Staying Home Sucks, home
Thalasseus acuflavidus (Cabot's Tern), Pensacola Beach, Florida 23
Near Catherine. Photo: gary_leavens, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons

Catherine

Dive site · United States

Advanced divers and up

Is it worth the trip?

67Good out of 100 for your dates

Home sucks

2 days tie for best

Each day of your trip, out of 100

Mon 2 · 55 out of 100

Sea
1.2 m
Wind
11 kn
Gusts
16kn
Air
25°C

Tue 3 · 51 out of 100

Sea
1.2 m
Wind
15 kn
Gusts
20kn
Air
24°C

Wed 4 · 67 out of 100

Sea
0.5 m
Wind
7 kn
Gusts
9kn
Air
25°C

Thu 5 · 69 out of 100

Sea
0.2 mflat
Wind
2 kn
Gusts
7kn
Air
24°C

Fri 6 · 70 out of 100

Sea
0.2 mflat
Wind
1 kn
Gusts
6kn
Air
24°C

Sat 7 · 69 out of 100

Sea
0.1 mflat
Wind
4 kn
Gusts
11kn
Air
21°C

Sun 8 · 70 out of 100

Sea
0.1 mflat
Wind
5 kn
Gusts
10kn
Air
21°C

Tap a day for sea, wind and water. Full forecast

Forecast: next 10 days

Full forecast
  1. Sun 152, fair
  2. Mon 255, fair
  3. Tue 351, fair
  4. Wed 467, good
  5. Thu 569, good
  6. Fri 670, good
  7. Sat 769, good
  8. Sun 870, good
  9. Mon 968, good
  10. Tue 1067, good

The site in three facts

  • Advancedand up
  • Water 22 °C5 mm wetsuit
  • Faces Sswell from there reaches it

Full forecast

every day, every number

The score doesn't know currents, the visibility on the day or your certification.

Suits Advanced divers and up, as a dive guide states it. Scored for Advanced divers.

Sea and wind forecast and score for each day at Catherine
DayScoreSeaWindGustsAir
Sun 1Nov52, fair1.1 m13 kn18kn23°C
Mon 2Nov55, fair1.2 m11 kn16kn25°C
Tue 3Nov51, fair1.2 m15 kn20kn24°C
Wed 4Nov67, good0.5 m7 kn9kn25°C
Thu 5Nov69, good0.2 mflat2 kn7kn24°C
Fri 6Nov70, good0.2 mflat1 kn6kn24°C
Sat 7Nov69, good0.1 mflat4 kn11kn21°C
Sun 8Nov70, good0.1 mflat5 kn10kn21°C
Mon 9Nov68, good0.2 mflat7 kn15kn18°C
Tue 10Nov67, good0.3 m9 kn17kn16°C

Sea is the waves near the site, in metres; wind and gusts in knots. "Boats in": gusts that keep dive boats in. More

Tide

  • Sun 1 NovLow 12:12 −0.2 m
  • Mon 2 NovHigh 01:03 +0.3 mLow 13:06 −0.1 m
  • Tue 3 NovHigh 03:59 +0.2 mLow 13:49 −0.0 mHigh 18:56 +0.0 mLow 21:20 +0.0 m

Local clock times; heights about mean sea level. On open coasts the times are usually within a quarter of an hour; in bays, estuaries and on the Gulf of Mexico they can be an hour or more out. Slack water, the safest time to dive where there is current, is about half an hour either side of each high and low. Tide: EOT20 global ocean tide model, Hart-Davis et al. 2021, DGFI-TUM (doi:10.17882/79489), CC BY 4.0. Times and heights computed by us. A model, not a tide table: check a local table before you go.

Forecast updated . It refreshes every three hours. Forecast data: ECMWF, DWD, Météo-France and NOAA, served by Open-Meteo.com (CC BY 4.0). Changed by us. Generated using E.U. Copernicus Marine Service Information.

Best time to go

No month stands out

Good diving days in a typical week, each month, for Advanced divers, from 2016 on (ERA5 history scored the same way).

