Today — sit it out — wave, wind and surge pounding. 🌫 Murky all week after the storm — the water isn't settling
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.
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 mapRemains of the steamer Labrador on Gorriti's south restingas, 2–3 m; aggregates sargo and corvina. Shallow, easy freediving. Coords approx.
Google MapsRocky restingas on the island's south side, 10 min by boat from the peninsula; sargo, corvina and grouper. Salt water but streaked turbid off the Plata with some winds. Coords approx.
Google MapsIslet 8–12 km SE of Punta del Este with a large sea-lion colony; rock and clear ocean water. Marine Protected Area (2024): treat as NO-take, priority fur seal and sea lion. Coords approx.
Google MapsRestinga and rock 2–8 m on La Brava (Atlantic side); sargo and black corvina. Muddies with sudestada — dive on SW-W. Coords approx.
Google MapsRocky ridge running ~700 m offshore with caves; grouper, sargo and black corvina. Best on north wind (clean water); exposed to S/SE. Boat or from the point. Coords approx.
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.
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».
Rules change. Before heading out, get the DINARA sport-fishing permit and respect the black-corvina closure and minimum sizes.
Spearfishing in Punta del Este works because the peninsula sits where Plata water gives way to the Atlantic. It still needs a strict forecast filter. La Brava has shallow rock and restinga for sargo and black corvina. Isla Gorriti gives south-side restingas a short boat ride from the peninsula. Punta Ballena has a rocky ridge with caves and better water on north wind. The local hazard is sudestada: SE wind, groundswell and surge can dirty the same rock fast. Isla de Lobos is not a hunting option; treat it as a protected no-take area.
La Brava and Punta Ballena are wind-sensitive, Gorriti needs boat handling, and Isla de Lobos belongs in the legal warning column, not the fishing plan.
| Spot | Type | Depth | Level | Access | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| La Brava — restinga | Atlantic rock and restinga | 2-8 m | Intermediate | Brava-side shore | Sargo and black corvina on shallow rock. It muddies under sudestada; look for a SW-W window. |
| Isla Gorriti — restingas sur (Playa Honda) | Island restinga | To 5 m | Intermediate, short boat run | Boat from the peninsula | South of Playa Honda, with sargo, corvina and grouper. Plata streaks can still mark the water under some winds. |
| Isla Gorriti — pecio Labrador (restinga sur) | Shallow wreck on restinga | 2-3 m | Easy freedive, traffic check | Boat and conditions check | The steamer Labrador remains sit on the southern restingas and hold sargo and corvina. Boat traffic still matters. |
| Punta Ballena — sierra rocosa / cuevas | Ridge with caves | To 10 m | Intermediate to advanced | Boat or from the point | The ridge runs about 700 m offshore. Grouper, sargo and black corvina; best on north wind and exposed to S/SE. |
| Isla de Lobos (islote; ⚠ AMP 2024) | Marine protected area | Ocean rock, no hunting | No take | 8-12 km SE of Punta del Este | Large sea-lion colony and 2024 protected status. Keep it out of the spearfishing plan. |
Punta del Este is less sheltered than Piriápolis. The bad sector runs about 90-180 degrees, worst near 135. SE wind plus swell can dirty La Brava and Punta Ballena. SW-W helps La Brava; north wind helps Punta Ballena.
Do not build a hunting plan around Isla de Lobos. The record marks it as a 2024 Marine Protected Area and the Uruguay protection note treats it as no-take. Marine mammals, turtles and cetaceans are protected.
DINARA is the authority. Sport fishing is open except where a zone, species or gear requires a permit; use the DINARA permit when it applies. Res. 388/2015 froze new from-shore permits, and sale is prohibited.
Sargo is the base fish of the local rock and restinga record. La Brava, Gorriti, Labrador and Punta Ballena all fit that pattern. If SE has dirtied the coast, wait for the next clean window.
La Brava, Isla Gorriti and Punta Ballena are the practical names. Isla de Lobos is protected and no-take.
It depends on wind and swell. SE and sudestada usually dirty the water; SW-W or north wind gives better odds.
Sargo, black corvina, flounder, brótola and grouper appear in the local record. Check closures before taking black corvina or brótola.
No. Treat Isla de Lobos as a protected no-take area, with marine mammals and other fauna protected.
Wind windows matter more than a single season: SW-W for La Brava, north wind for Punta Ballena.
Leave your email — and the moment a window opens at Punta del Este, we'll send the go / no-go verdict. Email is all we need.
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