Massa d'Or

Massa d'Or is an exposed offshore islet off the outer tip of Cap de Creus, shielded only in a narrow western arc: the Cap de Creus headland lies about 700 m to the WSW (bearing 259) and the s'Encalladora reef complex to the WNW (bearing 291), so swell and wind-sea from the WSW, W, WNW and NW sectors are blocked or heavily diffracted. Every other direction is open water. The site faces the open Gulf of Lion and the Mediterranean from N through E to S, leaving it fully exposed to Levante (E) storm seas - the biggest waves here - and to the notorious Tramuntana, whose N-NNW wind-sea funnels around the cape and, combined with the open-sea fetch, builds surface chop and reinforces the site's strong currents. In practice a running Tramuntana or any E-S blow makes the pinnacle undiveable, which is why the best conditions come in the calmer late-summer window.