Surf Forecasts:
Whale Rock surf forecast from 5 Aug 2026:
- Best quality surf: Thursday 6 Aug, 5AM (local time) - 2.5ft (0.8m), 16s period, SSW swell with offshore winds.
- Most powerful swell: Sunday 9 Aug, 11PM (local time) - 13ft (4.0m), 9s period, SSW swell with 2,473 kJ wave energy.
- Next surfable swell (1★+): Wednesday 5 Aug, 8AM (local time) - 4.5ft (1.3m), 10s period with E 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 (Aug 05) at 8AM. The primary swell is predicted to be 1.3m and 10s period with a secondary swell of 0.3m and 11s. Another secondary swell of 1.0m 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 4.0m 9s and forecast to arrive on Sunday (Aug 09) at 11PM. Winds are predicted to be cross-shore at the time the swell arrives. The largest open ocean swell (not directed at the beach) is 1.8m 7s period and expected on Saturday (Aug 08) at 8PM.
| Wave Type | Time (SAST) & Date | Wave Height & Period |
|---|---|---|
| Next good surf (1 star+) | 8AM (Wed 5th Aug) | 4.5ft (1.3m) 10s |
| Best Surf | 5AM (Thu 6th Aug) | 2.5ft (0.8m) 16s |
| Most Powerful | 11PM (Sun 9th Aug) | 13ft (4.0m) 9s |
Table - best surf conditions forecast for Whale Rock over the next 16 days.
The Lowdown
Alright, Rusty here, looking at the next 16 days for Whale Rock. This is a tricky reef break, for advanced surfers only, and it doesn’t break all that often, so you gotta pick your moments. Water temp is about 71°, a little warmer than normal for this time of year.
Right now, it’s a desert. From Wednesday the 5th through the weekend, the swell is small and weak, with the wind all over the place. The first few days are a total bust—cross-shore winds, poor conditions, and energy under 200. You’re looking at a dry spell of about four days before anything changes.
Saturday the 8th and Sunday the 9th have some long-period groundswell, but the wind is still cross-shore and bumpy. Not worth the drive.
Then Monday the 10th, a big sloppy pulse hits: 12 feet from the SSE, but with a short period and cross-onshore wind. The energy is massive (over 2500), but it’s a mess. This is more of a kite-surfing kind of day, not a paddle wave.
Tuesday the 11th is still lumpy.
The first real clean window opens Wednesday the 12th. Morning shows a light offshore wind from the SW and a 5-foot east swell, period 10 seconds. Energy is moderate (1156), and the conditions are clean. It’s a go, but it’s not the best.
The standout is Saturday the 15th. That morning is glassy—wind from the SSW at only 3 mph. Swell is 5 feet from the east, 10-second period, with moderate energy (595). The reef will be clean, lined up, and crowds are “sometimes,” so you’ll have company but not a zoo. For this spot, that’s a dream. That’s the one to circle.
After that, Sunday the 16th is okay but the wind switches onshore. And looking way out to Thursday the 20th, there’s a big SSW groundswell with a 16-second period, pushing 6 feet in the morning, but the wind gets messy later. That’s a long way off, so take it with a grain of salt.
Short version: if you’re an advanced surfer, make a plan for Saturday the 15th morning. It’s the cleanest, most fun wave in this whole forecast. The rest is either flat, windy, or a washing machine.
Rusty.
