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Big Bay Surf Forecast
/ Cape Town (70 surf breaks) /
Surf Forecasts:
Big Bay surfForecast / Cape Town / South Africa
48hr Weather and Surf, issued 1 pm Thursday 21 May 2026 SASTForecast update in hr min s Forecast update imminent
Big Bay surf forecast is for near shore open water. Breaking waves will often be smaller at less exposed spots.
Today's Big Bay sea temperature is
16.1° C
(Which is slightly cooler than normal)How big are the waves at Big Bay today?
The current surf forecast for Big Bay at 9PM is: 0.7m 12s primary swell from a Southwest direction and 0.4m 7s secondary swell from a South direction, 0.3m 3s secondary swell from a Northwest direction (forecast issued at 01:00pm May 21). The wind direction is predicted to be glassy and the swell rating is 2.
| Time (SAST) & Date | Wave Height | Wave Period |
|---|---|---|
| Morning (21 May) | 2ft (0.6m) | 13s |
| Afternoon (21 May) | 2ft (0.6m) | 12s |
| Evening (21 May) | 2.5ft (0.7m) | 12s |
Table - waves today at Big Bay. (Swell directed towards the surf break)
Updates in hr min s Forecast update imminent
Short Range ForecastMostly dry. Very mild (max 19°C on Sat afternoon, min 15°C on Thu night). Wind will be generally light. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Thu 21 | Friday 22 | Saturday 23 | Sun 24 | |||||||||||||||||||||
11 AM | 2 PM | 5 PM | 8 PM | 11 PM | 2 AM | 5 AM | 8 AM | 11 AM | 2 PM | 5 PM | 8 PM | 11 PM | 2 AM | 5 AM | 8 AM | 11 AM | 2 PM | 5 PM | 8 PM | 11 PM | 2 AM | 5 AM | 8 AM | |
Swell Height Map |    |    |    |    | ||||||||||||||||||||
SW 13 | SW 12 | SW 20 | SW 20 | SW 19 | SW 18 | SW 18 | SW 18 | SW 16 | SW 16 | SW 16 | SW 16 | SW 15 | SW 14 | SW 14 | SW 13 | SW 13 | SW 13 | SW 14 | SW 12 | SW 14 | SW 14 | SW 14 | SW 13 | |
138 | 120 | 116 | 134 | 183 | 258 | 255 | 304 | 322 | 432 | 427 | 406 | 695 | 676 | 648 | 711 | 802 | 585 | 346 | 486 | 1077 | 965 | 872 | 846 | |
Wind (km/h) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
cross-on | on | on | on | glassy | glassy | cross | glassy | glassy | glassy | cross | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | glassy | glassy | cross-off | |
High Tide | 7:13PM1.32m | 7:39AM1.18m | 8:23PM1.27m | 8:58AM1.10m | 9:38PM1.25m | |||||||||||||||||||
Low Tide | 12:48PM0.29m | 1:34AM0.40m | 1:52PM0.39m | 2:55AM0.45m | 3:06PM0.46m | 4:17AM0.44m | ||||||||||||||||||
 | | |  | |  |  |  |  | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
 | — | — | — | — | — | — | 7:35 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 7:35 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 7:37 | — |
 | — | — | 5:50 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 5:49 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 5:49 | — | — | — | — | 5:47 |
— | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
Temp °C | 17 | 18 | 16 | 16 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 17 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 17 | 19 | 19 | 17 | 17 | 16 | 16 | 16 |
15 | 16 | 15 | 16 | 15 | 15 | 14 | 15 | 17 | 18 | 16 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 18 | 18 | 16 | 17 | 16 | 16 | 15 | |
Swell 1 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | SW 13 | SW 12 | SW 12 | SW 12 | SW 12 | SW 11 | SW 11 | SW 18 | SW 16 | SW 16 | SW 16 | SW 16 | SW 15 | SW 14 | SW 14 | SW 13 | SW 13 | SW 13 | SW 8 | SW 12 | SW 14 | SW 14 | SW 14 | SW 13 |
 kJ | 138 | 120 | 116 | 114 | 140 | 128 | 168 | 304 | 322 | 432 | 427 | 406 | 695 | 676 | 648 | 711 | 802 | 585 | 122 | 486 | 1077 | 965 | 872 | 846 |
Swell 2 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | S 7 | S 7 | S 7 | S 7 | SW 19 | SW 18 | SW 18 | SW 11 | SW 11 | SW 10 | SSW 6 | SW 11 | S 6 | SSW 6 | SSW 6 | SW 5 | SW 16 | SSW 8 | SW 11 | SW 14 | S 14 | S 13 | S 13 | S 13 |
| kJ | 36 | 23 | 23 | 14 | 183 | 258 | 255 | 119 | 115 | 112 | 38 | 117 | 34 | 35 | 25 | 8 | 94 | 114 | 217 | 350 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
Swell 3 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | WSW 11 | WSW 21 | SW 20 | SW 20 | SSW 6 | SSW 7 | SSW 6 | SSW 6 | SSW 6 | SSW 6 | WSW 11 | S 10 | — | — | S 9 | S 6 | SW 16 | SSE 6 | SW 14 | S 14 | — | — | W 11 | SSE 12 |
| kJ | 12 | 43 | 98 | 134 | 14 | 15 | 13 | 11 | 13 | 26 | 99 | 7 | — | — | 2 | 10 | 94 | 7 | 346 | 4 | — | — | 2 | 15 |
Wind waves Height (m) Direction Period (s) | — | NNW 2 | NW 3 | NW 3 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | SSW 6 | — | — | — | — | — | — | SSE 6 | — | SE 6 | S 6 | SE 6 | — |
| kJ | — | 1 | 1 | 1 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 48 | — | — | — | — | — | — | 4 | — | 1 | 1 | 1 | — |
Nearest Offshore or Glassy | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Distance (km) | 4 | 29 | 29 | 29 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Best forecast wave conditions in Cape Town | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Best forecast wave conditions in South Africa | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Header Global | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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