Cape St. Francis

This article is about the town in South Africa. For the headland in Newfoundland, see Cape St. Francis (Newfoundland and Labrador).

Cape St. Francis
View of Cape St. Francis from the Seal Point Lighthouse
Cape St. Francis Cape St. Francis
Coordinates: 34°11′49″S 24°50′17″E
Country	South Africa
Province	Eastern Cape
District	Sarah Baartman
Municipality	Kouga
Area
• Total	4.38 km2 (1.69 sq mi)
Population  (2011)
• Total	342
• Density	78/km2 (200/sq mi)
Racial makeup (2011)
• Black African	3.5%
• Coloured	1.8%
• White	94.7%
First languages (2011)
• English	55.6%
• Afrikaans	42.1%
• Xhosa	1.8%
• Other	0.6%
Time zone	UTC+2 (SAST)

Cape St. Francis (Afrikaans: Kaap St Francis) is a village in South Africa, situated on a headland in the Eastern Cape Province. It is popular for its clean beaches and as a surfing location.

The village is home to the Seal Point Lighthouse.

The Irma Booysen Floral Reserve is the home to many species of flowers and plants.

The adjacent village, St Francis Bay, was the site of "ten-million-to-one" surfing waves seen in the 1966 surf/travel documentary, The Endless Summer.

Cape St. Francis is now known as one of the best surfing locations. Given its geological location, it is susceptible to swell year round from large low pressure systems that form between Antarctica and the southern tip of Africa. When large south west swells wrap around Seal Point and the prevailing offshore winds come up, the surfing is world class.

It is also featured in the 2014 film The Perfect Wave, starring Scott Eastwood.

Bartolomeu Dias originally named the cape Ponta das Quiemadas because of the fires he spotted there while sailing past.

See also

• St. Francis Bay
• Venpet–Venoil collision

External links

• Proposed E Cape nuclear plant met with resistance