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Point Loma to the Mexican border. Shore entry or boat from San Diego Bay.

Point Loma and South Bay

Cabrillo is a small reserve at the tip of Point Loma; nothing may be taken. The kelp off Point Loma's ocean side sits outside any protected area. Famosa Slough and the Tijuana River Mouth allow no spearing.

The next three mornings

Is it worth getting out of bed?

Reading the forecast for every spot…

Wind, 7–11 am
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Swell
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Surge at 30 ft
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Visibility
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Water
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Next tide
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First light
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Rain, 3 days
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What divers actually saw

Loading reports…

Get a ping the evening before Point Loma looks good

Go means wind under 8 kt, under 3 ft of swell reaching the spot and under 1.5 ft of surge at 30 ft, every hour from 7 to 11 am. Rules of thumb, not a safety call: how each spot is judged. Visibility is not in the verdict, because no feed measures it at the spot: the Vis column shows a diver’s report from the last 48 hours when there is one, and otherwise an estimate from satellite water clarity, surge and rain.

The water itself

3 protected areas, and what each one allows

Every boundary is CDFW’s and every rule is quoted in full on the card, with its section of CCR Title 14 §632(b) and the date it was read.

Famosa Slough State Marine Conservation Area (SMCA (No-Take)) — No take in the water · CCR §632(b)(145)Cabrillo State Marine Reserve (SMR) — No take in the water · CCR §632(b)(146)Tijuana River Mouth State Marine Conservation Area (SMCA) — No take in the water · CCR §632(b)(147)5 nm
No take in the waterPins are USGS GNIS named places, good to about 100 m — a reference for the spot, not a drop point.

This label is this chart’s shorthand for three separately written regulations. Each area is governed by its own section of CCR Title 14 §632(b), named when you hover it. The rules differ area by area and change — check CDFW before you take anything.

Somewhere else in mind? Tap the open water to drop your own mark.

Tap the spots you’d actually get on a boat for. No commitment — it tells us which water to plan the first season around.

  • Outside every protected area — general California regulations apply.

  • Outside every protected area — general California regulations apply.

  • Outside every protected area — general California regulations apply.

MPA boundaries: California Department of Fish and Wildlife, ds582. Regulations: CDFW per-MPA pages, retrieved 2026-10-04. Spot positions: USGS Geographic Names Information System (Domestic Names, California), public domain.