Staying Home Sucks, home
San Juan County Courthouse
Friday Harbor, the nearest town, 8 km away. Photo: Konrad Roeder, CC BY-SA 2.5, Wikimedia Commons

Shark Reef

Dive site · United States

Advanced divers and up

Is it worth the trip?

63Good out of 100 for your dates

Home sucks

Best on Mon 2: Sea: flat, Visibility under 5 m, Water 9 °C

Each day of your trip, out of 100

Mon 2 · 65 out of 100

Sea
0.0 mflat
Wind
1 kn
Gusts
3kn
Air
10°C

Tue 3 · 64 out of 100

Sea
0.0 mflat
Wind
3 kn
Gusts
4kn
Air
12°C

Wed 4 · 63 out of 100

Sea
0.1 mflat
Wind
5 kn
Gusts
7kn
Air
10°C

Thu 5 · 62 out of 100

Sea
0.2 mflat
Wind
9 kn
Gusts
11kn
Air
12°C

Fri 6 · 53 out of 100

Sea
0.7 m
Wind
16 kn
Gusts
21knboats in
Air
10°C

Sat 7 · 63 out of 100

Sea
0.1 mflat
Wind
6 kn
Gusts
11kn
Air
11°C

Sun 8 · 59 out of 100

Sea
0.2 mflat
Wind
10 kn
Gusts
16knboats in
Air
12°C

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

Forecast: next 10 days

Full forecast
  1. Sun 164, good
  2. Mon 265, good
  3. Tue 364, good
  4. Wed 463, good
  5. Thu 562, good
  6. Fri 653, fair
  7. Sat 763, good
  8. Sun 859, fair
  9. Mon 964, good
  10. Tue 1049, fair

The site in five facts

  • Down to 18 mits deepest
  • From a boathow you get in
  • Advancedand up
  • Water 9 °Cdrysuit
  • Faces SWswell 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 Shark Reef
DayScoreSeaWindGustsAir
Sun 1Nov64, good0.0 mflat2 kn3kn9°C
Mon 2Nov65, good0.0 mflat1 kn3kn10°C
Tue 3Nov64, good0.0 mflat3 kn4kn12°C
Wed 4Nov63, good0.1 mflat5 kn7kn10°C
Thu 5Nov62, good0.2 mflat9 kn11kn12°C
Fri 6Nov53, fair0.7 m16 kn21knboats in10°C
Sat 7Nov63, good0.1 mflat6 kn11kn11°C
Sun 8Nov59, fair0.2 mflat10 kn16knboats in12°C
Mon 9Nov64, good0.1 mflat1 kn14kn11°C
Tue 10Nov49, fair0.4 m19 kn25knboats in14°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 NovHigh 06:27 +0.5 mLow 11:53 +0.1 mHigh 17:00 +0.9 m
  • Mon 2 NovLow 00:47 −1.4 mHigh 07:36 +0.6 mLow 13:36 −0.2 mHigh 18:30 +0.7 m
  • Tue 3 NovLow 01:57 −1.2 mHigh 08:32 +0.7 mLow 14:52 −0.5 mHigh 20:07 +0.6 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.

Map

the site and its town

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.

More diving near here

2 places

About

the place in full, sources, credits

About Shark Reef

A reef dive. It goes down to 18 m. You get in from a boat. It suits Advanced divers and up, as a dive guide states it. The coast faces SW: swell from the SW reaches it, and wind from the NE blows out to sea. No dive centre within 10 km, the nearest 25 km away. The sea is about 8°C in January, its coldest month (drysuit), and 12°C in August, its warmest (7 mm semi-dry or a drysuit). The town to stay in is Friday Harbor.

  • What it is Reef.
  • How deep Down to 18 m.
  • Getting in From a boat.
  • Who it suits Suits Advanced divers and up, as a dive guide states it.
  • Dive centres No dive centre within 10 km, the nearest 25 km away.

Water about 9°C: drysuit. 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, Sep, Oct and Nov (about 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$1,050–US$1,910 each

about US$1,050–US$1,910 each · 6 nights, 2 sharing: flights, hire car, 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 SEA, estimated from distance and season, 1 airline on the route, with a hold bagabout US$248–US$516
Hire car6 days, sharedabout US$154–US$255
Stay6 nights, a mid-range double, sharedabout US$301–US$502
Food7 days eating outabout US$342–US$636
Totalabout US$1,050–US$1,910

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: Friday Harbor

Closest

Friday Harbor

15 min by car · 33 places to stay

about US$114/nightcountry average

See 33 places to stay in Friday Harbor · Booking.com

About Friday Harbor 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 8h 35m

About 8h 35m door to door from Chicago

Fly MDW → SEA, direct, then 2h 35m 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.