Secca di Santa Caterina

The shoal sits off the west side of the granite Capo Carbonara peninsula in the sheltered southeast corner of the Gulf of Cagliari. The peninsula and the Villasimius coast wrap the site from the north through east, shadowing it from Levante (E) wind-sea and from northerly Mistral to a large degree, so the exposed window is the open sea to the south and west. The S-SSW-SW-WSW sector is fully open, giving Libeccio (SW) the longest fetch across the gulf and the biggest surface waves; a Scirocco (SE) blow also reaches the site once past the cape, while WNW-NW winds arrive across the gulf with reduced but real fetch. As a submerged offshore shoal it stays diveable in most conditions, but a sustained SW-S wind builds surface chop and, more importantly, reinforces the currents that can force dives to be postponed.