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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 am Tuesday 12 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
15.7° C
(Which is 1.5°C colder than average for this time of year)How big are the waves at Big Bay today?
The current surf forecast for Big Bay at 4AM is: 6.0m 13s primary swell from a West direction and 5.0m 12s secondary swell from a West direction, 2.5m 13s secondary swell from a South-southwest direction (forecast issued at 01:00am May 12). The wind direction is predicted to be onshore and the swell rating is 11.
| Time (SAST) & Date | Wave Height | Wave Period |
|---|---|---|
| Morning (12 May) | 13ft (4.0m) | 12s |
| Afternoon (12 May) | 11ft (3.5m) | 12s |
| Evening (12 May) | 10ft (3.0m) | 12s |
Table - waves today at Big Bay. (Swell directed towards the surf break)
Updates in hr min s Forecast update imminent
Short Range ForecastModerate rain (total 13mm), heaviest on Tue morning. Very mild (max 17°C on Tue afternoon, min 13°C on Wed night). Wind will be generally light. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Tuesday 12 | Wednesday 13 | Thursday 14 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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 | 11 AM | 2 PM | 5 PM | 8 PM | 11 PM | |
Swell Height Map |    |    |    | |||||||||||||||||||||
W 13 | W 13 | W 12 | W 12 | W 12 | W 12 | W 12 | W 12 | W 12 | SSW 12 | SSW 12 | SSW 12 | SSW 12 | SSW 12 | SSW 12 | SSW 12 | SSW 12 | SSW 12 | SSW 11 | SSW 11 | SSW 11 | SSW 11 | SSW 11 | WSW 13 | |
10518 | 10584 | 5469 | 4663 | 3662 | 3319 | 2903 | 2386 | 2001 | 1920 | 2180 | 2400 | 2587 | 2739 | 2462 | 2205 | 1900 | 1596 | 1355 | 1183 | 943 | 773 | 698 | 514 | |
Wind (km/h) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
cross-on | on | on | on | on | on | cross-on | cross-on | cross-on | cross-on | cross-on | cross-on | cross-on | cross-on | cross-off | glassy | glassy | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | cross | cross | cross | cross-off | |
High Tide | 11:22PM1.27m | 11:55AM1.18m | 00:10AM1.39m | 12:45PM1.29m | 00:55AM1.50m | 1:30PM1.40m | ||||||||||||||||||
Low Tide | 5:51AM0.38m | 5:54PM0.40m | 6:38AM0.24m | 6:43PM0.30m | 7:21AM0.11m | 7:29PM0.22m | ||||||||||||||||||
 | |  |  |  | |  |  |  | |  | |  |  |  | | | | | | | | | | |
 | — | 7:28 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 7:28 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 7:28 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
 | — | — | — | — | — | 5:55 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 5:54 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 5:53 | — | — |
1 | 4 | 7 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
Temp °C | 18 | 17 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 17 | 16 | 16 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 16 | 15 | 15 | 14 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 14 | 16 | 15 | 15 | 15 |
10 | 10 | 14 | 15 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 13 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 12 | 13 | 13 | 12 | 12 | 11 | 12 | 14 | 13 | 14 | 14 | |
Swell 1 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | — | W 12 | W 12 | W 12 | W 12 | W 12 | W 12 | W 12 | W 12 | SSW 12 | SSW 12 | SSW 12 | SSW 12 | SSW 12 | SSW 12 | SSW 12 | SSW 12 | SSW 12 | SSW 11 | SSW 11 | SSW 11 | SSW 11 | SSW 11 | SSW 11 |
 kJ | — | 6824 | 5469 | 4663 | 3662 | 3319 | 2903 | 2386 | 2001 | 1920 | 2180 | 2400 | 2587 | 2739 | 2462 | 2205 | 1900 | 1596 | 1355 | 1183 | 943 | 773 | 698 | 511 |
Swell 2 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | — | SSW 13 | SSW 13 | SW 12 | SW 13 | SSW 12 | SSW 12 | SSW 12 | SSW 12 | W 12 | W 12 | W 12 | W 12 | W 11 | WSW 11 | WSW 11 | WSW 11 | WSW 11 | WSW 11 | WSW 11 | WSW 11 | WSW 12 | WSW 11 | WSW 13 |
| kJ | — | 2231 | 2515 | 2468 | 2631 | 2017 | 1751 | 1637 | 1952 | 1839 | 1543 | 1438 | 1185 | 1042 | 944 | 836 | 737 | 657 | 667 | 593 | 563 | 614 | 297 | 514 |
Swell 3 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | — | NW 10 | NW 9 | NW 9 | — | NW 9 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | W 20 | SW 20 | WSW 19 | WSW 18 | SW 18 | SW 18 | WSW 13 | WSW 16 |
| kJ | — | 998 | 423 | 593 | — | 287 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 8 | 15 | 36 | 61 | 80 | 81 | 246 | 295 |
Wind waves Height (m) Direction Period (s) | W 13 | W 13 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| kJ | 10518 | 10584 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Nearest Offshore or Glassy | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Distance (km) | 342 | 323 | 34 | 29 | 29 | 34 | 34 | 129 | 129 | 129 | 130 | 34 | 29 | 29 | 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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