Sec des Sarraniers (Sec du Sarranier)

The Sec des Sarraniers sits in fully open water in the channel between Porquerolles and Port-Cros, with no true ocean swell in this part of the western Mediterranean - the sea state is wind-driven fetch. The open exposure window is to the south, where the S-SSW-SSE sector faces the open Med with nothing to block it; Libeccio (SW) also reaches the site with only slight shadowing. Porquerolles, 3.5-7.5 km to the west and northwest, blocks the W-WNW-NW sectors, so despite the Mistral being the dominant strong wind its NW seas are largely shadowed by the island bulk (some wrap-around and channel funnelling remain from the N-NNW). Port-Cros and Ile du Levant, 6-13 km to the east and northeast, shadow the E-ESE-ENE sectors. The result is a site that is calm in most conditions but turns rough and heavily current-swept in a sustained southerly or a strong Mistral funnelling down the channel, which is when dives are called off.