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

spearo.app / Portugal / Funchal
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◈Funchal · Portugal
5.3
wave 1.4 m
visibility~3m

Marginal

Today — right on the edge — wave, wind and surge pounding.

Sources: IPMA · buoys · Open-Meteo · Copernicus — high confidence · data 19:53

Sources & confidence

Sources
IPMA · buoys · 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.

01
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.
02
Wind & gusts
Speed and gusts, hour by hour — wind speed and an onshore push chop the surface and cut visibility.
03
Tide phase
Timing and range of the tide, calibrated per coast — big spring tides pull the verdict toward caution.
04
Water temperature
Sea-surface temperature — sharply cold water vetoes a green verdict.
05
Currents & outflow
Direction and drift of the current — it pushes you, and it drags turbid coastal water across where you dive.
06
Rain runoff & air clarity
Rain muddies the water inshore through land runoff, while fog and haze cut visibility at the surface.
07
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.

Entry pointsNo-take zonesLive cams

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 19:53
Exposed coast — Ponta do Sol — solo, off the rocks
BORDERLINE
caution — solo off the rocks is risky, check on site · wave 1.4 m (occasionally up to ~2.7 m)
wave 1.4 mwind 17 km/hsurge pounding the rocksvisibility ~3 m
today, best window 06:00–09:00
fish · Visibility 3 m · Water 23°C
confidence low · verdict for the selected day
Before entering, check the camera and the surge
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.

Sunday · today2026-10-25
08:19–19:23 · full moon
▲ 01:00▼ 07:00▲ 13:00▼ 20:00mid-range tides · 2.0 m
Hours (06→20)
06
09
12
15
18
Day's trends
Tide-0.04 m
Wave1.14 m
Wind9 km/h
Water23 °C
fish activity: moon overhead 00:50 · high · moonset 07:29 · moderate · moon underfoot 13:10 · high · moonrise 18:46 · moderate
Conditions window06:00–09:00
caution — solo off the rocks is risky, check on site fish ·
Hs 1.36 m · roughperiod 10 swind 17→23surge 2.7viz 3 m
1.36 mrough · up to ~2.72 · 342° at an angle
10 sswell building
17→23gusts 23 km/h
2.7pounding the rocks
0.08m/s
3 mrecent swell
23°C5 mm + hood
▲13:00tide turn near
Atmosphere32 kmlandmarks visible
moderatemoonset
  • wave 1.4 m (occasionally up to ~2.7 m)
  • swell period 10 s
  • first hours of the flood — fish moving in
confidence lowtwilight
Open the seafloor map with entry points →
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Spots in Portugal

PortugalPortugal

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Madeira

  • Caniço / Garajau
  • Porto Moniz
  • Porto Santo

Algarve

  • Sagres
  • Vila do Bispo
  • Lagos / Praia da Luz
  • Portimão / Praia da Rocha
  • Lagoa / Carvoeiro
  • Albufeira
  • Faro
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Azores

  • Vila do Porto
  • Ponta Delgada
  • Angra do Heroísmo
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Alentejo

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spearo.app · a private marine instrument · Funchal · a planner, not a safety guarantee · TidesPrivacy
Today
Notify me
Map
Best window · next 3 days
borderlineMonday · 09:00–12:00
you can see ~4 m ahead fish

transparency nearby ~29 m · satellite, 2 days agosatellite estimate · may differ right at the shore

Tell me when it's on

Just your email — nothing else needed.

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

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−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: 3016 spots across 406 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 →
🔒 Ponta da CruzExposed coast — Funchal coast
no data
Ultra · subscribers
window
—

The full spot briefing is part of the subscription: entry, bottom, hazards, tide window.

Open in the app →
Doca do CavacasExposed coast — Funchal coast
no data
window
—
tide
Little tidal dependence (depth drops away fast off the point); low water makes the slippery-rock entry trickier.
shelter
Madeira's south coast is sheltered from the prevailing N/NE trades by the island mass; the cove at Ponta da Cruz is further screened by the rocky headland. Open to S and SW swell.
conditions
Diveable in calm and small southerly swell (up to about 0.8 m). SW swell stirs up the water by the rocks and pushes shorebreak onto the boulders — sit it out then.
hazard
Main danger is the exit over sharp volcanic rock in shorebreak: as swell builds it's easy to get cut or slammed against the wall. Swimmers and snorkelers around — keep the gun unloaded at the entry. Deep water right off the shore — a solo blackout with no buddy is fatal.
access
Rua da Ponta da Cruz 66, western Funchal seafront (between the Lido and Praia Formosa). Steps down to the natural-pool complex, then direct access to open sea over the rocks. Showers, changing rooms and parking up top.

