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

Horta · Portugal
5.3
wave 0.6 m head-on
visibility4m

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

Sources: IPMA · NDBC · Copernicus — high confidence · data 00:53

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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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
0 m

Surface

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

spearo.app
calmupdated 00:53
Horta — solo, off the rocks
BORDERLINE
caution — solo off the rocks is risky, check on site · swell period 11 s
wave 0.6 m head-onwind 17, gusts 25 km/hnoticeable surgevisibility ~6 m
today, best window 06:00–09:00
fish · Visibility 6 m · Water 22°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.

Thursday · today2026-07-23
06:48–21:13 · waxing gibbous
▼ 03:00▲ 09:00▼ 15:00▲ 22:00 · 0.5 m
Hours (06→20)
06
09
12
15
18
Day's trends
Tide-0.20 m
Wave0.62 m
Wind13 km/h
Water22 °C
fish activity: moonset 01:32 · moderate · moon underfoot 09:00 · high · moonrise 16:42 · moderate · moon overhead 21:20 · high
Conditions window06:00–09:00
caution — solo off the rocks is risky, check on site fish ·
Hs 0.64 mperiod 11 s head-onwind 17→25surge 1.8viz 4 m
0.64 mup to ~1.28 · 176° head-on
11 sswell building
17→25gusts 25 km/h
1.8noticeable surge
0.11m/s
4 mrecent swell
22°C5 mm + hood
▲09:00tide turn near
Atmosphere18 kmlandmarks visible
highmoon underfoot
  • swell period 11 s
  • wind 17 km/h
  • flood toward high water
confidence lowtwilight
Open the seafloor map with entry points

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

Download on theApp StoreGET IT ONGoogle Play

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
Morro de Castelo Branco coastMorro de Castelo Branco (south-west coast) · Costa do Morro de Castelo Branco
borderline
exposed head-on to the swell today
window
Early morning at the calmest; strictly June-October season — in winter and shoulder season the coast is inaccessible.
tide
High water preferred — deeper over the rock base and less risk on the recoil; at low tide boulders are exposed and surge bites harder at the entry.
shelter
The tall basalt-trachyte headland gives partial lee depending on swell direction, but the coast is essentially open to the SW and W Atlantic; little shelter.
hazard
Rock-bound entry with no beach: surge and shorebreak on the boulders at the exit is the dominant threat, a trap as swell builds. Deep water right off the edge, no boat shelter, help far away — solo is very dangerous.
access
From Castelo Branco village by tracks to the base of the morro; the scramble down the rocks to the water is steep and uneven — needs a land scout first.

A reserve headland (Natura 2000) — the landscape is protected, but it is a known local hunting coast on a flat day. Exact entry points undocumented: scout from land first, do not enter in swell.

Google Maps
Varadouro Bathing AreaFajã do Varadouro, Capelo (west coast) · Zona Balnear do Varadouro
closed
swell on the quarter today
window
Mornings before the west wind builds the sea; season June-October, water 18-24°C thanks to the fajã microclimate.
tide
Best near high water — more depth over the basalt ledges and a softer entry; at low tide sharp lava shelves are exposed.
shelter
The black-basalt pools give shelter right at the edge, but this is exposed west coast — almost no protection from the W/NW Atlantic swell; only works in a southerly/easterly wind window or dead-flat sea.
hazard
If the swell builds, surge and shorebreak on the lava ledges at the exit are a real trap; sharp basalt cuts wetsuit and hands. The guarded bathing enclosure itself is for training, not for taking fish.
access
Road access, parking, showers; enter the water down the concrete pool steps or straight to sea off the basalt ledges alongside.

No taking fish in the marked pools (guarded bathing zone), but the rocky coast around it — toward Castelo Branco and Porto Comprido — is a genuine apnea-hunting shore on a flat day. A fallback for when the east of the island isn't working.

