MARINE REPORT / 72 HOURS

Cathedral Cove Snorkel Report Today

New Zealand · Updated Thu 05:35 (NZDT) · Source: Snapshot

The skinny

Marginal Data updated Thu 05:35 (NZDT)

Cathedral Cove looks marginal today. The least-bad daylight window is around Thu 20:00, but waves is limiting the forecast.

Right now (forecast)

Poor · 0.0/10

Thu 06:00 (NZDT)

Later today

Poor · 3.1/10

Thu 20:00 (NZDT)

Next three days

Fair · 4.8/10

Sat 20:00 (NZDT)

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

Score: 3.1/10

Best time: Thu 20:00

Main risk: Waves

No useful morning window is showing yet.

Best afternoon signal: Thu 20:00 (Poor). Peak afternoon wind is about 5.0 m/s.

Email me when it is good

Sunrise

06:02

Sunset

20:00

Water

15.9°C

Max air

21.2°C

Sky

Partly cloudy

55% 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 (0.48) · still limited by waves, sea temperature
  • Sat 19:00: Fair (0.46) · still limited by waves, sea temperature
  • Sat 13:00: Fair (0.38) · still limited by waves, sea temperature

Why this verdict

Main blockers across the next 72 hours:

  • Waves (70 hours)
  • Sea temperature (70 hours)
  • Tide/current (58 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

Wed 06:00 – Sat 06:00 (NZDT)

Previous day Yesterday Next day Live

Snorkel Score (selected 24h)

Best snorkel score is 0.68 around Wed 15:00; 7 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.

24/24 sampled hours stay at or below 0.36m (range 0.26m to 0.28m).

Wind is at or below 5.4m/s in 24/24 sampled hours (range 1.59 to 4.36m/s).

Tides range from -0.42m to 0.7m; 2 of 24 hours are in or near peak slack windows.

