Watamu spearfishing forecast — wind, swell, visibility, tides & live cameras

spearo.app / Kenya / Watamu
PTPortuguêsRUРусскийESEspañolITItalianoELΕλληνικάFRFrançaisTRTürkçeHRHrvatski
◈Watamu · Kenya
2.6
🌫 Murky all week after the storm — the water isn't settling
visibility~2m

Nottoday

Today — sit it out — wave, wind and surge pounding. 🌫 Murky all week after the storm — the water isn't settling

Sources: Open-Meteo · Copernicus — high confidence · data 00:50

Sources & confidence

Sources
Open-Meteo · Copernicus
Method
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.

Entry pointsNo-take zones

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.

Download on theApp StoreGET IT ONGoogle Play
Google Play — QR code
point your camera
0 m

Surface

Wind, wave and the swell windows — when to go and the best hours.

spearo.app
updated 00:50
Watamu — solo, off the rocks
DON'T GO
don't go · wave 1.6 m (occasionally up to ~3.3 m)
wave 1.6 mwind 14, gusts 26 km/hsurge pounding the rocksvisibility ~2 m
today, best window 06:00–09:00
fish · Visibility 2 m · Water 27.2°C
confidence high · verdict for the selected day
Whole week — tap a day. is driving swell right now.
›
Solo risk: carry a float · tell someone your plan and exit time · doubt = don't go. A model-based planner; the call is made on site.
Selected day

Windows, hours
and the day's trends.

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.

Tuesday · today2026-10-13
06:01–18:11 · waxing crescent
▲ 05:00▼ 11:00▲ 17:00▼ 23:00mid-range tides · 3.3 m
Hours (06→20)
06
09
12
15
18
Day's trends
Tide-0.85 m
Wave1.76 m
Wind12 km/h
Water27 °C
fish activity: moon underfoot 01:40 · high · moonrise 07:51 · moderate · moon overhead 14:10 · high · moonset 20:27 · moderate
Conditions window06:00–09:00
don't go fish
Hs 1.64 m · roughperiod 6.6 swind 14→26surge 16.5viz 2 m
1.64 mrough · up to ~3.28 · 126° at an angle
6.6 sswell moderate
14→26gusts 26 km/h
16.5pounding the rocks
0.28m/s
2 mrecent swell
27.2°C5 mm + hood
▼11:00tide falling
Atmosphere9 kmprecip 0.3 mm
moderatemoonrise
  • wave 1.6 m (occasionally up to ~3.3 m)
  • wind-wave — choppy surface
  • ebb — weaker inshore
confidence hightwilight
Open the seafloor map with entry points →
Coming soon

Get the go / no-go verdict for Watamu by email

Leave your email — and the moment a window opens at Watamu, we'll send the go / no-go verdict. Email is all we need.

Optional: city, channel, phone
What to send
Where to send it
More spots

Spots in Kenya

🇰🇪Kenya

Kenya map →

Nearby towns

  • Malindi
  • Kilifi
  • Takaungu
  • Mtwapa
  • Nyali

Mombasa and Nyali

  • Mombasa

South coast (Shimoni–Diani)

  • Tiwi Beach
  • Diani Beach
  • Msambweni
  • Shimoni

North coast (Kilifi–Watamu–Lamu)

  • Lamu

spearo.app — All countries

Feedback

Help us make it better

What's missing? Tell us what you'd like to see — new spots, species, data or features. We read everything.

spearo.app · a private marine instrument · Watamu · a planner, not a safety guaranteePrivacy
Today
Notify me
Map
Best window · next 3 days

Next 3 days — not divable: wave up to 2.1 m

🌫 Murky all week after the storm — the water isn't settling

↑ high tide 04:40 · slack water ~03:55–05:25 bite times: 07:21–08:21 · 13:10–15:10

Tell me when it's on

Just your email — nothing else needed.

Your best window — with you. Forecast in your pocket.

Download on theApp StoreGET IT ONGoogle Play
Google Play — QR code
point your camera
−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.

See all spots →
−20 m

The seabed

Relief and bottom type, tides, and the depths of each spot.

