Surf Forecasts:
Boneyards surf forecast from 27 Aug 2026:
- Best quality surf: Wednesday 2 Sep, 5AM (local time) - 16ft (5.0m), 14s period, SW swell with cross-shore winds.
- Most powerful swell: Wednesday 2 Sep, 8AM (local time) - 21ft (6.5m), 18s period, SW swell with 28,094 kJ wave energy.
- Next surfable swell (1★+): Friday 28 Aug, 2AM (local time) - 4.5ft (1.4m), 11s period with S 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 Friday (Aug 28) at 2AM. The primary swell is predicted to be 1.4m and 11s period with a secondary swell of 0.7m and 11s. The wind is predicted to be glassy as the swell arrives.
The most powerful waves expected at Boneyards in the next 16 days are 6.5m 18s and forecast to arrive on Wednesday (Sep 02) at 8AM. Winds are predicted to be cross-shore at the time the swell arrives. The largest open ocean swell (not directed at the beach) is 1.8m 6s period and expected on Thursday (Sep 03) at 8PM.
| Wave Type | Time (SAST) & Date | Wave Height & Period |
|---|---|---|
| Next good surf (1 star+) | 2AM (Fri 28th Aug) | 4.5ft (1.4m) 11s |
| Best Surf | 5AM (Wed 2nd Sep) | 16ft (5.0m) 14s |
| Most Powerful | 8AM (Wed 2nd Sep) | 21ft (6.5m) 18s |
Table - best surf conditions forecast for Boneyards over the next 16 days.
The Lowdown
Alright, mate, Rusty again. Let’s break it down for the imperial crew.
We’re looking at a slow start today, but there’s solid swell coming. The first proper session is Friday the 28th of August.
Thursday the 27th is a dud. Choppy cross-on wind and weak energy (788) – not worth the effort.
Friday the 28th gets things moving. Morning at Boneyards is clean with offshore wind and a 4ft S swell, but the real highlight is Friday afternoon. Light SSE cross-off breeze, the swell rolls in from the WSW at 4ft, and the period is a long 14 seconds. Energy is moderate (783), and it’s glassy. That’s the pick for the early part.
Saturday the 29th morning is a cracker. Swell is around 5ft from the WSW, period a very long 15 seconds, with a gentle offshore wind. Energy is moderate (1038). This is excellent for the experienced crew – clean, lined-up groundswell. Saturday afternoon sees the swell push to nearly 8ft, but the wind jumps to 30 km/h from the S, so it’s clean but getting heavy. Energy is strong (3090). Sunday the 30th stays in the 8ft range with similar wind and strong energy, but quality is a bit off.
Monday the 31st is smaller, around 7ft, but onshore wind ruins it.
Then there’s a big dry spell. Tuesday the 1st of September through Friday the 5th are messy or dangerous. The 1st has strong onshore winds and poor conditions. Wednesday the 2nd is insane – 21ft swell with a 17-second period, energy at 24941. That’s way too big, experts only and risky. Thursday and Friday are blown out by gale-force offshore winds that make paddling out a mission, even as the swell drops.
After that rough patch, things clean up. Sunday the 6th of September morning is a treat. Clean conditions, a 4ft WSW swell with a very long 17-second period, and light wind. Energy is moderate (890). The reef handles that long period beautifully. Monday the 7th and Tuesday the 8th keep the run going with similar 4ft to 5ft swells, clean and user-friendly. Solid days.
Around the 11th of September, the swell jumps back up to 10ft, but the period drops to 10 seconds and the wind is light cross-on. Not perfect, but big.
Best sessions: Friday the 28th afternoon for the glassy start, and Saturday the 29th morning for the offshore perfection. The early second-week run from the 6th to the 8th of September is also a beauty – clean, consistent, and mellow.
Crowds can show up at Boneyards sometimes, so dawn patrol is your friend.
Water temp is 59°F, a bit colder than average for the season, so bring a steamer.
