Antofagasta spearfishing forecast — wind, swell, visibility, tides & live cameras

Antofagasta · Chile
2.7
wave 1.3 m head-on
visibility3m

Today — sit it outwave, wind and surge pounding.

Sources: IPMA · NDBC · Copernicushigh confidence · data 13:14

Sources & confidence

Sources
IPMA · NDBC buoys · Copernicus Marine
Method
Model consensus, read per window
Freshness
Re-read every hour, per coast

Compiled by the spearo sea-state engine

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 — forced red; the window is closed after dark.

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.

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0 m

Surface

Wind, wave and the swell windows — when to go and the best hours.

spearo.app
calmupdated 13:14
Antofagasta — solo, off the rocks
DON'T GO
don't go · wave 1.3 m (occasionally up to ~2.5 m)
wave 1.3 m head-onwind 14, gusts 31 km/hsurge pounding the rocksvisibility ~4 m
today, best window 12:00–15:00
fish · Visibility 4 m · Water 18.3°C
confidence medium · verdict for the selected day
Whole week — tap a day. is driving swell right now.
Solo risk: carry a float · tell someone your plan and exit time · doubt = don't go. A model-based planner; the call is made on site.
Selected day

Windows, hours
and the day's trends.

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.

Wednesday · today2026-07-22
07:2118:14 · first quarter
04:00 10:00 15:00 22:00 · 0.7 m
Hours (06→20)
12
15
18
Day's trends
Tide-0.13 m
Wave1.50 m
Wind1 km/h
Water18 °C
fish activity: moonset 01:32 · moderate · moon underfoot 07:10 · high · moonrise 12:41 · moderate · moon overhead 19:30 · high
Conditions window12:00–15:00
don't go fish
Hs 1.26 mperiod 7.3 s head-onwind 14→31surge 8.2viz 3 m
1.26 mup to ~2.52 · 247° head-on
7.3 sswell moderate
14→31gusts 31 km/h
8.2pounding the rocks
0.17m/s
3 mrecent swell
18.3°C5 mm + hood
▲15:00tide turn near
Atmosphere18 kmlandmarks visible
moderatemoonrise
  • wave 1.3 m (occasionally up to ~2.5 m)
  • wind-wave — choppy surface
  • flood toward high water
confidence mediumday
Open the seafloor map with entry points

Your best window — with you. Forecast in your pocket.

Android: the public release is in Google Play review — leave your email and we'll send beta access today.

Android beta — QR code
point your camera
−10 m

The water column

Visibility and what drives it — post-storm clearing, river plume, temperature and the thermocline.

What it is

A marine instrument,
go / no-go for solo hunting.

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: 1152 spots across 189 stretches of coast — mainland Portugal, Madeira and the Azores.

See all spots
−20 m

The seabed

Relief and bottom type, tides, and the depths of each spot.

On the rock

The forecast is the plan.
The call is on the rock.

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.

Entry points

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
Caleta ColosoAntofagasta
dangerous
exposed head-on to the swell today
window
tide
shelter
hazard
access

Cove to the south, rock and kelp 0–18 m, shore; less pressure. Coords approx.

Google Maps
La PortadaAntofagasta
dangerous
exposed head-on to the swell today
window
tide
shelter
hazard
access

Arch and reefs north of the city, 0–15 m; iconic, some tourist traffic. Coords approx.

Google Maps

SOLO 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.

One morning glance — and you know.

Android: the public release is in Google Play review — leave your email and we'll send beta access today.

Android beta — QR code
point your camera

Surfacing

Cameras, map and reference — to hand as you come up.

Live cameras, map & reference
Cameras · live

Look at the water
right now.

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».

connecting to the stream…
● LIVE
Antofagasta — PuertoWindy webcam (Antofagasta — Puerto) — official keyless webcams.windy.com player, plays inline. Read the water before you go.camera: windy
Open the seafloor map →
Reference

What's in season,
what the law says.