The westernmost Funchal entry — clearly OUTSIDE the Garajau reserve (whose west edge is Ponta do Lazareto, east of the city), so hunting is legal here. But it's a guarded bathing complex — don't shoot near the entry; move off the pools onto the rock reef.

Google Maps
Clube Naval do Funchal reef (Lido)Exposed coast — Funchal coast · Recife do Clube Naval do Funchal (Lido)
no data
⛔ Banned here
window
—
tide
Weak tidal dependence; at low water the entry reef is very shallow, easier to snag or cut yourself.
shelter
Urban Lido/Gorgulho seafront, sheltered from N/NE by the island. The reef runs east–west along the shore; little protection from southerly swell.
conditions
Diveable in calm and small southerly swell. The reef is shallow at the entry (~5 m) with a deeper ledge — swell brings surge and murk onto the ledge.
hazard
The biggest issue is crowds and lifeguards: this is a surveilled bathing frontage by the Clube Naval/Lido where hunting is inappropriate and draws attention. Sharp reef on the exit in surge. Enter as a scout only — read the structure and fish, shoot further west.
access
Water access by the Clube Naval do Funchal / Lido complex, Rua do Gorgulho. Steps and platforms straight onto the reef, showers and changing rooms alongside. The easiest reef entry in the city.

A documented dive-school 'home reef' (east–west reef off the Clube Naval, plenty of fish) — but a public, surveilled swim zone. Use it for scouting/freediving and hunt on the Ponta da Cruz rocks to the west.

Google Maps
🔒 Baía da Ponta do SolExposed coast — Ponta do Sol
no data
Pro · subscribers
window
—

The full spot briefing is part of the subscription: entry, bottom, hazards, tide window.

Open in the app →
Praia FormosaExposed coast — Funchal coast
no data
⛔ Banned here
window
—
tide
Cleaner entry at high tide; low water exposes more slippery pebble and a stronger backwash.
shelter
Long pebble-and-dark-sand beach on the south coast, sheltered from N/NE wind by the island. Almost no protection from southerly swell — an open arc of shore.
conditions
Only in flat-calm. Any southerly swell sets up shorebreak on the pebbles and clouds the water — useless for spearing.
hazard
Shorebreak and backwash on coarse pebble — knocks you off your feet on exit. City runoff clouds the water. It's a guarded bathing beach with buoys and lifeguards — effectively a no-hunt zone; treat it as a calm-day fallback entry, not a shooting spot.
access
Central Funchal, São Martinho; the promenade links to the Lido and Doca do Cavacas. Ramps to the beach, showers, changing rooms, parking and cafes. The easiest walk-in entry in the city.

Madeira's largest beach and a guarded swim zone — works as a flat-calm fallback entry for freediving/scouting; for actual hunting move west to the Ponta da Cruz rocks. ⚠️ Longitude -16.943 is ~750m too far east (true ~-16.951, OSM beach 32.6392,-16.9512; -16.943 lands between Cavacas and Clube Naval, not at Formosa). Hazard downplayed: omits the documented strong undertow/under-currents that make Praia Formosa locally known as one of the most dangerous places to swim, plus frequent red-flag closures (spring tides/rough surf) and documented drownings (e.g. body found Jan 2024). Framing it as a benign 'calm-day fallback entry' sugar-coats a known dangerous-current beach for a solo diver.

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.

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≈

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↗
Funchal Marina (Madeira-Web)YouTube live — Funchal marina harbour water, open sea on the horizon. Embeddable under YouTube's terms (owner left embedding on). Read the water and surf before you go.camera: youtube ↗
Open the seafloor map →
Reference

What's in season,
what the law says.

