MARINE REPORT / 72 HOURS

Cathedral Cove Snorkel Report Today

New Zealand · Updated Thu 02:23 (NZDT) · Source: Snapshot

The skinny

Marginal Data updated Thu 02:23 (NZDT)

Cathedral Cove looks marginal today. The least-bad daylight window is around Thu 16:00, but waves is limiting the forecast.

Right now (forecast)

Poor · 0.0/10

Thu 04:00 (NZDT)

Later today

Poor · 3.0/10

Thu 16:00 (NZDT)

Next three days

Fair · 4.7/10

Sat 20:00 (NZDT)

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

Score: 3.0/10

Best time: Thu 16:00

Main risk: Waves

No useful morning window is showing yet.

Best afternoon signal: Thu 16:00 (Poor). Peak afternoon wind is about 4.8 m/s.

Email me when it is good

Sunrise

06:02

Sunset

20:00

Water

15.9°C

Max air

21.4°C

Sky

Cloudy

100% cloud

No good model window in the next 72 hours

Use the best-available section for the least-bad times.

3-day planner Best available Show data

3-day planner

Thursday

❌ Poor conditions

Main blocker: Waves

Friday

⚠️ Fair conditions

Main blocker: Waves

Saturday

⚠️ Fair conditions

Main blocker: Waves

Best available hours

  • Sat 20:00: Fair (0.47) · still limited by waves, sea temperature
  • Sat 19:00: Fair (0.45) · still limited by waves, sea temperature
  • Sat 13:00: Fair (0.39) · still limited by waves, sea temperature

Why this verdict

Main blockers across the next 72 hours:

  • Waves (69 hours)
  • Sea temperature (69 hours)
  • Tide/current (56 hours)

Jellyfish drift risk

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

Low · 18/100

Low peak drift risk around Thu 11:00.

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

Thu 09:00, Thu 21:00, Fri 10:00, Fri 22:00, Sat 11:00, Sat 23:00

Nearby alternatives in New Zealand

Goat Island

108 km away

❌ Poor

Poor Knights Islands

179 km away

❌ Poor

Bay of Islands

235 km away

❌ Poor

Abel Tasman

511 km away

✅ Good

Advanced forecast data

Viewing historical data

Sun 04:00 – Wed 04:00 (NZDT)

Previous day Yesterday Next day Live

Snorkel Score (selected 24h)

Best snorkel score is 0.39 around Sun 19:00; 4 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.

11/24 sampled hours stay at or below 0.36m (range 0.22m to 0.72m).

Wind is at or below 5.4m/s in 21/24 sampled hours (range 0.32 to 5.9m/s).

Tides range from -0.78m to 0.99m; 2 of 24 hours are in or near peak slack windows.

