Surf Forecasts:
Thompsons Bay surf forecast from 23 Jul 2026:
- Best quality surf: Wednesday 29 Jul, 8PM (local time) - 13ft (4.0m), 10s period, SSE swell with glassy winds.
- Most powerful swell: Thursday 30 Jul, 2PM (local time) - 13ft (4.0m), 11s period, SSE swell with 3,944 kJ wave energy.
- Next surfable swell (1★+): Thursday 23 Jul, 8PM (local time) - 3.5ft (1.0m), 13s period with S swell.
Best Forecast Surf Conditions for Thompsons Bay this week:
The surf forecast for Thompsons Bay over the next 16 days: The first swell (rated 1 star or higher) is forecast to arrive on Thursday (Jul 23) at 8PM. The primary swell is predicted to be 1.0m and 13s period with a secondary swell of 0.8m and 12s. Another secondary swell of 0.8m and 7s is also forecast. The wind is predicted to be cross-offshore as the swell arrives.
The most powerful waves expected at Thompsons Bay in the next 16 days are 4.0m 11s and forecast to arrive on Thursday (Jul 30) at 2PM. Winds are predicted to be cross-onshore at the time the swell arrives. The largest open ocean swell (not directed at the beach) is 0.5m 3s period and expected on Sunday (Jul 26) at 11AM.
| Wave Type | Time (SAST) & Date | Wave Height & Period |
|---|---|---|
| Next good surf (1 star+) | 8PM (Thu 23rd Jul) | 3.5ft (1.0m) 13s |
| Best Surf | 8PM (Wed 29th Jul) | 13ft (4.0m) 10s |
| Most Powerful | 2PM (Thu 30th Jul) | 13ft (4.0m) 11s |
Table - best surf conditions forecast for Thompsons Bay over the next 16 days.
The Lowdown
G'day, it's Rusty. I've scoured the charts for Thompsons Bay and I gotta be honest – it's a bleak stretch ahead for the next two weeks. This spot is tucked away from the open ocean, and the wind is just relentless, blowing across the wave and ruining any chance of a clean face. The water's sitting at 73°F, which is about standard for this time of year, so nothing unusual there.
The first week is a total bust. There's swell, sure, but it's all cross-onshore and messy. Thursday the 23rd sees a small 3ft swell from the SSW with a 12-second period, but that 25 km/h cross-on wind chops it into a mess. Friday the 24th is a disaster: 12ft of swell with a 45 km/h cross-on gale – it's a complete washing machine. Saturday the 25th has a bit of a breather in the wind with a 6ft SSE swell, but it's still cross-on and the quality is poor. The whole first week is a dead zone, nothing worth paddling for.
Heading into the second week, there's a glimmer of hope. On Wednesday the 29th, a big 13ft SSE swell rolls in, packing serious energy, and the wind goes light. The catch is it's still cross-on, so the surface will be a little bumpy. It's only rated as marginal, but for the big-wave crew, it's the first real sign of life.
The only proper standout, the one morning I'd bother getting out of bed for, is Friday the 31st of July. We've got a 10ft SE groundswell (11-second period, massive energy) and the wind is a light 10 km/h cross-off from the NNE. This is the cleanest window of the whole forecast. The wave report says it's excellent for experienced surfers, and that's because 10ft is serious size – only for the experts. The crowd factor is "sometimes" so you might share it with a few, but with that quality, it's worth the trip. The wind swings to a cross-shore in the afternoon, so you'll want to be on it first thing.
After that, it's back to the grind. Saturday the 1st of August has a 7ft ESE swell with clean wind in the morning, but the wind kicks up to 35 km/h in the afternoon. The rest of the run is small, onshore, and lumpy. So, you've got one morning that's a real diamond in the rough. Mark the 31st on your calendar, but don't hold your breath for the rest.
Rusty.
