Surf Forecasts:
The Wreck surf forecast from 1 Sep 2026:
- Best quality surf: Tuesday 1 Sep, 5PM (local time) - 8ft (2.5m), 13s period, SW swell with cross-offshore winds.
- Most powerful swell: Sunday 6 Sep, 5PM (local time) - 11ft (3.5m), 19s period, SSW swell with 8,240 kJ wave energy.
- Next surfable swell (1★+): Tuesday 1 Sep, 11AM (local time) - 7.5ft (2.3m), 12s period with SW swell.
Best Forecast Surf Conditions for The Wreck this week:
The surf forecast for The Wreck over the next 16 days: The first swell (rated 1 star or higher) is forecast to arrive on Tuesday (Sep 01) at 11AM. The primary swell is predicted to be 2.3m and 12s period with a secondary swell of 0.4m and 10s. The wind is predicted to be cross-offshore as the swell arrives.
The most powerful waves expected at The Wreck in the next 16 days are 3.5m 19s and forecast to arrive on Sunday (Sep 06) at 5PM. Winds are predicted to be cross-onshore at the time the swell arrives.
| Wave Type | Time (SAST) & Date | Wave Height & Period |
|---|---|---|
| Next good surf (1 star+) | 11AM (Tue 1st Sep) | 7.5ft (2.3m) 12s |
| Best Surf | 5PM (Tue 1st Sep) | 8ft (2.5m) 13s |
| Most Powerful | 5PM (Sun 6th Sep) | 11ft (3.5m) 19s |
Table - best surf conditions forecast for The Wreck over the next 16 days.
The Lowdown
Right, Rusty here with a look at The Wreck.
The first few days are where the action is. Tuesday, 1st September, kicks off with a solid 8ft swell from the southwest, 12-second period, and a light cross-off breeze keeping things clean. The energy is pumping at 1556 (moderate). Water temp is a chilly 59°, which is much colder than normal for this time of year. That’s a 5° anomaly – you’ll feel it. The Wreck is a sheltered spot, so that SW groundswell wraps in nicely. Tuesday afternoon gets bigger at 8ft with a 13-second period – energy jumps to 2314. Still clean, still cross-off. This is the best window. It’s expert territory at that size; beginners should sit this one out.
Wednesday, 2nd September, holds size at 10ft, but the wind swings cross and conditions get bumpy. Energy is huge at 3119. The morning is better than the afternoon, which goes cross-on. Thursday, 3rd September, drops to 6ft with a glassy offshore wind from the WSW. Clean, 13-second period, energy at 1348. The window is the morning. That afternoon, a 40 km/h cross-wind and 13ft of short-period slop ruins it.
From Friday, 4th September, through Sunday, 14th September, it’s mostly grim. Strong cross-onshore winds, lumpy surf, and short-period junk. There’s a massive pulse on Sunday the 6th (energy 8777) with 12ft and a 19-second period, but that 35 km/h cross-onshore wind turns it into a mess. A couple of quiet windows: Tuesday afternoon, 8th September, goes glassy with 4ft east swell, energy 527 – fine for a log. Sunday, 14th September, cleans up with light cross-off winds and 4ft to 4ft SW swell for a couple of decent sessions.
The standout is the Tuesday (1st September) and Thursday morning (3rd September) windows. Get in before the wind does. The Wreck can get a crowd when it’s on, but for those clean windows, it’s worth the hassle.
- Rusty
Short Range ForecastHeavy rain (total 57mm), heaviest during Thu night. Very mild (max 16°C on Wed afternoon, min 11°C on Tue morning). Winds increasing (calm on Tue morning, strong winds from the SSE by Thu afternoon). | Days 4-6 Weather SummaryLight rain (total 3mm), mostly falling on Fri morning. Very mild (max 18°C on Sun afternoon, min 13°C on Fri night). Mainly fresh winds. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Tuesday 1 | Wednesday 2 | Thursday 3 | Friday 4 | Saturday 5 | Sunday 6 | Monday 7 | |||||||||||||||
AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | |
Swell Height Map |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | ||||||||||||||
Wave Height (m) Direction Period (s) | SW 12 | SW 13 | SW 14 | SW 13 | SW 13 | SW 13 | SW 13 | S 9 | SSE 9 | SE 9 | ESE 8 | ESE 8 | SSW 11 | SSW 10 | SSW 10 | SSW 16 | SSW 19 | SSW 15 | S 13 | SSW 13 | E 9 |
Wave Graph  | |||||||||||||||||||||
 kJ | 1524 | 2283 | 3663 | 3112 | 2733 | 2031 | 987 | 2252 | 2118 | 823 | 538 | 348 | 366 | 377 | 325 | 2523 | 8240 | 2581 | 1264 | 949 | 721 |
Wind (km/h) | |||||||||||||||||||||
Wind State on-shore cross-onshore cross-shore cross-offshore off-shore glassy | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | cross | cross-on | on | off | cross | cross-on | cross-on | cross-on | on | cross-on | cross-on | cross-on | cross-on | cross-on | on | on | cross-on | cross-on |
High Tide | 5:57PM1.72m | 6:13AM1.49m | 6:34PM1.59m | 6:54AM1.35m | 7:21PM1.42m | 7:52AM1.19m | 8:36PM1.24m | 9:52AM1.08m | 10:58PM1.18m | 12:15PM1.18m | 00:43AM1.30m | 1:23PM1.38m | 1:41AM1.46m | ||||||||
