Coffee Bay • Statistics for January

January: Summer Trade Winds and Refracted Peaks

January is prime summer on the Wild Coast, and at Coffee Bay that means a mix of solid groundswell and persistent NE/ENE trade winds. The average wave height is 1.9m (6ft) with a period of 9.6 seconds - surfable but often a little raw and short-period. Swell directions show a broad spread from ENE through SSW, with the S (17%), SSE (14.5%) and E (14.5%) directions taking the lion's share. For this east-southeast-facing beach, the best lines are those arriving from E through SSE, which together make up over half of the total swell distribution. S and SSW energy certainly provides the brute force, but it needs to refract into the bay to produce the clean walls Coffee Bay is known for. The 1.5-2.5m (5-8ft) range dominates the wave heights, so there's plenty of push. Wind is the main catch: the NE (21%) and ENE (20%) trades dominate, and with strong 20-30kph afternoons they put a bump on the face. Ideal offshore W/NW flow is rare at only 13%. Water temperature is a toasty 24.1°C with air temps around 23.7°C, and rainfall at 3.25 mm/day - typical of a humid subtropical summer. Aim for early mornings before the trades kick up and keep an eye out for E/ESE groundswell pulses.