Surf Forecasts:
Boneyards surf forecast from 26 Aug 2026:
- Best quality surf: Wednesday 2 Sep, 8AM (local time) - 11ft (3.5m), 13s period, SW swell with offshore winds.
- Most powerful swell: Tuesday 1 Sep, 8PM (local time) - 15ft (4.5m), 14s period, SW swell with 6,864 kJ wave energy.
- Next surfable swell (1★+): Wednesday 26 Aug, 8PM (local time) - 3.5ft (1.1m), 12s period with WSW swell.
Best Forecast Surf Conditions for Boneyards this week:
The surf forecast for Boneyards over the next 16 days: The first swell (rated 1 star or higher) is forecast to arrive on Wednesday (Aug 26) at 8PM. The primary swell is predicted to be 1.1m and 12s period with a secondary swell of 1.1m and 11s. The wind is predicted to be offshore as the swell arrives.
The most powerful waves expected at Boneyards in the next 16 days are 4.5m 14s and forecast to arrive on Tuesday (Sep 01) at 8PM. Winds are predicted to be cross-onshore at the time the swell arrives. The largest open ocean swell (not directed at the beach) is 2.3m 8s period and expected on Wednesday (Aug 26) at 8PM.
| Wave Type | Time (SAST) & Date | Wave Height & Period |
|---|---|---|
| Next good surf (1 star+) | 8PM (Wed 26th Aug) | 3.5ft (1.1m) 12s |
| Best Surf | 8AM (Wed 2nd Sep) | 11ft (3.5m) 13s |
| Most Powerful | 8PM (Tue 1st Sep) | 15ft (4.5m) 14s |
Table - best surf conditions forecast for Boneyards over the next 16 days.
The Lowdown
Alright, grab your wetties and listen up. Rusty here with the long range look at our local patch.
We’ve got a bit of a slow start, but it’s all leading to some proper sessions. The first real swell to get excited about is actually on Wednesday the 26th. Boneyards is the only game in town according to the charts, and it’s going to be a clean run. The water temp is sitting at 59°, which is about what you’d expect for this time of year.
For Wednesday the 26th, Boneyards is the spot. Morning looks mint – clear skies, a light offshore ESE breeze at 12 mph, and a 4 ft swell from the WSW with a 13-second period. That’s proper groundswell energy, and the combined energy is a solid 1145, which means there’s decent power behind it. The afternoon stays clean too, with the breeze dropping to 9 mph and the swell holding at 4 ft. It’s an exposed reef break, so it needs the right swell direction, and this WSW angle is right on the money. Crowds can be a thing here sometimes, so get in early. This is intermediate territory.
Thursday the 27th looks like a write-off. The wind swings NW and then W, putting us in cross-onshore chop. Not worth paddling out.
Friday the 28th morning is a standout. Glassy conditions with a 4 ft S swell. The wind is dead calm at 3 mph from the east – that’s glass. It’ll be clean but small. The afternoon gets messy again with a cross-shore wind.
Saturday the 29th is building. The morning is on the small side with cross-onshore wind, nothing special. But the afternoon sees a jump to 8 ft from the WSW with a 14-second period. That’s big, clean surf with plenty of power (2730 combined energy). It’s a cross-off wind from the SSW, so the face should be pretty clean. This is getting into expert territory at that size, especially on a reef.
Sunday the 30th is the pick of the first week. Morning delivers a solid 10 ft swell from the WSW at 13 seconds. The wind is cross-off from the south at 9 mph, keeping it clean. The energy is huge at 2556. This is serious, expert-level surf. The afternoon backs off a bit to 8 ft but stays clean. If you’re skilled, this is your day.
Monday the 31st is a step down. The swell drops to 6 ft, but the wind is onshore and choppy. Not great.
Tuesday the 1st of September gets wild, but not in a good way. The swell jumps to 12 ft in the morning and 13 ft in the afternoon, both from the SW with a 14-second period. The combined energy explodes, hitting 5072 and then 6523. That is massive, heavy energy. But the wind is a strong cross-onshore, making it messy and dangerous. This is more of a kiteboarding show than a paddle session.
Wednesday the 2nd is still big – 10 ft in the morning and 8 ft in the afternoon from the SW – but the wind turns cross-off and clean. It’ll be powerful and hollow, but still only for experts. The combined energy is still very high at 3217.
From Thursday the 3rd all the way through to Tuesday the 8th, the forecasts are poor. The wind howls out of the southeast at gale force, making paddling near impossible, even if there’s a small swell. It’s a long, flat, blown-out stretch. Don’t bother.
A glimmer appears on Monday the 7th afternoon. The wind goes light and cross-off, with a small 3 ft swell from the WSW at 14 seconds. Clean, but tiny.
Then we get our big long-range standout. Thursday the 10th of September looks promising. A solid 13 ft swell from the SW with a 14-second period hits in the morning, and it holds at 12 ft in the afternoon. The wind is a fresh cross-off from the SSE, keeping things clean. The energy is massive at 5592 and 5472. It’s a long way out, so don’t book your flights yet, but this is the one to watch. Boneyards will be handling a heavy, powerful groundswell. Experts only on that reef.
So, overall: if you want the best conditions this week, hit Wednesday the 26th morning for clean, fun waves. For the biggest and best expert surf, target Sunday the 30th. And keep an eye on Thursday the 10th – it could be the best session of the whole 16 days.
Rusty.
