- window
- With Scirocco in the forecast the useful window shortens by itself, long before sunset. A hundred metres is the minimum from fixed fishing installations and from vessels anchored outside harbours. With the 80 m that separate you from five metres of water, the return in daylight is planned from the start. At Bagnara Calabra the season conditions the law more than it conditions the sea.
- tide
- With a range that small the entry rock sits at the same level at any hour. If anything changes the level at Bagnara Calabra, it is pressure and wind, not the moon. The way back, 80 m to the five-metre band, is decided beforehand and not on the way. In a hard Scirocco the water piles up inshore and drains away sideways.
- shelter
- With an exposure of 140° the awkward sector runs from east to south, and outside it the day is usually saved. An inlet closed between two points holds while the sea arrives across it; head on, it does not hold at all. At Bagnara Calabra whoever gets in first checks, whoever gets in out of habit is trusting yesterday. The 90 m that separate the shore from ten metres of water tell you how much sea it takes to ruin the day.
- conditions
- 200 m of swimming is all it takes to have twenty metres under you: the slope is steep and the bottom breaks away early. The 10 m contour runs about 90 m from the shore and is the practical reference for this entry. At Bagnara Calabra the good days are few and have to be taken when they come. The nearest river mouth is the first thing to look at after rain.
- hazard
- At Bagnara Calabra, as along the whole Italian coast, the surface marker and the 50 m radius are not negotiable. Coves also collect what the sea brings: lost nets and lines on the bottom. At 30 m from the shore no emergency sorts itself out: come out at the first sign. Keep in mind the 30 m that separate you from the coast when you decide on the last descent.
- access
- At Bagnara Calabra the entry at the head of the cove is the one that holds up best even in a made-up sea. With the shore 30 m away and five metres of water at 80 m, the band to cross is a short one. From the entry point to the shore there are 30 m, and they are the metres that weigh most on the return. The last stretch back to land, 30 m, is always done with less breath than you expected.
Gravel cove with quick depth; sea bream, sea bass. More diveable than Scilla when current runs.
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