Surf Forecasts:
Whale Rock surf forecast from 8 Jul 2026:
- Best quality surf: Friday 10 Jul, 5AM (local time) - 8ft (2.5m), 15s period, SSW swell with cross-offshore winds.
- Most powerful swell: Thursday 9 Jul, 11AM (local time) - 11ft (3.5m), 13s period, SSW swell with 3,478 kJ wave energy.
- Next surfable swell (1★+): Wednesday 8 Jul, 11PM (local time) - 2.5ft (0.7m), 14s 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 Wednesday (Jul 08) at 11PM. The primary swell is predicted to be 0.7m and 14s period with a secondary swell of 1.0m and 6s. Another secondary swell of 1.4m and 6s is also forecast. 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 3.5m 13s and forecast to arrive on Thursday (Jul 09) at 11AM. Winds are predicted to be cross-offshore at the time the swell arrives. The largest open ocean swell (not directed at the beach) is 2.5m 8s period and expected on Monday (Jul 13) at 11PM.
| Wave Type | Time (SAST) & Date | Wave Height & Period |
|---|---|---|
| Next good surf (1 star+) | 11PM (Wed 8th Jul) | 2.5ft (0.7m) 14s |
| Best Surf | 5AM (Fri 10th Jul) | 8ft (2.5m) 15s |
| Most Powerful | 11AM (Thu 9th Jul) | 11ft (3.5m) 13s |
Table - best surf conditions forecast for Whale Rock over the next 16 days.
Alright, this is Rusty. Let’s have a look at what’s on the table for the next couple of weeks at Whale Rock.
Right off the bat, the early part of the window is pretty quiet. Wednesday and Thursday of this week offer only small, marginal waves, with light cross-onshore and cross-shore winds messing with the surface. The water temp is sitting at 71°, which is pretty much spot on for the season – no surprise there.
We get a real spike in energy from Thursday morning onward. On Thursday, July 9th, the swell jumps up to 12 ft from the SSW, pushing a massive combined energy reading (4976). That’s some serious power, but here’s the catch – it’s big. At that size, this is strictly for advanced surfers only. The period is 13 seconds, a solid groundswell, which means good shape potential, but this being a reef setup (Whale Rock), it should handle it well. Winds are cross-offshore and clean Thursday morning, giving us smooth faces. The afternoon turns cross-shore and gets lumpy, so the morning is the only real window.
Friday, July 10th, the swell holds at 8 ft from the SSW, still strong (energy 2955), and morning conditions are clean with cross-off wind. Again, that’s expert territory – too big for beginners. The afternoon gets cross-shore and choppy, so get in early or don’t bother.
Saturday, July 11th, has dropped to 6 ft, which is more manageable, but the winds are light cross or onshore with a bit of rain and storm risk. It’s messy. Not the standout.
So, the clear winner here is Thursday morning, July 9th. Whale Rock will be pumping with 12 ft SSW groundswell, clean cross-off winds, and that big energy. Crowds are possible – it’s a known spot and this is a solid swell. Mark it down.
For the rest of the second week, the swell fades and the wind patterns are all over the place, mostly onshore or cross-onshore from the NE. There’s a tiny window on Thursday afternoon, July 16th, with glassy conditions and 5 ft east swell, but the energy is weak (402). That’s the only time it might look half-decent, but don’t expect much. After that, it’s mostly poor, messy surf through the 23rd. Nothing else to get excited about.
Stay safe out there, especially on that Thursday morning bomb.
