Ambodifotatra (Sainte-Marie) · Madagascar

5.3

wave 0.8 m

visibility4m

Today — right on the edge — wave, wind and visibility.

Sources: Open-Meteo · Copernicus — high confidence · data 18:26

Sources & confidence

Sources: Open-Meteo · Copernicus
Method: spearo sea-state engine: consensus of up to 6 models + satellite clarity (ZSD) + buoy-bias checks
Freshness: Re-read every hour, per coast

Compiled by the spearo sea-state engine · How it works →

The verdict comes from seven water factors and hard safety gates — not ten tabs. Go or stay.

How we score the water

Our own model

Our own forecast engine — not a third-party widget. It weighs these water factors into one go-or-stay verdict for this coast; the 0–10 dial is that verdict, read out as a number.

Swell & wave memory: Height, period and direction of the swell, plus the wake of recent storms — an old storm still stirs the water, and the engine remembers.
Wind & gusts: Speed and gusts, hour by hour — wind speed and an onshore push chop the surface and cut visibility.
Tide phase: Timing and range of the tide, calibrated per coast — big spring tides pull the verdict toward caution.
Water temperature: Sea-surface temperature — sharply cold water vetoes a green verdict.
Currents & outflow: Direction and drift of the current — it pushes you, and it drags turbid coastal water across where you dive.
Rain runoff & air clarity: Rain muddies the water inshore through land runoff, while fog and haze cut visibility at the surface.
Coast shape & exposure: How the coast faces the swell — a sheltered cove keeps the water clean; an exposed, head-on point takes a penalty.

Safety gates

Thunderstorm forecast — an instant red, no exceptions.
An official warning (MeteoAlarm / IPMA) — yellow, or red for the higher ranks.
Missing input data — a would-be green is capped to yellow rather than overstated.
Strong disagreement between forecast models — a green day is pulled back to yellow.
Night hours — where night spearfishing is banned by law the window is forced red; where it is legal (Australia outside NSW, New Zealand, South Africa) it is capped at yellow, never green.

It all folds into a single 0–10 score and one verdict: go or stay.

A forecast, not a guarantee — the sea has the last word.

Where to get in, where to hunt

Entry points with coordinates

Seabed relief — promising ground

This verdict — in your pocket. Open the app for the week's window.

More spots

Spots in Madagascar

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Nearby towns

Nosy Be & North-West

Ambatoloaka (Nosy Be)

Diego-Suarez (North)

South-West & West coast

East coast & Sainte-Marie

Tôlanaro (Fort-Dauphin)

spearo.app — All countries

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Where to get in
off the rocks.

Scouted entries, coloured by today. The colour is the sea state at the spot, not a guarantee: the wash and a slippery entry you judge on site.

Open the seafloor map

Ambodiatafana natural poolsAmbodifotatra (Sainte-Marie)

borderline

Madagascar: recreational and sport fishing need a protocol and a licence from the Fisheries Ministry (Loi 2015-053 art. 41–42; Décret 2016-1492 art. 27). Spearfishing with scuba and at night: rules not confirmed — check locally.

in the headland's lee today — swell from the quarter/behind

window: —

Natural rock pools, sheltered basins for snorkelling, entry from the beach. The water stays calm here even when the ocean is rough offshore. Point placed on the water off the shore the source names; approx.

Google Maps

Île aux Nattes south reefAmbodifotatra (Sainte-Marie)

borderline

What's in season,
what the law says.

In season now

no targets this month

Law

Madagascar: recreational and sport fishing require a protocol and a licence from the Fisheries Ministry (Loi 2015-053 art. 41–42; Décret 2016-1492 art. 27). Rules on spearfishing with scuba and at night are not confirmed. Marine national parks such as Nosy Tanikely and Nosy Hara ban all fishing, spearfishing included. Check locally before diving.

Safety protocol

Sets: watch the wave trains ≥15 min before entering; Hmax ≈ 2×Hs, the wash can run 50 m past the foam line. A lull >10 min with period >12 s = a big set «overdue», do NOT enter; enter right after a full set passes and re-check at minute 30.
Exit FIRST: find your exit AND a backup before entering. On a rocky/boulder shore a 0.5 m rise in swell can make the exit impossible — getting pinned/unable to climb out is the main killer.
Headland rip: prominent points often have a permanent topographic rip regardless of the model — locate it, enter/exit on the windward side, never swim against it.
Cold: wetsuit per the SST chip; the first shiver = a metabolic surge and a drop in breath-hold → get out at the first steady shiver. Cap the session at 45–60 min below 15 °C.
Solo discipline: buoy up; tell someone the spot and exit time; conservative breath-hold (never push it in cold/murky/surfy water); visibility <3 m — don't enter.
Afternoon wind: on many coasts the wind builds from midday — plan to be out of the water by midday; the chop builds — get out.
UV 11:00–15:00 (UVI ≥6): sunscreen and cover up on the surface interval.
Solo is a fundamental risk (hypoxic blackout with no buddy). Any doubt = No-go.