Surf Forecasts:
Big Bay surf forecast from 13 Jul 2026:
- Best quality surf: Wednesday 15 Jul, 8PM (local time) - 10ft (3.0m), 14s period, SW swell with glassy winds.
- Most powerful swell: Wednesday 15 Jul, 8PM (local time) - 10ft (3.0m), 14s period, SW swell with 3,859 kJ wave energy.
- Next surfable swell (1★+): Monday 13 Jul, 8AM (local time) - 3.5ft (1.0m), 10s period with SSW 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 (Jul 13) at 8AM. The primary swell is predicted to be 1.0m and 10s period with a secondary swell of 0.6m and 10s. The wind is predicted to be glassy as the swell arrives.
The most powerful waves expected at Big Bay in the next 16 days are 3.0m 14s and forecast to arrive on Wednesday (Jul 15) at 8PM. Winds are predicted to be glassy at the time the swell arrives. The largest open ocean swell (not directed at the beach) is 1.0m 5s period and expected on Monday (Jul 20) at 2AM.
| Wave Type | Time (SAST) & Date | Wave Height & Period |
|---|---|---|
| Next good surf (1 star+) | 8AM (Mon 13th Jul) | 3.5ft (1.0m) 10s |
| Best Surf | 8PM (Wed 15th Jul) | 10ft (3.0m) 14s |
| Most Powerful | 8PM (Wed 15th Jul) | 10ft (3.0m) 14s |
Table - best surf conditions forecast for Big Bay over the next 16 days.
Alright, Rusty here again. Let’s break it down.
We’ve got a slow start, but the real action kicks off on Wednesday the 15th. Water temp is running 14°, a touch colder than usual, so suit up.
Monday the 13th morning is glassy with 3ft waves from the SSW. Small but clean. The afternoon stays glassy. Tuesday the 14th is a washout with cross-on wind.
Wednesday the 15th morning brings a solid 5ft SW swell with a long 17-second period. The energy is strong (1386), and glassy winds make it clean. This is for experienced surfers. The afternoon gets bigger at 8ft but wind turns cross-on.
Thursday the 16th is the standout. Morning has 8ft of SW swell at 13 seconds, zero wind – dead glass. Energy is pumping at 2417. This is clean, powerful, and perfect for experts. That’s the one. Afternoon picks up a slight cross-on.
Friday the 17th stays solid around 7ft, clean and cross-off. Saturday the 18th morning is glassy but smaller at 4ft from the south. Sunday the 19th morning offers 6ft WSW, clean.
The second week looks bumpy. Tuesday the 21st sees a big 8ft SW groundswell with 15-second period and 2966 energy, but messy cross-shore winds ruin it. Wednesday the 22nd is huge – 12ft to 13ft SW swell – but fresh cross-onshore winds up to 22 mph make it a kite day. Thursday the 23rd and Friday the 24th stay big and blown.
By Saturday the 25th, it cleans up to 6ft with a cross-off breeze. Sunday the 26th afternoon is the hidden gem: 5ft WSW, gentle offshore wind, clean and fun for everyone. Monday the 27th morning is glassy with 5ft waves.
Your best shots? Thursday the 16th for raw power and perfection, and Sunday the 26th afternoon for a clean, fun session. Crowds are likely at Big Bay, so plan ahead.
Rusty.
