtles Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, grab your board and listen up. Rusty here.

We’ve got a solid stretch of swell heading our way over the next two weeks, but it’s a mixed bag with the wind. The standout session is sitting a week away on Sunday morning, July 19th, at Turtles. That’s your call-to-action. The overall energy is moderate to strong throughout the period, with combined wave energy readings in the hundreds to low thousands, peaking in the 3000+ range right around the 19th and again into early August.

The water temp is sitting at 74°F, which is pretty much bang on average for the time of year (anomaly of 1°F), so no surprises there.

Let’s break it down. We start off a bit grim on Friday and Saturday the 17th and 18th. On Friday, you’ve got a 5-foot WSW swell at 14 seconds, but it’s blowing a moderate cross-breeze from the north, making it choppy and messy. Not worth your time. Saturday morning shows a slight bump to 6 feet with a light cross-breeze, but the conditions are still marginal. You’d be gambling.

Then Sunday the 19th morning – that’s your moment. Turtles is the pick. We’ve got a solid 8-foot WSW swell with a 15-second period, and the wind is a light offshore from the ESE. That’s clean, powerful, and well-shaped. The combined energy is a strong 3037, telling you this is the real deal. It’s a reef break, so the long-period groundswell will wrap in nicely, but keep in mind it’s for advanced surfers only at this size. The afternoon shifts to a cross-on breeze, so grab the morning window.

The rest of the week is a bit of a mixed bag. Monday morning the 20th still has a decent 6-foot SW swell, but the wind is up from the SSE at 19 mph, making it a cross-off breeze. It’s clean but windy. The swell drops into Tuesday and Wednesday, with smaller 4-foot to 4-foot swells and strong breezes, so it’s not going to be pumping.

Thursday the 23rd morning looks promising again. Turtles gets a 5-foot SW swell with a 15-second period and a fresh offshore breeze from the east. The combined energy is 1011, so it’s got some push, and the wind is clean. That’s a solid option for a mid-week paddle.

We then hit a bit of a lull from Friday the 24th through to Sunday the 26th. Swell drops to 4 feet to 4 feet, with some offshore winds on the mornings, but the energy is low (around 500-600). It’s doable but not a standout.

Monday the 27th morning brings a weird one: a 3-foot WSW swell with a very long 17-second period, but the wind is a cross-off. The energy is modest at 765. That long period will make it tricky at a beach break, but at Turtles’ reef, it might offer some nice, clean lines.

The second week has a couple of interesting pulses. Wednesday the 29th morning has a tiny 2-foot swell from the west but with a super long 23-second period, giving a high energy reading of 1038. That’s a very long-period groundswell for a reef, so it could produce some glassy, low-tide runners if the tide is right, but it’s small.

The big one to watch in the second week is Thursday the 30th morning. Turtles gets a 8-foot WSW swell with an 18-second period, and the combined energy is a massive 3751. The wind is from the SE at 19 mph, which is a cross-off breeze. That’s a powerful, expert-only day. The swell lingers into Friday the 31st at 6 feet, and then Saturday morning, August 1st, sees another 8-foot WSW swell with an 18-second period and a moderate cross-off breeze. The energy is 3621. That’s another big, clean morning for the experienced crew.

Turtles is a reef break that’s fairly consistent and exposed to the SSW swell, which is bang on the optimum direction. The only downside is that crowds are often there, so get there early for the morning windows.

If you’re a beginner, stay out of the water when the swell is over 5 feet, and definitely stay out when it’s over 8 feet – that’s expert territory.

Rusty.

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