What is the best time of day to snorkel in Michaelmas Cay?

Snorkel in daylight, if possible in the morning before the wind picks up. Currents are often weaker near high slack tide. SnorkelForecast scores each daylight hour for Michaelmas Cay.

What is the best tide for snorkeling?

High slack tide, within about an hour of the high-tide peak, often has weaker currents. Strong low tides and tidal flow near channels or headlands reduce the score.

Where are the best snorkeling conditions near Michaelmas Cay today?

The nearby spots with the best forecasts later today are Hastings Reef, Fitzroy Island, Green Island. Check each spot page for hourly wind, wave, tide and water temperature detail.

MARINE REPORT / 72 HOURS

Michaelmas Cay Snorkel Report Today

Australia · Updated Wed 06:26 (AEST) · Source: Snapshot

The skinny

Go in the best window Data updated Wed 06:26 (AEST)

Michaelmas Cay has a usable snorkeling window around Wed 10:00. The main thing to watch is tide/current.

Right now (forecast)

Poor · 0.0/10

Wed 07:00 (AEST)

Later today

Good · 6.1/10

Wed 10:00 (AEST)

Next three days

Good · 6.8/10

Fri 11:00 (AEST)

Model estimates using Open-Meteo; not observations or safety guarantees. Check official advisories and conditions at the beach.

Score: 6.1/10

Best time: Wed 10:00

Main risk: Tide/Current

Best morning signal: Wed 10:00 (Good).

Best afternoon signal: Wed 13:00 (Good). Peak afternoon wind is about 4.2 m/s.

Email me when it is good Compare nearby spots

Best nearby spots later today

Hastings Reef 6.6/10 Good · Wed 12:00 Fitzroy Island 6.1/10 Good · Wed 10:00 Green Island 6.0/10 Good · Wed 10:00

Sunrise

05:37

Sunset

18:21

Water

27.3°C

Max air

26.6°C

Sky

Clear

2% cloud

Good model window in the next 72 hours

Next good model window: Wed 10:00–13:00 (31% of the next 72h meets the model threshold)

3-day planner Best available Show data

3-day planner

Wednesday

✅ Good conditions

Main blocker: Tide/current

Thursday

✅ Good conditions

Main blocker: Tide/current

Friday

✅ Good conditions

Main blocker: Tide/current

Best available hours

The next good model window starts at Wed 10:00 and lasts until 13:00.

Why this verdict

Main blockers across the next 72 hours:

Tide/current (70 hours)
Darkness (43 hours)

Jellyfish drift risk

Drift estimate from wind, swell, current and warm water.

Low · 34/100

Low peak drift risk around Wed 10:00.

warm water supports seasonal jellyfish activity; surface drift/current is noticeable; local shoreline exposure is not mapped yet.

Sightings override the model: if you see small purple jellyfish with long trailing tentacles, treat them as sting-capable and give them space.

Upcoming high tides

Next early morning high tide: Thu 06:00

Wed 17:00, Thu 06:00, Thu 18:00, Fri 07:00, Fri 18:00

Nearby snorkel spot map

Compare nearby spot forecasts for later today before choosing a beach.

Hastings Reef Good · Wed 12:00 6.6/10 Fitzroy Island Good · Wed 10:00 6.1/10 Green Island Good · Wed 10:00 6.0/10 Moore Reef Good · Wed 12:00 5.6/10 Flynn Reef Fair · Wed 14:00 5.2/10

Forecast spot map

Use the map to see where the compared spots sit. Open a card for the hourly forecast.

This is a location diagram, not a marine chart. Check the shore and local signs in person.

Nearby alternatives in Australia

Hastings Reef

11 km away

✅ Good

Arlington Reef

13 km away

✅ Good

Green Island

17 km away

✅ Good

Moore Reef

18 km away

✅ Good

Advanced forecast data

Viewing historical data

Sun 07:00 – Wed 07:00 (AEST)

Previous day Yesterday Next day Live

Snorkel Score (selected 24h)

Best snorkel score is 0.39 around Sun 18:00; 2 of 24 hours are good, fair, or excellent.

Score trend, higher is better. Excellent ≥ 0.72, good 0.55–0.72, fair 0.35–0.55.

Conditions (24h trends)

Tap a chart to load just that series.

0/24 sampled hours stay at or below 0.36m (range 0.78m to 0.92m).

Wind is at or below 5.4m/s in 0/24 sampled hours (range 5.59 to 8.71m/s).

Tides range from 0.17m to 1.3m; 2 of 24 hours are in or near peak slack windows.

