Surf Forecasts:
Big Bay surf forecast from 30 Aug 2026:
- Best quality surf: Thursday 3 Sep, 11AM (local time) - 20ft (6.0m), 12s period, SW swell with cross-shore winds.
- Most powerful swell: Thursday 3 Sep, 2PM (local time) - 20ft (6.0m), 12s period, SSW swell with 10,432 kJ wave energy.
- Next surfable swell (1★+): Monday 31 Aug, 2AM (local time) - 7.5ft (2.3m), 12s period with SW swell.
Best Forecast Surf Conditions for Big Bay this week:
The surf forecast for Big Bay over the next 16 days: The first swell (rated 1 star or higher) is forecast to arrive on Monday (Aug 31) at 2AM. The primary swell is predicted to be 2.3m and 12s period. The wind is predicted to be cross-offshore as the swell arrives.
The most powerful waves expected at Big Bay in the next 16 days are 6.0m 12s and forecast to arrive on Thursday (Sep 03) at 2PM. Winds are predicted to be cross-offshore at the time the swell arrives. The largest open ocean swell (not directed at the beach) is 1.2m 5s period and expected on Sunday (Aug 30) at 5PM.
| Wave Type | Time (SAST) & Date | Wave Height & Period |
|---|---|---|
| Next good surf (1 star+) | 2AM (Mon 31st Aug) | 7.5ft (2.3m) 12s |
| Best Surf | 11AM (Thu 3rd Sep) | 20ft (6.0m) 12s |
| Most Powerful | 2PM (Thu 3rd Sep) | 20ft (6.0m) 12s |
Table - best surf conditions forecast for Big Bay over the next 16 days.
The Lowdown
Alright, let’s get into it. The next couple of weeks have some real potential, but you gotta be patient and pick your moments. The standout window is shaping up for the middle of the run, and there’s a couple of solid morning sessions before that.
We kick things off on Sunday morning the 30th, with clean 8.2ft SW swell at Big Bay. The cross-off breeze will keep it looking alright, but it’s marginal, and the water is sitting at 55.4°, which is a solid 4.7° colder than usual for this time of year. That’s a noticeable drop, so you’ll want the thickest wetsuit you’ve got. The swell energy is moderate with a reading of 2019. The surface is clean, but it’s not a standout.
Monday the 31st, the early session is the better one. The swell drops slightly to 6.6ft from the SW, and with a light 15 km/h cross-off it should be clean and offers some decent lines for an intermediate surfer. The energy is still moderate at 1019. The afternoon turns more cross, gets a bit messier, and the score drops.
Tuesday the 1st of September, there’s a bit more size pushing through, 8.2ft in the morning and up to 9.8ft by the afternoon. Swell direction is SW, period bumps to 13 seconds. The energy picks up into the moderate-high range at 2214 for the morning and 2873 in the afternoon. But the morning is a little cross, so it’s not totally clean until the afternoon when it goes cross-off. Still, it’s not the best of the week.
Now, Wednesday the 2nd is where it starts to get special. The morning has 9.8ft of SW groundswell with a 14-second period, and the wind is light and cross-off. It’s clean, powerful, and holds plenty of energy – we’re looking at 3398. This is an excellent window for experienced surfers. The afternoon stays clean with 9.8ft but the period drops slightly to 13 seconds, still a great day on the water.
Then things go a bit wild. Thursday the 3rd sees a big jump to 19.7ft in the morning, and the energy gauge is screaming at 10208. That’s strong to very strong energy, and the comment says it’s simply too big for this break. The wind is cross and gusty at 25 km/h. The afternoon drops to 16.4ft, still way too big for most, with a strong SSW pulse and 8403 energy. Unless you’re charging well overhead plus, this is not the day to paddle out at Big Bay. It’s a proper novelty wave at that size, and the setup looks more interesting for kitesurfing than paddle surfing.
We get a bit of a breather on Friday the 4th, with 7.2ft easing to 6.6ft, but the fresh cross-off wind at 30-35 km/h will make it bumpy and tough. There are better days.
The weekend drops off. Saturday the 5th is small, 3.3ft and dropping to 3.0ft, with moderate winds. Not much on offer.
Sunday the 6th is a sneaky good one. The morning has 4.9ft of long-period SW groundswell at 15 seconds, and the wind is offshore and light. It’s clean and glassy, and the energy (980) is moderate. This will be a proper point-break style wave, but at a beach, that long period might make it close out a bit. Still, for the smaller size, it’s worth a paddle. The afternoon goes cross and the swell drops, so get in early.
Monday the 7th is small but clean, with 3.0ft in the morning under light offshore winds. Not a head-high day, but the lines will be there. The energy is low at 426. Afternoon is similar, slightly smaller.
The middle of the second week gets pretty quiet. Tuesday the 8th drops to 2.0ft with glassy conditions, and Wednesday the 9th sees 1.3ft. These are ankle-biters, ordinary to say the least. The energy is very low, in the 100s. You’d be doing it for the exercise.
A slight pulse arrives Thursday the 10th but it’s poor. The wind goes onshore, and the combo of small swell and chop makes it a skunk.
