Fence (Port Elizabeth) Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, mates, Rusty here. Let’s get into it. The next couple of weeks are a bit of a mixed bag, but there’s definitely some proper South African juice hiding in there if you’re patient. We’re looking at a bit of a slow start, but the ocean’s got a story to tell, and for the first week, it’s mostly a waiting game.

We kick things off here at the Fence (Port Elizabeth). The water is a bit colder than normal for this time of year, a noticeable drop, so you’ll want the thicker rubber. The surf is pretty weak to start the week. Monday and Tuesday are just poor to marginal, with light cross-shore breezes messing with the face. The swell is there, around 5 to 6 feet, but the energy is weak and the period is short-ish for the coast. It’s not really doing anything.

Wednesday stays pretty average, but there’s a hint of something late in the day as a new, longer-period SSW swell starts to creep in. Still, the morning is blown out by light cross-shore winds. Just a waiting game, really.

Then Thursday morning, the 6th, is where it finally starts to turn on. That SW wind swings around to a light cross-offshore, and we get a proper groundswell. It’s clean, the energy jumps up to a strong level, and the period is a nice 14 seconds. That's the first real window.

Friday morning, the 7th, looks even better with a light cross-off breeze and a solid, clean 5 to 6 feet of SSW swell. That’s a good day for the Fence.

Now, for the standout of the whole period. It’s not this week. But look ahead to Saturday, the 15th of August. The Fence sees a jump in size, around 7 feet, with a long 15-second period from the SSW. The wind is light and cross-offshore, and the energy is absolutely pumping. The forecast calls it excellent for experienced surfers. That’s the one to circle on the calendar. Given the size and the period, this is proper groundswell, and it should be hitting the bank really nicely. It’s still over a week out, so we keep a close eye on it, but the promise is massive.

Before that, we have to sort through some average days. The weekend after that first pulse (the 8th and 9th) gets messy with fresh, lumpy cross-shore winds and some rain, which will trash the surface. The following week starts off with poor, choppy conditions on the 10th.

We get a bit of a reset mid-week, on the 12th, with clean conditions but less size and a weaker E swell. Then on the 13th, it’s clean but small with a very long, 18-second period, which can be a bit tricky and make the waves break a bit too straight for a spot like this. The 14th has a decent swell (around 6 feet) but the energy is a bit all over the place.

After that epic Saturday, things wind down again into the 16th, and then we see conditions get onshore and poor again from the 17th into the 18th. The run-out is soft, so that Saturday the 15th is your best shot.

So, the long and short of it: we wait for the clean, meaningful swells. The first one comes on Thursday morning the 6th, but the real stand-out is Saturday the 15th of August. That’s the one that’s got all the elements for a proper session.

Signing off, Rusty.

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