72-hour historical overview

Sun 07:00 Poor ❌ Limited

Sun 08:00 Poor ❌ Limited

Sun 09:00 Poor ❌ Limited

Sun 10:00 Poor ❌ Limited

Sun 11:00 Poor ❌ Limited

Sun 12:00 Poor ❌ Limited

Sun 13:00 Poor ❌ Limited

Sun 14:00 Poor ❌ Limited

Sun 15:00 Poor ❌ Limited

Sun 16:00 Poor ❌ Limited

Sun 17:00 Fair ⚠️ Fair

Sun 18:00 Fair ⚠️ Fair

Sun 19:00 Poor ❌ Limited

Sun 20:00 Poor ❌ Limited

Sun 21:00 Poor ❌ Limited

Sun 22:00 Poor ❌ Limited

Sun 23:00 Poor ❌ Limited

Mon 00:00 Poor ❌ Limited

Mon 01:00 Poor ❌ Limited

Mon 02:00 Poor ❌ Limited

Mon 03:00 Poor ❌ Limited

Mon 04:00 Poor ❌ Limited

Mon 05:00 Poor ❌ Limited

Mon 06:00 Poor ❌ Limited

Mon 07:00 Poor ❌ Limited

Mon 08:00 Poor ❌ Limited

Mon 09:00 Poor ❌ Limited

Mon 10:00 Poor ❌ Limited

Mon 11:00 Poor ❌ Limited

Mon 12:00 Poor ❌ Limited

Mon 13:00 Poor ❌ Limited

Mon 14:00 Poor ❌ Limited

Mon 15:00 Poor ❌ Limited

Mon 16:00 Poor ❌ Limited

Mon 17:00 Poor ❌ Limited

Mon 18:00 Poor ❌ Limited

Mon 19:00 Poor ❌ Limited

Mon 20:00 Poor ❌ Limited

Mon 21:00 Poor ❌ Limited

Mon 22:00 Poor ❌ Limited

Mon 23:00 Poor ❌ Limited

Tue 00:00 Poor ❌ Limited

Tue 01:00 Poor ❌ Limited

Tue 02:00 Poor ❌ Limited

Tue 03:00 Poor ❌ Limited

Tue 04:00 Poor ❌ Limited

Tue 05:00 Poor ❌ Limited

Tue 06:00 Poor ❌ Limited

Tue 07:00 Poor ❌ Limited

Tue 08:00 Poor ❌ Limited

Tue 09:00 Poor ❌ Limited

Tue 10:00 Poor ❌ Limited

Tue 11:00 Poor ❌ Limited

Tue 12:00 Poor ❌ Limited

Tue 13:00 Poor ❌ Limited

Tue 14:00 Poor ❌ Limited

Tue 15:00 Poor ❌ Limited

Tue 16:00 Poor ❌ Limited

Tue 17:00 Poor ❌ Limited

Tue 18:00 Poor ❌ Limited

Tue 19:00 Poor ❌ Limited

Tue 20:00 Poor ❌ Limited

Tue 21:00 Poor ❌ Limited

Tue 22:00 Poor ❌ Limited

Tue 23:00 Poor ❌ Limited

Wed 00:00 Poor ❌ Limited

Wed 01:00 Poor ❌ Limited

Wed 02:00 Poor ❌ Limited

Wed 03:00 Poor ❌ Limited

Wed 04:00 Poor ❌ Limited

Wed 05:00 Poor ❌ Limited

Wed 06:00 Poor ❌ Limited

Scoring methodology (for technical users)

We score each hour from 0 to 1 using daylight and these weighted components:

Wave height (35%): best below 0.36m, then decreases as it rises.
Wind speed (25%): best below 5.4m/s, lower is better.
Sea surface temperature (15%): best within 20.6°C to 30.4°C.
Tide and currents (15%): best around slack/high-tide windows.
Daylight (10%): visibility is better in daylight, so night hours score lower.

