Surf Forecasts:
Donkin Bay surf forecast from 12 Sep 2026:
- Best quality surf: Sunday 13 Sep, 5AM (local time) - 6ft (1.9m), 15s period, SW swell with cross-offshore winds.
- Most powerful swell: Wednesday 16 Sep, 8AM (local time) - 8ft (2.4m), 14s period, WSW swell with 2,346 kJ wave energy.
- Next surfable swell (1★+): Saturday 12 Sep, 8AM (local time) - 4ft (1.2m), 12s period with WSW swell.
Best Forecast Surf Conditions for Donkin Bay this week:
The surf forecast for Donkin Bay over the next 16 days: The first swell (rated 1 star or higher) is forecast to arrive on Saturday (Sep 12) at 8AM. The primary swell is predicted to be 1.2m and 12s period with a secondary swell of 1.2m and 10s. The wind is predicted to be cross-offshore as the swell arrives.
The most powerful waves expected at Donkin Bay in the next 16 days are 2.4m 14s and forecast to arrive on Wednesday (Sep 16) at 8AM. Winds are predicted to be glassy at the time the swell arrives. The largest open ocean swell (not directed at the beach) is 0.7m 5s period and expected on Saturday (Sep 19) at 2AM.
| Wave Type | Time (SAST) & Date | Wave Height & Period |
|---|---|---|
| Next good surf (1 star+) | 8AM (Sat 12th Sep) | 4ft (1.2m) 12s |
| Best Surf | 5AM (Sun 13th Sep) | 6ft (1.9m) 15s |
| Most Powerful | 8AM (Wed 16th Sep) | 8ft (2.4m) 14s |
Table - best surf conditions forecast for Donkin Bay over the next 16 days.
The Lowdown
G’day, this is Rusty. Let’s have a look at what Donkin Bay’s got cooking over the next couple of weeks. It’s not all smooth sailing, but there are a couple of windows where it’ll be worth the effort.
Right now, things are a bit messy. The first few days are a write-off due to onshore winds or cross-shore chop that’ll mess up the lines, plus the wave quality isn’t there. Sunday the 13th has some size – around 6 ft from the SW – but the morning’s onshore wind and the afternoon’s rain showers with more onshore breeze will turn it into a lumpy mess. Monday and Tuesday are pretty average too, with strong onshore winds and dropping swell.
The first real standout arrives on Thursday, 17 September. Thursday morning at Donkin Bay (reef and point) we’ve got clean waves at 4 ft from the SW, with a 12-second period – that’s a nice groundswell. Cross-off winds from the SSE keep it clean, and the energy is moderate (738). It’s a good one for intermediates. The water temp is about average for this time of year so no surprises there.
Then Saturday, 19 September is the absolute pick of the bunch. The morning session offers 5 ft SW swell, 13-second period, and gentle offshore wind from the ESE. Expect very good surf conditions with clean lines and moderate energy (854). This is the one to circle on the calendar – a proper clean point-break day.
After that, things go downhill again. Sunday the 20th holds some waist-high leftovers, but from Monday the 21st through to Thursday the 24th it’s mostly onshore winds and junky conditions. There’s a spike on Wednesday the 23rd afternoon with 6 ft SW swell and light cross-on breeze, but the wind direction isn’t ideal. Thursday the 24th has 8 ft SW swell but with strong onshore winds – that’s for experts only and even then, it’ll be rough.
The second week wraps up with a clean morning on Saturday the 26th – 6 ft from the W, fresh offshore ESE wind, and moderate energy (1503) – but it’s a long way out and the confidence is lower. Still, it looks promising if the wind holds.
So, bottom line: Saturday the 19th morning is your best shot, with Thursday the 17th morning a strong backup. The rest of the fortnight has plenty of gaps where you’re better off staying dry.
