Stormrider Guide to surfing Cape Peninsula

South Africa, AFRICA

Outer Kom, Garth Robinson

Summary

+ Consistent, quality waves	- Cold water year round
+ Wide swell window	- Unstable windy weather
+ Mountain and seascapes	- City insecurity
+ Cheap urban entertainment	- Thick kelp beds

The irregular shoreline of the Cape Peninsula, along with its 180 degree swell window, allows it to offer the best density of varied spots in the whole country, ranging from beginners beachbreak in False Bay to fearsome big-wave venues like Dungeons. Cape Town is a vibrant, cosmopolitan city, surrounded by natural beauty and overlooked by the iconic Table Mountain.

When to Go

Winter S-SW swells are consistent around 10ft at 12 seconds interval and can hit 30ft in August. March-April tend to be the cleanest, before the major winter cold fronts sweep across the Peninsula accompanied by NW winds and plenty of swell activity, meaning the S-facing spots are the go. Summers are usually warm and dry, as strong SE winds known as The Cape Doctor blow through in the afternoon. High pressure initiates warm, offshore Berg winds, meaning SW-exposed spots will have small, perfect conditions. Water temps hardly ever exceed 15°C (59ºF) and sometimes drop down to 9°C (48ºF) thanks to summer upwelling. Tidal range can reach 3m.

