Surf Forecasts:
Whale Rock surf forecast from 2 Sep 2026:
- Best quality surf: Thursday 3 Sep, 8AM (local time) - 3ft (0.9m), 12s period, SSW swell with cross-offshore winds.
- Most powerful swell: Monday 7 Sep, 2AM (local time) - 8ft (2.5m), 18s period, S swell with 4,404 kJ wave energy.
- Next surfable swell (1★+): Thursday 3 Sep, 8AM (local time) - 3ft (0.9m), 12s period with SSW swell.
Best Forecast Surf Conditions for Whale Rock this week:
The surf forecast for Whale Rock over the next 16 days: The first swell (rated 1 star or higher) is forecast to arrive on Thursday (Sep 03) at 8AM. The primary swell is predicted to be 0.9m and 12s period. The wind is predicted to be cross-offshore as the swell arrives.
The most powerful waves expected at Whale Rock in the next 16 days are 2.5m 18s and forecast to arrive on Monday (Sep 07) at 2AM. Winds are predicted to be cross-onshore at the time the swell arrives. The largest open ocean swell (not directed at the beach) is 3.0m 8s period and expected on Monday (Sep 07) at 11PM.
| Wave Type | Time (SAST) & Date | Wave Height & Period |
|---|---|---|
| Next good surf (1 star+) | 8AM (Thu 3rd Sep) | 3ft (0.9m) 12s |
| Best Surf | 8AM (Thu 3rd Sep) | 3ft (0.9m) 12s |
| Most Powerful | 2AM (Mon 7th Sep) | 8ft (2.5m) 18s |
Table - best surf conditions forecast for Whale Rock over the next 16 days.
The Lowdown
Alright, folks, Rusty here. Let’s look at what’s cookin’ for our stretch of coast, mainly centered around Whale Rock. Gotta be honest with ya – the next 16 days are mostly a waiting game. Conditions are tricky more often than not. We’ve got a lot of wind and messy energy rollin’ through, and the window for a proper session is real narrow.
Right out of the gate, Wednesday the 2nd is a non-starter. Swell’s there at around 5ft from the SSW with a super long 15-second period – that's a proper groundswell – but the wind is cross and the energy reading is a hefty 928. It's just a messy cross-chop. Not worth paddling out for, honestly.
We go through a real flat, frustrating stretch from Thursday the 3rd through to nearly the end of the first week. There’s a monster spike on Friday the 4th with 12ft of S swell, but it’s blown out by fresh onshore winds. That kind of size with that wind is just a washing machine. Forget it. The energy hits 2433 (moderate) that morning, then 3802 (strong) in the arvo, but it's all for nothing – it’s just a kite-surfing show. The following days are the same story – lumps, bumps, and cross-shore chop.
The real glimmer of hope, the only standout in this whole outlook, lands on Saturday the 12th of September. Afternoon session. Whale Rock wakes up proper. We get a solid 7ft of SSW groundswell (16-second period) pumping in, combined wave energy reading of 2028. But the big win is the wind flicking around to a clean cross-off breeze. That’ll groom the reef top nicely. This is a spot for the advanced crew only at this size, but for them, it’s got "go time" written all over it. The water’s nothing unusual for the season, so just enjoy the clean lines.
After that, it’s back to the grind. Sunday the 13th through to the end of the 16-day window on the 17th, we’re looking at consistent, rideable swells in the 3ft to 6ft range, but it's all cross-on and onshore wind again. It’s frustrating because the swell energy is there, but the quality just isn’t. Thursday morning the 17th shows a glimmer with a 3ft SSW swell and 16-second period (energy of 485) but even then the cross-shore wind will leave it bumpy. Honestly, local forecasts can shift, but as it stands, if you don’t live for that Saturday the 12th, you’re gonna be twiddling your thumbs.
Stay patient, lads. Rusty out.