In season now
  • Chilean sandperch (vieja)
    Graus nigra · 3–40 m · ⚠️ closed season/limit
    ⚠️ Limit 1 fish/day, no minimum size. Heavily speared — better to release.
  • Chilean sheephead
    Semicossyphus darwini · 3–30 m · ⚠️ closed season/limit
    ⚠️ Limit 1 fish/day, no minimum size. Heavily speared — better to release.
  • Peruvian grunt
    Anisotremus scapularis · 1–20 m · legal
    Limit 5 fish/day (overall cap ≤10/jornada). No minimum size.
  • Chilean sandperch (rollizo)
    Pinguipes chilensis · 2–30 m · legal
    Limit 5 fish/day (overall cap ≤10/jornada). No minimum size.
  • Peruvian morwong
    Cheilodactylus variegatus · 1–25 m · legal
    Limit 5 fish/day (overall cap ≤10/jornada). No minimum size.
  • Lorna drum
    Sciaena deliciosa · 2–25 m · legal
    Limit 5 fish/day (overall cap ≤10/jornada). No minimum size.
  • snoek
    Thyrsites atun · 0–30 m · legal
  • yellowtail amberjack
    Seriola lalandi · 3–40 m · legal
  • corvina drum
    Cilus gilberti · 2–30 m · ⚠️ closed season/limit
    ⚠️ Biological closure 1 Oct–30 Nov. Min 40 cm (TL), limit 3/day.
  • palm ruff
    Seriolella violacea · 3–40 m · ⚠️ closed season/limit
    ⚠️ Closed 1–31 Aug. Min 30 cm (Atacama–Coquimbo).
  • Chilean jack mackerel
    Trachurus murphyi · 0–40 m · legal
  • jerguilla
    Aplodactylus punctatus · 1–20 m · legal
  • apañado
    Hemilutjanus macrophthalmos · 5–40 m · legal
  • rock bass
    Paralabrax humeralis · 3–30 m · legal
  • flounder
    Paralichthys sp. · 2–30 m · legal
  • elephant fish
    Callorhinchus callorhynchus · 5–40 m · ⚠️ release
    Mandatory release (catch-and-release). Do not keep.
  • humpback smoothhound
    Mustelus whitneyi · 5–40 m · ⚠️ release
    Mandatory release (catch-and-release). Do not keep.
  • Chilean abalone (loco)
    Concholepas concholepas · 1–20 m · 🚫 no-take
    🚫 Permanent extraction ban to 31 Dec 2028 (Arica→Aysén). Benthos — by hand by the AMERB org, not speargun; no recreational take.
Law
  • 🚫 Loco (Concholepas) — permanent ban to 31 Dec 2028 (Arica→Aysén). Only by hand by the AMERB org; outsiders/recreational barred.
  • Elephant fish (Callorhinchus) and smoothhounds (Mustelus) — mandatory release. Don't shoot.
  • AMERB areas (hundreds of polygons): benthos (loco/lapa/erizo) — exclusive to fisher orgs, don't take; fish by speargun — grey zone, check locally.
  • Marine mammals, sea turtles, penguins — protected; do not touch.
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.
Local guide · Antofagasta

Spearfishing in Antofagasta: spots, seasons and rules

Updated 2026-07-09 · By Oleksandr, spearfisher

Antofagasta is an exposed desert-rock session, not a protected cove plan. La Portada gives the famous arch and 0-15 m reefs; Caleta Coloso is quieter, with kelp and rock to 18 m south of town. Go early, confirm the ledge exit and keep the swim compact. SERNAPESCA, RAV closures, closed loco and AMERB limits apply.

TL;DR

  • La Portada is the arch-and-reef option; Coloso is the quieter kelp cove south of town.
  • Read southwest period and port foam before committing to the rock entries.
  • Licence, RAV closures, closed loco and AMERB benthos rules travel with you.

Where can you spearfish in Antofagasta?

Use La Portada for the recognizable northern reef scene and Coloso for a quieter southern entry. Both are intermediate shore marks, not fallbacks for rough swell.

SpotTypeDepthLevelAccessNotes
La PortadaArch and rock0-15 mIntermediateShore entryArch and reefs north of the city, 0-15 m; iconic, some tourist traffic. Coords approx. Check the exit.
Caleta ColosoRocky cove0-18 mIntermediateShore entryCove to the south, rock and kelp 0-18 m, shore; less pressure. Coords approx. Check the exit.

How should Antofagasta be timed?

Small swell and light wind matter more than season. Humboldt upwelling can bring cold water even under clear skies, so read foam on the ledges before entering. Chile requires the SERNAPESCA recreational licence and includes sport diving, apnea and spearguns in the activity. Loco is closed to recreational take until 31 Dec 2028; elephant fish and smoothhounds are release-only. North of the city, the Reserva Marina La Rinconada is a no-take marine reserve, so confirm its limits and keep it off the hunting plan.

FAQ

Which Antofagasta entry is quieter?

Caleta Coloso, south of town.

What is La Portada depth?

It is listed at 0-15 m.

What shuts it down?

A southwest pulse putting foam on the rock exit.

Is the port camera final proof?

No. It is only an early filter.

Can I take loco?

No recreational loco take during the current closure.

Sources

Nearby towns

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