Jacobs Bay Surf Forecast and Surf Reports

(West Coast, South Africa)

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Jacobs Bay Surf Guide

Jacobs Bay in Western Cape is an exposed beach break that has pretty consitent surf and can work at any time of the year. Offshore winds are from the east. Waves can be ok even in light onshore winds Tends to receive distant groundswells and the best swell direction is from the west southwest. The beach break provides left and right handers. The quality of the surf isn't affected by the tide. When it's working here, it can get crowded. Surfing here means negotiating dangerous rips.

Jacobs Bay Spot Info

Type:	Rating:	Reliability:	Todays Sea Temp*:
Beach	4	fairly consistent	15.8°C*ocean temperature recorded from satellite

Surfing Jacobs Bay:

The best conditions reported for surf at Jacobs Bay occur when a West-southwest swell combines with an offshore wind direction from the East.

Hourly Forecast

16 Day Forecast

What's the best time of year to surf Jacobs Bay (for consistent clean waves)?

julyBest Season: winter

The best time of year for surfing Jacobs Bay with consistent clean waves (rideable swell with light / offshore winds) is during Winter and most often the month of July. Clean surfable waves are typically found 33% of the time in July while 65% of the time it tends to be blown out. For the remaining 2% of the time it is considered too small by most surfers but may still be OK for beginners and groms at times.

clean

33%

Surfable waves that hold up well for longer rides in prevailing cross-offshore, offshore or light wind conditions.

blown out

65%

Surfable sized waves that are of poorer quality due to prevailing onshore, cross-onshore or windy conditions (may be preferable for kitesurfing).

too small

Waves usually considered too small for good surf. Some wave-magnet breaks may still work though if conditions are right (on occasion).

Explore Jacobs Bay Location Map

Interactive Jacobs Bay surf break location map. View information about nearby surf breaks, their wave consistency and rating compared to other spots in the region. Current swell conditions from local buoys are shown along with live wind speed and direction from nearby weather stations. Click icons on the map for more detail. The nearest passenger airport to Jacobs Bay is Cape Town International Airport (CPT) in South Africa, which is 129 km (80 miles) away (directly). The second closest airport to Jacobs Bay is Springbok Airport (SBU), also in South Africa, 364 km (226 miles) away.

Map Icons:
Break
Live Wave Height (m)
Live Wind Speed (km/h)
Surf Rating (10 Max)
Ocean Swells (m)
Wind Speed (km/h)

Please note that some surf spot locations are approximate to protect their exact location while others are not shown at close zoom level.

Jacobs Bay Surf Forecasts:

Hourly Forecast

16 Day Forecast

Todays Surf Summary
Tuesday, 5 May 2026, 15:27 Local Time

m, °C	Tuesday 05
ft, °F	11AM	2PM	5PM	8PM
Wave (m)	WSW	WSW	SSW	SSW
Period (s)	12	11	11	11
Wind (km/h)
Wind State	glass	on	cross- on	cross

What does Jacobs Bay look like?

Latest photos from Jacobs Bay. Upload your own or view all photos on the gallery page.

Credit: Ross Hulbert

Tides at Jacobs Bay

Current tide and informaton

For Saldanha, 8 km from Jacobs Bay.

Next High Water: 05:18pm | 1.27m

Next Low Water: 11:19pm | 0.42m

NEXT	IS AT (local time)	remaining
high tide
low tide

Jacobs Bay Sea Temperature

The water temperature (15.8 °C) at Jacobs Bay is quite cool. If the sun shines as we have forecast, it should feel warm enough to surf in a good spring wetsuit. Effective windchill factor of (15.0 °C) will make the air and water feel about the same temperature.

Today, many surfers would wear a spring wetsuit.

Current Temp*: 15.8°C*ocean temperature recorded from satellite