
Surf Forecasts:
Baggies surf forecast from 17 Jul 2026:
- Best quality surf: Sunday 19 Jul, 2AM (local time) - 4ft (1.2m), 12s period, S swell with cross-offshore winds.
- Most powerful swell: Monday 20 Jul, 8AM (local time) - 5.5ft (1.7m), 12s period, SE swell with 822 kJ wave energy.
- Next surfable swell (1★+): Friday 17 Jul, 11PM (local time) - 3.5ft (1.0m), 10s period with E swell.
Best Forecast Surf Conditions for Baggies this week:
The surf forecast for Baggies over the next 16 days: The first swell (rated 1 star or higher) is forecast to arrive on Friday (Jul 17) at 11PM. The primary swell is predicted to be 1.0m and 10s period with a secondary swell of 0.4m and 8s. The wind is predicted to be cross-offshore as the swell arrives.
The most powerful waves expected at Baggies in the next 16 days are 1.7m 12s and forecast to arrive on Monday (Jul 20) at 8AM. Winds are predicted to be cross-offshore at the time the swell arrives. The largest open ocean swell (not directed at the beach) is 1.3m 5s period and expected on Tuesday (Jul 21) at 2AM.
| Wave Type | Time (SAST) & Date | Wave Height & Period |
|---|---|---|
| Next good surf (1 star+) | 11PM (Fri 17th Jul) | 3.5ft (1.0m) 10s |
| Best Surf | 2AM (Sun 19th Jul) | 4ft (1.2m) 12s |
| Most Powerful | 8AM (Mon 20th Jul) | 5.5ft (1.7m) 12s |
Table - best surf conditions forecast for Baggies over the next 16 days.
The Lowdown
Alright, Rusty here. Let's get into it.
We've got a mixed bag of a forecast coming up for Baggies. The next couple of days are a slow start, but the second half of the window has some serious potential. Overall, the swell energy is building from moderate to strong, with a couple of standout sessions if you pick the right time.
Friday, July 17th kicks off quiet. There's a weak 4ft easterly swell with a short 10-second period, but it's a cross-onshore southerly breeze, making it look pretty average. The combined energy is only 256, so it's weak. Not worth paddling out for.
Saturday, July 18th is a little better. The morning has a small 3ft easterly swell, but the wind turns light and cross-offshore from the north-northeast. That will clean things up nicely. The energy is climbing to 329. Still small, but the surface will be glassy. By the afternoon, the wind goes glassy from the south-southeast, with a tiny 2ft southerly swell rolling in – the 13-second period gives it a bit of a pulse, and the energy is up to 382. It's a fun, small-wave longboard day.
Sunday, July 19th is the first real standout. The morning session is a beauty. The swell picks up to 4ft from the south-southeast, with a nice 11-second period. The wind is glassy from the east-northeast, making for perfect, clean conditions. The combined energy jumps to 798 – that's a solid, moderate wave. The water is a comfortable 71°, which is about average for this time of year. This is a top pick. The afternoon gets a bit choppy as the wind swings cross-onshore, and the swell pushes to 5ft, but the magic is in the morning.
Monday, July 20th is another cracker. Monday morning is glassy again with a light northeasterly breeze, and the swell holds at 5ft from the southeast, with a 12-second period. The energy is 906, so it's got some punch. The waves will be clean and well-formed. The afternoon turns cross-shore as the wind picks up, so get it while it's good.
Tuesday, July 21st through to Thursday, July 24th is a lull. The swell drops, the wind is messy, and the energy dips below 500. The best of a bad bunch is Wednesday morning, with a 3ft swell and light cross-offshore winds keeping the surface clean, but it's small. Overall, it's a few days to sit out.
Friday, July 25th things start to get interesting again, but it's tricky. A long-period, 18-second swell from the south-southwest shows up at 4ft, with a massive combined energy of 1167. That's a lot of power for a small size. The issue is the wind is a persistent cross-shore from the northeast. It's not clean, but there's a lot of energy in the water. Could be a sneaky session for the patient.
Saturday, July 26th and Monday, July 28th are write-offs. Strong winds, onshore, messy. Not worth your time.
Now, Tuesday, July 28th – this is the big one. The morning is an absolute standout. The swell is 4ft from the south, but the period is a very long 19 seconds. The combined energy is a massive 1806, which is a very strong, powerful groundswell. With a light cross-offshore breeze from the north-northeast, the conditions will be clean. This is a full-on point break session. The water is about average for the time of year. This is for experienced surfers – the power is real, and the sets will be long and clean. It's the best on offer in the entire forecast.
Wednesday, July 29th through Friday, August 1st is a new run of swell. The swell hangs around 7ft to 10ft from the east-northeast, but it's short-period windswell, mainly 7-9 seconds. The energy is strong (over 1000), but the wind is a constant cross-shore from the northeast. It's going to be a bit of a messy, choppy affair. The waves will be big, but the quality will be average. The Saturday, August 1st morning has a 10ft swell with 2016 energy, but it's still short-period and cross-shore. For beginners, anything over 5ft is a challenge, and over 8ft is expert-only. This is a big, powerful, and not very clean surf.
If you're a kite surfer, the week of July 29th to August 1st with the strong cross-shore winds and big swell will be a much better bet than a paddle session.
Overall, the two standouts are Sunday, July 19th morning for a clean, fun, medium-sized day, and Tuesday, July 28th morning for the big, powerful, clean groundswell. The long-range stuff on August 1st is promising but the wind is a problem.
Rusty.
