
Surf Forecasts:
Eerste Steen surf forecast from 11 Aug 2026:
- Best quality surf: Tuesday 11 Aug, 5PM (local time) - 5ft (1.6m), 12s period, SSW swell with cross-offshore winds.
- Most powerful swell: Thursday 13 Aug, 11AM (local time) - 7ft (2.2m), 17s period, WSW swell with 2,998 kJ wave energy.
- Next surfable swell (1★+): Tuesday 11 Aug, 5PM (local time) - 5ft (1.6m), 12s period with SSW swell.
Best Forecast Surf Conditions for Eerste Steen this week:
The surf forecast for Eerste Steen over the next 16 days: The first swell (rated 1 star or higher) is forecast to arrive on Tuesday (Aug 11) at 5PM. The primary swell is predicted to be 1.6m and 12s period with a secondary swell of 0.6m and 24s. Another secondary swell of 1.4m and 8s is also forecast. The wind is predicted to be cross-offshore as the swell arrives.
The most powerful waves expected at Eerste Steen in the next 16 days are 2.2m 17s and forecast to arrive on Thursday (Aug 13) at 11AM. Winds are predicted to be cross-offshore at the time the swell arrives. The largest open ocean swell (not directed at the beach) is 0.5m 3s period and expected on Thursday (Aug 13) at 2AM.
| Wave Type | Time (SAST) & Date | Wave Height & Period |
|---|---|---|
| Next good surf (1 star+) | 5PM (Tue 11th Aug) | 5ft (1.6m) 12s |
| Best Surf | 5PM (Tue 11th Aug) | 5ft (1.6m) 12s |
| Most Powerful | 11AM (Thu 13th Aug) | 7ft (2.2m) 17s |
Table - best surf conditions forecast for Eerste Steen over the next 16 days.
The Lowdown
G’day, Rusty here. Let’s break down what’s coming. We’ve got a solid run of good-to-excellent surf kicking off tomorrow, but it’s a real mix of tricky winds and a lot of powerful, heavy swell. The water is much colder than normal at 56°F, sitting about 4°F below the long-term average, so you’ll want the thick wetsuit.
Tuesday 11th August is a nice way in. The morning at Eerste Steen is clean with a 6ft SSW swell at 12 seconds and a light ESE cross-off breeze. The wave energy is very strong (1120), and it’s a fun, manageable size for the intermediate crew. The afternoon stays clean and drops a touch to 5ft, still with the same cross-off wind – excellent conditions for those with some experience.
Wednesday 12th August is the big standout. We’ve got a proper groundswell filling in from the SW at 6ft with a very long 18-second period. That’s a long-period swell, so it’ll be chunky and powerful, with long lulls between sets – perfect for a point or reef setup like Eerste Steen. The morning has a clean offshore wind (E at 9 mph) and the energy is through the roof (2215). The afternoon holds at 6ft with the same very long period, still cross-off but cleaner. This is the pick of the whole run for the confident surfer.
Thursday 13th August stays solid but the wind gets more complicated. The morning has a 7ft WSW swell at 17 seconds – that’s a lot of power (2998). The wind is a cross-off from the NNE, so it’s still clean. By the afternoon, a light cross-on breeze kicks in, making it more marginal, but the size holds at 7ft.
We then hit a patch of marginal conditions through Friday 14th and Saturday 15th. The swell is still around 6-6ft from the WSW, but winds are mostly onshore or cross-shore, creating a bit of chop. Saturday morning 15th is the one exception – glassy conditions with a 6ft SW swell – a real chance for a clean session if you’re keen on a dawny.
Sunday 16th August is a similar story: glassy morning with a 6ft WSW swell, but the afternoon turns messy with a 7ft swell and a light cross-onshore wind.
Monday 17th August sees a jump in size to 8ft, but the wind is a cross-shore from the NNW, and by the afternoon it’s onshore. This is too big for beginners, and the conditions aren’t favourable for a clean ride.
Tuesday 18th August has the biggest swell of the run – a solid 10ft from the SW. The morning is cross-shore and choppy; the afternoon gets stronger with a 12 mph cross-onshore. That kind of size and mess is really only for experts, and honestly, it looks more like a kite day than a paddle day.
The run continues with a lot of medium-to-big swell (6ft to 10ft) right through to Saturday 22nd August, but the wind keeps swinging around. The afternoon of the 22nd sees a 10ft SW swell at 14 seconds with a light cross-shore wind – that’s a massive energy reading of 4800, but it’s only a marginal call for paddle surfing due to the size and period.
The real window to watch is Sunday 23rd August. After a lot of messy days, the morning at Eerste Steen cleans right up with a 6ft WSW swell, a light cross-off ESE wind, and over 2000 in energy. It’s clean, it’s solid, and it’s a solid option for the experienced surfer.
After that, the swell backs off slightly into the following week. Monday 24th August has a smaller 4ft SSW swell with good morning conditions, but nothing that matches the earlier standouts. Tuesday 25th and Wednesday 26th offer glassy mornings again, with 6ft and 5ft respectively, but the energy drops off.
