Today — sit it out — wave, wind and surge pounding.
Sources & confidence
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.
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.
Safety gates
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
Wind, wave and the swell windows — when to go and the best hours.
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.
Leave your email — and the moment a window opens at Oban, we'll send the go / no-go verdict. Email is all we need.
What's missing? Tell us what you'd like to see — new spots, species, data or features. We read everything.
Visibility and what drives it — post-storm clearing, river plume, temperature and the thermocline.
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 spotsRelief and bottom type, tides, and the depths of each spot.
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.
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 mapEnter down the slip in front of the castle with the wall on your right, head north around the point over reef covered in dead men's fingers and featherstars to a small 12 m wall, exit in the next bay. Check the exit before diving; no parking at the slip.
Google MapsEnter from the south bank by Connel Bridge into the tidal flow; the drift goes over a drop-off to about 30 m. Fierce tidal race: dive near slack on the flood only, experienced divers.
Google MapsGentle slip entry next to the dive centre; swim west over sand and kelp to about 8 m, then south to a long reef, 12–18 m. Occasional boat traffic, use a surface marker.
Google MapsRocky reef, shore entry. Coords approx.
Google MapsRocky reef, boat access. Coords approx.
Google MapsIsland reef, boat access. Coords approx.
Google MapsWreck, boat access. Coords approx.
Google MapsSmall sandy bay with rocky skerries to snorkel around, good for beginners. Avoid it during or after heavy rain because of an overflow pipe; seals and nesting birds April–September.
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.
Cameras, map and reference — to hand as you come up.
Recreational spearfishing in the sea is legal in the UK without a licence — breath-hold only is the norm. Never spear salmon, sea trout or eels (Salmon and Freshwater Fisheries Act 1975). Bass: catch-and-release only 1 Feb–31 Mar (rod and line), then 3 a day, 42 cm min. Check the local IFCA/Marine Scotland/DAERA rules — in Cornwall no spearfishing dusk to dawn or with scuba. No-take zones (Lundy, Lamlash Bay, Flamborough) are closed.
Oban has rock entry points such as Ganavan Sands reef, Maiden Island and Kerrera Sound. Gateway to the Inner Hebrides, sheltered by Kerrera. Below you'll find each spot (access, shelter and hazards) and today's forecast.
May–September; long summer days, autumn gales; west-coast sea lochs are sheltered from swell.
7–8 °C in March, 13–15 °C in August — 7 mm all year, a drysuit in winter.
Kelp forests, sea lochs and cold clear water; tidal streams in the sounds; voluntary marine reserve at St Abbs. No licence; never spear salmon or sea trout.
Oban: Recreational spearfishing in the sea is legal in the UK without a licence — breath-hold only is the norm. Never spear salmon, sea trout or eels (Salmon and Freshwater Fisheries Act 1975). Bass: catch-and-release only 1 Feb–31 Mar (rod and line), then 3 a day, 42 cm min. Check the local IFCA/Marine Scotland/DAERA rules — in Cornwall no spearfishing dusk to dawn or with scuba. No-take zones (Lundy, Lamlash Bay, Flamborough) are closed.