Detailed hourly data table

Time	Wave (m)	Wind (m/s)	Sea temp (°C)	Status
Sun 07:00	0.88 · high	6.64 · high	25.80 · good	Poor
Sun 08:00	0.92 · high	6.81 · high	25.80 · good	Poor
Sun 09:00	0.92 · high	6.71 · high	25.80 · good	Poor
Sun 10:00	0.92 · high	7.66 · high	25.80 · good	Poor
Sun 11:00	0.92 · high	6.87 · high	25.80 · good	Poor
Sun 12:00	0.92 · high	6.26 · high	25.90 · good	Poor
Sun 13:00	0.92 · high	6.76 · high	25.90 · good	Poor
Sun 14:00	0.92 · high	7.13 · high	26.00 · good	Poor
Sun 15:00	0.90 · high	7.89 · high	26.00 · good	Poor
Sun 16:00	0.90 · high	8.20 · high	26.00 · good	Poor
Sun 17:00	0.90 · high	6.27 · high	26.00 · good	Fair
Sun 18:00	0.90 · high	5.67 · high	26.00 · good	Fair
Sun 19:00	0.90 · high	5.59 · high	26.00 · good	Poor
Sun 20:00	0.80 · high	6.56 · high	25.90 · good	Poor
Sun 21:00	0.78 · high	6.54 · high	25.90 · good	Poor
Sun 22:00	0.78 · high	6.37 · high	25.90 · good	Poor
Sun 23:00	0.80 · high	6.46 · high	25.90 · good	Poor
Mon 00:00	0.84 · high	6.55 · high	25.80 · good	Poor
Mon 01:00	0.86 · high	7.63 · high	25.80 · good	Poor
Mon 02:00	0.86 · high	7.87 · high	25.80 · good	Poor
Mon 03:00	0.84 · high	8.14 · high	25.80 · good	Poor
Mon 04:00	0.84 · high	8.71 · high	25.80 · good	Poor
Mon 05:00	0.84 · high	8.21 · high	25.80 · good	Poor
Mon 06:00	0.84 · high	7.46 · high	25.80 · good	Poor
Mon 07:00	0.84 · high	6.71 · high	25.80 · good	Poor
Mon 08:00	0.84 · high	6.96 · high	25.80 · good	Poor
Mon 09:00	0.90 · high	6.97 · high	25.80 · good	Poor
Mon 10:00	0.88 · high	7.07 · high	25.80 · good	Poor
Mon 11:00	0.90 · high	7.61 · high	25.80 · good	Poor
Mon 12:00	0.94 · high	7.89 · high	25.80 · good	Poor
Mon 13:00	0.96 · high	8.17 · high	25.90 · good	Poor
Mon 14:00	0.96 · high	7.88 · high	25.90 · good	Poor
Mon 15:00	0.98 · high	9.36 · high	25.90 · good	Poor
Mon 16:00	0.98 · high	8.68 · high	25.90 · good	Poor
Mon 17:00	1.00 · high	8.61 · high	25.90 · good	Poor
Mon 18:00	1.02 · high	8.18 · high	25.90 · good	Poor
Mon 19:00	1.04 · high	7.69 · high	25.90 · good	Poor
Mon 20:00	1.04 · high	7.99 · high	25.90 · good	Poor
Mon 21:00	0.98 · high	8.42 · high	25.80 · good	Poor
Mon 22:00	0.98 · high	9.56 · high	25.80 · good	Poor
Mon 23:00	1.00 · high	8.08 · high	25.80 · good	Poor
Tue 00:00	1.00 · high	7.96 · high	25.80 · good	Poor
Tue 01:00	1.02 · high	9.15 · high	25.80 · good	Poor
Tue 02:00	1.02 · high	9.43 · high	25.80 · good	Poor
Tue 03:00	1.02 · high	9.79 · high	25.70 · good	Poor
Tue 04:00	1.02 · high	8.96 · high	25.70 · good	Poor
Tue 05:00	1.04 · high	8.98 · high	25.70 · good	Poor
Tue 06:00	1.08 · high	9.33 · high	25.70 · good	Poor
Tue 07:00	1.12 · high	9.53 · high	25.70 · good	Poor
Tue 08:00	1.14 · high	9.44 · high	25.70 · good	Poor
Tue 09:00	1.14 · high	9.37 · high	25.70 · good	Poor
Tue 10:00	1.16 · high	9.50 · high	25.70 · good	Poor
Tue 11:00	1.18 · high	9.17 · high	25.70 · good	Poor
Tue 12:00	1.20 · high	9.05 · high	25.70 · good	Poor
Tue 13:00	1.22 · high	9.31 · high	25.80 · good	Poor
Tue 14:00	1.24 · high	9.27 · high	25.80 · good	Poor
Tue 15:00	1.24 · high	8.88 · high	25.80 · good	Poor
Tue 16:00	1.26 · high	8.39 · high	25.80 · good	Poor
Tue 17:00	1.24 · high	8.54 · high	25.80 · good	Poor
Tue 18:00	1.22 · high	8.75 · high	25.80 · good	Poor
Tue 19:00	1.20 · high	8.92 · high	25.80 · good	Poor
Tue 20:00	1.10 · high	9.04 · high	25.70 · good	Poor
Tue 21:00	1.10 · high	9.13 · high	25.70 · good	Poor
Tue 22:00	1.10 · high	9.49 · high	25.70 · good	Poor
Tue 23:00	1.08 · high	9.31 · high	25.70 · good	Poor
Wed 00:00	1.08 · high	8.79 · high	25.70 · good	Poor
Wed 01:00	1.06 · high	8.08 · high	25.60 · good	Poor
Wed 02:00	1.06 · high	7.83 · high	25.60 · good	Poor
Wed 03:00	1.04 · high	8.20 · high	25.60 · good	Poor
Wed 04:00	1.04 · high	8.48 · high	25.60 · good	Poor
Wed 05:00	1.04 · high	7.36 · high	25.60 · good	Poor
Wed 06:00	1.02 · high	7.13 · high	25.60 · good	Poor