Short Range ForecastLight rain (total 4mm), mostly falling on Thu night. Warm (max 25°C on Wed afternoon, min 16°C on Fri night). Winds decreasing (fresh winds from the SW on Thu morning, light winds from the ESE by Thu night). | Days 4-6 Weather SummaryHeavy rain (total 47mm), heaviest during Sun night. Warm (max 24°C on Sat afternoon, min 13°C on Mon night). Winds increasing (light winds from the NE on Sat morning, strong winds from the S by Sun night). | ||||||||||||||||||||
Wednesday 5 | Thursday 6 | Friday 7 | Saturday 8 | Sunday 9 | Monday 10 | Tuesday 11 | |||||||||||||||
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) | E 10 | E 10 | SSW 17 | SSW 16 | SSW 15 | SSW 13 | SSW 13 | SSW 12 | SSW 12 | SSW 15 | SSW 14 | SSW 14 | SSW 16 | SSW 14 | S 10 | SSE 10 | SE 9 | SE 9 | SE 9 | SSW 13 | SSW 12 |
Wave Graph  | |||||||||||||||||||||
 kJ | 268 | 184 | 258 | 314 | 193 | 673 | 294 | 190 | 121 | 559 | 437 | 246 | 441 | 437 | 2360 | 2405 | 1112 | 881 | 730 | 915 | 458 |
Wind (km/h) | |||||||||||||||||||||
Wind State on-shore cross-onshore cross-shore cross-offshore off-shore glassy | cross | cross | cross-off | cross | cross | cross-on | cross-on | cross-on | cross-off | cross-on | cross | cross-off | cross-off | cross | cross | cross-on | cross-on | cross | cross | cross | cross-off |
High Tide | 7:53PM1.41m | 8:10AM1.18m | 8:54PM1.28m | 9:33AM1.06m | 10:39PM1.20m | 11:51AM1.05m | 00:36AM1.24m | 1:28PM1.20m | 1:50AM1.37m | 2:25PM1.38m | 2:42AM1.50m | 3:10PM1.55m | 3:24AM1.61m | ||||||||
Low Tide | 1:27PM0.32m | 2:13AM0.45m | 2:18PM0.45m | 3:27AM0.56m | 3:43PM0.57m | 5:27AM0.59m | 5:54PM0.59m | 7:11AM0.48m | 7:30PM0.46m | 8:12AM0.32m | 8:30PM0.31m | 8:57AM0.17m | 9:17PM0.18m | ||||||||
 | |  | |  |  |  | | | | |  | |  |  |  | |  | | | | |
 | 6:48 | — | — | 6:48 | — | — | 6:47 | — | — | 6:46 | — | — | 6:45 | — | — | 6:43 | — | — | 6:43 | — | — |
 | — | 5:29 | — | — | 5:30 | — | — | 5:30 | — | — | 5:30 | — | — | 5:30 | — | — | 5:31 | — | — | 5:32 | — |
mm | — | — | — | — | — | 3 | 1 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 34 | 5 | 2 | 6 | 3 | 4 | 8 |
Temp °C | 23 | 25 | 23 | 20 | 20 | 19 | 19 | 19 | 18 | 21 | 24 | 23 | 19 | 19 | 16 | 15 | 15 | 14 | 13 | 14 | 13 |
Feels °C | 19 | 21 | 20 | 17 | 17 | 17 | 17 | 16 | 16 | 20 | 22 | 21 | 15 | 14 | 12 | 9 | 9 | 7 | 6 | 7 | 8 |
Swell 1 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | E 10 | E 10 | E 10 | E 10 | E 10 | SSW 13 | SSW 13 | SSW 12 | SSW 12 | SSW 15 | SSW 14 | ENE 8 | ENE 8 | SSW 14 | E 9 | E 10 | SE 9 | S 11 | S 11 | SSW 13 | ESE 8 |
| kJ | 268 | 184 | 148 | 149 | 120 | 673 | 294 | 190 | 121 | 559 | 437 | 251 | 154 | 437 | 61 | 68 | 1112 | 535 | 595 | 915 | 458 |
Swell 2 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | SW 11 | SW 15 | ENE 6 | SSW 16 | SSW 15 | E 10 | E 9 | E 9 | E 9 | SE 7 | E 10 | SSW 14 | SSW 16 | ENE 9 | NE 8 | E 10 | S 9 | E 10 | SSW 14 | E 10 | SSW 12 |
| kJ | 19 | 56 | 35 | 314 | 193 | 92 | 85 | 85 | 87 | 35 | 225 | 246 | 441 | 110 | 10 | 67 | 217 | 94 | 285 | 94 | 452 |
Swell 3 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | SSW 16 | SW 11 | SSW 17 | ENE 7 | NE 7 | ENE 7 | SSW 16 | SW 16 | E 6 | E 9 | SE 7 | SE 7 | SE 7 | SE 7 | — | — | SSW 11 | SSW 15 | E 10 | — | S 9 |
| kJ | 26 | 18 | 258 | 25 | 24 | 4 | 53 | 66 | 31 | 87 | 27 | 7 | 2 | 2 | — | — | 251 | 72 | 125 | — | 185 |
Wind waves Height (m) Direction Period (s) | ENE 6 | ENE 6 | NE 6 | SSW 6 | S 6 | — | ENE 3 | E 5 | NE 6 | ENE 5 | ENE 6 | SSW 4 | SSW 6 | SSW 6 | S 10 | SSE 10 | — | SE 9 | SE 9 | SE 8 | — |
| kJ | 39 | 37 | 66 | 140 | 88 | — | 8 | 51 | 1 | 9 | 140 | 11 | 115 | 177 | 2360 | 2405 | — | 881 | 730 | 493 | — |
Nearest Offshore or Glassy | |||||||||||||||||||||
Distance (km) | 16 | 186 | 0 | 39 | 143 | 113 | 186 | 266 | 0 | 43 | 43 | 6 | 281 | 446 | 1687 | 1027 | 2849 | 643 | 643 | 643 | 6 |
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)
Latest Updates
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