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.
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
no dataupdated 03:34
Sitges — solo, off the rocks
BEST WINDOW
best weather window · solo, stay careful, run the checklist · calm conditions: swell, wind and visibility all normal
What's missing? Tell us what you'd like to see — new spots, species, data or features. We read everything.
Your best window — with you. Forecast in your pocket.
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−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.
Work at first light: the beach bar and the sand wake up around ten and by then the path from above is already busy. Best months are May and October, water at 18 and 22 degrees; August gives 26 but far too many people. Night spearfishing is banned across Spain, sunset to sunrise.
tide
The level moves twenty centimetres and counts for nothing. Watch something else: after a day of settled Llevant a drift runs southwest, and a kilometre to the east sits the Vallcarca industrial zone with its cement terminal. After rain a grey plume comes off it and settles into the cove for half a day.
shelter
The cove lies under the cliff of the Garraf massif and faces south and south-southeast. The Sitges town anchor actually sits in the village of Garraf, 7.4 kilometres east of the town itself, so keep that in mind. Mestral and Tramuntana from northwest and north come over the rock and flatten the water; Garbí from the southwest and Migjorn from the south come straight in.
conditions
The working sector runs from 280 to 60 degrees. Anything between 100 and 220 shuts the cove, and the worst is 120 degrees, the Xaloc from the southeast. Water here is on average murkier than on the Costa Brava: Barcelona is close and there are outfalls. On a good winter day you see 8–15 metres; after a blow, two or three.
On the legal side: we found no act banning spearfishing in Garraf waters, which is not the same as permission. Even so the beach itself declares fishing prohibited in its own rules and the operator can move you on. Masía Blanca at El Vendrell is 28–45 kilometres away and everything is banned there. Plus 250 metres from bathing zones and loading only underwater.
access
Turn off the C-31 road, a small lay-by car park, then a path down of 10 to 15 minutes; there is also the restaurant's paid parking right by the cove. You enter over gravel and rock, boots required. The rock step starts thirty to fifty metres off the shore and drops steeply to 10–15 metres.
Garraf rocky coves west of Sitges; drop-offs and boulders, sea bream and gilthead, exposed to the easterly (E-SE).
Early morning, before the fleet leaves Port Ginesta: it is a big marina and traffic starts right at daybreak. The best months are October and November, water at 22 and 18 degrees. Lubina holds by the breakwater in winter, but remember its closed season from 15 January to 15 February.
tide
Level is not something you calculate here at all. What rules is the sand drift running southwest along the shore after settled easterly wind, and the river Llobregat eight kilometres to the northeast: after heavy rain its plume reaches this far and keeps the water greenish-brown for two or three days.
shelter
A long straight stretch of coast towards Castelldefels, with no coves and no headlands, facing south and southeast. There is almost nowhere to hide: the only shelter comes from the Port Ginesta marina breakwater at the western end. Anything blowing in the 100 to 220 degree sector reaches the shore unhindered.
conditions
Come with Mestral and Tramuntana, from northwest and north. With Migjorn and Garbí the shore gives up sand and visibility drops to a metre, so there is no point getting in. On a good day you see 8–12 metres; the bottom is mixed, sand with rock ridges, working depths 4 to 10 metres.
hazard
The main danger is Port Ginesta: boats run thick and close inshore, and you may not spearfish in the approach channel. Keep 250 metres from bathers, which in summer is the whole Les Botigues beach. No specific ban on spearfishing in the Garraf was found, but there is no permission either; Masía Blanca is 45 kilometres to the southwest.
access
Turn off the C-31 to Les Botigues, park along the Passeig Marítim, twenty metres to the water. Entry over sand and fine gravel, flat and easy. To the rock ridges by the Port Ginesta breakwater you swim 200 to 400 metres west along the shore, about ten minutes at an easy pace.
Rocky shore toward Castelldefels; mixed bottom, moderately exposed to the S.
Come very early: the beach is urban, only 300 metres long, and from June to September it falls entirely inside a bathing zone, so the 250-metre rule closes it completely by day. Water is 14 degrees in January and 26 in August. You can only start after sunrise; night is banned.
tide
Level means nothing here, twenty centimetres. And there is no current worth talking about either. What you count is turbidity: the sand bottom at two to five metres lifts with any ripple and stays up for a day, and working in murk over flat sand is simply pointless.
shelter
Be straight about it: there is no real headland here. Cap de Grills is an urban sand-and-gravel beach about 300 metres long and 8 metres wide at Terramar, opposite the golf course, and Punta de les Coves is the viewpoint above it. The shore is straight and open to the south; the only shelter comes from northerly wind blowing off the land.
conditions
It is only worth coming here with north or northwest wind, or in flat calm. Any direction between 100 and 220 degrees and visibility over the sand drops straight to a metre or a metre and a half. On the very best day you get 6–10 metres, no more: the bottom is flat sand and silt lifts with the slightest ripple.
