Playa Tortuga

Playa Tortuga is an NNE-facing beach break in Fraile, Puerto Rico. It picks up swell from ENE and WNW and WNW to ENE, and land, islands, reefs or shallow banks block about 39% of the directions it faces. Offshore wind here blows from the SSW: light winds or SSW breezes usually mean the cleanest surf, while NNE onshores chop it up.

Rare slot: a gap beside Lesser Antilles lets in swell from 106.8° (ESE) and nothing either side. It only lines up when a storm sits in that exact direction, more than 382 km out. How slot swells work

Break

Beach

Faces

NNE (18°)

Best swell

NNW to ENE (338°–59°), 9 s or longer

Best wind

SSE to WSW offshore, or glassy

Best surf height

3–6 ft at the beach

Swell window

ENE (69° to 76.5°); WNW (287.5° to 294°); WNW to ENE (301.5° to 62°)

Rare slot

gap beside Lesser Antilles, 106.8° ESE

Offshore wind

SSW

Tide

NOAA station 9752062

Wave buoy

San Juan, PR · 93 km away

Cams

None yet