Plan with the forecast in view
Pick a spot, a sport and a window, and the forecast for exactly that window updates as you go, with a nudge towards the best hours.
Surf, bodyboard, SUP and six more
Know before you paddle out.
Swell rates every hour at 25 South African spots for the sport you ride. Then it gets your crew there: the invite, the time to leave, the packing list and a nudge before you go.
Invite-only for now. Works on any phone, no app store needed.
25spots on the coast
9water sports rated
6wind models compared
18live cams
38clubs to connect with
Swell in a minute
See it before you try it.
A one-minute tour of the app, from the morning check to the ride summary. Sound on for the soundtrack.
From forecast to the line-up
Four steps from "is it on?" to the drive home.
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1
Check
Wind, swell, period, tide and water temperature become one score out of 10 for each sport, hour by hour. Epic, Good, Fair, Poor or No go, always in words as well as colour.
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2
Plan
Pick a spot and a window and Swell shows the forecast for exactly that. Lock it in, or put it to a vote and let the crew say if they are keen.
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3
Go
A leave-by time from your own home area, a packing list for the sport and the water temperature, and a reminder on your phone before it is time.
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4
Ride
Clock the session, switch effort as it happens, and finish. Calories, XP and badges land in your diary, with the conditions you rode.
Dashboard
Your morning check, in one look.
The best bet among your pinned spots for the sport you choose, your next sessions with who is going, and right-now wind, waves, period, water, air and the next tide.
- Only your sports, at the hours you can go
- Knots or km/h, your choice
- Wetsuit advice from the water temperature
Weather
The detail the forecasters look at.
A Windguru-style table every three hours for eight days, or hour by hour for one, with a score for each of your sports in every column. Six wind models side by side, and how well they agree, so you know when to trust the forecast.
- ECMWF, GFS, ICON, Meteo-France, UKMO and GEM
- Plain words on what today means for each sport
- A Meteosat picture, and the last seven days to see what you missed
Map
The whole coast, live.
Every spot as a pin in its rating colour, with an arrow for where the wind is blowing. Tap one for its forecast, its cams and who is there right now. Night, Ocean and Satellite maps.
- Epic and Good pins pulse
- 18 live cams play right in the panel
- Near me finds the closest good spot, and who else is out
Plans and people
Get the crew in the water together.
Plan a session with the forecast in view, then let Swell do the running around: invites, answers, the time to leave and what to bring.
Lock it in or put it to a vote
Ask who is keen first, and lock it in when enough of the crew says yes.
Invites that need no account
Members get a push; anyone else gets an email or a WhatsApp message and answers with one tap.
Surf at Big Bay, Tomorrow 06:30 to 09:00.
Fair for surf: 8 kn SSE (cross-offshore), 0.8 m at 7 s, water 16°.
Join here: app.swellapp.co.za/j/…
- Kai, via Swell
See who is in
Going, maybe and not yet answered, with a WhatsApp nudge for anyone who has gone quiet.
Pack once
A list for the sport and the water temperature that ticks off on your phone.
Leave on time
A plan for the day from your home area: when to eat, when to leave, when to be in the water.
Reminders
Your phone taps you on the shoulder.
The evening before, a heads-up with the forecast. An hour before, the reminder to go, with the time to leave. Invites, lock-ins and call-offs as they happen. Choose which ones you want, and when.
On iPhone, notifications need Swell on your Home Screen.
05:30
Sunday 25 October
Swellnow
Big Bay in 60 min
Fair for surf: 8 kn SSE (cross-offshore), 0.8 m at 7 s, water 16°. Leave by 05:35.
Swellyesterday, 19:00
Tomorrow: Dawn patrol at Big Bay
06:30 at Big Bay. Fair for surf: 8 kn SSE (cross-offshore), 0.8 m at 7 s, water 16°. Leave by 05:35.
In the water
Clock it. Then see how it went.
Tap Paddle out and leave the phone in the car. Switch between Cruisy, Steady and Full send if you have it with you, then add your waves and any breaks at the finish.
Calories that add up
Each stretch is costed at its own effort with the 2024 Compendium of Physical Activities, at your own weight and resting burn.
XP, levels and badges
From Grom to Swell Legend. Dawn Patrol, Cold Water Hero, Explorer, Crew Captain and eight more to earn.
A diary of every session
Plans and rides in one place, with the conditions you had and how the season is going.
Community
The crew on the beach, in your pocket.
Beach reports and alerts
The shark flag, water quality, bluebottles, a strong rip or an animal in trouble, posted by the crew and gone when stale. The serious ones push an alert to everyone with that spot pinned.
Clubs and chats
38 clubs, from lifesaving to canoeing, each with a community chat. Open a session from the chat and the club answers right there.
Swop shop
Sell, swop or give away boards, wetsuits and gear, with up to six photos and a pin on the map, so you can see what is close.