In season now: Sea bass, Salema, Octopus, Mullet

In season now
  • Robalo (sea bass)
    <4 m · end of ebb → start of flood · dawn/dusk
    Prime target. Shy of light — pick early/twilight windows.
  • Salema
    0–2 m · — · daytime
    Easiest target at 0–6 m. ⚠️ Do NOT eat the head/guts (ichthyosarcotoxism).
  • Polvo (octopus)
    1–6 m · high water · twilight
    Peaks in autumn. Spot the den by the pile of shells. Don't take egg-bearing females. Min. weight 750 g (DGRM).
  • Tainha (mullet)
    0–2 m · — · —
    Extremely wary; murky water HINDERS it. Opportunistic, in calm coves.
  • Santola (spider crab)
    1–10 m · low water (reef shelf exposed) · calm morning (≤force 2)
    Carapace ≥12 cm. Peaks Jul–Aug. CLOSED 15.02–15.06. Limit 2 kg/day.
Law
🦀 spider crab open (season 16.06–14.02)
  • ✓⚠️ Madeira and the Azores run their OWN rules: in the Autonomous Regions the licence, the fees, the permitted gear and the limits are set by the region's own government, not by (DL 246/2000, art. 20.º n.º 1). The mainland figures — the licence fee, the daily cap, the spider-crab closed season, the mainland minimum-size table — do NOT apply here.
  • ✓Breath-hold only: spearfishing may be practised in apnea alone. Scuba, rebreather and hookah are banned; the speargun may not be powered by a detonating charge or by compressed gas (DL 246/2000, art. 9.º n.º 3 — o antigo art. 6.º foi revogado).
  • ✓The catch may NOT be sold: displaying for sale, offering or selling recreational catch is prohibited — it is for the fisher, the household, or donation to charitable, scientific or museum institutions (DL 246/2000, art. 7.º).
  • ✓A loaded speargun out of the water is an offence (DL 246/2000, art. 14.º n.º 2 f). Same article: no fishing closer than the legally set distance from concessioned beaches during the bathing season (n.º 2 d), nor in places closed for health or marine-traffic reasons (n.º 2 e). The exact metres come from the regulation and the capitania — check before you go.
  • ✓Madeira: recreational fishing runs on the region's own instrument — . Spearfishing must be marked at the surface by signalling equipment no more than 30 m from the diver (art. 4.º n.º 2 — not art. 8.º, which is the closed-areas article), and it is banned between sunset and sunrise (art. 8.º n.º 3). Art. 4.º n.º 1 expressly allows gear for cold protection, buoyancy, safety and carrying the catch.
  • ✓Where recreational fishing is closed in Madeira (, art. 8.º n.º 1): in marked shipyard and aquaculture areas; within 100 m of any signposted outfall; over the water of bathing concessions and within 300 m of places commonly used for bathing; and in any other area marked by the port or maritime authority. This is where the «300 m» figure comes from — it is MADEIRAN, and the mainland rule is a different one. ⚠️ This list is NOT closed: its al. d) delegates to areas the port or maritime authority delimits and marks, and its n.º 2 imports everything closed to PROFESSIONAL fishing. Both categories are populated: the Regulamento de Exploração dos Portos da Madeira, art. 17.º n.º 1 al. b), bans «o exercício da pesca profissional e desportiva seja qual for o engenho ou arte empregue» inside every port and terminal, art. 24.º closes the Socorridos and Caniçal fuel terminals, and Edital n.º 8/2026 of the Funchal port captaincy marks a seasonal circuit off Marina da Quinta do Lorde. A place NOT named in the list is not thereby open.
  • ✓Porto Santo, the marine protected-area network: spearfishing there is ALLOWED, but on an authorisation from the managing body and under — at most 4 in a group and 8 in the area at once (art. 14.º). The exception is the Ilhéu de Cima area, where all fishing is banned. On an ordinary recreational dive in the network, carrying any fishing gear or speargun is expressly forbidden, a defence knife apart (art. 8.º).
  • ✓Night is prohibited here too: spearfishing between sunset and sunrise is an offence under the decree-law itself (DL 246/2000, art. 14.º n.º 1 d), which is in force in the Autonomous Regions as well.
  • ⛔ Grouper (Epinephelus) — fully protected, capture PROHIBITED.
  • ⛔ Seahorses (Hippocampus) — protected.

Rules change, and in the Autonomous Regions they are their OWN. Before heading out, check with the regional fisheries administration (Madeira / Azores), not with the mainland DGRM tables.