72-hour historical overview
Poor ❌ Limited
Poor ❌ Limited
Poor ❌ Limited
Poor ❌ Limited
Poor ❌ Limited
Poor ❌ Limited
Poor ❌ Limited
Good 🌟 Good
Good 🌟 Good
Good 🌟 Good
Good 🌟 Good
Good 🌟 Good
Good 🌟 Good
Good 🌟 Good
Poor ❌ Limited
Poor ❌ Limited
Poor ❌ Limited
Poor ❌ Limited
Poor ❌ Limited
Poor ❌ Limited
Poor ❌ Limited
Poor ❌ Limited
Poor ❌ Limited
Poor ❌ Limited
Poor ❌ Limited
Poor ❌ Limited
Poor ❌ Limited
Poor ❌ Limited
Poor ❌ Limited
Poor ❌ Limited
Poor ❌ Limited
Good 🌟 Good
Good 🌟 Good
Good 🌟 Good
Good 🌟 Good
Good 🌟 Good
Good 🌟 Good
Good 🌟 Good
Poor ❌ Limited
Poor ❌ Limited
Poor ❌ Limited
Poor ❌ Limited
Poor ❌ Limited
Poor ❌ Limited
Poor ❌ Limited
Poor ❌ Limited
Poor ❌ Limited
Poor ❌ Limited
Poor ❌ Limited
Poor ❌ Limited
Poor ❌ Limited
Poor ❌ Limited
Poor ❌ Limited
Poor ❌ Limited
Poor ❌ Limited
Good 🌟 Good
Good 🌟 Good
Good 🌟 Good
Good 🌟 Good
Good 🌟 Good
Good 🌟 Good
Good 🌟 Good
Poor ❌ Limited
Poor ❌ Limited
Poor ❌ Limited
Poor ❌ Limited
Poor ❌ Limited
Poor ❌ Limited
Poor ❌ Limited
Poor ❌ Limited
Poor ❌ Limited
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
Wed 06:00 0.26 · good 1.59 · good 16.20 · out of range Poor
Wed 07:00 0.26 · good 2.17 · good 16.20 · out of range Poor
Wed 08:00 0.26 · good 1.75 · good 16.20 · out of range Poor
Wed 09:00 0.26 · good 2.50 · good 16.30 · out of range Poor
Wed 10:00 0.26 · good 2.68 · good 16.40 · out of range Poor
Wed 11:00 0.26 · good 2.97 · good 16.50 · out of range Poor
Wed 12:00 0.26 · good 3.22 · good 16.60 · out of range Poor
Wed 13:00 0.26 · good 2.93 · good 16.70 · out of range Good
Wed 14:00 0.26 · good 2.76 · good 16.70 · out of range Good
Wed 15:00 0.26 · good 2.65 · good 16.70 · out of range Good
Wed 16:00 0.26 · good 3.08 · good 16.80 · out of range Good
Wed 17:00 0.26 · good 4.00 · good 16.80 · out of range Good
Wed 18:00 0.28 · good 4.25 · good 16.70 · out of range Good
Wed 19:00 0.28 · good 4.36 · good 16.70 · out of range Good
Wed 20:00 0.28 · good 2.84 · good 16.70 · out of range Poor
Wed 21:00 0.28 · good 2.66 · good 16.90 · out of range Poor
Wed 22:00 0.28 · good 2.21 · good 16.80 · out of range Poor
Wed 23:00 0.28 · good 1.78 · good 16.60 · out of range Poor
Thu 00:00 0.26 · good 1.73 · good 16.60 · out of range Poor
Thu 01:00 0.26 · good 1.92 · good 16.50 · out of range Poor
Thu 02:00 0.26 · good 2.11 · good 16.40 · out of range Poor
Thu 03:00 0.26 · good 2.59 · good 16.30 · out of range Poor
Thu 04:00 0.26 · good 2.87 · good 16.30 · out of range Poor
Thu 05:00 0.26 · good 3.16 · good 16.20 · out of range Poor
Thu 06:00 0.26 · good 3.22 · good 16.20 · out of range Poor
Thu 07:00 0.26 · good 2.67 · good 16.20 · out of range Poor
Thu 08:00 0.26 · good 3.46 · good 16.30 · out of range Poor
Thu 09:00 0.28 · good 3.72 · good 16.40 · out of range Poor
Thu 10:00 0.24 · good 3.85 · good 16.50 · out of range Poor
Thu 11:00 0.24 · good 3.77 · good 16.60 · out of range Poor
Thu 12:00 0.26 · good 3.92 · good 16.70 · out of range Poor
Thu 13:00 0.26 · good 2.86 · good 16.80 · out of range Good
Thu 14:00 0.28 · good 2.86 · good 16.80 · out of range Good
Thu 15:00 0.28 · good 3.43 · good 16.90 · out of range Good
Thu 16:00 0.30 · good 3.48 · good 16.90 · out of range Good
Thu 17:00 0.32 · good 5.04 · good 17.00 · out of range Good
Thu 18:00 0.32 · good 5.29 · good 17.00 · out of range Good
Thu 19:00 0.28 · good 4.47 · good 16.80 · out of range Good
Thu 20:00 0.28 · good 3.85 · good 16.70 · out of range Poor
Thu 21:00 0.28 · good 3.52 · good 16.70 · out of range Poor
Thu 22:00 0.28 · good 3.54 · good 16.60 · out of range Poor
Thu 23:00 0.28 · good 3.38 · good 16.50 · out of range Poor
Fri 00:00 0.26 · good 2.84 · good 16.40 · out of range Poor
Fri 01:00 0.26 · good 3.67 · good 16.40 · out of range Poor
Fri 02:00 0.26 · good 4.20 · good 16.30 · out of range Poor
Fri 03:00 0.26 · good 4.22 · good 16.30 · out of range Poor
Fri 04:00 0.26 · good 3.94 · good 16.20 · out of range Poor
Fri 05:00 0.24 · good 3.23 · good 16.20 · out of range Poor
Fri 06:00 0.24 · good 2.28 · good 16.20 · out of range Poor
Fri 07:00 0.22 · good 1.81 · good 16.20 · out of range Poor
Fri 08:00 0.22 · good 1.77 · good 16.30 · out of range Poor
Fri 09:00 0.20 · good 1.17 · good 16.40 · out of range Poor
Fri 10:00 0.20 · good 0.16 · good 16.50 · out of range Poor
Fri 11:00 0.20 · good 1.45 · good 16.60 · out of range Poor
Fri 12:00 0.20 · good 3.23 · good 16.70 · out of range Poor
Fri 13:00 0.20 · good 4.19 · good 16.80 · out of range Good
Fri 14:00 0.20 · good 4.39 · good 16.80 · out of range Good
Fri 15:00 0.20 · good 3.76 · good 16.90 · out of range Good
Fri 16:00 0.20 · good 3.34 · good 17.00 · out of range Good
Fri 17:00 0.20 · good 3.04 · good 17.00 · out of range Good
Fri 18:00 0.20 · good 2.37 · good 17.00 · out of range Good
Fri 19:00 0.20 · good 1.25 · good 17.00 · out of range Good
Fri 20:00 0.20 · good 0.76 · good 17.00 · out of range Poor
Fri 21:00 0.20 · good 0.27 · good 16.90 · out of range Poor
Fri 22:00 0.20 · good 0.29 · good 16.90 · out of range Poor
Fri 23:00 0.20 · good 0.46 · good 16.80 · out of range Poor
Sat 00:00 0.22 · good 0.45 · good 16.70 · out of range Poor
Sat 01:00 0.22 · good 0.60 · good 16.60 · out of range Poor
Sat 02:00 0.22 · good 0.65 · good 16.60 · out of range Poor
Sat 03:00 0.22 · good 0.81 · good 16.50 · out of range Poor
Sat 04:00 0.22 · good 0.65 · good 16.50 · out of range Poor
Sat 05:00 0.22 · good 0.60 · good 16.40 · out of range Poor