Big Bay Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, Rusty here. Let’s talk about what Big Bay (South Africa) has on offer. The water is a bit colder than normal for this time of year at 57°.

We’ve got a solid run of surf kicking off now. Wednesday the 26th is the pick of the early run. You’ve got a clean 4ft swell rolling in from the WSW with a 13-second period, combined energy is chunky at 858, and the wind is a gentle offshore breeze from the ESE. It’s clean, it’s pretty, and it’s a good bet for an intermediate surfer.

Thursday the 27th is a bit of a write-off with questionable conditions, but Friday the 28th morning is a real standout. The swell drops to 3ft but the period stretches out to a very long 16 seconds from the WSW, with glassy conditions. The combined energy is still decent at 644. That’s a proper groundswell – it’ll wrap in nicely and might be a bit straight for a beach break, but at Big Bay it should offer some smooth, lined-up walls. Keep an eye on the tide.

Saturday the 29th is average, with a bit of cross-onshore wind messing things up. Sunday the 30th sees the swell jump up to 7ft from the WSW, with a 13-second period and strong combined energy of 1659, but the wind is a stiff cross-offshore at 19 mph, keeping it clean. That’s a solid step up in size – expert territory.

Monday the 1st of September is where things get serious. We’re looking at a 10ft swell from the SW, 14-second period, and combined energy over 3000. But the wind is a fresh cross-onshore at 19 mph, making it lumpy and poor. Not one for the paddle – maybe more interesting for kiting.

Tuesday the 2nd of September has a 13ft swell from the SW, combined energy at a massive 5763, but it’s cross-onshore and choppy. Still, if you’re an expert and hungry, there’ll be raw power. Wednesday the 3rd is similar at 12ft, with a cross-offshore wind cleaning it up a bit.

Thursday the 4th of September drops to 6ft, but the wind is a fresh 19 mph cross-offshore. Clean, but small. The end of the first week into the second week is messy. We get a 13ft swell from the SSE on Friday the 5th, but with rain showers and a cross-offshore wind. Saturday the 6th of September peaks with a 20ft swell from the S, combined energy over 9000, but it’s a gnarly cross-onshore mess. Big, dangerous, and blown out. That stretch is really only for the insane or the kite surfers.

Sunday the 7th of September is still big and messy at 13ft to 16ft, with strong cross-onshore winds. Monday the 8th of September finally cleans up. The swell drops to 5ft from the S with a 9-second period, and we get glassy conditions on Monday morning. That’s a real hope spot – a clean window after the chaos. Tuesday the 9th of September is small and marginal, and from Wednesday the 10th onwards, we’re into tiny, weak, and poor conditions with combined energy dropping under 200. The run fizzles out.

So, the absolute standout is Friday 28th August morning – that glassy, long-period groundswell is a gem. And the second best is Monday 7th September morning – a clean reset after the storm. The rest is a mix of average conditions, big but messy swells, and a long gap of poor surf at the tail end.

Rusty out.

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