Friday the 11th, the swell picks up again, 4.6ft in the morning and 5.9ft by the afternoon, but the wind is fresh out of the SSE, and the period is short – 8 seconds in the afternoon. It’s cleanish but unorganized. Not a high-quality day.
Saturday the 12th stays in that 6.6-
Short Range ForecastMostly dry. Very mild (max 15°C on Sun afternoon, min 10°C on Mon morning). Wind will be generally light. | Days 4-6 Weather SummaryLight rain (total 5mm), mostly falling on Wed night. Very mild (max 18°C on Wed afternoon, min 11°C on Wed night). Winds increasing (calm on Wed night, strong winds from the SSE by Thu night). | ||||||||||||||||||||
Sunday 30 | Monday 31 | Tuesday 1 | Wednesday 2 | Thursday 3 | Friday 4 | Saturday 5 | |||||||||||||||
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) | SW 12 | WSW 12 | SW 12 | SW 11 | SW 11 | SW 11 | SW 13 | SW 13 | SW 14 | SW 14 | SW 13 | SW 13 | SW 12 | SSW 12 | S 10 | S 10 | S 9 | WSW 11 | WSW 10 | SW 10 | SW 17 |
Wave Graph | |||||||||||||||||||||
2008 | 1447 | 1499 | 1019 | 875 | 1237 | 2214 | 2873 | 4302 | 3398 | 2681 | 1729 | 10208 | 7156 | 2091 | 900 | 651 | 389 | 225 | 148 | 1091 | |
Wind (km/h) | |||||||||||||||||||||
Wind State on-shore cross-onshore cross-shore cross-offshore off-shore glassy | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | cross | cross-off | cross | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | cross | cross | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | off |
High Tide | 4:31PM1.63m | 4:48AM1.47m | 5:03PM1.59m | 5:23AM1.41m | 5:38PM1.52m | 6:02AM1.31m | 6:19PM1.41m | 6:49AM1.20m | 7:11PM1.27m | 7:57AM1.08m | 8:31PM1.15m | 9:47AM1.03m | 10:28PM1.12m | ||||||||
Low Tide | 10:18AM0.07m | 10:45PM0.07m | 10:48AM0.11m | 11:18PM0.11m | 11:22AM0.18m | 11:55PM0.19m | 11:59AM0.28m | 00:39AM0.29m | 12:46PM0.40m | 1:38AM0.41m | 1:56PM0.53m | 3:14AM0.50m | 3:58PM0.59m | ||||||||
7:07 | — | — | 7:05 | — | — | 7:05 | — | — | 7:03 | — | — | 7:01 | — | — | 7:01 | — | — | 6:58 | — | — | |
— | 6:25 | — | — | 6:27 | — | — | 6:27 | — | — | 6:28 | — | — | 6:29 | — | — | 6:29 | — | — | 6:30 | — | |
mm | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Temp °C | 14 | 15 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 12 | 13 | 15 | 13 | 16 | 18 | 14 | 13 | 14 | 14 | 15 | 17 | 14 | 14 | 20 | 16 |
Feels °C | 7 | 9 | 6 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 10 | 14 | 16 | 13 | 9 | 10 | 5 | 8 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 15 | 12 |
Swell 1 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | SW 12 | WSW 12 | SW 12 | SW 11 | SW 11 | SW 11 | SW 13 | SW 13 | SW 14 | SW 14 | SW 13 | SW 13 | — | WSW 12 | WSW 12 | WSW 12 | WSW 11 | WSW 11 | S 9 | SSE 7 | SW 17 |
2008 | 1447 | 1499 | 1019 | 875 | 1237 | 2214 | 2873 | 4302 | 3398 | 2681 | 1729 | — | 1247 | 454 | 361 | 527 | 389 | 192 | 79 | 1091 | |
Swell 2 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | SSE 10 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | SW 12 | — | S 8 | WSW 10 | SW 10 | SSE 7 |
11 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 118 | — | 230 | 225 | 148 | 73 | |
Swell 3 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | SSW 13 | SSW 12 | S 9 | SSW 9 |
— | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 17 | 15 | 64 | 98 | |
Wind waves Height (m) Direction Period (s) | — | S 5 | SSE 4 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | W 5 | SW 12 | SSW 12 | S 10 | S 10 | S 9 | SSE 8 | SE 6 | SSE 6 | — |
— | 73 | 26 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 44 | 10208 | 7156 | 2091 | 900 | 651 | 306 | 46 | 145 | — | |
Nearest Offshore or Glassy | |||||||||||||||||||||
Distance (km) | 70 | 340 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 36 | 54 | 419 | 661 | 994 | 1224 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Best forecast wave conditions in Cape Town | |||||||||||||||||||||
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)
Information about the Big Bay Surf forecast
The above surf forecast table for Big Bay provides essential information for determining whether the surfing conditions will be good over the next 16 days. A general guide to surfing at Big Bay can be found by selecting the local surf guide option on the grey menu. Our Big Bay 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 (Big Bay) 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 Big Bay 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.
Big Bay is 8 km (5 miles) from the very large city of Robben Island. If you plan a holiday in Cape Town, look for hotels and other accommodation in Robben Island. Robben Island has rooms for a wide range of budgets as well as cheap car hire and transport links.











