- window
- The 500 m from used beaches is measured from the water's edge, and here the shore is 30 m from the mark: in bathing season do the arithmetic before getting in. At Masua it is worth losing ten minutes to check the local order rather than arguing about it later. A trip done properly starts with checking the day's rules. With Tramontana forecast to strengthen it pays to go earlier rather than to stay longer.
- tide
- If anything changes the level at Masua, it is pressure and wind, not the moon. Even at springs the band out to five metres stays 240 m wide: the level does not change the route. The ten-metre line, 360 m offshore, does not move with the level: it moves with the swell. With current and poor clarity together, better to postpone.
- shelter
- The shore in front of the mark faces north, about 344°, so everything arriving from that sector gets in unobstructed. In a bay like this the shelter is a few tens of metres wide, tucked against the windward point rather than in the middle of the arc, and in a hard Tramontana not even that. Still water behind a shelter can hide current just outside it. Dead swell from the north arrives under a clear sky and no wind at all.
- conditions
- The bottom falls away calmly, with no steps: depth is earned with distance, 720 m to reach twenty. In poor clarity at Masua it pays to work short and close to the bottom instead of heading out. Past 360 m from the shore it is the water that decides the day and not the willingness. The best water nearly always arrives from offshore on a light Ostro.
- hazard
- The daily limit is 5 kg per person and the catch may not be sold. With Tramontana into the mouth of the bay the water leaves through the middle and comes back along the sides: keep it in mind for the return. Better to come back empty-handed than not to come back on time. At Masua the conditions change faster than the forecast does.
- access
- In the bay you pick the sheltered side to get in and the same side to get out. The mark is right against the shore, 30 m from the coastline, and ten metres of water is about 360 m out. At Masua many accesses cross private property: if it is signed, look for another one. If you do not fancy swimming the 360 m back from ten metres of water, do not go any further out.
Fjord-like cove with rock; sea bream, partial shelter.
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