Weather warning for damaging waves issued for Western and North Cape

The warning is issued for Wednesday and Thursday.

SAWS warned about a south-westerly swell with wave heights of 4 and 6 meters between Cape Columbine and Cape Agulhas on Wednesday morning, spreading to Alexander Bay and Plettenberg Bay by the evening and into Thursday (30 and 31 March 2022).

Impact: 

• Difficulty in navigation for small vessels and personal watercraft may lead to vessels being at risk of taking on water and capsizing.
•  Localised disruptions of small harbours or ports are possible for short period.
• The public is at risk of being swept off coastal rocks due to infrequent large waves.

SAWS furthermore advised Small vessels to seek shelter in harbours, bays, or inlets.

AREAS THAT WILL BE AFFECTED:

• Kamiesberg
• Hondeklip Bay
• Nama Khoi
• Kleinzee
• Cederberg
• Lamberts Bay
• Swartland
• Dassen Island
• Overstrand
• Hermanus
• Cape Agulhas
• Cape Agulhas 2
• Hessequa
• Still Bay
• Mossel Bay
• Knysna
• Plettenberg Bay
• George

KEEP THESE SAFETY TIPS IN MIND:

Top five wave safety tips:

• Selfies; It’s not worth risking your life for ‘that selfie’. Keep off groynes, piers, jetties and harbour walls. Big waves can knock you over in a flash. If you can feel the spray, you’re too close.
• Wave dodging; playing ‘dares’ with waves is dangerous in the best of weathers. Rocks and walls can be slippery, often there’s nothing to grab hold of if you’re caught off balance and rogue waves and strong currents can sweep you out to sea in seconds.
• Doggie dont’s; do keep your canine friends close and on leads if you’re out on the cliffs or the coast. You never know when an ‘interesting’ smell or meeting another dog can lead to trouble. If your dog gets stuck or trapped, call the coastguard for help, we have teams out and about at all times, trained for fast response.
• Cliff crises; avoid a crisis on the cliffs by staying well away from the edges, especially in windy conditions when you and children are at risk of being caught off balance. During and after bad weather, cliff faces are especially unstable and landslides and rock falls are common.
• Keep in touch; keep a note of tide times so you don’t get trapped and take a fully charged mobile (ideally with a location or ‘find me’ app) so you can call for help if things go wrong. Let someone know where you’re going and when you’ll be back.