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

spearo.app / Germany / Heligoland
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◈Heligoland · Germany
2.5
wave 1 m
visibility~1m

Nottoday

Today — sit it out — wave, wind and visibility.

Sources: Open-Meteo · Copernicus — high confidence · data 00:20

Sources & confidence

Sources
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 zones

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
updated 00:20
Heligoland — solo, off the rocks
DON'T GO
don't go · wave 1.0 m + hitting the shore
wave 1 mwind 41, gusts 50 km/hvisibility ~1 m
today, best window 06:00–09:00
fish · Visibility 1 m · Water 16.4°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.

Tuesday · today2026-10-13
07:52–18:35 · waxing crescent
▲ 01:00▼ 08:00▲ 14:00▼ 20:00mid-range tides · 2.9 m
Hours (06→20)
06
09
12
15
18
Day's trends
Tide0.28 m
Wave1.96 m
Wind42 km/h
Water17 °C
fish activity: moon underfoot 03:00 · high · moonrise 11:40 · moderate · moon overhead 15:20 · high · moonset 18:54 · moderate
Conditions window06:00–09:00
don't go fish
Hs 0.96 m · roughperiod 4.1 swind 41→50surge 0.1viz 1 m
0.96 mrough · up to ~1.92 · 257° at an angle
4.1 sswell moderate
41→50gusts 50 km/h
0.1weak surge
0.61m/s
1 mrecent swell
16.4°C5 mm + hood
▼08:00tide turn near
Atmosphere29 kmovercast
lowoff the lunar peaks
  • wave 1.0 m + hitting the shore
  • steep wind-wave — choppy surface, careful on entry
  • low water — slack
confidence lowtwilight
Open the seafloor map with entry points →
Coming soon

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Leave your email — and the moment a window opens at Heligoland, we'll send the go / no-go verdict. Email is all we need.

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More spots

Spots in Germany

🇩🇪Germany

Germany map →

Nearby towns

  • Cuxhaven
  • Norderney
  • Sylt
  • Kiel
  • Esbjerg

Baltic — Schleswig-Holstein

  • Travemünde
  • Fehmarn

Baltic — Mecklenburg-Vorpommern

  • Warnemünde
  • Sassnitz
  • Heringsdorf

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spearo.app · a private marine instrument · Heligoland · a planner, not a safety guaranteePrivacy
Today
Notify me
Map
Best window · next 3 days

Next 3 days — not divable: wave up to 2.2 m

↑ high tide 01:19 · slack water ~00:34–02:04 bite times: 11:10–12:10 · 14:20–16:20

Tell me when it's on

Just your email — nothing else needed.

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

Download on theApp StoreGET IT ONGoogle Play
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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: 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 →
Düne AadeHeligoland
dangerous
⛔ Banned here
exposed head-on to the swell today
window
—

Red-sandstone reef with kelp, shore entry. Helgoländer Felssockel nature reserve — diving around Helgoland and the Düne is not permitted. Grey and harbour seals haul out here — keep your distance. No fishing of any kind here. Spearfishing not permitted here — check local rules. Coords approx.

Google Maps
Düne NordstrandHeligoland
dangerous
⛔ Banned here
exposed head-on to the swell today
window
—

Red-sandstone reef with kelp, shore entry. Helgoländer Felssockel nature reserve — diving around Helgoland and the Düne is not permitted. Grey and harbour seals haul out here — keep your distance. No fishing of any kind here. Spearfishing not permitted here — check local rules. Coords approx.

Google Maps
Felswatt WestHeligoland
dangerous
⛔ Banned here
exposed head-on to the swell today
window
—

Red-sandstone reef with kelp, boat access. Helgoländer Felssockel nature reserve — diving around Helgoland and the Düne is not permitted. Strong tidal stream. No fishing of any kind here. Spearfishing not permitted here — check local rules. Coords approx.

Google Maps
Lange AnnaHeligoland
dangerous
⛔ Banned here
exposed head-on to the swell today
window
—

Red-sandstone reef with kelp, boat access. Helgoländer Felssockel nature reserve — diving around Helgoland and the Düne is not permitted. Strong tidal stream. No fishing of any kind here. Spearfishing not permitted here — check local rules. Coords approx.

Google Maps
Nordost-GeländeHeligoland
dangerous
⛔ Banned here
exposed head-on to the swell today
window
—

Red-sandstone reef with kelp, shore entry. Helgoländer Felssockel nature reserve — diving around Helgoland and the Düne is not permitted. No fishing of any kind here. Spearfishing not permitted here — check local rules. 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.

Download on theApp StoreGET IT ONGoogle Play
Google Play — QR code
point your camera
≈

Surfacing

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

Live cameras, map & reference
Open the seafloor map →
Reference

What's in season,
what the law says.

In season now
  • no targets this month
Law

    Spearfishing is banned in German coastal waters: Schleswig-Holstein (Küstenfischereiverordnung 2018, § 9(1)), Mecklenburg-Vorpommern (KüFVO M-V, § 16(1)) and Lower Saxony (Fisheries Act, § 44(1) no. 5) prohibit spears and harpoons for any fishing, at any hour. The Helgoland rock-base reserve and the Jasmund National Park strip are closed to all fishing. Forecasts here are for freediving and snorkelling; leave the speargun at home.

    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.

    FAQ — spearfishing in Heligoland

    Where can I spearfish in Heligoland?

    Heligoland has rock entry points such as Lange Anna, Nordost-Gelände and Felswatt West. Germany's only offshore island, out in the German Bight. Below you'll find each spot (access, shelter and hazards) and today's forecast.

    When is the best season in Heligoland?

    June–September; Helgoland's water is clearest in late-summer calms; autumn and winter bring north-westerly gales.

    How cold is the water in Heligoland?

    4–5 °C in February, 17–19 °C in August — a drysuit or 7 mm in winter, 5–7 mm in summer.

    Is Heligoland good for a beginner?

    Helgoland's rock base is a reserve closed to all fishing, with diving only in marked zones; Sylt has strong tidal currents and surf. Spearfishing is banned (KüFVO SH § 9).

    Do I need a licence in Heligoland?

    Heligoland: Spearfishing is banned in German coastal waters: Schleswig-Holstein (Küstenfischereiverordnung 2018, § 9(1)), Mecklenburg-Vorpommern (KüFVO M-V, § 16(1)) and Lower Saxony (Fisheries Act, § 44(1) no. 5) prohibit spears and harpoons for any fishing, at any hour. The Helgoland rock-base reserve and the Jasmund National Park strip are closed to all fishing. Forecasts here are for freediving and snorkelling; leave the speargun at home.

    Data partners
    dive centres that send us real visibility readings
    Águas VivasMilfontes · Sagres