Short Range ForecastMostly dry. Warm (max 21°C on Thu morning, min 15°C on Sat morning). Winds decreasing (strong winds from the SSW on Fri morning, calm by Sat night). | Days 4-6 Weather SummaryLight rain (total 6mm), mostly falling on Tue night. Warm (max 21°C on Tue morning, min 13°C on Sun night). Wind will be generally light. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Thursday 23 | Friday 24 | Saturday 25 | Sunday 26 | Monday 27 | Tuesday 28 | Wednesday 29 | |||||||||||||||
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) | SSW 12 | SSW 14 | SSW 6 | S 9 | S 10 | S 9 | SSE 9 | SSE 10 | SSE 9 | SE 9 | SE 9 | S 16 | SSW 15 | S 14 | E 9 | S 18 | SSW 16 | S 10 | SSE 10 | SSE 10 | SSE 10 |
Wave Graph  | |||||||||||||||||||||
 kJ | 203 | 192 | 253 | 2138 | 1643 | 935 | 521 | 539 | 441 | 281 | 181 | 198 | 169 | 93 | 101 | 158 | 273 | 2133 | 2725 | 2598 | 3095 |
Wind (km/h) | |||||||||||||||||||||
Wind State on-shore cross-onshore cross-shore cross-offshore off-shore glassy | cross-on | cross-on | cross | cross-on | cross-on | cross | cross-on | on | cross-off | cross | cross | cross-off | cross-on | cross | cross-off | cross | cross-on | cross | cross-on | cross-on | glassy |
High Tide | 10:13AM1.12m | 11:13PM1.20m | 12:20PM1.12m | 00:56AM1.24m | 1:42PM1.22m | 1:58AM1.34m | 2:30PM1.34m | 2:40AM1.46m | 3:06PM1.47m | 3:14AM1.57m | 3:37PM1.59m | 3:44AM1.67m | 4:07PM1.69m | 4:13AM1.74m | |||||||
Low Tide | 4:20PM0.74m | 5:53AM0.74m | 6:20PM0.75m | 7:24AM0.66m | 7:40PM0.66m | 8:16AM0.54m | 8:28PM0.54m | 8:54AM0.41m | 9:05PM0.43m | 9:25AM0.29m | 9:37PM0.33m | 9:54AM0.19m | 10:07PM0.25m | ||||||||
 |  |  | | | |  | | | | |  | | | | | |  |  | | | |
 | 6:45 | — | — | 6:45 | — | — | 6:43 | — | — | 6:43 | — | — | 6:43 | — | — | 6:41 | — | — | 6:41 | — | — |
 | — | 5:16 | — | — | 5:17 | — | — | 5:19 | — | — | 5:19 | — | — | 5:20 | — | — | 5:20 | — | — | 5:21 | — |
mm | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 6 | 2 | — | 9 |
Temp °C | 21 | 21 | 20 | 19 | 19 | 18 | 17 | 18 | 17 | 17 | 19 | 17 | 18 | 20 | 19 | 21 | 21 | 20 | 19 | 20 | 19 |
Feels °C | 18 | 19 | 21 | 9 | 11 | 13 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 13 | 14 | 13 | 16 | 18 | 16 | 18 | 17 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 20 |
Swell 1 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | ENE 7 | SSW 14 | SE 12 | SE 11 | S 19 | S 9 | SSE 9 | SSE 10 | SSE 9 | SE 9 | SE 9 | SE 8 | ENE 6 | ENE 6 | E 9 | E 9 | E 8 | E 9 | SSW 15 | SSW 14 | SSW 16 |
| kJ | 73 | 192 | 106 | 77 | 192 | 621 | 521 | 539 | 441 | 281 | 168 | 66 | 60 | 42 | 101 | 96 | 88 | 80 | 537 | 210 | 329 |
Swell 2 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | SE 12 | SE 12 | NE 6 | S 22 | SE 11 | SSW 16 | SSW 15 | SSW 15 | SSW 14 | SSW 13 | SSW 13 | S 16 | SSW 15 | ESE 8 | SSW 12 | S 18 | SSW 16 | SSW 16 | — | S 18 | — |
| kJ | 167 | 164 | 10 | 36 | 43 | 457 | 314 | 225 | 163 | 257 | 181 | 198 | 169 | 47 | 85 | 158 | 273 | 147 | — | 101 | — |
Swell 3 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | S 15 | ENE 6 | E 9 | NE 7 | E 10 | SE 11 | E 10 | E 9 | E 9 | E 8 | SSW 17 | SSW 12 | E 8 | S 14 | SSW 16 | SSW 11 | S 11 | — | — | — | — |
| kJ | 109 | 36 | 6 | 7 | 2 | 40 | 2 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 93 | 85 | 31 | 93 | 52 | 73 | 39 | — | — | — | — |
Wind waves Height (m) Direction Period (s) | SSW 12 | S 5 | SSW 6 | S 9 | S 10 | S 9 | — | — | — | NNE 3 | ENE 4 | NE 6 | ENE 6 | — | SSW 4 | S 6 | S 7 | S 10 | SSE 10 | SSE 10 | SSE 10 |
| kJ | 203 | 25 | 253 | 2138 | 1643 | 935 | — | — | — | 5 | 44 | 114 | 154 | — | 39 | 76 | 120 | 2133 | 2725 | 2598 | 3095 |
Nearest Offshore or Glassy | |||||||||||||||||||||
Distance (km) | 116 | 42 | 314 | 443 | 443 | 6 | 19 | 42 | 0 | 42 | 738 | 258 | 42 | 37 | 0 | 324 | 741 | 87 | 6 | 2585 | 0 |
Best forecast wave conditions in KwaZulu-Natal North Coast | |||||||||||||||||||||
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 Thompsons Bay 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 Thompsons Bay Surf forecast
The above surf forecast table for Thompsons Bay provides essential information for determining whether the surfing conditions will be good over the next 16 days. A general guide to surfing at Thompsons Bay can be found by selecting the local surf guide option on the grey menu. Our Thompsons Bay 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 (Thompsons Bay) 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 Thompsons Bay 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.
Thompsons Bay is 3 km (2 miles) from the city of Ballitoville. If you plan a holiday in KwaZulu-Natal North Coast, look for hotels and other accommodation in Ballitoville. Ballitoville has rooms for a wide range of budgets as well as car hire and transport links.
Nearest