Short Range ForecastMostly dry. Warm (max 23°C on Sat afternoon, min 16°C on Fri night). Wind will be generally light. | Days 5-7 Weather SummaryMostly dry. Warm (max 29°C on Wed afternoon, min 16°C on Mon night). Mainly fresh winds. | |||||||||||||||||||
Fri 17 | Saturday 18 | Sunday 19 | Monday 20 | Tuesday 21 | Wednesday 22 | Thursday 23 | ||||||||||||||
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) | E 10 | E 10 | E 10 | S 13 | S 12 | SSE 11 | SSE 12 | SSE 12 | SE 12 | SE 12 | SE 12 | SE 11 | SE 11 | NE 7 | SE 11 | ENE 8 | SSW 7 | S 8 | S 7 | SE 11 |
Wave Graph | ||||||||||||||||||||
234 | 192 | 156 | 170 | 387 | 438 | 692 | 636 | 734 | 672 | 593 | 391 | 309 | 240 | 182 | 170 | 307 | 334 | 188 | 64 | |
Wind (km/h) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Wind State on-shore cross-onshore cross-shore cross-offshore off-shore glassy | cross-on | off | cross-off | glassy | cross-off | glassy | cross-on | cross-off | glassy | cross | cross-off | cross | cross | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | cross | cross | cross-on | cross-off |
High Tide | 6:01PM1.80m | 6:09AM1.64m | 6:39PM1.73m | 6:45AM1.54m | 7:16PM1.62m | 7:21AM1.42m | 7:54PM1.49m | 8:00AM1.29m | 8:37PM1.35m | 8:50AM1.16m | 9:36PM1.23m | 10:15AM1.07m | 11:15PM1.16m | |||||||
Low Tide | 00:07AM0.20m | 12:16PM0.10m | 00:45AM0.29m | 12:52PM0.20m | 1:23AM0.40m | 1:28PM0.33m | 2:04AM0.51m | 2:07PM0.47m | 2:52AM0.62m | 2:57PM0.61m | 4:04AM0.70m | 4:19PM0.71m | ||||||||
— | — | 6:50 | — | — | 6:48 | — | — | 6:48 | — | — | 6:48 | — | — | 6:48 | — | — | 6:47 | — | — | |
5:14 | — | — | 5:15 | — | — | 5:15 | — | — | 5:15 | — | — | 5:16 | — | — | 5:16 | — | — | 5:17 | — | |
mm | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Temp °C | 21 | 18 | 22 | 23 | 19 | 21 | 21 | 18 | 20 | 21 | 19 | 21 | 23 | 20 | 27 | 29 | 25 | 21 | 21 | 19 |
Feels °C | 18 | 18 | 20 | 22 | 18 | 20 | 20 | 19 | 20 | 19 | 18 | 18 | 20 | 19 | 22 | 25 | 20 | 18 | 18 | 18 |
Swell 1 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | E 10 | E 10 | E 10 | E 10 | S 12 | SSE 11 | SSE 12 | SSE 12 | SE 12 | SE 12 | SE 12 | SE 11 | SE 11 | ENE 7 | ENE 7 | SE 11 | ENE 9 | SE 11 | SE 11 | SSE 6 |
234 | 192 | 156 | 156 | 387 | 438 | 692 | 636 | 734 | 672 | 593 | 391 | 309 | 105 | 96 | 150 | 181 | 61 | 59 | 64 | |
Swell 2 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | SSW 9 | SSW 13 | S 10 | S 13 | E 10 | SE 14 | S 11 | S 10 | S 10 | SSW 10 | NE 5 | ENE 6 | SSW 16 | SE 11 | SE 11 | SSW 14 | SE 11 | ENE 8 | NE 8 | SE 11 |
15 | 165 | 104 | 170 | 118 | 268 | 242 | 167 | 125 | 140 | 32 | 22 | 47 | 205 | 182 | 111 | 103 | 27 | 15 | 58 | |
Swell 3 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | SW 12 | — | S 15 | S 9 | SSE 14 | E 10 | E 10 | E 10 | E 10 | S 10 | E 9 | E 9 | E 9 | SSW 15 | SSW 14 | — | — | SSW 12 | E 8 | SSW 12 |
6 | — | 69 | 56 | 173 | 92 | 96 | 69 | 47 | 70 | 15 | 15 | 7 | 75 | 81 | — | — | 15 | 11 | 52 | |
Wind waves Height (m) Direction Period (s) | S 3 | — | — | — | SSW 3 | — | — | — | — | NE 3 | NNE 5 | NE 6 | NE 6 | NE 7 | ENE 7 | ENE 8 | SSW 7 | S 8 | S 7 | — |
1 | — | — | — | 4 | — | — | — | — | 2 | 90 | 54 | 39 | 240 | 168 | 170 | 307 | 334 | 188 | — | |
Nearest Offshore or Glassy | ||||||||||||||||||||
Distance (km) | 18 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 22 | 0 | 0 | 27 | 0 | 27 | 27 | 0 | 27 | 27 | 7 | 29 | 208 | 0 |
Best forecast wave conditions in Durban/KwaZulu-Natal South Coast | ||||||||||||||||||||
Best forecast wave conditions in South Africa | ||||||||||||||||||||
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Information about the Baggies Surf forecast
The above surf forecast table for Baggies provides essential information for determining whether the surfing conditions will be good over the next 16 days. A general guide to surfing at Baggies can be found by selecting the local surf guide option on the grey menu. Our Baggies 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 (Baggies) 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 Baggies 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.
Baggies is 11 km (7 miles) from Umlazi. If you plan a holiday in Durban/KwaZulu-Natal South Coast, look for hotels and other accommodation in Umlazi. Umlazi has rooms for a wide range of budgets as well as car hire and transport links.










