Explore / South Africa

Jeffreys Bay.

Now

  · updated 12 hours ago
swell
1.6m
13s
wind
18 kt
east
tide
1.35 m
falling
N E S W
▬ swell – wind
-34.50, 24.90
Next days outlook
beta

Southwest swell builds from 1-2m at 13-14 seconds Saturday to a week peak of 4-5m at 12-16 seconds Sunday under blown-out wind, then eases to 2-3m by Monday with moderate to strong west wind. Mid-week holds steady around 3m at 12-19 seconds with variable wind, before another pulse peaks Sunday at 4-5m at 12-16 seconds under blown-out conditions, dropping to 2-3m by mid-week as wind shifts from northeast to southwest. Looks like Tuesday morning may offer the best window as wind drops to glassy and the southwest swell holds at 2-3m at 12-13 seconds.

Swell height

<7s
7–11s
11–13s
13–15s
15–18s
18+s

 

Wave systems

  • primary
  • secondary
  • tertiary
  • wind sea

 

Power

small
solid / average
energetic
heavy

 

Wind speed

light
moderate
strong
blown out

 

Tide

 

Weather

 

Nearby regions

About Jeffreys Bay

Jeffreys Bay sits on South Africa’s Eastern Cape, 75 km south-west of Port Elizabeth (Gqeberha), on a cape that bends west into the south Atlantic. The headline is Supertubes, a right point that runs 300 m through the heart of the bay. The cape’s sections run, top to bottom: Kitchen Windows, Magnatubes, Boneyards, Supertubes, Impossibles, Tubes, Point, and Albatross. On the rare swell that links Boneyards to the Point, the ride hits 1.1 km. J-Bay is the WSL Championship Tour’s South African stop, held at Supers in winter.

Peak runs May through September, when southern Atlantic storms send long-period south-west to south-south-west swell wrapping around the cape. June is the most consistent month, with the cleanest combination of swell and offshore mornings. The classic offshore is west-northwest to west-southwest, the dawn land breeze. By mid-afternoon the south-easter fills in and turns the open sections sideshore. Summer drops to small wind swell and onshores most days.

Water sits at 18 to 20 °C in August, 22 to 25 °C in February. A 3/2 through the surf season, a shorty in summer. The cape is in shark country: the 2015 attack on Mick Fanning during the WSL final happened in the Supertubes lineup. Spotters watch from the cliffs during the contest; off-season you’re on your own. Supers carries every visiting pro in winter; Boneyards is where the locals retreat. If Supers is twenty deep, walk south to Tubes or the Point. On a small swell, the Point still holds.

Links