  1. Jan6of 7: a trip from Sat 2 Jan
  2. Feb7of 7: a trip from Sat 6 Feb
  3. Mar6of 7: a trip from Sat 6 Mar
  4. Apr6of 7: a trip from Sat 3 Apr
  5. May7of 7: a trip from Sat 1 May
  6. Jun7of 7: a trip from Sat 5 Jun
  7. Jul7of 7: a trip from Sat 3 Jul
  8. Aug7of 7: a trip from Sat 7 Aug
  9. Sep7of 7: a trip from Sat 4 Sept
  10. Oct6of 7: a trip from Sat 2 Oct
  11. Nov7of 7: a trip from Mon 2 Nov
  12. Dec6of 7: a trip from Sat 5 Dec

Tap a month to see this spot for a trip then.

Typical, not a forecast: the sea and the mean wind of each day, with no gusts or rain in the history.

Map

the site, its town, photos

Each place wears its best day on these dates: green good, amber fair, pale red poor, as the key says.

The map needs JavaScript. Every place on it is listed on this page, and each place's page links to Google Maps.

One finger scrolls the page; two fingers move the map. Pins are our own positions. Map OpenFreeMap, © OpenMapTiles, data © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Photos of Catherine

Tim Loves Shelly
Near Catherine, 2 km away. Photo: Grant Gould, CC BY 3.0, Wikimedia Commons

More diving near here

5 places

About

the place in full, sources, credits

About Catherine

A wreck dive. It suits Advanced divers and up, as a dive guide states it. The coast faces S: swell from the S reaches it, and wind from the N blows out to sea. 1 dive centre or shop within 10 km, the nearest 8.1 km away. The sea is about 18°C in January, its coldest month (7 mm wetsuit and hood), and 30°C in July, its warmest (rash vest or 1 to 2 mm). The town to stay in is Gulf Breeze. Within 5 km we also list 1 surf spot and 5 dive sites.

  • What it is Wreck.
  • How deep No source states how deep it goes.
  • Who it suits Suits Advanced divers and up, as a dive guide states it.
  • Dive centres 1 dive centre or shop within 10 km, the nearest 8.1 km away.

Water about 22°C: 5 mm wetsuit. Typical sea temperature for the time of year, not a forecast.

Visibility under 5 m. Typical for the time of year, estimated from ten years of NASA satellite water clarity, not a forecast. Clearest in Jan, Feb, Mar, Apr, Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep, Oct, Nov and Dec (under 5 m).

The score is the conditions only: the journey, the price and the partners never change it (how we score, how we earn).

Rough cost (estimate): about US$851–US$1,550 each

about US$851–US$1,550 each · 6 nights, 2 sharing: flights, taxi, stay, food.

Our estimate from typical public prices, not a quote: check the real prices before you book (where they come from). Prices are about, in US Dollar (USD): our pound figures at the European Central Bank's rate of 30 October 2026.

How we worked it out 
Rough cost per person for this trip
WhatHow we worked it outEach
Flightsreturn MDW to PNS, estimated from distance and season, 1 airline on the route, with a hold bagabout US$161–US$342
Taxiairport and back, sharedabout US$47–US$74
Stay6 nights, a mid-range double, sharedabout US$301–US$502
Food7 days eating outabout US$342–US$636
Totalabout US$851–US$1,550

Guided dives are not priced yet: we have no sourced price, so it is not in it. Prices from public sources, checked in 2026.

Where to stay: Gulf Breeze

Closest

Gulf Breeze

21 min by car · 13 places to stay

about US$114/nightcountry average

See 13 places to stay in Gulf Breeze · Booking.com

About Gulf Breeze its beds, food and every spot near it

About US$114 a night is our estimate of the country's average 2-star double room that month: not each town's price, and not a quote. Drives are estimates. Prices are about, in US Dollar (USD): our pound figures at the European Central Bank's rate of 30 October 2026.

Getting there: about 4h 45m

About 4h 45m door to door from Chicago

Fly MDW → PNS, direct, then 40 min by road

An estimate, one way; the journey never changes the score.

In the water

Dive centres nearby

The nearest named dive centres and shops within 25 km, in a straight line; training agencies where the map states them. Listings, not a recommendation. Dive centres: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL). Credits

What you might see

Too few open records near this site to list its animals. Ask a dive centre what you are likely to see.

This week: visibility about 5 m, clearer than usual (satellite plankton reading, 24 Oct). Estimated from the month's typical visibility and this week's satellite chlorophyll against the site's normal; heavy rain before a dive can still muddy it.

The current and the life no free forecast gives. Ask a dive centre before you book.