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. At Cabo Raso/Arriba a 0.5 m rise in swell makes a boulder exit impossible — getting pinned/unable to climb out is the main killer here.
  • Headland rip: at Cabo Raso there is 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.
  • Nortada (Jun–Sep): wind builds from midday — be out of the water by ~11:00; 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 · Funchal

Spearfishing in Funchal: spots, seasons and rules

Updated 2026-07-09 · By Oleksandr, spearfisher

Spearfishing in Funchal is an island plan, not a mainland beach plan. Madeira's south coast is sheltered from the dominant N/NE winds by the island, with blue water and quick volcanic drop-offs close to shore. Doca do Cavacas is the usable hunting entry, but only with a calm sea and small southerly swell. Praia Formosa and the Lido/Clube Naval reef are busy urban bathing areas, better kept for apnea practice or reconnaissance. Deep water close in makes solo risk serious.

TL;DR

  • Treat Funchal as Madeira island diving: sheltered south coast, volcanic rock and deep water close to shore.
  • The defensible hunting entry is Doca do Cavacas at Ponta da Cruz, west of the city and outside the Garajau reserve limit noted locally.
  • Praia Formosa and the Lido/Clube Naval reef are urban bathing or training areas, not spearfishing recommendations.

Best spearfishing entry in Funchal

Only one Funchal entry belongs in the hunting table. The other urban references have bathing-zone, crowd or protection issues. Doca do Cavacas still needs distance from swimmers and a clean rock exit.

SpotTypeDepthLevelAccessNotes
Doca do CavacasVolcanic rock entry at Ponta da CruzDepth increases quickly beside the promontoryIntermediateRua da Ponta da Cruz 66; steps to the natural-pool complex, then access to open water over the rocks.Sheltered from N/NE by Madeira, but exposed to S and SW swell. Enter only in calm sea with small southerly swell, keep the speargun unloaded near the pools and move away to the reef.

Conditions and season essentials

Doca do Cavacas is best at first light, before the afternoon sea breeze and before swimmers arrive. The local window is calm sea with southerly swell around 0.8 m or less. SW swell stirs the water by the rocks and makes the volcanic exit hazardous. Tide is less critical because depth builds fast, although low water makes the rocks more slippery. Summer and early autumn bring the best visibility. National rules apply: licence from age 16, apnea only, daylight only, Alfa buoy within 30 m, and protected grouper/mero left untouched.

Odeceixe
  • Zambujeira do Mar
  • Vila Nova de Milfontes
  • Porto Covo
  • Sines

    • Lisbon & West

    • Cascais
    • Ericeira

    Setúbal · Arrábida

    • Sesimbra
    • Costa da Caparica
    • Arrábida
    • Setúbal / Tróia

    Centre

    • Berlengas
    • Peniche
    • Baleal
    • Nazaré
    • Figueira da Foz
    • Aveiro / Costa Nova

    North

    • Espinho
    • Foz do Douro (Porto)
    • Matosinhos (Porto)
    • Vila do Conde
    • Póvoa de Varzim
    • Viana do Castelo
    • Afife

    All 42 spots → · Region: Madeira · spearo.app — All countries

    FAQ

    Where can you spearfish in Funchal?

    Doca do Cavacas is the main defensible shore entry. Move away from the pool entrance and only use it in calm sea.

    Can you spearfish at Praia Formosa?

    It should not be treated as a hunting spot. It is an urban bathing beach with cobbles, undertow risk and turbid water after rain.

    Is the Lido reef good for spearfishing?

    It is useful for apnea and terrain reading, but it is a public bathing front with lifeguards and crowds. Do not frame it as a hunting mark.

    When is visibility best in Funchal?

    Summer and early autumn are the best visibility window noted locally, especially early morning with small southerly swell.

    Is Funchal mainland-style spearfishing?

    No. It is island geography: sheltered south coast, volcanic rock and deep water very close to shore, so partner safety matters.

    Sources

    • DGRM
    • ICNF

    Region: Madeira

    Nearby towns

    • Dive spots near Caniço / Garajau
    • Porto Moniz: forecast and spots
    • Porto Santo spearfishing guide
    • Spearfishing in Sagres
    • Vila do Bispo: forecast and spots
    Data partners
    dive centres that send us real visibility readings
    Águas VivasMilfontes · Sagres