The Dive Bell · Bell No. 4 · Central Coast

Monterey dive conditions

As of Tuesday 6:00pm, the best window this week is Wed dusk, 6.2 of 10 - marginal, held back by stirred-up water.

A quiet week. Last rang October 16, 2026 - 25 days ago.

Right now

Water, measured
67F
Monterey Harbor (NOAA), 0.6 km away, this hour · the bell wants 53F or warmer
Wind, measured
0 kn
Monterey Airport, 5.5 km away, this hour · the glass line is 7 kn
Wind vs model
-3.1 kn
measured lighter than modeled at dawn, 18 hours compared at Monterey Airport · watched, not yet applied
Buoy, right now
7.2 ft @ 13.0 s
from 284° · 18 min ago
Tide
-0.3 ft rising
high 3.8 at 12:28am
Satellite clarity
hazy
Kd490 0.081, 15 days old · a witness, not a forecast
Dry spell
72 h+
the gate wants 72 hours without rain
Plankton
clear
chlorophyll 1.3 mg/m³ by satellite · green water is plankton
Buoy vs model
0.71x
the buoy reads 29% lower than the model this week
Moon
new · 2%
full in 14 days · new in 28

The water index

Wed dusk - this bell's best window this week, scored on its own water.

ROUGHMARGINALWORKABLEGOODEXCELLENT6.2

The week, scored

Each window is scored 1 to 10 for this water alone; 7 is worth the drive. The bell rings only when every condition aligns and holds across two readings.

Wed dawn5.8
swell 3.4 ft @ 10.0 s from 290° · wind 5.6 kn · tide 3.7 ft ↑ · cloud 2% · first light 6:11am · sun up 6:41am
held back by stirred-up water · Breakwater (San Carlos)
Wed dusk6.2
swell 3.0 ft @ 9.7 s from 291° · wind 4.7 kn · tide 1.7 ft ↓ · cloud 7% · sun down 5:01pm
held back by stirred-up water · Breakwater (San Carlos)
Thu dawn5.5
swell 3.7 ft @ 10.8 s from 290° · wind 1.8 kn · tide 3.6 ft ↑ · cloud 100% · first light 6:12am · sun up 6:42am
held back by swell · Breakwater (San Carlos)
Thu dusk5.2
swell 4.1 ft @ 11.4 s from 288° · wind 6.7 kn · tide 2.5 ft ↓ · cloud 100% · sun down 5:00pm
held back by swell · Breakwater (San Carlos)
Fri dawn5.1
swell 4.1 ft @ 10.7 s from 280° · wind 3.0 kn · tide 3.5 ft ↑ · cloud 83% · first light 6:13am · sun up 6:43am
held back by stirred-up water · Breakwater (San Carlos)
Fri dusk5.2
swell 3.6 ft @ 11.4 s from 283° · wind 4.8 kn · tide 3.2 ft ↓ · cloud 100% · sun down 4:59pm
held back by stirred-up water · McAbee Beach
Sat dawn1.0
swell 9.4 ft @ 13.4 s from 292° · wind 5.1 kn · tide 3.5 ft ↓ · cloud 61% · first light 6:14am · sun up 6:44am
held back by rain · Breakwater (San Carlos)
Sat dusk1.0
swell 8.8 ft @ 13.0 s from 293° · wind 6.2 kn · tide 3.7 ft ↓ · cloud 33% · sun down 4:59pm
held back by rain · Breakwater (San Carlos)
Sun dawn1.4
swell 5.3 ft @ 10.9 s from 290° · wind 2.6 kn · tide 3.7 ft ↓ · cloud 90% · first light 6:15am · sun up 6:45am
held back by rain · Breakwater (San Carlos)
Sun dusk2.7
swell 4.0 ft @ 10.2 s from 288° · wind 5.7 kn · tide 4.0 ft ↓ · cloud 64% · sun down 4:58pm
held back by rain · Breakwater (San Carlos)
Mon dawn1.0
swell 6.8 ft @ 12.6 s from 290° · wind 2.2 kn · tide 3.9 ft ↓ · cloud 100% · first light 6:16am · sun up 6:46am
held back by rain · Breakwater (San Carlos)
Mon dusk1.0
swell 7.0 ft @ 12.5 s from 291° · wind 3.3 kn · tide 4.1 ft ↓ · cloud 81% · sun down 4:57pm
held back by rain · Breakwater (San Carlos)
Tue dawn2.1
swell 5.6 ft @ 11.2 s from 295° · wind 1.6 kn · tide 4.1 ft ↓ · cloud 0% · first light 6:17am · sun up 6:47am
held back by rain · Breakwater (San Carlos)
Tue dusk1.7
swell 4.8 ft @ 10.6 s from 296° · wind 7.2 kn · tide 3.8 ft ↑ · cloud 47% · sun down 4:57pm
held back by rain · Breakwater (San Carlos)

Lights, left to right: flat · glass · dry · sun · warm. All five, held across two readings, and the bell rings.

The tide

Three days, from the same predictions the forecast reads. Shaded: the dawn and dusk windows.

WedThuFri3.8 12am3.2 4am5.7 10am-0.3 6pm3.7 1am3.3 4am5.4 10am-0.2 6pm3.7 2am3.4 5am5.2 11amnow6 ft-0 ft

Water temperature

The weather model's sea-surface temperature: four days past, three ahead (dotted), today marked. Where a pier or NOAA station measures the water, that reading is the card under Right now.

Fri67FSatSunMonTue67FWedThuFri67F

The water, mapped

Gold: the coves the bell names this week. Filled: placed where USGS place names and OpenStreetMap agree; hollow: one source. Blue: the instruments this bell reads, with their distance. The arrow: the week's best swell, arriving from its direction.

The coves

The instruments

buoy 46236, tide station 9413450, water 67F now (the bell wants 53F or warmer).

When it rings: the bay's still mornings, when the peninsula holds the ocean off. In its casting against years of this water, 28% of mornings reached 7. Rings since casting: 4.

Join this bell
Text MONTEREY to 833-858-2355

You get a text the rare morning this water is perfect, and the week's forecast every Wednesday. Text BELL ONLY for the ring alone, FORECAST for the week any time. Msg&data rates may apply. Reply STOP to leave.

The ledger

4 rings - 2 held, 2 broke.

RangWindowCovePromisedThe morningVerdictDivers reported
October 16, 2026dawnMcAbee Beach8.8 · 1.5 ft @ 8.5 s · 3.0 kn · 67F · from the logbuoy 3.3 ft @ 13.0 s, wind 8.7 kn (modeled), dry, cloud 0% (modeled)broke - glass (flat not read)no word back yet
October 16, 2026duskMcAbee Beach8.8 · 1.4 ft @ 8.6 s · 6.0 kn · 65F · from the logbuoy 3.3 ft @ 13.0 s, wind 3.4 kn (modeled), dry, cloud 0% (modeled)held on glass, dry, sun (flat not read)no word back yet
October 15, 2026dawnMcAbee Beach8.7 · 1.3 ft @ 11.1 s · 5.2 kn · 63F · from the logbuoy 3.6 ft @ 14.0 s, wind 8.0 kn (modeled), dry, cloud 0% (modeled)broke - glass (flat not read)no word back yet
October 14, 2026dawnMcAbee Beach8.4 · 1.4 ft @ 11.4 s · 3.2 kn · 66F · from the logbuoy 4.3 ft @ 13.0 s, wind 3.1 kn (modeled), rain 0.02 in/72h, cloud 0% (modeled)held on glass, dry, sun (flat not read)no word back yet

A diary until five rings; a score after. Every bell's record →