Drainpipes
Surf spot · South Africa
Is it worth the trip?
39Poor out of 100 for your dates
Best on Sun 8: 7 ft swell at 9 s, onshore wind, 16 kn (29 km/h)
Mon 2 · 35 out of 100
- Swell
- 6 ft9 scrumbling
- Energy
- 518kJ
- Wind
- SSE 14 kn
- Temp
- 20°C
Tue 3 · 42 out of 100
- Swell
- 5 ft9 scrumbling
- Energy
- 303kJ
- Wind
- ESE 6 kn
- Temp
- 25°C
Wed 4 · 32 out of 100
- Swell
- 4 ft8 scrumbling
- Energy
- 250kJ
- Wind
- NE 3 kn
- Temp
- 26°C
Thu 5 · 9 out of 100
- Swell
- 8 ft9 smushy
- Energy
- 938kJ
- Wind
- NW 16 kn
- Temp
- 19°C
Fri 6 · 33 out of 100
- Swell
- 7 ft8 smushy
- Energy
- 550kJ
- Wind
- WNW 12 kn
- Temp
- 18°C
Sat 7 · 45 out of 100
- Swell
- 6 ft8 smushy
- Energy
- 366kJ
- Wind
- S 8 kn
- Temp
- 18°C
Sun 8 · 51 out of 100
- Swell
- 7 ft9 scrumbling
- Energy
- 630kJ
- Wind
- ESE 16 kn
- Temp
- 24°C
Tap a day for waves, wind and the temperature. Full forecast
Forecast: next 10 days
Full forecast- Sun 149, fair
- Mon 235, poor
- Tue 342, too small
- Wed 432, too small
- Thu 59, poor
- Fri 633, poor
- Sat 745, fair
- Sun 851, fair
- Mon 920, too small
- Tue 109, too small
The spot in five facts
- Faces Wtakes swell from the W
- Offshore: Ewind from the land
- Intermediate +who it suits
- Works 2–8 ftof swell
- Water 17 °C3/2 wetsuit
Full forecast
every day, every number
| Day | Score for experts | Swell | Energy | Wind | Temp |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sun 1Nov | 49, fair | 8 ft9 scrumbling10 ft at break (est.) | 1,141kJ | wind from the south-south-east, 11 knots | 22°C |
| Mon 2Nov | 35, poor | 6 ft9 scrumbling8 ft at break (est.) | 518kJ | wind from the south-south-east, 14 knots | 20°C |
| Tue 3Nov | 42, too small | 5 ft9 scrumbling6 ft at break (est.) | 303kJ | offshorewind from the east-south-east, 6 knots, offshore | 25°C |
| Wed 4Nov | 32, too small | 4 ft8 scrumbling5 ft at break (est.) | 250kJ | offshorewind from the north-east, 3 knots, offshore | 26°C |
| Thu 5Nov | 9, poor | 8 ft9 smushy10 ft at break (est.) | 938kJ | wind from the north-west, 16 knots | 19°C |
| Fri 6Nov | 33, poor | 7 ft8 smushy8 ft at break (est.) | 550kJ | wind from the west-north-west, 12 knots | 18°C |
| Sat 7Nov | 45, fair | 6 ft8 smushy6 ft at break (est.) | 366kJ | wind from the south, 8 knots | 18°C |
| Sun 8Nov | 51, fair | 7 ft9 scrumbling7 ft at break (est.) | 630kJ | offshorewind from the east-south-east, 16 knots, offshore | 24°C |
| Mon 9Nov | 20, too small | 6 ft6 smushyunder 1 ft at break (est.) | 211kJ | wind from the north-west, 7 knots | 21°C |
| Tue 10Nov | 9, too small | 3 ft12 shollow5 ft at break (est.) | 228kJ | wind from the south-south-west, 9 knots | 21°C |
Energy is the swell's power, in kJ per metre of wave. Wind is in knots, the arrow where it blows to; green is offshore. More
Tide
- Sun 1 NovLow 01:18 −0.4 mHigh 07:46 +0.4 mLow 14:14 −0.3 mHigh 20:25 +0.3 m
- Mon 2 NovLow 02:49 −0.3 mHigh 09:16 +0.4 mLow 16:00 −0.4 mHigh 22:06 +0.3 m
- Tue 3 NovLow 04:26 −0.4 mHigh 10:44 +0.5 mLow 17:24 −0.5 mHigh 23:29 +0.4 m
Local clock times; heights about mean sea level. On open coasts the times are usually within a quarter of an hour; in bays, estuaries and on the Gulf of Mexico they can be an hour or more out. Tide: EOT20 global ocean tide model, Hart-Davis et al. 2021, DGFI-TUM (doi:10.17882/79489), CC BY 4.0. Times and heights computed by us. A model, not a tide table: check a local table before you go.