Overall, the cream of the crop is Wednesday 12th August – that long-period SW groundswell with offshore wind is the one to circle. The Saturday morning 15th and Sunday 23rd August mornings are the other true standouts for clean, solid waves.
Rusty.
Short Range ForecastMostly dry. Warm (max 25°C on Thu afternoon, min 13°C on Tue night). Wind will be generally light. | Days 5-7 Weather SummaryMostly dry. Very mild (max 17°C on Fri afternoon, min 12°C on Fri night). Wind will be generally light. | |||||||||||||||||||
Tue 11 | Wednesday 12 | Thursday 13 | Friday 14 | Saturday 15 | Sunday 16 | Monday 17 | ||||||||||||||
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 12 | SW 21 | SW 18 | SW 18 | SW 16 | WSW 17 | WSW 16 | WSW 16 | WSW 15 | WSW 14 | WSW 14 | WSW 14 | WSW 13 | WSW 14 | WSW 14 | WSW 14 | WSW 13 | WSW 13 | WSW 13 | WSW 12 |
Wave Graph | ||||||||||||||||||||
730 | 1850 | 1922 | 1952 | 1916 | 2998 | 2343 | 1743 | 1358 | 1257 | 1179 | 1179 | 1127 | 1179 | 1111 | 1538 | 2477 | 2026 | 1673 | 1236 | |
Wind (km/h) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Wind State on-shore cross-onshore cross-shore cross-offshore off-shore glassy | cross-off | cross-off | off | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | cross-on | cross-off | cross | cross | cross-off | glassy | cross-on | glassy | cross | on | glassy | cross | cross-on | cross-off |
High Tide | 2:32PM1.51m | 2:47AM1.53m | 3:13PM1.62m | 3:29AM1.57m | 3:52PM1.68m | 4:09AM1.56m | 4:29PM1.69m | 4:46AM1.51m | 5:05PM1.64m | 5:22AM1.43m | 5:39PM1.55m | 5:57AM1.33m | 6:13PM1.43m | |||||||
Low Tide | 8:44PM0.13m | 9:01AM0.02m | 9:27PM0.05m | 9:40AM-0.01m | 10:07PM0.02m | 10:16AM-0.00m | 10:45PM0.03m | 10:51AM0.05m | 11:22PM0.09m | 11:24AM0.14m | 11:57PM0.19m | 11:57AM0.25m | 00:31AM0.30m | |||||||
— | — | 7:28 | — | — | 7:26 | — | — | 7:26 | — | — | 7:24 | — | — | 7:24 | — | — | 7:22 | — | — | |
6:13 | — | — | 6:14 | — | — | 6:14 | — | — | 6:15 | — | — | 6:15 | — | — | 6:16 | — | — | 6:16 | — | |
mm | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 1 |
Temp °C | 17 | 17 | 15 | 21 | 21 | 21 | 25 | 19 | 18 | 17 | 14 | 14 | 17 | 15 | 15 | 16 | 14 | 16 | 17 | 15 |
Feels °C | 14 | 13 | 11 | 17 | 16 | 17 | 19 | 17 | 14 | 13 | 13 | 14 | 16 | 14 | 13 | 14 | 14 | 13 | 14 | 13 |
Swell 1 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | SSW 12 | SW 21 | SW 18 | SW 18 | SW 16 | WSW 17 | WSW 16 | WSW 16 | WSW 15 | WSW 14 | WSW 14 | WSW 14 | WSW 13 | WSW 14 | WSW 14 | WSW 14 | WSW 13 | WSW 13 | WSW 13 | WSW 12 |
730 | 1850 | 1922 | 1952 | 1916 | 2998 | 2343 | 1743 | 1358 | 1257 | 1179 | 1179 | 1127 | 1179 | 1111 | 1538 | 2477 | 2026 | 1673 | 1236 | |
Swell 2 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | WSW 24 | S 11 | SSW 10 | SSW 10 | SW 21 | — | — | — | — | — | W 5 | W 6 | W 6 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
384 | 396 | 187 | 116 | 898 | — | — | — | — | — | 27 | 21 | 22 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
Swell 3 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | SW 10 | SSW 11 | SW 10 | SW 10 | S 10 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
25 | 211 | 87 | 65 | 8 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
Wind waves Height (m) Direction Period (s) | SSE 8 | — | — | — | ESE 3 | — | NNW 6 | — | NNW 4 | NW 4 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
242 | — | — | — | 6 | — | 23 | — | 12 | 15 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
Nearest Offshore or Glassy | ||||||||||||||||||||
Distance (km) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 6 | 16 | 0 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 16 | 0 | 31 | 16 | 0 | 6 | 31 | 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)
Latest Updates
Information about the Eerste Steen Surf forecast
The above surf forecast table for Eerste Steen provides essential information for determining whether the surfing conditions will be good over the next 16 days. A general guide to surfing at Eerste Steen can be found by selecting the local surf guide option on the grey menu. Our Eerste Steen 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 (Eerste Steen) 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 Eerste Steen 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.
Eerste Steen 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.