The honest bit first: there is almost no structure here. This is a beginner's outing: over the sand flats you find dorada from 30 centimetres and lubina from 40, and rock has to be hunted for. We found no act banning spearfishing in the Garraf, but that does not count as permission. Bathers, 250 metres; buoy compulsory.
access
You park in Terramar on the streets by the golf course, a hundred metres on foot to the water. You walk straight in off the sand, flat gentle bottom, no boots needed. To reach anything interesting you swim two or three hundred metres east to the scattered rocks: about seven minutes at an easy pace.
Rocky ground below the Garraf; rock and Posidonia, exposed to the SE.
Strictly at first light, before the boats leave the marina: at weekends they start around eight. Balmins fills with bathers from nine, and in summer it is a nudist beach with plenty of people. The best months here run from November to April, water at 13–15 degrees, empty beaches and better visibility.
tide
Ignore the tide, twenty centimetres. Something else rules here: at the marina entrance there is a constant pull from water exchange and from the propellers of boats coming in, and after the weekend a fuel film sits on the surface by the concrete. Do not enter the harbour mouth: it pulls and you see nothing.
shelter
The eastern breakwater of the Aiguadolç marina is the one place in Sitges where the water stands with easterly swell: it cuts Llevant and Xaloc, and behind it, off Balmins beach, the surface stays smooth. With Garbí from the southwest, though, chop comes in through the harbour mouth and bounces off the concrete.
conditions
This is the fallback for days when the whole Garraf coast is shut: with a light southerly or southeasterly you can still work here. Visibility is 5 to 10 metres, and right at the breakwater rocks the water is dirtied by propellers. With a strong southerly stay out: the backwash off the concrete is nastier than it looks.
The main issue is marina traffic and the 250-metre rule around bathing zones: in summer, by day, that amounts to a ban on the whole stretch. You may not spearfish in the harbour approach channel at all, so stay outside its line. Scuba is banned for spearfishing, a buoy is compulsory and the gun is loaded underwater only.
access
It is a twenty-minute walk from central Sitges along the promenade, or you drive straight to Aiguadolç where parking is paid. You get in over the gravel at Balmins, left of the beach. The breakwater rocks are about fifty metres out, bottom at 3 to 8 metres, boulders and sand pockets. Easy entry, fine for a first outing.
Rocky ground by the harbour; semi-sheltered, easy entry, good for beginners.
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.
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Surfacing
Cameras, map and reference — to hand as you come up.
Live cameras, map & reference
Cameras · live
Look at the water right now.
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».
Sin prohibición estatal de captura (NO está en el Catálogo Español, RD 139/2011). Cataluña: 50 cm, máx. 2 ejemplares/día — Resolució ARP/3310/2025.
common octopus
Octopus vulgaris · Mediterranean · 1 kg
Talla por PESO: mín. 1 kg (RD 560/1995, todos los anexos). No coger hembras con huevos. Cataluña: veda del pulpo de roca aprox. jul–sep, por zonas — Resolució ARP/3310/2025.
Law
✓Spearfishing licence mandatory; the AUTONOMOUS COMMUNITY issues it (not the State) and it is valid in the exterior waters of the whole coast. Free-diving only — scuba is banned (, art. 3).
✓Spearfishing catch may not be sold or traded — it is non-commercial fishing ().
✓Night prohibited: spearfishing only in daylight (sunset to sunrise not allowed) — , art. 16.d.
✓Marker buoy MANDATORY: mark your position with a clearly visible buoy and stay within 25 m of it — , art. 15.
✓Never keep the speargun loaded out of the water — , art. 16.a.
✓Keep at least 300 m from professional fishing vessels that are working — , art. 12.b.
✓The state act (, art. 16) bans, for spearfishing: a loaded gun out of the water; explosive/electric points and lamps (hand torches excepted); underwater scooters; night — from sunset to sunrise. Plus art. 12 b), d), e): 300 m from professional fishing vessels, light as an attractant, poisons/explosives. A ban in a PARTICULAR reserve, port or beach comes from that place's OWN instrument (the reserve's order, the autonomous community's rules, the port authority) — see the no-take zones on the map and your community's rules.