72-hour historical overview
Poor ❌ Limited
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Fair ⚠️ Fair
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Poor ❌ Limited
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Poor ❌ Limited
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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 04:00 0.22 · good 1.47 · good 16.20 · out of range Poor
Sun 05:00 0.22 · good 1.33 · good 16.20 · out of range Poor
Sun 06:00 0.22 · good 0.32 · good 16.20 · out of range Poor
Sun 07:00 0.22 · good 0.51 · good 16.20 · out of range Poor
Sun 08:00 0.22 · good 0.46 · good 16.20 · out of range Poor
Sun 09:00 0.22 · good 1.19 · good 16.20 · out of range Poor
Sun 10:00 0.26 · good 2.42 · good 16.30 · out of range Poor
Sun 11:00 0.28 · good 3.48 · good 16.30 · out of range Poor
Sun 12:00 0.30 · good 4.23 · good 16.30 · out of range Poor
Sun 13:00 0.32 · good 4.81 · good 16.40 · out of range Fair
Sun 14:00 0.36 · good 5.45 · high 16.40 · out of range Fair
Sun 15:00 0.38 · high 5.65 · high 16.40 · out of range Fair
Sun 16:00 0.42 · high 5.90 · high 16.40 · out of range Poor
Sun 17:00 0.44 · high 5.27 · good 16.40 · out of range Poor
Sun 18:00 0.44 · high 5.25 · good 16.40 · out of range Poor
Sun 19:00 0.46 · high 4.55 · good 16.40 · out of range Fair
Sun 20:00 0.50 · high 3.11 · good 16.40 · out of range Poor
Sun 21:00 0.52 · high 2.65 · good 16.40 · out of range Poor
Sun 22:00 0.62 · high 3.16 · good 16.30 · out of range Poor
Sun 23:00 0.64 · high 3.00 · good 16.20 · out of range Poor
Mon 00:00 0.64 · high 3.37 · good 16.20 · out of range Poor
Mon 01:00 0.66 · high 3.98 · good 16.20 · out of range Poor
Mon 02:00 0.68 · high 3.77 · good 16.10 · out of range Poor
Mon 03:00 0.72 · high 3.54 · good 16.10 · out of range Poor
Mon 04:00 0.74 · high 3.04 · good 16.10 · out of range Poor
Mon 05:00 0.76 · high 2.44 · good 16.00 · out of range Poor
Mon 06:00 0.76 · high 2.61 · good 16.00 · out of range Poor
Mon 07:00 0.78 · high 2.93 · good 16.00 · out of range Poor
Mon 08:00 0.78 · high 4.55 · good 16.00 · out of range Poor
Mon 09:00 0.80 · high 4.95 · good 16.10 · out of range Poor
Mon 10:00 0.80 · high 5.21 · good 16.10 · out of range Poor
Mon 11:00 0.80 · high 5.53 · high 16.20 · out of range Poor
Mon 12:00 0.80 · high 5.40 · good 16.20 · out of range Poor
Mon 13:00 0.82 · high 5.14 · good 16.30 · out of range Poor
Mon 14:00 0.82 · high 5.09 · good 16.30 · out of range Poor
Mon 15:00 0.80 · high 4.89 · good 16.30 · out of range Poor
Mon 16:00 0.80 · high 5.15 · good 16.40 · out of range Poor
Mon 17:00 0.80 · high 4.48 · good 16.40 · out of range Poor
Mon 18:00 0.80 · high 4.35 · good 16.40 · out of range Poor
Mon 19:00 0.80 · high 4.40 · good 16.40 · out of range Poor
Mon 20:00 0.80 · high 3.55 · good 16.40 · out of range Poor
Mon 21:00 0.80 · high 3.15 · good 16.30 · out of range Poor
Mon 22:00 0.80 · high 2.83 · good 16.30 · out of range Poor
Mon 23:00 0.80 · high 2.83 · good 16.10 · out of range Poor
Tue 00:00 0.80 · high 1.55 · good 16.10 · out of range Poor
Tue 01:00 0.80 · high 1.71 · good 16.10 · out of range Poor
Tue 02:00 0.80 · high 1.63 · good 16.10 · out of range Poor
Tue 03:00 0.78 · high 1.10 · good 16.00 · out of range Poor
Tue 04:00 0.78 · high 0.71 · good 16.00 · out of range Poor
Tue 05:00 0.78 · high 0.79 · good 16.00 · out of range Poor
Tue 06:00 0.76 · high 0.25 · good 16.00 · out of range Poor
Tue 07:00 0.76 · high 0.36 · good 16.00 · out of range Poor
Tue 08:00 0.76 · high 0.11 · good 16.00 · out of range Poor
Tue 09:00 0.76 · high 2.82 · good 16.10 · out of range Poor
Tue 10:00 0.76 · high 3.34 · good 16.10 · out of range Poor
Tue 11:00 0.76 · high 3.83 · good 16.20 · out of range Poor
Tue 12:00 0.78 · high 4.60 · good 16.20 · out of range Poor
Tue 13:00 0.78 · high 4.56 · good 16.30 · out of range Poor
Tue 14:00 0.78 · high 4.79 · good 16.30 · out of range Poor
Tue 15:00 0.80 · high 4.64 · good 16.30 · out of range Poor
Tue 16:00 0.80 · high 4.67 · good 16.40 · out of range Poor
Tue 17:00 0.80 · high 4.52 · good 16.40 · out of range Poor
Tue 18:00 0.80 · high 3.86 · good 16.40 · out of range Poor
Tue 19:00 0.80 · high 3.39 · good 16.40 · out of range Poor
Tue 20:00 0.80 · high 1.84 · good 16.40 · out of range Poor
Tue 21:00 0.80 · high 1.16 · good 16.40 · out of range Poor
Tue 22:00 0.80 · high 0.39 · good 16.40 · out of range Poor
Tue 23:00 0.80 · high 0.41 · good 16.30 · out of range Poor
Wed 00:00 0.78 · high 0.30 · good 16.40 · out of range Poor
Wed 01:00 0.78 · high 0.18 · good 16.40 · out of range Poor
Wed 02:00 0.78 · high 0.29 · good 16.30 · out of range Poor
Wed 03:00 0.80 · high 0.16 · good 16.30 · out of range Poor