Thompsons Bay Surf Break

Lat Long: 29.53° S 31.22° E

Thompsons Bay Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Issued: 1 pm 19 Aug 2026 (local time)

Forecast update in  hr  min

Today's Thompsons Bay sea temperature is
21.6° C
0.3° 

Thompsons Bay surf forecast is for near shore open water. Breaking waves will often be smaller at less exposed spots.


Thompsons Bay surf forecast from 19 Aug 2026:

  • Best quality surf: Friday 21 Aug, 2AM (local time) - 4.5ft (1.3m), 16s period, SSW swell with cross-offshore winds.
  • Most powerful swell: Sunday 23 Aug, 2AM (local time) - 11ft (3.5m), 10s period, SSW swell with 2,261 kJ wave energy.
  • Next surfable swell (1★+): Wednesday 19 Aug, 11PM (local time) - 5.5ft (1.7m), 6s period with ENE 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 Wednesday (Aug 19) at 11PM. The primary swell is predicted to be 1.7m and 6s period with a secondary swell of 1.3m and 6s. Another secondary swell of 0.6m and 15s is also forecast. The wind is predicted to be glassy as the swell arrives.

The most powerful waves expected at Thompsons Bay in the next 16 days are 3.5m 10s and forecast to arrive on Sunday (Aug 23) at 2AM. Winds are predicted to be cross-shore at the time the swell arrives.

Wave TypeTime (SAST) & Date Wave Height & Period
Next good surf (1 star+)11PM (Wed 19th Aug)5.5ft (1.7m) 6s
Best Surf 2AM (Fri 21st Aug)4.5ft (1.3m) 16s
Most Powerful 2AM (Sun 23rd Aug)11ft (3.5m) 10s

Table - best surf conditions forecast for Thompsons Bay over the next 16 days.


The Lowdown

Alright, mates, Rusty here. Let's be straight with you – this forecast stretch is pretty bleak. For the next 16 days, I just can't see a day where everything clicks. There's swell on the charts, but the winds keep messing it up. You might get a paddle here or there, but nothing to get excited about.

Starting Wednesday, the 19th, there's a small 0.5 foot SSW swell, but a cross-shore breeze makes it a washout. Water temps are sitting right around 71°, nothing out of the ordinary.

Thursday the 20th is bigger—that swell jumps to 8 feet—but it’s short-period stuff and the cross-onshore wind is going to make it a lumpy, choppy mess. That's expert-only territory, and even then it's not fun.

Friday the 21st drops back to around 4-5 feet with a longer 14-second period, but there's still a side wind putting a chop on it. It's marginal at best. Saturday the 22nd gives us a small window in the morning, with a tiny 2-2 foot swell and light offshore wind—that’ll be the cleanest it gets. But it’s tiny, and by the afternoon the wind is screaming at 25 mph from the side. Not worth much.

After that, we've got a real run of poor form. Sunday the 23rd brings a solid 7-8 foot SSW swell, but it's all over the place, and it's a big, messy wave. Monday onwards, there's still swell, but wind and conditions are consistently poor. A couple of afternoons on the 24th and 25th the wind eases off, but it's still not clean.

The end of August brings a shift to ENE windswell with short periods, and the wind is mostly side or onshore. On the 30th and 31st, we see the swell build back up to around 8 feet, with moderate to strong energy, but it's bumpy and cross-chop. Definitely a kite-surfing window more than a paddling one.

Finally, the first few days of September finish up the period with some smaller east swell, but winds stay onshore or cross-onshore. We're looking at a solid blank stretch here, fellas. It happens. You just gotta be patient and wait for the next system to turn things around.

Until next time, Rusty.

Short Range Forecast

Mostly dry. Warm (max 30°C on Sat morning, min 16°C on Fri night). Mainly strong winds.

Days 5-7 Weather Summary

Mostly dry. Warm (max 37°C on Sat afternoon, min 16°C on Sun night). Winds decreasing (strong winds from the SSW on Sat night, calm by Tue morning).

Wed
19
Thursday
20
Friday
21
Saturday
22
Sunday
23
Monday
24
Tuesday
25
PM
Night
AM
PM
Night
AM
PM
Night
AM
PM
Night
AM
PM
Night
AM
PM
Night
AM
PM
Night
Rating
(10 max)
0
0
0
0
3
1
0
1
1
0
0
0
0
1
0
1
1
1
1
3
Swell
Height Map
Height Map
Height Map
Height Map
Height Map
Height Map
Height Map
Height Map
Wave
Height (m)
Direction
Period (s)
0.8
SSW
14
1
SSW
14
2.5
S
8
1.8
S
8
1.3
SSW
16
1.5
S
14
1.1
S
13
0.9
SSW
11
1.3
ENE
6
1.4
SSW
16
3.5
SSW
10
2.5
SSW
9
1.8
S
9
1.4
S
10
1.3
S
10
1.2
S
12
0.5
S
17
0.8
SSW
16
1.2
S
15
1.2
S
17
Wave Graph
Metric surfscale
Energy kJ
233
437
816
398
882
836
395
209
116
966
2261
1037
487
377
352
404
154
350
679
869
Wind (km/h)
20
NE
25
SSW
35
SSW
20
S
5
NNW
15
ENE
15
NE
15
NNE
10
NNE
35
SSW
35
SSW
20
S
15
SSE
10
NW
15
E
10
ENE
5
NW
10
SE
10
E
10
NNE
Wind State
cross
cross
cross-on
cross-on
cross-off
cross
cross
cross-off
cross-off
cross-on
cross
cross-on
cross-on
off
cross-on
cross
off
on
cross-on
cross-off
High Tide
7:24PM1.42m
7:33AM1.26m
8:00PM1.25m
8:20AM1.10m
9:26PM1.10m
12:05PM1.03m
00:56AM1.14m
1:46PM1.18m
1:54AM1.29m
2:23PM1.35m
2:28AM1.45m
2:51PM1.52m
2:57AM1.60m
Low Tide
1:36AM0.59m
1:42PM0.63m
2:22AM0.74m
2:38PM0.79m
4:44AM0.84m
6:12PM0.85m
7:29AM0.73m
7:45PM0.71m
8:10AM0.56m
8:22PM0.55m
8:39AM0.40m
8:52PM0.40m
clear
clear
part cloud
part cloud
part cloud
part cloud
clear
clear
clear
clear
clear
clear
clear
clear
clear
clear
clear
clear
clear
part cloud
<span class="translation_missing" title="translation missing: en.weather_tables.sunrise">Sunrise</span>
6:22
6:22
6:20
6:20
6:18
6:18
<span class="translation_missing" title="translation missing: en.weather_tables.sunset">Sunset</span>
5:32
5:32
5:34
5:34
5:35
5:35
5:36
 mm
Temp °C
23
21
20
19
19
19
20
19
30
37
20
20
20
18
20
20
18
19
20
19
Feels °C
20
22
15
14
19
18
18
19
28
33
13
16
17
18
18
18
19
19
20
20
  • Map Icons:
  • Break
  • Live Wave Height (m)
  • Live Wind Speed (km/h)
  • Surf Rating (10 Max)
  • Ocean Swells (m)
  • Wind Speed (km/h)
Map placeholder
How to use the Wavefinder 
submit an eyeball surf report

Quick surf report for Thompsons Bay:

join our community of surf reporters

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 locationNearest