Liberty Ship Thomas HaywardDestin
dangerousexposed head-on to the swell today
- window
- tide
- shelter
- hazard
- access
WWII Liberty ship; big grouper.
Google MapsDestin spearfishing forecast — wind, swell, visibility, tides & live cameras
2.5
💧 Water should clear by Saturday (~3d)
visibility1m
Today — sit it out — wave, wind and surge pounding. 💧 Water should clear by Saturday (~3d)
Sources: IPMA · NDBC · Copernicus — high confidence · data 17:39
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
Surface
Wind, wave and the swell windows — when to go and the best hours.
spearo.app
calmupdated 17:39
Destin — solo, off the rocks
don't go · wave 2.5 m (occasionally up to ~5.1 m)
wave 2.5 m head-onwind 33, gusts 47 km/hsurge pounding the rocksvisibility ~1 m
today, best window 15:00–18:00
fish · Visibility 1 m · Water 29°C
confidence low · 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
05:58–19:46 · first quarter
▲ 04:00▼ 17:00 · 0.6 m
Hours (06→20)
15
18
Day's trends
Tide0.08 m
Wave2.20 m
Wind23 km/h
Water29 °C
fish activity: moonset 00:16 · moderate · moon underfoot 07:20 · high · moonrise 14:21 · moderate · moon overhead 19:40 · high
Conditions window15:00–18:00
don't go fish
Hs 2.54 mperiod 7.7 s head-onwind 33→47surge 15.9viz 1 m
2.54 mup to ~5.08 · 206° head-on
7.7 sswell moderate
33→47gusts 47 km/h
15.9pounding the rocks
0.22m/s
1 mrecent swell
29°C5 mm + hood
▼17:00tide turn near
Atmosphere20 kmovercast
lowoff the lunar peaks
- wave 2.5 m (occasionally up to ~5.1 m)
- steep wind-wave — choppy surface, careful on entry
- low water — slack
confidence lowday
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 spotsThe 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
Miss LouiseDestin
dangerousexposed head-on to the swell today
- window
- tide
- shelter
- hazard
- access
Shallowest Destin wreck, easy freedive.
Google MapsRMS CyclopsDestin
dangerousexposed head-on to the swell today
- window
- tide
- shelter
- hazard
- access
Steel wreck, 27-ft relief.
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.
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».
Reference
What's in season,
what the law says.
In season now
- sheepshead
- mangrove/mutton snapper
- gag/red grouperSeason is state-set — check before you go.
- hogfish
- cobia
- flounder
Law
- ✓Florida: saltwater licence $17 res / $47 non-res; reef fish need the free State Reef Fish Angler (SRFS) designation. NC: CRFL; SC/GA: saltwater licence.
- ✓Distances (FL): 100 yd from beaches/piers/bridges, 100 ft from the above-water part of a jetty. banned in FL and SC; rebreathers are illegal for spearfishing in FL.
- ✓SC: gamefish (red drum/seatrout/cobia/tarpon/striped bass) hook-and-line only (§50-5-1700). GA: speargun doubtful in state water — real hunting on federal reefs.
- ⛔ 🚫 Do not spear (FL FAC 68B-20.005): snook, red drum, spotted seatrout, tarpon, bonefish, pompano, goliath/Nassau grouper, billfish, sharks, rays + ornamental reef families.
- ⛔ 🚫 Spiny lobster/stone crab — hand-take only (no puncturing). banned in FL and SC. Monroe County (Long Key north to the Miami-Dade line — incl. Key Largo): spearfishing banned; the lionfish licence exemption does NOT override it — hand-held nets only there.
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.
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.
Spearfishing in Destin: spots, seasons and rules
Destin spearfishing is a wreck-selection problem before it is a species problem. The listed sites are Miss Louise, RMS Cyclops and Liberty Ship Thomas Hayward, all yellow with medium solo severity. Miss Louise is described as the shallowest Destin wreck and an easy freedive. Cyclops is a steel wreck with 27 ft of relief. Thomas Hayward is the big-grouper Liberty ship, which means grouper season and identification matter before anyone loads a gun.
TL;DR
- Destin is a Florida wreck page, led by Miss Louise, RMS Cyclops and Liberty Ship Thomas Hayward.
- The south-facing Gulf exposure has 150 to 225 degrees marked poor, with 185 degrees the worst direction.
- Florida saltwater license figures and the free State Reef Fish Angler designation apply to reef-fish plans.
- Florida no-spear species include snook, red drum, spotted seatrout, tarpon, bonefish, pompano, goliath and Nassau grouper, sharks, rays and more.
Which Destin wreck should be checked first?
The city set moves from easier freedive wreck to higher-relief steel and then a Liberty ship. Match the wreck to the crew, not the other way around. East Pass cameras can help with surface water, but the offshore wreck still needs its own visibility call.
| Spot | Type | Depth | Level | Access | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Miss Louise | Shallow Destin wreck | Shallowest Destin wreck; exact depth is not stated | Accessible freedive wreck when conditions allow | Boat access | Miss Louise is described as the easiest freedive wreck in the Destin set. It is the sensible first check on a marginal but legal day. |
| RMS Cyclops | Steel wreck | 27 ft of relief is listed | Intermediate boat dive | Boat access | Cyclops has enough relief to concentrate fish and enough structure to demand careful drops. Keep the divers-down display clean. |
| Liberty Ship Thomas Hayward | WWII Liberty ship wreck | Large wreck; exact depth is not stated | Intermediate to advanced boat dive | Boat access | The Thomas Hayward note names big grouper. Florida grouper seasons and protected grouper rules must be checked before treating that as a target. |
Why do Destin divers start with wreck choice?
Miss Louise, Cyclops and Thomas Hayward are very different objectives. A shallow freedive wreck, a 27 ft relief steel wreck and a Liberty ship should not be used interchangeably. South-sector Gulf energy from 150 to 225 degrees can also make a good-looking beach day poor offshore.
What Florida distance rules matter around East Pass?
Florida rules list 100 yards from beaches, piers and bridges, and 100 feet from the above-water part of a jetty. Destin has cameras for Henderson Beach, East Pass and the bridge, but those are condition tools, not permission to hunt near restricted structures.
Which Destin fish are listed?
The local species mix includes sheepshead, mangrove or mutton snapper, gag or red grouper, hogfish, cobia and flounder. Gag or red grouper carries a state-set season or limit caution. Reef fish also bring the free State Reef Fish Angler designation.
What is off limits in Florida?
The protected list includes snook, red drum, spotted seatrout, tarpon, bonefish, pompano, goliath and Nassau grouper, billfish, sharks, rays and ornamental reef families. Spiny lobster and stone crab are hand-take only. Powerheads are banned and rebreathers are illegal for spearfishing.
FAQ
Is Miss Louise the easiest Destin wreck?
Yes. Miss Louise is the shallowest Destin wreck and an easy freedive.
How much relief is listed for RMS Cyclops?
RMS Cyclops is listed as a steel wreck with 27 ft of relief.
Do Destin reef fish need the Florida SRFS designation?
Yes. Florida rules say reef fish need the free State Reef Fish Angler designation.
Can you spear goliath grouper in Destin?
No. Goliath and Nassau grouper are on the Florida no-spear protected list.
What swell direction is worst for Destin?
The poor sector is 150 to 225 degrees, with 185 degrees listed as the worst direction.
Sources
Nearby towns
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