Short Range ForecastMostly dry. Warm (max 23°C on Wed night, min 15°C on Thu night). Wind will be generally light. | Days 5-7 Weather SummaryLight rain (total 8mm), mostly falling on Sat night. Very mild (max 16°C on Sat afternoon, min 11°C on Tue morning). Winds increasing (calm on Sun morning, fresh winds from the NNW by Tue morning). | |||||||||||||||||||
Wed 26 | Thursday 27 | Friday 28 | Saturday 29 | Sunday 30 | Monday 31 | Tuesday 1 | ||||||||||||||
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 16 | SSW 11 | S 12 | S 11 | S 11 | S 11 | WSW 14 | WSW 13 | WSW 15 | WSW 14 | WSW 13 | WSW 13 | WSW 12 | WSW 12 | WSW 11 | WSW 11 | SW 11 | SW 13 | SW 13 | SW 13 |
Wave Graph | ||||||||||||||||||||
433 | 446 | 607 | 556 | 465 | 323 | 569 | 491 | 983 | 1852 | 1074 | 1879 | 1652 | 1294 | 957 | 785 | 1128 | 3903 | 5105 | 5549 | |
Wind (km/h) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Wind State on-shore cross-onshore cross-shore cross-offshore off-shore glassy | off | glassy | cross-on | cross-on | glassy | glassy | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | cross | glassy | cross | cross | cross-off | on | on | cross-on | cross-on | cross-on | cross-on |
High Tide | 2:37PM1.42m | 2:44AM1.41m | 3:05PM1.51m | 3:14AM1.47m | 3:33PM1.59m | 3:44AM1.50m | 4:01PM1.63m | 4:15AM1.50m | 4:31PM1.63m | 4:48AM1.47m | 5:03PM1.59m | 5:22AM1.41m | 5:38PM1.52m | |||||||
Low Tide | 8:46PM0.25m | 8:54AM0.14m | 9:15PM0.17m | 9:22AM0.09m | 9:44PM0.11m | 9:49AM0.06m | 10:14PM0.07m | 10:18AM0.07m | 10:45PM0.08m | 10:48AM0.11m | 11:18PM0.11m | 11:21AM0.18m | 11:55PM0.19m | |||||||
— | — | 7:11 | — | — | 7:11 | — | — | 7:09 | — | — | 7:07 | — | — | 7:07 | — | — | 7:05 | — | — | |
6:23 | — | — | 6:23 | — | — | 6:24 | — | — | 6:25 | — | — | 6:25 | — | — | 6:27 | — | — | 6:28 | — | |
mm | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 7 | 1 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 2 |
Temp °C | 22 | 23 | 20 | 18 | 16 | 16 | 18 | 15 | 15 | 16 | 14 | 13 | 14 | 13 | 13 | 14 | 13 | 12 | 14 | 14 |
Feels °C | 19 | 20 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 13 | 12 | 11 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 5 | 8 | 9 |
Swell 1 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | WSW 12 | SSW 11 | S 12 | S 11 | S 11 | S 11 | WSW 14 | WSW 13 | WSW 15 | WSW 14 | WSW 13 | WSW 13 | WSW 12 | WSW 12 | WSW 11 | WSW 11 | SW 11 | SW 13 | SW 13 | SW 13 |
433 | 446 | 607 | 556 | 465 | 323 | 569 | 491 | 983 | 1852 | 1074 | 1879 | 1652 | 1294 | 957 | 785 | 1128 | 3903 | 5105 | 5549 | |
Swell 2 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | SSW 11 | WSW 12 | WSW 12 | WSW 11 | WSW 11 | WSW 11 | S 10 | S 10 | SSE 11 | SSE 11 | SSE 11 | SSE 11 | SSE 10 | SSE 10 | SE 11 | SE 10 | SSW 14 | — | — | — |
263 | 322 | 256 | 221 | 126 | 121 | 214 | 130 | 90 | 97 | 47 | 22 | 10 | 10 | 5 | 4 | 453 | — | — | — | |
Swell 3 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | SSW 16 | SE 8 | SE 8 | WSW 16 | WSW 15 | WSW 16 | SSE 14 | SSE 13 | SSE 13 | ESE 7 | SSE 11 | E 13 | E 13 | SSE 10 | — | — | SE 10 | — | — | — |
411 | 142 | 66 | 26 | 146 | 198 | 63 | 133 | 67 | 5 | 39 | 3 | 3 | 10 | — | — | 4 | — | — | — | |
Wind waves Height (m) Direction Period (s) | SE 8 | — | NW 3 | WNW 3 | — | — | — | — | — | SW 10 | WSW 8 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
373 | — | 2 | 1 | — | — | — | — | — | 303 | 368 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
Nearest Offshore or Glassy | ||||||||||||||||||||
Distance (km) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 10 | 10 | 21 | 186 | 286 | 37 |
Best forecast wave conditions in Cape Town | ||||||||||||||||||||
Best forecast wave conditions in South Africa | ||||||||||||||||||||
Header Global | ||||||||||||||||||||
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Information about the Boneyards Surf forecast
The above surf forecast table for Boneyards provides essential information for determining whether the surfing conditions will be good over the next 16 days. A general guide to surfing at Boneyards can be found by selecting the local surf guide option on the grey menu. Our Boneyards 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 (Boneyards) 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 Boneyards 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.
Are you planning a holiday in Cape Town? If you are looking for accommodation near Boneyards, camping, hotels and holiday cottages in Cape Town, consider staying in Cape Town which is 26 km (16 miles) away. Other places in and around Cape Town where you can find information about places to rent, and car hire include Robben Island which is 37 km (23 miles) away, Bellville, Kayamnandi and Stellenbosch.











