Noordhoek Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Hey folks, Rusty here. Let’s talk about what’s coming up for Noordhoek, a reef setup that’s very consistent and fairly exposed to the SW. This spot is best when the swell rolls in from the SW direction, which is exactly what we’re seeing through most of the forecast.

The water temperature is sitting at 60°, which is a whopping 7° colder than average for this time of year. That’s seriously unusual – you’ll want a thick wetsuit out there, no doubt.

Now, the first few days are a bit of a write-off. Wednesday afternoon (12th August) is a mess with strong cross-onshore winds and poor conditions. Thursday’s not much better, with a lumpy cross-chop, and Friday morning (14th August) offers a glimmer of hope with clean waves around 4 ft from the SW, but it’s still marginal. Saturday morning (15th August) is the first real bright spot – light offshore winds, clean surf at 4 ft from the SW, and the combined energy is moderate (460). It’s not huge, but it’s clean and rideable.

Then we hit Sunday (16th August) – still small, clean in the morning but the afternoon gets messy. The real standout comes on Monday the 17th. Monday morning looks fantastic – light offshore wind, clean, 5 ft SW swell with a moderate combined energy of 722. This is your best bet in the first week. The afternoon bumps up to 6 ft, but the wind goes onshore, so stick to the morning.

The rest of the week is a mixed bag. Tuesday morning (18th August) has clean 6 ft SW swell but fresh winds, so it’s a bit blustery. Wednesday the 19th gets interesting – 10 ft from the WSW in the morning, but with a short period of only 7 seconds, so it’s windswell, not groundswell. That’s going to be a bit lumpy and messy. The afternoon jumps to 12 ft from the SW with a moderate combined energy of 2866, but the wind is cross-onshore and choppy. This is getting into expert territory size-wise, but the quality isn’t there.

The second week kicks off with some big cleanup. Friday the 21st morning has 5 ft SW swell with light offshore winds, clean and tidy. The best of the second week, however, looks like Sunday the 23rd and Monday the 24th if you’re an expert. Sunday morning sees a massive 10 ft SSW swell with a long period of 15 seconds and a combined energy of 4485 – that’s strong wave energy. The wind is only a gentle cross-onshore, so it’s a bit choppy but still surfable. Monday morning is 12 ft from the SSW, period 16 seconds, energy 5290, but cross-shore winds make it lumpy. These are powerful, long-period groundswells, and they’ll be best at reefs and point breaks. Noordhoek is a reef, so it should handle them well, but only for experienced surfers.

Then we get a little drop. Tuesday 25th morning has 6 ft SW swell, clean-ish cross-shore winds, and it’s a return to moderate size. The absolute standout of the entire 16-day forecast is Thursday the 27th morning. Glassy conditions, zero wind, 5 ft SW swell with a period of 13 seconds, and combined energy of 843. This is going to be perfect – clean, consistent, and a great size for intermediates. Mark that morning in your calendar.

To wrap it up: the best on offer is Monday 17th morning for a clean, fun swell, and Thursday 27th morning for that glassy perfection. The big swells around the 23rd and 24th are for experts only, and the water is seriously cold, so don’t forget your rubber.

Rusty.

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