- Rusty
Short Range ForecastMostly dry. Warm (max 23°C on Wed morning, min 16°C on Wed night). Wind will be generally light. | Days 4-6 Weather SummaryModerate rain (total 11mm), heaviest on Sat night. Warm (max 22°C on Mon afternoon, min 16°C on Sat morning). Winds increasing (calm on Sat night, fresh winds from the NE by Sun night). | ||||||||||||||||||||
Wednesday 8 | Thursday 9 | Friday 10 | Saturday 11 | Sunday 12 | Monday 13 | Tuesday 14 | |||||||||||||||
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 14 | SW 14 | SSW 7 | SSW 13 | SSW 13 | SSW 15 | SSW 14 | SSW 14 | SSW 13 | SSW 13 | S 13 | S 12 | SSW 12 | SSW 12 | S 11 | S 13 | S 11 | E 8 | E 8 | E 8 | E 9 |
Wave Graph  | |||||||||||||||||||||
 kJ | 180 | 200 | 274 | 3478 | 1544 | 2127 | 2948 | 2707 | 1592 | 1230 | 1189 | 884 | 569 | 478 | 313 | 176 | 205 | 533 | 381 | 298 | 449 |
Wind (km/h) | |||||||||||||||||||||
Wind State on-shore cross-onshore cross-shore cross-offshore off-shore glassy | cross-on | cross | cross-off | cross-off | cross | cross-off | cross-off | cross | cross-off | cross | on | glassy | cross | cross-on | cross | cross | cross-on | cross-off | cross | cross | cross-off |
High Tide | 9:00AM1.16m | 9:47PM1.33m | 10:24AM1.11m | 11:11PM1.32m | 12:00PM1.13m | 00:35AM1.36m | 1:20PM1.23m | 1:45AM1.45m | 2:22PM1.36m | 2:41AM1.54m | 3:13PM1.49m | 3:30AM1.62m | 3:59PM1.61m | 4:14AM1.65m | |||||||
Low Tide | 3:07PM0.44m | 4:19AM0.51m | 4:26PM0.50m | 5:48AM0.49m | 5:57PM0.49m | 7:07AM0.40m | 7:18PM0.40m | 8:09AM0.29m | 8:22PM0.30m | 9:00AM0.17m | 9:16PM0.19m | 9:45AM0.08m | 10:04PM0.13m | ||||||||
 | |  | |  |  | | |  |  | |  |  | | | |  | | | | | |
 | 7:03 | — | — | 7:03 | — | — | 7:03 | — | — | 7:03 | — | — | 7:01 | — | — | 7:01 | — | — | 7:01 | — | — |
 | — | 5:12 | — | — | 5:13 | — | — | 5:13 | — | — | 5:14 | — | — | 5:14 | — | — | 5:15 | — | — | 5:15 | — |
mm | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 1 | 2 | 5 | 3 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Temp °C | 23 | 21 | 18 | 19 | 19 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 17 | 18 | 17 | 18 | 20 | 19 | 19 | 22 | 20 | 18 | 19 | 18 |
Feels °C | 21 | 16 | 15 | 16 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 17 | 15 | 14 | 13 | 15 | 18 | 18 | 16 | 17 | 19 |
Swell 1 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | SSW 14 | SW 14 | SSW 7 | SSW 13 | ENE 8 | SSW 15 | SSW 14 | ENE 8 | SSW 13 | SSW 13 | S 13 | S 12 | SSW 12 | SSW 12 | S 11 | SSW 11 | S 11 | E 8 | E 8 | E 8 | E 9 |
| kJ | 180 | 200 | 139 | 1490 | 6 | 2127 | 2948 | 13 | 1592 | 1230 | 1189 | 884 | 569 | 478 | 313 | 121 | 205 | 533 | 381 | 298 | 449 |
Swell 2 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | ENE 7 | ENE 7 | SSW 14 | ENE 8 | E 10 | ENE 9 | ENE 9 | SE 13 | ENE 8 | ENE 8 | ENE 8 | E 5 | E 9 | SW 18 | S 15 | S 13 | SSW 11 | S 11 | SSW 10 | SSW 10 | SSW 10 |
| kJ | 29 | 18 | 166 | 6 | 7 | 16 | 16 | 7 | 12 | 11 | 11 | 24 | 14 | 12 | 104 | 176 | 103 | 114 | 85 | 58 | 32 |
Swell 3 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | SE 9 | SE 9 | ENE 6 | E 10 | SE 9 | SE 15 | SE 13 | — | — | — | — | ENE 9 | — | — | S 12 | S 11 | — | SSW 11 | SSE 10 | SSE 9 | SSE 9 |
| kJ | 22 | 22 | 4 | 8 | 3 | 8 | 7 | — | — | — | — | 15 | — | — | 3 | 2 | — | 158 | 9 | 8 | 7 |
Wind waves Height (m) Direction Period (s) | — | SSW 4 | SSW 7 | SSW 13 | SSW 13 | — | — | SSW 14 | — | — | — | ENE 5 | E 6 | ENE 6 | ENE 7 | ENE 8 | ENE 8 | ENE 8 | SW 3 | SSW 4 | — |
| kJ | — | 17 | 274 | 3478 | 1544 | — | — | 2707 | — | — | — | 35 | 50 | 94 | 407 | 585 | 690 | 935 | 4 | 4 | — |
Nearest Offshore or Glassy | |||||||||||||||||||||
Distance (km) | 1 | 163 | 1 | 39 | 39 | 0 | 10 | 39 | 0 | 1 | 238 | 0 | 238 | 289 | 261 | 194 | 120 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
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