Surf Forecasts:
Albatross surf forecast from 12 Sep 2026:
- Best quality surf: Wednesday 16 Sep, 2AM (local time) - 8ft (2.5m), 11s period, SW swell with cross-offshore winds.
- Most powerful swell: Wednesday 16 Sep, 11AM (local time) - 10ft (3.0m), 14s period, SW swell with 3,285 kJ wave energy.
- Next surfable swell (1★+): Tuesday 15 Sep, 2AM (local time) - 3.5ft (1.1m), 12s period with SW swell.
Best Forecast Surf Conditions for Albatross this week:
The surf forecast for Albatross over the next 16 days: The first swell (rated 1 star or higher) is forecast to arrive on Tuesday (Sep 15) at 2AM. The primary swell is predicted to be 1.1m and 12s period. The wind is predicted to be offshore as the swell arrives.
The most powerful waves expected at Albatross in the next 16 days are 3.0m 14s and forecast to arrive on Wednesday (Sep 16) at 11AM. Winds are predicted to be offshore at the time the swell arrives. The largest open ocean swell (not directed at the beach) is 3.5m 9s period and expected on Sunday (Sep 13) at 2PM.
| Wave Type | Time (SAST) & Date | Wave Height & Period |
|---|---|---|
| Next good surf (1 star+) | 2AM (Tue 15th Sep) | 3.5ft (1.1m) 12s |
| Best Surf | 2AM (Wed 16th Sep) | 8ft (2.5m) 11s |
| Most Powerful | 11AM (Wed 16th Sep) | 10ft (3.0m) 14s |
Table - best surf conditions forecast for Albatross over the next 16 days.
The Lowdown
Alright, Rusty here, let’s have a look at what’s coming our way.
Alright, folks, it’s a bit of a mixed bag for the next couple of weeks. The early part of the run is a write-off thanks to onshore winds and messy conditions, so don’t even bother looking at the water until we get to mid-week. The standout is definitely the morning of Wednesday the 16th, but there are a couple of other windows if you’re patient.
We’ve got a decent run of south-west groundswell, but the wind is the story for the first few days. Saturday the 12th is a total no-go. By Monday the 14th, there’s a slight improvement, with the afternoon showing a clean 4.3ft SW swell and light cross-offshore winds. It’s only marginal, but it’s a start. Tuesday the 15th cleans up nicely. The morning is glassy with a light cross-offshore breeze and a 4.3ft SW swell. The afternoon picks up a touch to 5.2ft SW, still clean and light. Not huge, but it’s surfable and uncrowded feeling.
Now, the real highlight. Wednesday the 16th morning is the one to circle. We’ve got a solid 9.8ft SW groundswell with a very long 14-second period and light offshore winds. That’s proper, clean, powerful surf. The combined swell energy is cranking at 3287, so there’s a lot of water moving. This one is for experienced surfers only – too big and powerful for beginners. The afternoon drops to 7.5ft and goes a bit cross, so make the most of the morning.
After that, the wind swings easterly and stays that way for days. Thursday the 17th through to Monday the 21st is mostly onshore chop, though the morning of Monday the 21st offers a brief reprieve with a clean 3.9ft SW swell and light cross-offshore winds. It’s a small window.
The long-range gets interesting again towards the end of the run. Friday the 25th looks promising but is a week and a half away, so treat it as a hopeful rather than a certainty. We’re looking at a 7.9ft ESE swell with moderate offshore winds in the morning, and 7.5ft in the afternoon with gentle offshore breezes. That’s clean and punchy, with moderate swell energy around 1581. Not as big as the 16th, but solid and well-shaped.
Overall, Wednesday the 16th morning is your best bet. Get on it early.
Short Range ForecastHeavy rain (total 20mm), heaviest during Sun morning. Warm (max 22°C on Mon afternoon, min 16°C on Sat morning). Winds decreasing (strong winds from the ESE on Sun morning, calm by Mon night). | Days 4-6 Weather SummaryHeavy rain (total 21mm), heaviest during Wed night. Warm (max 21°C on Tue morning, min 14°C on Wed night). Winds increasing (calm on Tue night, fresh winds from the SE by Wed night). | ||||||||||||||||||||
Saturday 12 | Sunday 13 | Monday 14 | Tuesday 15 | Wednesday 16 | Thursday 17 | Friday 18 | |||||||||||||||
AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | |
Swell Height Map |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | ||||||||||||||
Wave Height (m) Direction Period (s) | WSW 12 | SW 14 | SW 16 | SW 15 | SW 14 | ESE 10 | SW 13 | SW 12 | SW 12 | SW 11 | SW 10 | SW 11 | SW 14 | SW 14 | SW 13 | SW 13 | SW 12 | SW 12 | SW 12 | SW 12 | SW 13 |
Wave Graph  | |||||||||||||||||||||
 kJ | 365 | 1521 | 2727 | 2307 | 1649 | 1676 | 600 | 502 | 303 | 445 | 478 | 1576 | 3285 | 2020 | 1326 | 1154 | 970 | 773 | 944 | 786 | 1594 |
Wind (km/h) | |||||||||||||||||||||
Wind State on-shore cross-onshore cross-shore cross-offshore off-shore glassy | cross-on | cross | cross | cross-on | cross-on | on | on | cross-off | off | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | off | cross | cross | cross-on | cross-on | cross-on | cross-on | cross | cross |
