Dive today — wave <, wind and visibility.
Sources & confidence
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.
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.
Safety gates
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
Wind, wave and the swell windows — when to go and the best hours.
The day is picked above, in the hero. Here are that day's windows, the hour-by-hour map and the trends. Tap a window to break down the conditions.
Leave your email — and the moment a window opens at Annapolis, we'll send the go / no-go verdict. Email is all we need.
What's missing? Tell us what you'd like to see — new spots, species, data or features. We read everything.
Visibility and what drives it — post-storm clearing, river plume, temperature and the thermocline.
spearo.app folds wind, wave, swell period, visibility, tides, water temperature and risk into a single verdict — go to the spot or not. It computes 7 days ahead from open marine models (Open-Meteo, IPMA), with no sign-up and no accounts. Built for solo spearfishing off the rocks, where any mistake costs dearly.
Now live: 3016 spots across 406 stretches of coast — mainland Portugal, Madeira and the Azores.
See all spotsRelief and bottom type, tides, and the depths of each spot.
The models set the window. Whether you go in is read only at the water: count the sets, watch the surge on the entry. If in doubt, you don't get in.
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 mapConcrete spider pilings under the western span of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge, about 3 m. Sheepshead and tautog at slack; striped bass is spear-banned in Maryland and traffic overhead is heavy.
Google MapsDNR reef minutes from Annapolis harbour, about 3 m over soft bottom. Sheepshead and tautog; Maryland's 100-yard rule applies to any vessel nearby as well.
Google MapsThe full spot briefing is part of the subscription: entry, bottom, hazards, tide window.
Open in the appThe full spot briefing is part of the subscription: entry, bottom, hazards, tide window.
Open in the appDNR concrete-rubble reef beside the Naval Academy in about 3 m. Sheepshead and tautog in river water — visibility improves on a high tide with light wind.
Google MapsSOLO is the biggest risk: underwater you can black out from lack of oxygen silently and fatally, with no one around. Solo is never truly «safe». Below are the best weather windows; carry a buoy, tell someone your plan and exit time, and any doubt — don't go.
Cameras, map and reference — to hand as you come up.
Check the cam BEFORE you leave. Foam, brown/green murk, or waves washing the entry rocks = No-go. At night/in fog the cam is useless — treat it as «unknown», NOT «green».
US spearfishing law is state-by-state. License, spearable species, powerhead rules and distances vary; federal sanctuaries (Gray's Reef, the Keys, Flower Garden Banks) ban spearfishing. Always confirm with the state agency and local ordinances.
Spearfishing Annapolis is about short, selective drops on Chesapeake structure. The useful water is around the Bay Bridge western span pilings and nearby DNR reefs, where barnacle growth gives sheepshead and tautog a reason to hold. It is not a striped bass hunt: Maryland bans striped bass by spear. Plan around slack tide, modest boat traffic and a visible dive flag, then keep a hard 100 yd buffer from swimmers, dive flags and boats. For Annapolis water visibility, the harbor cameras help with surface chop, while the offshore buoy is only broad weather context.
These are structure checks rather than beach dives. All three entries deserve conservative planning, with sparse access detail, so treat them as boat-supported or highly local shore-entry plans and do not invent an easy exit where none is obvious.
| Spot | Type | Depth | Level | Access | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chesapeake Bay Bridge western span pilings | Concrete bridge piling structure | Shallow to moderate Chesapeake structure; exact depth varies by piling | Intermediate, best at slack tide | Boat or highly local access planning | The spider pilings are the signature Annapolis target. Work barnacles for sheepshead and tautog, keep clear of navigation traffic, and do not shoot striped bass. |
| Severn River Bridge Reef | DNR concrete-rubble reef | Verify exact reef depth before diving | Intermediate | Boat-supported reef near the Naval Academy | A compact rubble option when the main bay is too busy. It suits careful drops for sheepshead and tautog rather than long roaming dives. |
| Hackett Point Reef | DNR artificial reef | Verify exact reef depth before diving | Intermediate | Boat-supported reef minutes from Annapolis harbor | Useful when you want structure close to town. Watch small craft, set the flag plainly and leave room for traffic moving in and out of the harbor. |
The city is sheltered inside the Chesapeake, so visibility is less about ocean swell and more about tide, wind chop and suspended bay sediment. The local bad sector is southerly, and slack tide is the cleanest working window around pilings. Spa Creek and Annapolis Harbor cameras are good for surface clues, but NDBC 44009 sits far offshore and should not be read as a direct bay-visibility report.
Sheepshead and tautog are the realistic structure targets. Black sea bass, fluke, scup and bluefish appear in the broader regional list, but these bridge and DNR reef structures are mainly sheepshead and tautog water. Striped bass is the important no-go species in Maryland. American lobster is never a spear target, and sturgeon are fully protected.
Treat Maryland as its own rule set, not a generic East Coast trip. Confirm licensing and current limits with Maryland DNR, keep the 100 yd no-shoot buffer around swimmers, boats and displayed dive flags, and do not spear striped bass. If a closure, bridge-security limit or local ordinance is unclear, fail closed and choose a different piece of structure.
Not as a first solo spot. The dives are structure-oriented, traffic-aware and best around slack tide, so an intermediate freediver with local boat support is a better fit.
No. Maryland bans striped bass by spear. Target sheepshead and tautog instead.
Use the harbor cameras for chop and local wind clues, then check tide timing. The offshore NDBC station is useful weather context, not a direct visibility reading.
The local access fields are sparse, so do not assume an easy shore entry. Treat Severn River Bridge Reef and Hackett Point Reef as boat-supported unless you have verified access.
The water is cold-temperate, so a 5 mm suit is a sensible starting point, with final choice depending on season and personal tolerance.
buoy Annapolis, MD: 16.3° · wave 0.1 m · 39 min ago
