The sea off Cape Coast

Waves, swell, wind and water temperature off Cape Coast's beaches, read fresh and looking six days ahead — for the canoes going out and for anyone getting in the water.

What the sea off Cape Coast is doing today, and for the next six days: wave height, the swell period behind it, which way the wind is blowing across the beach, and how warm the water is. It is a forecast, read fresh every time this page is opened — nothing here is typed in by hand.

One reading, for the whole town's shore. The model that produces these numbers works on a grid about nine kilometres across, and every Cape Coast landing beach — Duakor Abakam and Ola in the west, the shore below the castle, Ekon in the east — sits inside one square of it. Showing a separate number per beach would look more precise than the data is. What each beach then does with that swell is local knowledge, and the people on the beach have it.

The number to watch is the period, not just the height

A metre of swell at six seconds and a metre at twelve seconds are not the same sea. The longer the period, the more energy each wave carries onto the beach, and the harder it breaks in the shorebreak a canoe has to get through. When the period climbs well into double figures with the height barely moving, that is long-travelled South Atlantic swell arriving, and it is what has flooded and damaged homes along this coast in past surges.

Tuesday is still the fishing holiday

The traditional weekly fishing holiday on Tuesday is kept along this coast whatever the sea is doing, and it is enforced locally rather than by the forecast. Closed-season rules and the current notices are on the Fishing rules & seasons page.

This is a model, not a measurement

There is no wave buoy off Cape Coast. These figures come from a global ocean model, and Open-Meteo says plainly that its coastal accuracy is limited and that it is not for navigation. Treat the page as a heads-up before you leave the house — never as permission to go out.

Off Cape Coast

The open water in front of the town, covering the whole run of landing beaches from Duakor Abakam to Ekon.

Workable — manageable for small boats; keep an eye on the wind

Waves: 0.7 m · 2 ft
Swell: 8s from the S
Wind: 12 km/h from the S — onshore
Sea temperature: 23.9°C

Next few days

Day	Waves	Wind	Looks like
Wed, 2 Sept	0.9 m · 3 ft	13 km/h SW (onshore)	Workable — manageable for small boats; keep an eye on the wind
Thu, 3 Sept	0.8 m · 3 ft	15 km/h SW (onshore)	Workable — manageable for small boats; keep an eye on the wind
Fri, 4 Sept	0.8 m · 3 ft	15 km/h SW (cross-shore)	Workable — manageable for small boats; keep an eye on the wind

A forecast is not the sea itself

These are open-water model forecasts, not what the water is doing where you are — out here the weather turns fast, and there are no lifeguards. Wear a life jacket, tell someone your plan and your return time, and if it looks wrong, stay in. In an emergency call 112, or the Ghana National Fire Service on 192. NADMO is reached through 112.

Forecast updated 1 September at 1:06 pm. Weather and marine data by Open-Meteo (CC BY 4.0).

The sea off Cape Coast

The sea off Cape Coast

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Off Cape Coast

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