Short Range ForecastHeavy rain (total 40mm), heaviest during Thu night. Warm (max 23°C on Thu morning, min 16°C on Fri night). Winds increasing (light winds from the SW on Thu morning, strong winds from the S by Thu night). | Days 4-6 Weather SummaryLight rain (total 5mm), mostly falling on Sun morning. Warm (max 21°C on Mon afternoon, min 16°C on Sat morning). Mainly fresh winds. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Wednesday 2 | Thursday 3 | Friday 4 | Saturday 5 | Sunday 6 | Monday 7 | Tuesday 8 | |||||||||||||||
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 15 | SSW 13 | SSW 14 | SSW 12 | SSW 11 | S 8 | S 10 | SE 9 | SSE 9 | SE 8 | SSE 8 | SSW 11 | E 10 | SSW 22 | S 18 | SSW 16 | SSW 15 | SSW 14 | SSW 13 | S 10 | S 10 |
Wave Graph  | |||||||||||||||||||||
 kJ | 857 | 615 | 460 | 206 | 430 | 1004 | 2291 | 749 | 840 | 545 | 313 | 249 | 492 | 686 | 4404 | 1664 | 573 | 213 | 154 | 104 | 48 |
Wind (km/h) | |||||||||||||||||||||
Wind State on-shore cross-onshore cross-shore cross-offshore off-shore glassy | cross | on | cross | cross | cross | cross | cross | cross-on | cross-on | cross-on | cross-on | cross | cross-on | cross-on | cross-on | cross-on | cross-on | cross | cross | cross | glassy |
High Tide | 6:36PM1.54m | 6:50AM1.33m | 7:17PM1.38m | 7:37AM1.16m | 8:19PM1.19m | 9:14AM1.01m | 10:43PM1.09m | 12:16PM1.06m | 00:52AM1.19m | 1:33PM1.26m | 1:51AM1.35m | 2:19PM1.46m | 2:33AM1.49m | ||||||||
Low Tide | 12:18PM0.18m | 00:49AM0.31m | 12:55PM0.33m | 1:36AM0.46m | 1:46PM0.51m | 2:53AM0.62m | 3:33PM0.67m | 5:39AM0.64m | 6:28PM0.62m | 7:16AM0.48m | 7:43PM0.44m | 8:04AM0.30m | 8:29PM0.27m | ||||||||
 | |  | | |  |  |  |  | | | |  | |  | |  |  | | | | |
 | 6:18 | — | — | 6:18 | — | — | 6:16 | — | — | 6:15 | — | — | 6:13 | — | — | 6:13 | — | — | 6:11 | — | — |
 | — | 5:45 | — | — | 5:46 | — | — | 5:47 | — | — | 5:47 | — | — | 5:49 | — | — | 5:49 | — | — | 5:50 | — |
mm | — | — | — | — | — | 30 | 10 | — | — | — | — | — | 1 | 2 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Temp °C | 19 | 19 | 20 | 23 | 21 | 20 | 18 | 18 | 17 | 17 | 17 | 17 | 16 | 18 | 18 | 20 | 21 | 20 | 20 | 21 | 19 |
Feels °C | 18 | 19 | 18 | 23 | 20 | 21 | 13 | 14 | 13 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 14 | 13 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 17 | 18 | 19 |
Swell 1 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | SSW 15 | SSW 13 | SSW 14 | SSW 12 | ENE 9 | ENE 9 | ENE 9 | S 10 | SSE 9 | SE 8 | SSE 8 | SSW 11 | S 10 | SSW 22 | S 18 | SSW 16 | SSW 15 | S 12 | ENE 9 | ENE 8 | ENE 8 |
| kJ | 857 | 615 | 460 | 206 | 108 | 168 | 56 | 618 | 840 | 545 | 313 | 249 | 216 | 686 | 4404 | 1664 | 573 | 190 | 363 | 246 | 140 |
Swell 2 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | E 8 | SSW 15 | E 8 | ENE 6 | SW 12 | — | E 10 | E 10 | E 10 | SSW 14 | SSW 12 | SE 8 | SSW 25 | SSW 10 | — | SSE 15 | S 13 | SSW 14 | S 11 | S 10 | S 10 |
| kJ | 71 | 308 | 90 | 36 | 217 | — | 50 | 50 | 50 | 147 | 152 | 99 | 61 | 133 | — | 42 | 272 | 213 | 154 | 104 | 48 |
Swell 3 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | — | E 9 | — | E 8 | NE 9 | — | — | NE 9 | S 15 | ENE 10 | E 10 | E 10 | S 14 | S 14 | — | — | — | — | SSW 13 | SSW 12 | SSW 10 |
| kJ | — | 76 | — | 50 | 30 | — | — | 19 | 116 | 35 | 50 | 125 | 14 | 57 | — | — | — | — | 149 | 82 | 36 |
Wind waves Height (m) Direction Period (s) | SSW 4 | — | — | SSW 3 | SSW 11 | S 8 | S 10 | SE 9 | — | ENE 7 | ENE 7 | ENE 5 | E 10 | E 6 | ENE 7 | ENE 8 | ENE 8 | ENE 9 | SSW 2 | SW 3 | SSW 3 |
| kJ | 9 | — | — | 2 | 430 | 1004 | 2291 | 749 | — | 18 | 89 | 24 | 492 | 318 | 444 | 395 | 744 | 727 | 1 | 3 | 1 |
Nearest Offshore or Glassy | |||||||||||||||||||||
Distance (km) | 0 | 114 | 70 | 37 | 6 | 39 | 1687 | 643 | 1037 | 643 | 289 | 289 | 16 | 289 | 289 | 503 | 412 | 461 | 70 | 47 | 1 |
Best forecast wave conditions in Eastern Cape - Wild 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 Whale Rock 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 Whale Rock Surf forecast
The above surf forecast table for Whale Rock provides essential information for determining whether the surfing conditions will be good over the next 16 days. A general guide to surfing at Whale Rock can be found by selecting the local surf guide option on the grey menu. Our Whale Rock 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 (Whale Rock) 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 Whale Rock 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.
Whale Rock is 47 km (29 miles) from the city of Port Saint Johns. If you plan a holiday in Eastern Cape - Wild Coast, look for hotels and other accommodation in Port Saint Johns. Port Saint Johns has rooms for a wide range of budgets as well as car hire and transport links.
Nearest