Noordhoek Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Right, let’s have a look at what’s heading our way here at Noordhoek. This is a reef set-up that’s very consistent and fairly exposed, so it catches a lot of what the ocean throws at it. The water is sitting at 17°, which is a bit colder than normal for this time of year – a full 2° cooler, so you’ll want a good thick steamer.

The first few days are a bit of a write-off, to be honest. Tuesday the 14th and Wednesday the 15th have some small, weak swell around 2ft to 4ft, but the energy is low (89 to 196) and the wind is cross-off, so it’s messy and not really worth paddling out for.

Things start to get interesting on Thursday morning the 16th. The swell jumps to 10ft from the SW with a solid 14-second period, giving you a massive 2944 energy reading. That’s proper groundswell. The wind is a light cross-off, so it’ll be clean. This is big, powerful stuff – over 8ft, so it’s strictly for experienced surfers. The period is long, so it might be a bit straight at times, but this reef should handle it well. Definitely the standout of the first week.

Friday the 17th stays big and clean in the morning with 10ft SW swell at 12 seconds, but the wind picks up in the afternoon, turning onshore and making it a bit messy.

The weekend of the 18th and 19th sees the swell drop back to 3ft to 6ft, with choppy, cross-onshore winds on Saturday. Sunday morning tidies up with a clean 6ft SW swell, but it’s nothing special.

Now, the real big event is brewing for Tuesday the 21st of July. The early morning is glassy with a 13ft SW swell at a very long 15 seconds. The energy is incredible at 6574. That’s a huge, clean, powerful groundswell – again, experts only. It’s a major standout. The afternoon pushes it even bigger to 16ft at 16 seconds, but it’s likely too big for the break, even for the experts.

The rest of that week stays very big, with 11ft to 16ft swells and clean winds on most mornings. The 22nd and 23rd have huge energy (over 10,000), but it’s consistently big and powerful. The best of the second week is probably Tuesday the 21st morning – that glassy, 13ft, 15-second SW groundswell is a once-in-a-while kind of session if you’ve got the nerve.

We then get a bit of a lull on the weekend of the 26th, with 8ft swells, before another massive pulse arrives on Monday the 27th morning – 16ft WSW at 13 seconds, but the wind is cross-off and clean. Still, it’s massive. The afternoon turns into a gale with 40 mph winds, so that’s a hard no.

The final days of the outlook (28th and 29th) are blown out or marginal, with strong winds and messy conditions.

Bottom line: The clear standout is Thursday morning the 16th for a first taste of big, clean groundswell, and Tuesday morning the 21st for the absolute peak of the run – glassy, massive, and very long period. Both are for experienced surfers only. The crowds at Noordhoek can be an issue, but on these big, gnarly days, it might be a bit quieter.

Rusty

Read more