Turtles Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, this is Rusty, and I’m looking at the next couple of weeks for Turtles. That’s a serious reef break for the advanced crew only – a real ledge that needs respect and a lot of wave knowledge.

We’ve got a fair bit of swell on the way, but the wind is going to be the real story here. For the first few days, it’s a bit of a battle. Wednesday morning, September 2nd, there’s a clean 5ft wave from the WSW (1057 combined energy) with a cross-off breeze, which isn't terrible, but the tide and conditions are holding it back. The afternoon is a write-off with a messy cross-shore.

Thursday and Friday are similar – clean mornings but building swell and iffy winds kicking up lumpy conditions. Saturday the 5th sees the swell push up to 8ft, but it’s a cross-on wind with a 16-second period, which at a beach/reef hybrid like this can start to break a bit straight and get choppy. The energy jumps massively to 3283 by Saturday morning, but the conditions just aren't there. That’s big, powerful water for experts only.

The real window, where it starts to get interesting, kicks off on Monday, September 7th. We’ve got 8ft of SW groundswell at 17 seconds (4209 energy) and a clean, cross-off wind out of the SE. That’s a proper groundswell – long lines, lulls between sets, but when they come through, they’ve got some serious push. Tuesday the 8th even gives us a brief window of true offshore wind from the ESE, with a 7ft, 16-second swell. That’s the juice we’re after.

Now, the standout moment for me is the morning of Thursday, September 10th. The swell has dropped slightly to 6ft, but it’s from the WSW with a 15-second period, and we get a gentle cross-off breeze. The file says the conditions are excellent for experienced surfers – the energy is a manageable 1376, and it’ll be clean. That is the call for the first week.

Looking further out, there’s a promising but less certain window on Sunday the 13th. The morning has a 7ft, 15-second WSW swell with almost no wind – a 5 km/h breeze from the SSE. That’s as close to glassy as you get in this forecast, and it’s clean and rideable for the crew that knows the reef.

But the biggest, rawest power comes on Wednesday, September 16th, and Thursday, September 17th. The morning of the 16th has 12ft of SW swell (4938 energy) with a light cross-off breeze. That is pure, unadulterated, expert-only territory. The 17th then brings a monster 12ft WSW swell at 19 seconds, with an insane combined energy of 8307. The morning has a gentle onshore wind though, so it could be a bit lumpy. That’s a big, gnarly, heavy ocean – absolutely not for the faint of heart.

So, to put it simply: for the week ahead, Thursday morning the 10th is your best bet for quality, clean surf. For the most powerful, challenging conditions, keep an eye on the morning of Wednesday, September 16th. The water temperature is sitting at 72°, which is about normal for this time of year.

Stay safe out there, and don't paddle out at Turtles unless you know what you're doing.

Rusty.

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