Beach reports come from the crew, not from Shark Spotters or the City. Always check the flag and the lifeguards on the beach.
Light and dark
Easy on the eyes at 4 am.
Dark for the dawn check, light for the beach in full sun, or let your phone decide. Drag to compare.
Nine sports, each rated its own way
Waves, wind or flat water.
A clean offshore morning is Epic for surf and No go for kite. Swell scores every hour for each sport separately, and shows you only the ones you ride.
- SurfBoard, leash, waves
- BodyboardFins and shore break
- Stand-up paddleBoard, paddle, flat water
- Kitesurf15 to 25 knots
- Wing foilLighter wind
- WindsurfFlat or waves
- SurfskiFlat paddles and downwind runs
- Canoe and kayakCalm water
- Open-water swimCap, goggles, calm sea
Where
25 spots from Langebaan to Ballito.
Each one knows which way its beach faces, its swell window and how exposed it is, so the rating is for the beach, not the open sea.
- Western Cape 16
- Muizenberg, Big Bay, Strand, Dolphin Beach, Llandudno, Glen Beach, Long Beach, Noordhoek, Kalk Bay, Gordon's Bay, Langebaan, Hermanus, Mossel Bay, Victoria Bay, Buffalo Bay, Plettenberg Bay
- Eastern Cape 5
- Jeffreys Bay, Pollock Beach, Port Alfred, Nahoon Reef, Cintsa
- Durban and KZN 4
- North Beach, Addington, Umhlanga, Ballito
Australia is next.
Pricing Proposed
Free to start. Gold when you are hooked.
Community is for everyone: clubs, chats, invites and beach reports are in every plan.
Free
R0 for ever
Everything you need to check and go.
- Ratings for every spot and sport, 5 days ahead
- The map, live cams and beach reports
- Plans, votes and invites to anyone
- Clubs, chats and two groups of up to 8
- Clock sessions, XP, badges and your diary
- Two Swop shop listings at a time
Our pick
Gold
R24.99 a month or R199 a year, a third off
For the dawn patrol regulars.
- 16 days ahead, hour by hour
- Six wind models and how well they agree
- An alert when a pinned spot turns Good or Epic
- For you: ratings learned from your own stars
- Unlimited pins and Swop listings, groups up to 25
- Season totals for every sport
Premium
R49.99 a month or R449 a year
For families, coaches and clubs.
- Everything in Gold, shared with up to 4 people
- Start a club and run its events
- Groups of any size
- Leaderboards and challenges with your crew
- First access to new countries, Australia first
Prices in rand. Swell is free for everyone while it is invite-only.
Get the app
On your Home Screen in three taps.
Swell is a web app, so there is nothing to download from a store. Open it, add it to your Home Screen, and it opens full screen like any other app, with notifications.
Open SwellGetting in
Swell is invite-only while it grows. Ask the person who invited you to add you, and your login comes by email. Invited to a session? Answer straight from the email or WhatsApp link, no account needed.
- Open Swell in Safari. Other browsers on iPhone cannot add it.
- Tap Share at the bottom of the screen.
- Tap Add to Home Screen, then Add.
- Open Swell from the new icon and turn on notifications in your profile.
- Open Swell in Chrome.
- Tap Install when Chrome offers it, or the menu then Install app.
- Open Swell from the new icon.
- Allow notifications when Swell asks.
- Open Swell in Chrome or Edge.
- Click the install icon at the right of the address bar.
- Swell opens in its own window, and you can pin it to the taskbar or the Dock.
On iPhone, notifications only work once Swell is on your Home Screen (iOS 16.4 or later).
FAQ
Good questions.
Where do the forecasts come from?
From Open-Meteo's marine and weather models, refreshed through the day, with six wind models compared side by side. The ratings are Swell's own: each spot's direction, swell window and exposure turn the open-sea forecast into what reaches the beach.
Do I need to download it from an app store?
No. Open Swell in your phone's browser and add it to your Home Screen. It updates itself, so you always have the latest version.
How do I get an account?
Swell is invite-only while it grows. Ask the person who told you about it to add you. If you were invited to a session, you can answer straight from the email or WhatsApp link without an account.
Is it free?
Yes, for everyone while Swell is invite-only. When paid plans arrive, the free plan stays, with clubs, chats, invites and beach reports for everyone.
Are the beach reports official?
No. Shark flags and water reports come from the crew on the beach, and each one expires after a few hours. Always check with the lifeguards and Shark Spotters before you go in.
Does it work on iPhone and Android?
Both, and on a computer too. On iPhone, add Swell to your Home Screen from Safari to get notifications.
Which spots are covered?
25 along the South African coast, from Langebaan and the Cape Peninsula through the Garden Route and the Eastern Cape to Durban and Ballito. Australia is next.
Knots or km/h?
Either. Pick one in your profile and every page uses it.