Hout Bay Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, let’s get into it. This is Rusty, and I’m looking at the next couple of weeks for Hout Bay. The forecast is a bit of a mixed bag, with a clean start that gets blown out, then a real standout window of quality that comes with some serious size.

We start off on Tuesday morning, the 8th of September. The swell is a modest 3 ft from the WSW, with a period of 12 seconds, giving us a solid 523 units of energy. The water is sitting at 53°, which is a whopping 7° colder than usual for this time of year – that’s a proper cold shock, so you’ll want a thick suit. The wind is a light 6 mph from the north, making it a cross-offshore breeze, and the conditions are clean. This is a good chance to get a few in before the wind swings.

The rest of the week and into the weekend is a write-off. From Tuesday afternoon right through to Saturday, we’ve got consistent onshore winds from the south and southeast, with speeds picking up to 22-25 mph. The swell holds between 2 ft and 8 ft, but the wind just ruins it. Choppy, messy, no good for a paddle. It’s a frustrating stretch of flat-to-ugly conditions.

Now, here’s where it gets interesting. Sunday morning, the 13th of September, is a real standout. We’ve got a solid 7 ft swell from the SW, 14-second period, pumping 1704 units of energy. The key here is the wind: glassy, 3 mph from the ESE. That’s going to be clean, lined-up waves. This is the best on offer in the whole window. Get out there early. It’s a bit of size, so it’s not for beginners, but for anyone with a bit of experience, this is the session.

Monday, the 14th, brings a shift. The wind goes offshore from the NNW, 12 mph, and the swell drops to 4 ft from the SW, 12 seconds. The energy is down to 429 units, but it’s clean. It’s a small, clean day, good for a longer board.

Then we get a real wild card. Tuesday, the 15th of September, we see a massive energy jump. The combined energy hits 3045 in the morning and 10644 in the afternoon. The swell is 5 ft in the morning, jumping to 10 ft in the afternoon, with a 26-second period in the morning and 22 seconds in the afternoon. This is a very long-period groundswell. The wind is a strong offshore from the NNW at 22-25 mph. While the waves will be clean and powerful, that long period and size (over 8 ft) is expert territory. It’s a beast.

The following week, from the 16th to the 23rd, is a letdown. The swell stays big, from 5 ft up to 13 ft, but the wind is almost constantly onshore from the southeast. It’s a dull, blown-out run. The only glimmer is on Saturday, the 19th, and Sunday, the 20th. Saturday has a light cross-shore wind, and Sunday morning is glassy with a 5 ft SW swell. That Sunday morning is a nice, calm option if you’re desperate, but it’s nowhere near the quality of that Sunday the 13th.

Overall, the standout is Sunday morning, the 13th of September. Don’t miss it. The Tuesday the 15th is for the brave only. The rest is a waiting game.

Rusty.

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