High Tide | 4:24PM1.83m | 4:37AM1.64m | 4:53PM1.77m | 5:06AM1.58m | 5:20PM1.67m | 5:33AM1.48m | 5:46PM1.53m | 5:59AM1.37m | 6:12PM1.39m | 6:25AM1.24m | 6:38PM1.24m | 6:55AM1.09m | 7:11PM1.09m | ||||||||
Low Tide | 10:10AM-0.03m | 10:36PM0.01m | 10:39AM0.02m | 11:04PM0.07m | 11:06AM0.10m | 11:30PM0.16m | 11:33AM0.21m | 11:56PM0.27m | 11:59AM0.34m | 00:22AM0.40m | 12:25PM0.48m | 00:53AM0.54m | 12:56PM0.63m | 1:41AM0.68m | |||||||
 |  |  |  | | | |  | |  | |  | | |  | | | | | |  | |
 | 6:24 | — | — | 6:22 | — | — | 6:20 | — | — | 6:20 | — | — | 6:18 | — | — | 6:16 | — | — | 6:16 | — | — |
 | — | 6:08 | — | — | 6:08 | — | — | 6:09 | — | — | 6:10 | — | — | 6:12 | — | — | 6:12 | — | — | 6:13 | — |
mm | 2 | — | 5 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 1 | — | 3 | — | — | — | 2 | 5 | 13 | 1 | — | — | — | — | — |
Temp °C | 18 | 21 | 19 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 21 | 22 | 17 | 21 | 20 | 18 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 17 | 16 |
Feels °C | 18 | 20 | 20 | 12 | 15 | 20 | 20 | 22 | 14 | 20 | 17 | 19 | 14 | 13 | 10 | 12 | 11 | 12 | 12 | 11 | 10 |
Swell 1 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | WSW 12 | SW 14 | SW 16 | SW 15 | SW 14 | ESE 10 | E 10 | E 10 | E 11 | E 11 | SW 10 | SW 11 | SW 14 | SW 14 | SW 13 | SW 13 | SW 12 | ESE 9 | SW 12 | SW 12 | SW 13 |
| kJ | 365 | 1521 | 2727 | 2307 | 1649 | 1676 | 1232 | 1069 | 1170 | 701 | 478 | 1576 | 3285 | 2020 | 1326 | 1154 | 970 | 627 | 944 | 786 | 1594 |
Swell 2 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | SW 14 | ENE 9 | — | — | — | SW 14 | SW 13 | SW 12 | SW 12 | SW 11 | E 11 | E 11 | E 10 | E 10 | E 9 | — | — | SW 12 | ESE 9 | ESE 9 | ESE 9 |
| kJ | 301 | 29 | — | — | — | 961 | 600 | 502 | 303 | 445 | 459 | 317 | 204 | 245 | 140 | — | — | 773 | 333 | 260 | 222 |
Swell 3 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | SSW 10 | SE 13 | — | — | — | — | — | — | SW 6 | SSW 17 | SSW 15 | SSW 16 | S 10 | — | — | — | — | E 10 | E 11 | SSW 15 | ENE 10 |
| kJ | 121 | 7 | — | — | — | — | — | — | 62 | 29 | 92 | 452 | 2 | — | — | — | — | 49 | 58 | 443 | 20 |
Wind waves Height (m) Direction Period (s) | ESE 6 | ESE 7 | SE 8 | ESE 9 | E 9 | E 10 | — | WSW 3 | — | — | — | — | — | SE 7 | SE 8 | SE 9 | ESE 9 | — | — | — | — |
| kJ | 170 | 198 | 1287 | 1794 | 1949 | 2314 | — | 3 | — | — | — | — | — | 452 | 755 | 928 | 820 | — | — | — | — |
Nearest Offshore or Glassy | |||||||||||||||||||||
Distance (km) | 23 | 140 | 198 | 198 | 198 | 142 | 30 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 180 | 198 | 352 | 198 | 172 | 644 | 671 | 172 |
Best forecast wave conditions in Eastern Cape (South) | |||||||||||||||||||||
Best forecast wave conditions in South Africa | |||||||||||||||||||||
Header Global | |||||||||||||||||||||
- Map Icons:
Break
Live Wave Height (m)
Live Wind Speed (km/h)
Surf Rating (10 Max)
Ocean Swells (m)- Wind Speed (km/h)
FREE! Surf-Forecast.com widget for your website
The surf report / weather widget below is available to embed on third party websites free of charge and provides a summary of our Albatross surf forecast. Simply grab the html code snippet that we provide and paste it into your own site. You can choose your preferred language and metric/imperial units for the surf forecast feed to suit users of your site. Click here to get the code.
Information about the Albatross Surf forecast
The above surf forecast table for Albatross provides essential information for determining whether the surfing conditions will be good over the next 16 days. A general guide to surfing at Albatross can be found by selecting the local surf guide option on the grey menu. Our Albatross surf forecast is unique since it includes wave energy (power) that defines the real feel of the surf rather than just the height or the period. If you surf the same spot (Albatross) regularly then make a mental note of the wave energy from the surf forecast table each time you go. Very soon you may start to choose your surf days based on the wave energy alone combined with our forecast of favourable offshore wind conditions. Our star ratings will help here and of course you will also find the usual wave height and period predictions on our surf forecasts as well as a full break down of the swell components under our advanced users option (to reveal that, click the little Einstein character under the tide times).
Further information to help with frequently asked questions about our surf forecast for Albatross may be found under the help tab on the top menu and also by moving your mouse over the question marks on the surf forecast table itself. Please always bear in mind that the forecast is for near-shore open water and local factors at each surf break influence the actual breaking wave height, such as the beach / reef profile, water depths offshore and shelter.
Albatross is 18 km (11 miles) from the city of Kruisfontein. If you plan a holiday in Eastern Cape (South), look for hotels and other accommodation in Kruisfontein. Kruisfontein has rooms for a wide range of budgets as well as car hire and transport links.
Nearest