Short Range ForecastMostly dry. Very mild (max 16°C on Mon afternoon, min 13°C on Mon night). Wind will be generally light. | Days 4-6 Weather SummaryMostly dry. Very mild (max 19°C on Sat afternoon, min 14°C on Thu morning). Wind will be generally light. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Monday 13 | Tuesday 14 | Wednesday 15 | Thursday 16 | Friday 17 | Saturday 18 | Sunday 19 | |||||||||||||||
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) | SSW 10 | SSW 10 | W 12 | W 10 | W 10 | W 9 | SW 17 | SW 16 | SW 14 | SW 13 | SW 13 | SW 12 | SW 11 | SW 11 | S 10 | S 12 | WSW 9 | WSW 13 | WSW 11 | WSW 11 | SW 11 |
Wave Graph  | |||||||||||||||||||||
 kJ | 173 | 132 | 220 | 167 | 156 | 132 | 1137 | 3283 | 3558 | 2417 | 1697 | 1169 | 1048 | 901 | 346 | 322 | 147 | 1028 | 868 | 415 | 328 |
Wind (km/h) | |||||||||||||||||||||
Wind State on-shore cross-onshore cross-shore cross-offshore off-shore glassy | glassy | glassy | glassy | cross-on | on | glassy | glassy | cross-on | glassy | glassy | cross-on | glassy | cross-off | cross-off | off | glassy | on | glassy | cross-off | cross-off | off |
High Tide | 2:40PM1.47m | 2:54AM1.55m | 3:27PM1.56m | 3:42AM1.56m | 4:12PM1.61m | 4:28AM1.54m | 4:55PM1.63m | 5:12AM1.48m | 5:37PM1.59m | 5:55AM1.39m | 6:19PM1.52m | 6:38AM1.28m | 7:01PM1.42m | ||||||||
Low Tide | 8:26AM0.08m | 8:48PM0.17m | 9:14AM0.02m | 9:38PM0.10m | 9:58AM-0.00m | 10:25PM0.08m | 10:40AM0.01m | 11:11PM0.09m | 11:20AM0.07m | 11:55PM0.15m | 12:00PM0.16m | 00:39AM0.23m | 12:39PM0.27m | 1:24AM0.33m | |||||||
 |  |  | | |  | | | | | | |  | | | | | | | | | |
 | 7:48 | — | — | 7:48 | — | — | 7:48 | — | — | 7:48 | — | — | 7:48 | — | — | 7:47 | — | — | 7:47 | — | — |
 | — | 5:53 | — | — | 5:53 | — | — | 5:54 | — | — | 5:54 | — | — | 5:55 | — | — | 5:57 | — | — | 5:57 | — |
mm | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Temp °C | 15 | 16 | 15 | 15 | 16 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 15 | 15 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 15 | 17 | 19 | 15 | 15 | 17 | 14 |
Feels °C | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 13 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 16 | 16 | 15 | 14 | 16 | 17 | 14 | 14 | 15 | 12 |
Swell 1 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | SSW 10 | SSW 10 | W 12 | W 10 | W 10 | W 9 | SW 17 | SW 16 | SW 14 | SW 13 | SW 13 | SW 12 | SW 11 | SW 11 | S 10 | S 12 | WSW 9 | WSW 13 | WSW 11 | WSW 11 | SW 11 |
| kJ | 173 | 132 | 220 | 167 | 156 | 132 | 1137 | 3283 | 3558 | 2417 | 1697 | 1169 | 1048 | 901 | 346 | 322 | 147 | 1028 | 868 | 415 | 328 |
Swell 2 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | W 10 | W 9 | SSW 9 | S 9 | SW 13 | SW 18 | W 9 | W 9 | — | — | — | — | — | — | WSW 10 | WSW 10 | S 10 | S 11 | S 10 | SW 11 | W 10 |
| kJ | 66 | 40 | 90 | 25 | 56 | 109 | 133 | 109 | — | — | — | — | — | — | 166 | 169 | 122 | 112 | 52 | 309 | 100 |
Swell 3 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | SW 14 | WSW 13 | SW 13 | SW 13 | S 9 | SW 12 | SW 11 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | SW 10 | SW 9 | SW 13 | — | S 11 | S 10 | S 5 |
| kJ | 32 | 54 | 45 | 59 | 25 | 52 | 116 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 82 | 31 | 140 | — | 2 | 33 | 27 |
Wind waves Height (m) Direction Period (s) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | SSE 4 | — | — | — | — | SSE 3 | S 4 | SSE 5 |
| kJ | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 21 | — | — | — | — | 4 | 16 | 61 |
Nearest Offshore or Glassy | |||||||||||||||||||||
Distance (km) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 29 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 29 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 34 | 0 |
Best forecast wave conditions in Cape Town | |||||||||||||||||||||
Best forecast wave conditions in South Africa | |||||||||||||||||||||
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The surf report / weather widget below is available to embed on third party websites free of charge and provides a summary of our Big Bay surf forecast. Simply grab the html code snippet that we provide and paste it into your own site. You can choose your preferred language and metric/imperial units for the surf forecast feed to suit users of your site. Click here to get the code.
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.
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