River Gurara Proa (Bow)

The bow of the River Gurara sits in open water just off the southern/SW-facing tip of Cabo Espichel, the exposed western corner of the Setubal Peninsula. The cape body and the Espichel lighthouse/sanctuary lie close to the N-NNE (bearing ~17deg, ~1 km), and the coast curving east toward Sesimbra shadows the NE through E sectors, so the wreck is well protected on its landward (N-NE-E) side. Its exposure window is the open Atlantic from the SE round through S and SW to W and WNW - a wide arc with no land shelter. Because this is an exposed Atlantic coast, the peak exposure is the W-SW-WSW band, straight into the path of the dominant W-to-WNW Atlantic groundswell. The cape's western promontory projects only to the NNW-NW (bearing ~332deg, ~750 m), so it clips just the NNW-NW sectors and provides no shelter from W or SW swell. As a result a solid W-SW groundswell or a southerly blow drives surface chop and reinforces current over the wreck, closing the dive; only the northerly and easterly quarters are truly sheltered.