Stay wet,
Rusty
Short Range ForecastLight rain (total 2mm), mostly falling on Sat afternoon. Very mild (max 18°C on Thu afternoon, min 13°C on Sat night). Winds increasing (calm on Thu night, fresh winds from the S by Sat afternoon). | Days 5-7 Weather SummarySome drizzle, heaviest during Tue night. Very mild (max 15°C on Tue afternoon, min 13°C on Sun afternoon). Winds increasing (light winds from the WSW on Sun night, fresh winds from the NNW by Tue afternoon). | |||||||||||||||||||
Thu 27 | Friday 28 | Saturday 29 | Sunday 30 | Monday 31 | Tuesday 1 | Wednesday 2 | ||||||||||||||
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) | S 11 | S 11 | S 11 | WSW 14 | WSW 13 | WSW 15 | WSW 14 | WSW 13 | SW 13 | WSW 12 | WSW 12 | WSW 12 | SW 11 | SW 11 | SW 12 | SW 13 | SW 12 | SW 17 | SW 16 | SW 14 |
Wave Graph  | ||||||||||||||||||||
 kJ | 364 | 465 | 326 | 569 | 461 | 1038 | 2187 | 950 | 2242 | 1607 | 1338 | 1009 | 990 | 1905 | 2412 | 2283 | 4082 | 24941 | 14668 | 7456 |
Wind (km/h) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Wind State on-shore cross-onshore cross-shore cross-offshore off-shore glassy | cross-on | glassy | on | cross-off | cross-off | off | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | cross | on | on | cross-on | cross-on | on | cross-on | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off |
High Tide | 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 | 6:01AM1.31m | 6:18PM1.41m | |||||||
Low Tide | 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 | 11:59AM0.28m | 00:39AM0.30m | |||||||
 |  | |  |  |  |  | | | | | | |  | | |  | | | | |
 | — | — | 7:11 | — | — | 7:09 | — | — | 7:07 | — | — | 7:07 | — | — | 7:05 | — | — | 7:03 | — | — |
 | 6:23 | — | — | 6:24 | — | — | 6:25 | — | — | 6:25 | — | — | 6:27 | — | — | 6:28 | — | — | 6:28 | — |
mm | — | — | — | — | — | — | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 1 | — | — | — |
Temp °C | 18 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 15 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 13 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 13 | 15 | 15 | 13 | 13 | 13 |
Feels °C | 15 | 16 | 16 | 15 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 8 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 11 | 10 | 12 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 7 | 7 | 5 |
Swell 1 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | S 11 | S 11 | S 11 | WSW 14 | WSW 13 | WSW 15 | WSW 14 | SW 8 | SW 13 | WSW 12 | WSW 12 | WSW 12 | SW 11 | SW 11 | SW 12 | SW 13 | SW 12 | SW 17 | SW 16 | SW 14 |
| kJ | 364 | 465 | 326 | 569 | 461 | 1038 | 2187 | 523 | 2242 | 1607 | 1338 | 1009 | 990 | 1905 | 2412 | 2283 | 2495 | 24941 | 14668 | 7456 |
Swell 2 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | SSW 11 | WSW 11 | WSW 11 | S 10 | S 10 | SSE 11 | SSE 11 | WSW 13 | SSE 11 | SSE 10 | SSE 10 | SE 11 | SE 10 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| kJ | 243 | 126 | 121 | 214 | 130 | 90 | 97 | 950 | 22 | 10 | 10 | 5 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Swell 3 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | WSW 11 | WSW 15 | WSW 16 | SSE 14 | SSE 13 | SSE 13 | S 11 | SSE 11 | E 13 | E 13 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| kJ | 180 | 146 | 198 | 63 | 133 | 68 | 86 | 40 | 3 | 3 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Wind waves Height (m) Direction Period (s) | W 3 | — | — | — | — | — | SW 10 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | W 3 | SW 12 | — | — | — |
| kJ | 1 | — | — | — | — | — | 817 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 5 | 4082 | — | — | — |
Nearest Offshore or Glassy | ||||||||||||||||||||
Distance (km) | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 279 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 10 | 10 | 1 | 10 | 10 | 14 | 1 | 349 | 48 |
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)
FREE! Surf-Forecast.com widget for your website
The surf report / weather widget below is available to embed on third party websites free of charge and provides a summary of our Boneyards 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 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.
Nearest