Buffels Bay • Statistics for January

January: The Trade-Wind Grind

January sits squarely in the middle of the Austral summer, and the high-pressure ridge is strong enough to pump persistent ESE/SE trade winds into the southern Cape for long stretches. At Buffels Bay the data reflects this: winds from ESE (18.2%), E (11.6%) and SE (11.2%) dominate, and only 20% of the time is the wind favourably offshore from the N/NNW/NW/WNW quadrant. With an average swell height of 7ft (2.2m) and a period of 10.9s, there is no shortage of wave height, but the direction mix is not ideal. Most of the energy sits in the 5-8ft (1.5-2.5m) range, sourced primarily from SSW (24.9%) and SW (19.1%), while the more favourably aligned S/SSE/SE/ESE corridor carries a smaller share. This means clean, lined-up waves are possible when a cold front or cut-off low nudges the high northeast, producing a brief NW offshore flow and SSW groundswell, but the default summer pattern is bumpy, wind-affected surf. Water temperatures hold around 20.6°C, air temperatures average 20.7°C, and afternoon sea breezes often add extra chop to an already onshore flow.