Fence (Port Elizabeth) Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, Rusty here. Let's have a look at what's cookin' at The Fence (Port Elizabeth).

Alright, the next couple of weeks have a bit of a split personality. We've got a solid run of swell from the get-go, but the wind is going to play games with us. The water is sitting at a super chilly 59°, and it's a massive 7° colder than you'd expect for this time of year, so that's a full-on winter wetsuit and booties situation.

The standout of the whole period, without a doubt, is Wednesday morning, the 19th of August. That's the one. You get a clean 6ft SSW groundswell with a solid 13-second period, but the real magic is that glassy, off-shore wind from the northwest. It's going to be perfect. The wave energy is strong, coming in at 1067. For the experienced crew, this is your window to get the best of the break with absolutely no wind messing it up. The swell direction (SSW) is a touch south of the break's ideal (SE), but with those conditions, it'll still be fun.

After that, the rest of the week gets more challenging. The swell builds hard, hitting 8ft on Thursday morning, the 20th, with even more energy (2774). It's a size that demands respect and is really for expert surfers only. The wind will be a steady cross-off, so it'll be clean but powerful.

Look, Saturday the 22nd of August is pure chaos. The swell jumps to a massive 12ft with a huge energy reading of 3203, but it's blowing a near-gale. That's a "stay on the beach and watch" kind of day, unless you're a very experienced big-wave charger in a jet ski zone. Even the morning at 6ft has a fresh 22 mph off-shore wind, which is just too much to paddle into properly.

Things start to settle down the following week. Monday the 24th and Tuesday the 25th have smaller, cleaner SSW swells, with Tuesday morning the 25th offering another moment of true glass with 6ft at 13 seconds. That one looks promising.

Beyond that, into the end of August and start of September, the swell drops off significantly. We get a run of small, weak swells with poor onshore winds. The energy drops below 1000. There's a real gap of poor conditions from the 28th right through until the 1st of September. The end of the forecast window on the 2nd of September shows the swell trying to pulse back up to 7ft and even 12ft, but with terrible onshore easterly winds, that's just not a surf option.

So, call it like it is: Wednesday the 19th is the day to lock in. After that, pick your sessions carefully as the wind and size make it a battle.

Rusty.

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