Low Tide | 11:40AM0.13m | 00:11AM0.21m | 12:15PM0.25m | 00:51AM0.34m | 12:56PM0.41m | 1:45AM0.50m | 1:57PM0.58m | 3:21AM0.63m | 4:08PM0.69m | 5:48AM0.60m | 6:29PM0.59m | 7:09AM0.44m | 7:36PM0.41m | ||||||||
 | |  | | | |  |  |  |  | | | |  |  | | |  | | | | |
 | 6:45 | — | — | 6:43 | — | — | 6:43 | — | — | 6:41 | — | — | 6:39 | — | — | 6:39 | — | — | 6:37 | — | — |
 | — | 6:07 | — | — | 6:07 | — | — | 6:08 | — | — | 6:08 | — | — | 6:09 | — | — | 6:10 | — | — | 6:12 | — |
mm | — | — | — | — | — | — | 6 | 27 | 24 | 1 | — | — | — | — | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Temp °C | 15 | 15 | 12 | 15 | 16 | 14 | 15 | 15 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 15 | 22 | 26 | 27 |
Feels °C | 14 | 13 | 11 | 13 | 14 | 12 | 15 | 13 | 9 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 13 | 13 | 12 | 13 | 13 | 10 | 20 | 24 | 25 |
Swell 1 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | SW 12 | SW 13 | SW 14 | SW 13 | SW 13 | SW 13 | SW 13 | WSW 12 | WSW 12 | SSW 9 | S 8 | SSW 9 | SSW 11 | SSW 10 | SSW 10 | SSW 16 | SSW 19 | SSW 15 | ESE 8 | SSW 13 | E 9 |
| kJ | 1524 | 2283 | 3663 | 3112 | 2733 | 2031 | 987 | 504 | 251 | 599 | 160 | 193 | 366 | 377 | 325 | 2523 | 8240 | 2581 | 589 | 949 | 721 |
Swell 2 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | E 10 | E 10 | E 10 | E 9 | E 9 | E 9 | S 8 | E 9 | — | WSW 12 | SSW 9 | SW 11 | WSW 11 | WSW 11 | WSW 10 | S 22 | — | SW 14 | S 13 | WSW 13 | SSW 12 |
| kJ | 32 | 31 | 17 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 163 | 14 | — | 177 | 147 | 117 | 76 | 75 | 56 | 1144 | — | 536 | 1264 | 18 | 269 |
Swell 3 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | — | — | — | — | — | — | E 9 | — | — | SSW 14 | WSW 11 | S 14 | SSE 7 | E 10 | SSW 19 | WSW 10 | — | — | SW 12 | — | SSE 11 |
| kJ | — | — | — | — | — | — | 6 | — | — | 20 | 196 | 96 | 11 | 17 | 122 | 9 | — | — | 159 | — | 225 |
Wind waves Height (m) Direction Period (s) | — | — | — | — | — | — | S 7 | S 9 | SSE 9 | SE 9 | ESE 8 | ESE 8 | ESE 7 | ESE 7 | ESE 6 | ESE 5 | ESE 7 | ESE 7 | E 8 | ESE 9 | N 4 |
| kJ | — | — | — | — | — | — | 192 | 2252 | 2118 | 823 | 538 | 348 | 177 | 158 | 114 | 78 | 537 | 517 | 1014 | 741 | 12 |
Nearest Offshore or Glassy | |||||||||||||||||||||
Distance (km) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 56 | 38 | 1 | 0 | 143 | 511 | 1520 | 3441 | 56 | 41 | 56 | 56 | 56 | 417 | 38 | 30 | 38 | 1 |
Best forecast wave conditions in Garden Route | |||||||||||||||||||||
Best forecast wave conditions in South Africa | |||||||||||||||||||||
Header Global | |||||||||||||||||||||
- Map Icons:
Break
Live Wave Height (m)
Live Wind Speed (km/h)
Surf Rating (10 Max)
Ocean Swells (m)- Wind Speed (km/h)
FREE! Surf-Forecast.com widget for your website
The surf report / weather widget below is available to embed on third party websites free of charge and provides a summary of our The Wreck surf forecast. Simply grab the html code snippet that we provide and paste it into your own site. You can choose your preferred language and metric/imperial units for the surf forecast feed to suit users of your site. Click here to get the code.
Information about the The Wreck Surf forecast
The above surf forecast table for The Wreck provides essential information for determining whether the surfing conditions will be good over the next 16 days. A general guide to surfing at The Wreck can be found by selecting the local surf guide option on the grey menu. Our The Wreck surf forecast is unique since it includes wave energy (power) that defines the real feel of the surf rather than just the height or the period. If you surf the same spot (The Wreck) regularly then make a mental note of the wave energy from the surf forecast table each time you go. Very soon you may start to choose your surf days based on the wave energy alone combined with our forecast of favourable offshore wind conditions. Our star ratings will help here and of course you will also find the usual wave height and period predictions on our surf forecasts as well as a full break down of the swell components under our advanced users option (to reveal that, click the little Einstein character under the tide times).
Further information to help with frequently asked questions about our surf forecast for The Wreck may be found under the help tab on the top menu and also by moving your mouse over the question marks on the surf forecast table itself. Please always bear in mind that the forecast is for near-shore open water and local factors at each surf break influence the actual breaking wave height, such as the beach / reef profile, water depths offshore and shelter.
The Wreck is 5 km (3 miles) from the city of Plettenberg Bay. If you plan a holiday in Garden Route, look for hotels and other accommodation in Plettenberg Bay. Plettenberg Bay has rooms for a wide range of budgets as well as car hire and transport links.
Nearest