On the rock

The forecast is the plan.
The call is on the rock.

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.

Entry points

Where to get in
off the rocks.

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 map →
Brain Coral (Watamu)Watamu
dangerous
⛔ Banned here
exposed head-on to the swell today
window
—

Reef dive site, boat access, depth 15-18 m; permanently buoyed. Inside Watamu Marine National Park — no-take, no fishing of any kind (approx. boundary).

Google Maps
South Canyon / Dolphin PointWatamu
dangerous
⛔ Banned here
exposed head-on to the swell today
window
—

Reef wall with overhangs, reef top at about 8-10 m, boat access, depth 10-28 m; permanently buoyed. Inside Watamu Marine National Park — no-take, no fishing of any kind (approx. boundary).

Google Maps
Watamu Blue LagoonWatamu
dangerous
⛔ Banned here
exposed head-on to the swell today
window
—

Calm lagoon water, shore entry from the beach, depth 2-5 m; tide-dependent. Inside Watamu Marine National Park — no-take, no fishing of any kind (approx. boundary). Coords approx.

Google Maps
Watamu Coral Garden (Turtle Bay)Watamu
dangerous
⛔ Banned here
exposed head-on to the swell today
window
—

Coral garden in the lagoon, protected by the outer reef from ocean swell, shore entry from the beach, depth 3-8 m; tide-driven: the day is shaped by the tide over the reef flat. Inside Watamu Marine National Park — no-take, no fishing of any kind (approx. boundary). Coords approx.

Google Maps
Watamu beach reefWatamu
dangerous
⛔ Banned here
exposed head-on to the swell today
window
—

Unnamed reef patch on the lagoon flat, mapped but not a named dive site, shore entry from the beach; shore snorkelling only around low tide. Inside Watamu Marine National Park — no-take, no fishing of any kind (approx. boundary). Not confirmed as a dive or hunting site — unverified.

Google Maps

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.

Download on theApp StoreGET IT ONGoogle Play
Google Play — QR code
point your camera
≈

Surfacing

Cameras, map and reference — to hand as you come up.

Live cameras, map & reference
Open the seafloor map →
Reference

What's in season,
what the law says.

In season now
  • no targets this month
Law

    Kenya: recreational fishing is limited to angling and fly fishing (Fisheries Management and Development (Recreational Fisheries) Regulations 2024, LN 127/2024, reg. 15); a 2001 speargun ban (Gazette Notice 7565) is reported. Spearfishing is not a permitted recreational method. Check with the Kenya Fisheries Service before you dive.

    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 Watamu

    Where can I spearfish in Watamu?

    Watamu has rock entry points such as Watamu Coral Garden (Turtle Bay), Watamu Blue Lagoon and Watamu beach reef. Watamu has a coral garden and lagoon reachable straight from the beach, sheltered by the outer reef, plus buoyed boat sites on the reef edge. Below you'll find each spot (access, shelter and hazards) and today's forecast.

    When is the best season in Watamu?

    Kaskazi (about Nov–Mar) is best, the Lamu archipelago especially; Kusi (about Jun–Sep) is rough outside the reef.

    How cold is the water in Watamu?

    About 25–29 °C (forecast SST supersedes).

    Is Watamu good for a beginner?

    Watamu and Malindi parks are closed to all fishing; Sabaki river silt lowers visibility around Malindi after heavy rain. Lamu: fly in to the airport on Manda Island, not by road; the UK FCDO advises against all travel to the rest of Lamu County outside Lamu and Manda islands.

    Do I need a licence in Watamu?

    Watamu: Kenya: recreational fishing is limited to angling and fly fishing (Fisheries Management and Development (Recreational Fisheries) Regulations 2024, LN 127/2024, reg. 15); a 2001 speargun ban (Gazette Notice 7565) is reported. Spearfishing is not a permitted recreational method. Check with the Kenya Fisheries Service before you dive.

    Data partners
    dive centres that send us real visibility readings
    Águas VivasMilfontes · Sagres

    transparency nearby ~20 m · satellite, yesterdaysatellite estimate · may differ right at the shore