- window
- In doubt, the order in force at Soverato is asked of the Capitaneria and not of the neighbour in the car park. With Scirocco in the forecast the useful window shortens by itself, long before sunset. In doubt, ask the local Capitaneria beforehand and not afterwards. Under a high coast the light goes before the clock says it should.
- tide
- The tide is felt more in narrow channels than in front of an open shore. Even at springs the band out to five metres stays 540 m wide: the level does not change the route. The inshore current is read off your float, not off the table. The way back against the current is tested at the start and not at the end.
- shelter
- The bay works like a funnel: with the swell in the mouth the water inside dirties, and it stays dirty after the wind has dropped. With an exposure of 132° the awkward sector runs from east to south, and outside it the day is usually saved. At Soverato the swell forecast matters more than the wind forecast on this stretch. If the entry is being hit, walk round instead of swimming across.
- conditions
- Getting twenty metres under you takes about 690 m of swimming, so it pays to get in already decided on where to go. With 200 m reached about 1500 m out, the limit of the day is set by your breath and not by the distance. Do not force the depth to make up for poor clarity. The best water nearly always arrives from offshore on a light Maestrale.
- hazard
- Under sixteen you do not handle a speargun: the rule is national. With Scirocco 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. At 0 m from the shore no emergency sorts itself out: come out at the first sign. At Soverato the conditions change faster than the forecast does.
- access
- At Soverato the entry at the head of the cove is the one that holds up best even in a made-up sea. The mark is right against the shore, 0 m from the coastline, and ten metres of water is about 540 m out. In a hard Scirocco the windward exit becomes unusable: check an alternative. The last stretch back to land, 0 m, is always done with less breath than you expected.
Cove tucked between cliffs; sea bream and saddled bream, easy entry but busy in summer.
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