Forecast updated . It refreshes every three hours. Forecast data: ECMWF, DWD, Météo-France and NOAA, served by Open-Meteo.com (CC BY 4.0). Changed by us. Generated using E.U. Copernicus Marine Service Information.
Map
the spot and its town
Drainpipes on Google Maps · Directions
Each place wears its best day on these dates, a surf spot for experts: green good, amber fair, pale red poor, as the key says.
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More surf near here
5 places
- K 364 0.3 km away
- K 365 0.3 km away
- The Boiler 0.5 km away
- Battery 0.6 km away
- Outer Kom 0.7 km away
About
the place in full, sources, credits
About Drainpipes
Facing, offshore wind, exposure, level and swell range are estimated.
The spot faces W (258°), so it takes swell from the W. The wind blows offshore from the E (78°). It is exposed to the open swell. It suits intermediate surfers and up. It works in 2–8 ft of swell. The sea floor shelves steeply: 10 m deep about 200 m out (1 in 19). On a typical 5 ft, 11 s swell the waves here would break hollow. The sea is about 15°C in August, its coldest month (4/3 wetsuit and boots), and 18°C in January, its warmest (2 mm shorty). The town to stay in is Kommetjie, 1.9 km away (about 5 min by car). Within 5 km we also list 24 surf spots and 1 dive site.
Water about 17°C: 3/2 wetsuit. Typical sea temperature for the time of year, not a forecast.
The score is the conditions only: the journey, the price and the partners never change it (how we score, how we earn).
Rough cost (estimate): about US$1,300–US$2,540 each
about US$1,300–US$2,540 each · 6 nights, 2 sharing: flights, hire car, stay, food, board and wetsuit.
Our estimate from typical public prices, not a quote: check the real prices before you book (where they come from). Prices are about, in US Dollar (USD): our pound figures at the European Central Bank's rate of 30 October 2026.
How we worked it out
| What | How we worked it out | Each |
|---|---|---|
| Flights | return MDW to CPT, estimated from distance and season, changing at ATL, full-service airlines, with a hold bag | about US$858–US$1,780 |
| Hire car | 6 days, shared | about US$67–US$114 |
| Stay | 6 nights, a mid-range double, shared | about US$161–US$275 |
| Food | 7 days eating out | about US$147–US$268 |
| Board and wetsuit | 5 days, or about US$114 to fly your own | about US$67–US$107 |
| Total | about US$1,300–US$2,540 |
For 2 people sharing a room. Lessons, lift-pass deals and insurance are extra. Prices from public sources, checked in 2026.
Where to stay: 3 towns
3 min by car · 24 places to stay
about US$60/nightcountry average
About Kommetjie its beds, food and every spot near it
- Beds in Scarborough Western Cape on Booking.com
13 min by car · 19 places to stay
- Beds in Noordhoek on Booking.com
14 min by car · 29 places to stay
About US$60 a night is our estimate of the country's average 2-star double room that month: not each town's price, and not a quote. Drives are estimates. Prices are about, in US Dollar (USD): our pound figures at the European Central Bank's rate of 30 October 2026.
Getting there: about 26h 40m
About 26h 40m door to door from Chicago
Fly MDW → CPT, changing at Hartsfield Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL), then 55 min by road
Flights MDW → CPT on your dates · Skyscanner
An estimate, one way; the journey never changes the score.
In the water
Saved: this link opens the same trip
The link holds the trip itself: nothing about you is kept. Check the forecast again before you book.