Google Maps
Porto Pim BeachPorto Pim Bay, Horta · Praia do Porto Pim
closed
best candidate for today
exposed head-on to the swell today
window
Early morning before the beach crowd and before the southerly sea breeze; season June-October, water 20-24°C.
tide
Tide is not critical in the sheltered bay; high water gives a little more depth and visibility over the sand at the entry.
shelter
The cove is closed off by the Monte da Guia cone to the south and west, sheltering it almost fully from the dominant W/NW Atlantic swell and wind — one of the few genuinely calm entries on Faial.
hazard
The main hazard is not the sea but people: in summer it is a guarded Blue Flag beach full of swimmers, kayaks and SUP; you cannot and should not spear here. Boat traffic to/from Horta harbour along the outer edge of the bay.
access
Walk from central Horta; sandy beach with a gentle walk-in, showers and parking alongside — the easiest entry on the island.

A training base, not a hunting spot: ideal for apnea practice, warm-up and snorkel, but taking fish is banned (guarded beach + Monte da Guia protected landscape). The real reefs are past the mouth toward Monte da Guia.

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

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
Open the seafloor map →
Reference

What's in season,
what the law says.

In season now: Sea bass, White seabream, Gilthead bream, Salema, Meagre, Mullet · coming soon: Octopus (Sep)

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.
  • Sargo (white seabream)
    1–5 m · flood (rides the surf onto the reef) · dawn
    Dominant reef target. Visibility matters more than time of day.
  • Dourada (gilthead bream)
    1–4 m · flood over sand/weed · dawn
    Very skittish — static ambush.
  • Salema
    0–2 m · — · daytime
    Easiest target at 0–6 m. ⚠️ Do NOT eat the head/guts (ichthyosarcotoxism).
  • Tainha (mullet)
    0–2 m · — · —
    Extremely wary; murky water HINDERS it. Opportunistic, in calm coves.
  • Corvina (meagre)
    1–6 m (marginal) · — · twilight
    Near the Tagus mouth, NOT on the Guincho rocks. Adults mostly at 5–75 m. ⚠️ CLOSED 1–30 June (defeso).
  • 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)
  • ✓Spearfishing licence required (16+), daily/monthly/annual (~€25/yr). Speargun = licence required.
  • ✓Hand-gathering shellfish with NO gear — no licence; but if a speargun is on the dive, a spearfishing licence is required.
  • ✓Night prohibited: spearfishing only in daylight (sunset→sunrise not allowed). Artificial light as a means of finding/attracting fish is banned — a torch for safety only.
  • ✓Signalling buoy MANDATORY for spearfishing: buoy/float with an «Alfa» flag (red/orange/yellow, ≥8 L), no more than 30 m from the diver.
  • ✓Spearfishing daily limit: fish + cephalopods — 15 kg (excluding the largest specimen). General rod-and-line recreational fishing — 10 kg.
  • ✓Invertebrates (including spider crab) — 2 kg/day total.
  • ✓Spider crab: min. carapace 12 cm; (closed season) 15.02–15.06 — applies to recreational gathering too.
  • ✓Min. sizes: robalo 36 cm, sargo 17 cm, dourada 19 cm, choupa 23 cm, corvina 42 cm; octopus 750 g.
  • ✓Grouper — fully protected, may not be taken.
  • ⛔ Grouper (Epinephelus) — fully protected, capture PROHIBITED.
  • ⛔ Seahorses (Hippocampus) — protected.

Rules change. Before heading out, check with DGRM / ICNF / Capitania and the defeso table.

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.

FAQ — spearfishing in Horta

Where can I spearfish in Horta?

Horta has rock entry points such as Porto Pim Beach, Varadouro Bathing Area and Morro de Castelo Branco coast. Faial on the SE coast inside the sheltered Faial-Pico channel, with access to deep offshore pinnacles. Below you'll find each spot (access, shelter and hazards) and today's forecast.

When is the best season in Horta?

Summer is best — blue, clean mid-Atlantic water. The weather turns fast, so pick the island and the side that are sheltered that day.

How cold is the water in Horta?

~17–23 °C depending on island and season. A 3–5 mm suit. Very clear water, but the weather turns fast.

Is Horta good for a beginner?

Intermediate: clean but oceanic, deep water with volatile weather. Pick the sheltered side and leave the water with a margin.

Do I need a licence in Horta?

Yes — in Horta you need the region's own recreational fishing licence (the mainland one isn't valid here); spearfishing is breath-hold only (no scuba) and needs a marker buoy. Check the regional rules — see the guide.

Full guide: spearfishing in Portugal →
Coming soon

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