WorldNamibia › Karas › Spencer Bay

Spencer Bay 71.9

#2234 of 5756 surf spots in the world · 🇳🇦 Namibia · Karas · near Lüderitz

Works almost every day, no off season, thick rubber.

Works all yearRemoteAdvanced
Spencer Bay, Namibia
Photo: Hp.Baumeler · CC BY-SA 4.0 · source
Surf score71.9 /100
Surfable days99% of the year
Clean days25% groundswell + friendly wind
Groundswell66% period 11 s+
Typical size2.1 m 7.1 ft median
Water13°C a 4/3 with boots

Best time to surf Spencer Bay

The best time to surf Spencer Bay is May, June, July. The season runs May to Jul. In July the water sits around 12°C, so pack a 5/4 with boots and hood, and the typical wave is 2.4 m. The nearest airport is WDH (448 km) and the nearest town is Lüderitz (107 km).

MonthSurfableCleanSizeWaterSuit
Jan100%11%2.1 m15°C4/3
Feb100%14%2.0 m16°C4/3
Mar100%16%2.0 m16°C4/3
Apr100%33%2.0 m14°C4/3
May100%43%2.1 m13°C5/4
Jun98%56%2.1 m12°C5/4
Jul97%60%2.4 m12°C5/4
Aug98%38%2.5 m11°C5/4
Sep99%17%2.2 m12°C5/4
Oct99%22%2.2 m12°C5/4
Nov100%9%2.1 m13°C4/3
Dec100%11%2.1 m15°C4/3

What is under Spencer Bay

Eight kilometres out along its swell window the sea floor sits over 41 m.

Depth 8 km out41 m
Depth 4 km out21 m

Measured, not estimated: NOAA ETOPO 2022 global relief at 15 arc-seconds, about 460 m per cell, sampled along this spot’s own swell window. At that scale the survey sees passes and channels; it cannot see a reef ledge, so nothing here is said about how the wave breaks.

Why 71.9

Seven parts, each normalised 0 to 1 and multiplied by its weight; the sum is scaled so the best spot in the world scores 100. Wave quality and what the spot does on its best days carry more than half of it, which is what separates this from a ranking of where the water is warm.

Wave quality 34.7%
19.5
Best days 22.4%
16.7
Clean days 18.4%
11.4
Consistency 10.2%
10.2
Season spread 4.1%
4.1
Water comfort 6.1%
0.1
Access 4.1%
0.2

The detail

Faces 280° with 47% open water around it. Friendly morning wind 38% of days. Mean peak period 11.7 s. Days over 3 m: 12%. On its best tenth of days it reaches 3.1 m, with a peak period of 14 s. Mellow days (0.4 to 1.2 m): 2%. Months that work: 12 of 12. Coordinates -25.731, 14.838 (OpenStreetMap).

What it costs to be here

Living here
€792/ month
typically €697 – €887
Rent, one bedroom€416
Groceries€168
Eating out€96
Getting around€56
Phone + internet€60
Renting by the month, cooking most days, local transport.
One month here
€1,540/ month
typically €1,360 – €1,730
Somewhere to stay€912
Eating out€324
Car, transfers, fuel€212
Data + extras€100
Short stays, eating out, a car or transfers.
49% cheaper if you live here instead of visiting

Remote spot, so the local estimate is 20% below the country average. Estimate: World Bank PPP price level for Namibia (2025, United States = 1.00) applied to a fixed surfer basket, then adjusted for how remote the spot is. Your own number moves with the season and how you live.

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