Fish Hoek Surf Forecast and Surf Report

G'day, Rusty here, lookin' at the surf for Fish Hoek over the next couple of weeks. Honestly, it's a bit of a rough patch to start, so don't rush down there just yet. We've got a long dry spell before things finally start to look up.

The first week and a half is pretty grim. From Thursday the 9th right through to the middle of the month, we're dealing with a lot of cross-onshore wind and messy, lumpy conditions. The swell is coming in from the SSW, but it's just not clean. The energy is moderate to strong in the early days (1603 combined energy dropping to 1105), but it's all wasted with that wind. The water temp is about average for this time of year, so nothing strange there.

We get a little glimmer on Sunday the 12th morning with a 6 ft SE swell, but it's a short period wave (7 secs) – that's gonna be weak and gutless. The wind is light and onshore, so it's a marginal call at best. That's about as good as it gets until the following week.

Then, right around Wednesday the 15th, the conditions start to clean up. The afternoon sees a 2 ft SW swell with a nice long period of 15 seconds – that's a proper groundswell. The wind goes light offshore from the west, and it's clean. The energy is still low (225), but it's surfable. It's a sign of things to come, but it's still small.

The real standout, the one you wait for, is the weekend of the 19th and 20th of July. Sunday the 19th is the pick of the whole forecast. We've got a clean 3 ft SW swell with a solid 13-second period, and the wind is light offshore from the NW. It's clean, glassy conditions (439 combined energy). It's not huge, but it'll be fun and well-shaped on the banks. Then Monday the 20th morning is a bit windier, but still offshore, with a 4 ft SW swell.

But hold on, because the following week is where the size comes in. Tuesday the 21st of July is a big one. The swell jumps to 8 ft from the SW, with a 13-second period, and a strong offshore wind. The energy is very strong (1969-2356). That's a big, powerful wave. For beginners, that's too much – this is an expert-only zone at that size. It's a proper, heavy, clean swell, but you'll want to be on your game.

And then, looking further out, Wednesday the 23rd of July is an absolute monster. We're talking an 12 ft SW swell with a 17-second period – that's a very long period groundswell. The energy is massive (8038). The wind is light onshore, which is a shame, but it will be a sight to behold. That's an expert-only, massive, powerful ocean swell. It'll be breaking straight and fast, so a point or reef would be the go, but Fish Hoek is a beach break. For the average surfer, it's a day to watch, not paddle.

So, to sum it up: The first week is a write-off. The best bet for a clean, fun surf is the 19th and 20th of July. The biggest, most powerful, expert-only swell hits on the 21st and 23rd of July. Get out there for the clean weekend, and be careful if you're looking at the big stuff later on.

Rusty.

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