Surf Spots

The west-facing stretch of average beachbreak at Milnerton can have some clean peelers in SE winds, but tends to closeout at low tide and when the swell gets much overhead. Peaks up and down the beach from the lighthouse spread the mellow crowd. Nestled in the southern corner of the long beach leading down to Cape Town Harbour and the container terminal, The Wedge benefits from the refraction of the swell around the numerous breakwalls, wedging into a sucky A-frame and short barrel over sandy reef. Local spongers love it and can be protective, while the pollution from the harbour and rivermouth should put off more surfers. Thermopylae is a long left reef that needs a sizeable swell to sweep around Mouille Point and set up a muscle-bound speed wall that grinds down the shelf to the first harbour breakwall. Halves the size of swell unless it is W-NW (rare) but makes up for it in the power stakes. High tide only and the wreck of the Thermopylae lurks right at the peak. Crowded, polluted and strong currents - only advanced surfers will handle the big days. There are a handful of tricky, localized reefs to the south including Off The Wall, Rocklands and Solly’s at Sea Point. The rocks off Glen Beach hold some reliably good sandbars that can produce particularly hollow rights in smaller swells and low tides. Home turf for many rippers and popular with bodyboarders as it closes out a lot. To the north, Clifton is rarely any good and Camps Bay is usually a thumping shoredump at size. Popular summer spot Llandudno is well sheltered from SE gales, offering three spots, depending on how the sand is sticking to the rocks. The north end Gat section peaks up and throws out spitting right tubes, enlarged by the regular backwash. The middle peak and southern corner left are usually short sucky rides, with many a closeout. Always chilly when the SE wind blows offshore and it won’t handle too much size, when a 20mins walk south to the nudist beach at Sandy Bay might reveal some more thumping barrels. Cape Town’s big-wave pantheon ✪Dungeons is one of the most challenging big waves in the world with double-up drops followed by long speed walls that can close-out. There’s an inside Slab section that barrels on the smaller swells, a few outer peaks for rogue sets and the main Photo Bowl which is the end section of the wave. Light N winds, lower tides and long period bombing swell with W in it will get the guns dusted off. Access by boat or jet-ski from Hout Bay, where there is the occasional good day off the harbour wall. Home of Big Wave Africa comp and on the BWWT, this spooky, sharky outside reef is for hellmen only.The Hoek is nestled under the cliffs below spectacular Chapman’s Peak Drive and is considered a world-class, tubey A-frame when a small to medium SW-W swell is groomed by SE winds. The backwash off the rocks and eternally shifting sands decide which peak is providing the best air drop into short crystalline barrels, before closing out in the shallows. Stops working after mid tide. More consistent is Noordhoek Beach, which holds fun surf of variable quality along a 3.5km stretch of golden sands. The peaks can get classic on the right day and crowds thin out the further you walk from the car park, especially considering the high shark attack factor for this area. About two thirds of the way down Noordhoek Beach is Dunes, which can produce epic barrels, in moderate SW swells and summer SE’ers. Powerful and unpredictable with heavy paddle outs when it gets overhead. The 30min walk in doesn’t deter the crowds these days as it can be so perfect. Worry more about the local fish than the local rippers. The outside bombora of Sunset is a hell of a drop for the local licensed tow crews and madmen. Long Beach faces N so any S wind will clean up the predominant lefts that bend around the outer reefs into a beautiful, triangular sandbar. Fast, hollow, high-performance walls into a slamming shorey that the bodyboarders love, especially further round the beach at Krans right. Holds some serious size and crowds since it is the only place to be in a SW’er, but it stops working at high tide. Inner and Outer Kom are open to plenty of swell and are consistent, yet rarely perfect or predictable. Inners has fun lefts which break over kelp beds, while Outers offers powerful shifting lefts that can easily catch you in the impact zone. Requires a late vertical drop and some barrel sense in the race to the channel. Rips increase once you are clear of the harbour and tend to head to the impact zone. 365’s, another kelp choked slab of reef down from The Kom will be barrel perfection in moderate W swells and NE Berg winds. Needs some tide to make life easier at this full-on experts only right and occasional left that draws comparisons with Pipeline for both tube time and danger. Crayfish Factory is a ferocious right that needs a long period S-SW swell of large proportions to start breaking. It is one of Cape Town’s best big wave spots, where extra length, experience and cojones are needed to make the heavy drop and then negotiate the refracting bowl sections further down the long line-up. Punishing hold downs for bailers and those stupid enough to get caught inside. Kelp, crowds, rips and sharks are lesser hazards than the wave itself. Down from the messy beachbreaks of Witsands is Misty Cliffs, where crowds might converge on small summer days when everywhere else is small and gutless. Mixture of shifty sandbars over rocky patches, which occasionally produce some hollow runners. Scarborough is a pointbreak setup that needs the rare conditions of overhead SW-W swell, E winds and incoming tide to fire. Luckily there are a couple of rights on the inside where the point meets the beachbreak and a righthand reef further north in front of the carpark. Small summer swells and SE winds will see some fun waves for most abilities. There are some good spots in the Cape Point Nature Reserve (entry fee= $10/p) like the rocky rights of Olifantsbos Point that rumble into life with a decent SW-W swell. Long, powerful and holds sizeable winter pulses if the wind blows SE. Rocky, some current and the odd crowd makes this an intermediates plus wave. Other waves to check down on the Cape are the fast kelpy lefts of Platboom and the super-sucky sponger pits of Dias Beach. Beware of the baboons and don’t carry any food. Buffels Bay is an awesomely fast and furious righthand pointbreak that needs serious amounts of S swell to show. Offshore in stormy SW winds and swarmed with admirers on the too few classic days when the long walls appear. Fast down-the-line surfing plus patience is required to get one off the numerous dialled-in local crew, without getting caught inside. Black Rocks needs very similar conditions to Buffels, preferably with some huge SE swell and more W in the wind. It’s a little more consistent and so it gets even more crowded, especially on the more fancied right. Needless to say, advanced surfers only. The coast road heading north around False Bay passes some fickle reefs like Glencairn and playful beachbreaks at Fish Hoek and Clovelly, before skirting the harbour to Kalk Bay Reef. This slab of reef regularly produces machine-like left pipes that are perfect for bodyboarders and pit pilots. Becomes a world-class wave when overhead SE swell meets understrength NW wind. Sucky, shallow and super-crowded! There’s a similar ledge up the beach at Dangers or a less manic right at Baileys Cottage. Muizenberg’s long curve of sand invites fun rolling waves with enough peaks for everyone and is offshore in NW winds. The Corner and Cemetery are most popular, plus there are endless beginner-friendly options through Macassar and onto Strand, depending on the wind. All abilities and all surf craft at Cape Town’s historical home of surfing.

Statistics

dominant swell

SE -SW

SE -W

SE -SW

swell size (ft)

6-7

7-8

5-6

3-4

consistency (%)

dominant wind

SE -S

SE -NW

SE -SW

SE -S

average force

consistency (%)

water temp (C)

wetsuit

3/2

4/3

3/2

Travel Information

Weather
Winters (May-Sept) see many cold fronts and low pressures pass over, bringing wind, clouds and rain from the NW. As the cold front passes over, SE winds blow from False Bay to Table Bay, creating the famous misty tablecloth on Table Mountain.

Lodging and Food
Beachside BnB run by African Soul Surfer are the closest backpackers to the beach in Muizenberg. There are youth hostels in Camps Bay or in Kommetjie (Fendt Guesthouse or Tabankulu) for $20. Expect to spend $10 for a good meal. Local wine and lobster are both excellent and cheap.

Nature and Culture
There are plenty of cultural sites and some great bars and nightclubs. Take the classic cablecar ride up Table Mountain.

Stormrider Guide to surfing Cape Peninsula

South Africa, AFRICA

Summary

When to Go

Surf Spots

Statistics

Travel Information

In the Shop..

Listings..