✓Min. sizes by ( + + EU 2019/1241): sea bass 42 cm (rec.) / 36 cm / 25 cm Mediterranean / 22 cm Canaries; gilthead bream 20 cm and white seabream 23 cm in the Mediterranean (EU 2019/1241); grouper 45 cm. See your zone's species card.
✓Only species in Annex I of may be taken; keeping, landing or transporting undersized specimens is prohibited.
✓The licence needs a medical fitness certificate for free-diving and civil-liability insurance (or a federative licence, which includes it). Mandatory in the Basque Country/Murcia/Asturias/Galicia; the federative licence covers it in Galicia/Balearics/Cantabria; the Canaries and Andalusia do NOT require it for the individual licence (a responsible health declaration). Minimum age generally 16 (14 in Andalusia).
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 Sitges
Where can I spearfish in Sitges?
Sitges has rock entry points such as Cala Morisca (Garraf), Punta de les Coves (Cap de Grills) and Roquedo de Aiguadolç / Balmins. Sitges sits at the foot of the Garraf massif, facing south-south-east. Below you'll find each spot (access, shelter and hazards) and today's forecast.
When is the best season in Sitges?
Long season (May–October), with summer going glassy. Tide barely matters — follow the solunar and the thermocline; there are posidonia meadows and, at peak summer, plenty of boats and swimmers.
How cold is the water in Sitges?
Mediterranean: ~13 °C in winter to ~25 °C in summer. A 3 mm suit in high summer, 5 mm in spring and autumn — but the thermocline can leave the water much colder at depth.
Is Sitges good for a beginner?
Accessible: generally calm sea, clear water and little current — good for building water time on small-sea days. Mind the boat traffic in summer; always use the buoy.
Do I need a licence in Sitges?
Yes — in Sitges you need a recreational sea-fishing licence (issued by the autonomous community); breath-hold only (no scuba), with a marker buoy and no night diving. See the guide.
✓There is no fixed national catch cap (, art. 5 delegates it to the communities); the standard is 5 kg/person/day, with 1 specimen allowed not to count (Canaries — Decreto 182/2004, art. 38.3; Murcia; Galicia; Basque Country). Protected species have per-piece quotas.
✓Only a harpoon is allowed — hand-held or mechanically propelled, with one or several points (, art. 14.1). Carrying spearfishing gear and underwater breathing equipment aboard AT THE SAME TIME is prohibited (art. 14.2) — an offence in itself, even if you dived on a breath hold.
✓Spain is not one jurisdiction. The licence is issued by a coastal autonomous community, and you must comply with the rules of the administration on whose littoral you are in the water: «debiendo cumplir la normativa establecida por la administración en cuyo litoral se realice la actividad» (, art. 13). Interior waters — inside the straight baselines: bays, coves, rías, the whole coastal strip — are the community's competence; exterior waters are the State's. So the age, the days of the week, the distances and the are found in your community's act, not in the state one.
✓Catalonia: the «Llicència de pesca recreativa subaquàtica» (recreational spearfishing) is issued by the Generalitat de Catalunya — applied for at tramits.gencat.cat.
✓Bans: Illes Medes, Ses Negres (Begur), parts of Cap de Creus — spearfishing banned (see zones).
✓Catalonia (Decret 109/1995): the daily cap per licence is 10 kg of fish, 5 kg of cephalopods and 150 sea urchins (art. 25.1); the excess weight of one big specimen does not count (art. 25.2), and for tuna and swordfish there are no kilos at all — the cap is 2 pieces a day (art. 25.3). Sunrise to sunset only (art. 15), on a breath hold, with a hand spear or a mechanically propelled gun that may be loaded ONLY under water (art. 16). Keep 100 m from set gear, marine farms, anglers' rods and professional vessels, and at least 250 m from bathing zones measured along the shore (art. 17); lamps, torches, powder- or gas-propelled guns and explosive points are banned (art. 18); a surface buoy is mandatory (art. 19). Only fish, cephalopods and sea urchins may be taken (art. 24.1), and the triton (Charonia lampa — así lo imprime el decreto), the fan mussel (Pinna nobilis) and the date mussel (Lithophaga lithophaga) may not be collected at all (art. 24.2).
Spain