Rusty
Short Range ForecastModerate rain (total 11mm), heaviest on Sun night. Warm (max 25°C on Sat morning, min 14°C on Mon night). Winds increasing (calm on Sun morning, fresh winds from the NW by Mon afternoon). | Days 4-6 Weather SummaryLight rain (total 2mm), mostly falling on Wed morning. Very mild (max 19°C on Thu afternoon, min 13°C on Wed afternoon). Wind will be generally light. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Saturday 12 | Sunday 13 | Monday 14 | Tuesday 15 | Wednesday 16 | Thursday 17 | Friday 18 | |||||||||||||||
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) | WSW 14 | SW 14 | SW 16 | SW 14 | SW 14 | WSW 13 | SW 13 | WNW 7 | SW 12 | SW 11 | WSW 17 | WSW 15 | WSW 14 | WSW 13 | SW 13 | SW 12 | SW 12 | WSW 11 | SW 11 | SW 13 | SW 14 |
Wave Graph  | |||||||||||||||||||||
 kJ | 332 | 1203 | 1909 | 1187 | 828 | 581 | 321 | 329 | 199 | 142 | 386 | 1821 | 1064 | 1169 | 1021 | 503 | 448 | 426 | 726 | 2140 | 1977 |
Wind (km/h) | |||||||||||||||||||||
Wind State on-shore cross-onshore cross-shore cross-offshore off-shore glassy | cross-off | cross | cross-on | on | on | cross-on | on | on | cross-on | on | on | cross-on | on | cross-off | cross-off | off | cross-off | cross-off | cross | cross | cross-off |
High Tide | 3:57PM1.86m | 4:17AM1.69m | 4:28PM1.79m | 4:48AM1.61m | 4:59PM1.68m | 5:20AM1.51m | 5:30PM1.54m | 5:51AM1.38m | 6:02PM1.39m | 6:27AM1.25m | 6:40PM1.24m | 7:17AM1.12m | 7:40PM1.10m | ||||||||
Low Tide | 9:48AM0.05m | 10:13PM0.01m | 10:19AM0.10m | 10:44PM0.09m | 10:49AM0.19m | 11:14PM0.19m | 11:19AM0.30m | 11:43PM0.32m | 11:49AM0.43m | 00:14AM0.45m | 12:21PM0.57m | 00:52AM0.59m | 1:05PM0.70m | 1:59AM0.71m | |||||||
 |  |  | |  |  |  | |  | | | | |  |  | | | | | | | |
 | 6:50 | — | — | 6:48 | — | — | 6:48 | — | — | 6:46 | — | — | 6:45 | — | — | 6:43 | — | — | 6:41 | — | — |
 | — | 6:36 | — | — | 6:37 | — | — | 6:37 | — | — | 6:37 | — | — | 6:38 | — | — | 6:38 | — | — | 6:39 | — |
mm | — | — | — | — | 2 | 9 | — | — | — | — | — | — | 1 | 1 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Temp °C | 25 | 23 | 21 | 20 | 17 | 16 | 16 | 15 | 14 | 16 | 16 | 14 | 14 | 13 | 15 | 18 | 19 | 19 | 14 | 16 | 14 |
Feels °C | 21 | 18 | 19 | 19 | 17 | 16 | 11 | 9 | 9 | 12 | 12 | 14 | 14 | 12 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 8 | 9 | 5 |
Swell 1 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | SSW 10 | SW 14 | SW 16 | SW 14 | SW 14 | WSW 13 | SW 13 | SW 12 | SW 12 | SW 11 | WSW 17 | WSW 15 | WSW 14 | WSW 13 | SW 13 | SW 12 | SW 12 | WSW 11 | SW 11 | WSW 18 | SW 14 |
| kJ | 192 | 1203 | 1909 | 1187 | 828 | 581 | 321 | 248 | 199 | 142 | 386 | 1821 | 1064 | 1169 | 1021 | 503 | 448 | 426 | 726 | 31 | 1977 |
Swell 2 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | WSW 14 | WSW 18 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | WSW 19 | SW 11 | NW 6 | WSW 10 | WSW 8 | WSW 12 | WSW 12 | W 12 | SSW 5 | — | — | — |
| kJ | 332 | 61 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 35 | 142 | 26 | 551 | 235 | 318 | 205 | 103 | 36 | — | — | — |
Swell 3 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | WSW 11 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | WSW 16 | WSW 11 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| kJ | 200 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 24 | 76 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Wind waves Height (m) Direction Period (s) | — | SW 6 | — | — | — | NW 3 | NW 5 | WNW 7 | WNW 7 | WNW 7 | WNW 6 | — | — | — | — | — | SW 4 | SSW 4 | — | SW 13 | SSW 5 |
| kJ | — | 88 | — | — | — | 4 | 93 | 329 | 178 | 70 | 53 | — | — | — | — | — | 14 | 12 | — | 2140 | 25 |
Nearest Offshore or Glassy | |||||||||||||||||||||
Distance (km) | 0 | 56 | 446 | 0 | 117 | 101 | 218 | 372 | 490 | 290 | 379 | 379 | 233 | 56 | 268 | 30 | 0 | 491 | 0 | 30 | 56 |
Best forecast wave conditions in West Coast | |||||||||||||||||||||
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 Donkin 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 Donkin Bay Surf forecast
The above surf forecast table for Donkin Bay provides essential information for determining whether the surfing conditions will be good over the next 16 days. A general guide to surfing at Donkin Bay can be found by selecting the local surf guide option on the grey menu. Our Donkin 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 (Donkin 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 Donkin 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.
Donkin Bay is 136 km (84 miles) from Saldanha. If you plan a holiday in West Coast, look for hotels and other accommodation in Saldanha. Saldanha has rooms for a wide range of budgets as well as car hire and transport links.
Nearest