Muizenberg Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, Rusty here, and this is your look at the surf on the cards for the Cape Town area, specifically Muizenberg.

So, the big picture for the next 16 days is a bit of a swing and a miss, to be honest. We’ve got a real promising start, then it turns to junk, only to build back up to some proper sized, clean swell for the first proper week of August. It’s gonna be a rollercoaster of waiting and watching for the right window.

Let’s break it down. The window opens this Sunday morning, 26 July. It’s not big, with the swell showing around 5ft out of the SW, but the key here is the wind... it’s dead glassy. The water temp is sitting at 59°, which is bang on average for this time of year, nothing weird to report. You’ll get some long 12-second intervals, so the sets will be spaced out, making it easier to get out the back. It’s a decent option for a Sunday morning paddle, but the break can be inconsistent, so don’t expect a conveyor belt.

That Sunday afternoon, the wind swings onshore and it gets messy. Then from Monday 27 July through to the end of the month, it’s a write-off. The wind is howling onshore with speeds up to 28 mph, and the swell is bombed out. The wave energy gets to a massive 2911 but it's just close-out slop. Honestly, this stretch looks better for kite-surfing than paddling. There’s a dead patch right there.

We do get a little reprieve on Wednesday 29 July morning with a lighter breeze, but the swell is small and the wind is side-shore; it's only marginal at best. Then Thursday and Friday are essentially just small and onshore. It's frustrating.

But hold on, because Saturday 1 August is a nice little surprise. The morning is a bit side-onshore, but by the afternoon the wind goes completely glassy again. The swell is still small at 3ft out of the SW, but it’s clean. It’s not going to blow you away, but it’s a paddle.

Sunday 2 August is where it starts to get interesting. We’ve got a proper groundswell coming in. The morning is looking clean with a cross-offshore breeze and a 4ft SSW swell. By the afternoon, it’s the first real standout. That wind turns perfectly offshore out of the NW, with the swell pushing to 5ft out of the SW and, get this, a 16-second period. The combined energy is a solid 1173, moderate energy but quality energy. This is one of the two best windows for experienced surfers. The wave quality will be excellent.

Monday 3 August morning follows it up with another glassy session, swell holds at 5ft. It’s another very good window. The next few days stay clean and between 4ft and 6ft, which is solid.

The second standout comes on Wednesday 5 August morning. The wind is clean and cross-offshore, the swell is solid at 6ft from the SW with a 13-second period and combined energy of 945. It’s a very good session, though it might be a touch more challenging for beginners.

After that, we see another pulse. Thursday 6 August is clean but the wind is stronger, and the swell picks up to 6ft. It’s a big day, only for the experienced. By Friday 7 August afternoon, we’ve got another excellent session for experienced surfers with a 6ft SW swell and clean offshore winds, wave energy at a moderate-to-strong 1196. Saturday 8 August keeps that trend with clean conditions and a 7ft to 7ft swell. These are some of the bigger, better-shaped days of the whole outlook.

We then see the swell start to drop a little for the final few days of the forecast, 9 and 10 August, with clean conditions still on offer early, but the size backs off to around 4ft to 7ft. It’s still good, but the peak of that run has passed.

All in all, you wait through a load of junk for that run of quality, clean SW groundswell from the 2nd through to the 9th. It’s a proper winter pattern.

Rusty.

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