Windsurfing in Cape Town - Infos

The close area around Cape Town offers superb windsurfconditions that vary from spot to spot. The conditions can be roughly classified into three groups according to where the spot lies.

Between Cape Point and the city of Cape Town you find some tough wavespots setted in beautiful rough nature. The waves are always bigger than in the Table Bay and the wind is often very strong. Masthigh waves and wind for the 4,0 sail are quite normal down at the Cape. The usual southeaster blows sideshore from the left like in most spots an South Africa. In order to surf a spot down at the Cape you should start early, sometimes the wind becomes to strong during the day. The most popular of these spots is "Platboom" because of its superb conditions for waveriding and its amazing setting. Normally the water at the Cape is crystal clear and freezing.

The area between the city of Cape Town and Melkbos is called Table Bay. In its center is Table View where our house lies. In the Table Bay you find perfect wavespots that are again very different from each other.

The wind blows sideoff to sideonshore from the left. The waves vary according to the far travelled swell between 1 and 5 meterer. Very seldom there is no wave at all. Sunst beach is normally the first spot that works when the southeaster starts blowing. Here you find some very clean but short waves that a perfect for waveriding. The waves brake rather close to the beach and are therefore easier to predict. If the wind gets to strong you should travel further north where the wind decreases and the waves become bigger. Big Bay is a good option if you are looking for a spot that offers great conditions for both waveriding and jumping.

At the Van Riebeck beach near Melkbos (10min. drive from the house) you find nice and steep waves and a lot of space. In normal conditions my favourite spot in the Table Bay. After dragging your equipment over the 200meter long beach you surf a spot that is perfect for waveriding and jumping. The spots in the Table Bay are normally our first choice because of the superb surf and the small distance from the house.

The third category is Langebaan, a beautiful lagoon about 90km north of Cape Town. Here you surf in quite warm and shallow water with no waves at all, perfect for beginners and freestyle action. This is only a small excerpt of what South Afrika has to offer in terms of windsufing. There are many more spots so bring enough time to see them all.

Some useful facts about windsurfing in South Africa: Most of the time we surf small waveboads and sails between 4,0 and 5,3qm. The mixture of cold water and hot air makes a 4/3 surfing wetsuit a good choice. Long or short sleeve doesn´t matter. Some surf in booties but thats rather a question of taste.