Coin de Mire tide times

Predictions: Open-Meteo Marine (MeteoFrance SMOC, 0.08° grid) — heights relative to MSL (not chart datum / LAT). Model-derived.

Model-derived from a global ocean grid. Useful indication; expect about ±45 minutes on average vs. a local harmonic gauge, individual stations vary widely. See /methodology for per-region detail. Not for navigation.

Conditions as of 02:00 local time. Refreshes daily.

Predictions: Open-Meteo Marine (MeteoFrance SMOC, 0.08° grid) — heights relative to MSL (not chart datum / LAT). Model-derived. · Not for navigation.

The angler tradition for major/minor fishing windows: major ≈3-hour windows around moon transit and opposition; minor ≈2-hour windows around moonrise and moonset. Times are Indian/Mauritius local. Folk tradition, not a scientific forecast.

Coin de Mire — Gunner's Quoin in English, the name derived from the wedge-shaped wooden tool used to adjust cannon elevation — is a small basaltic island 8 km north of the Mauritian mainland, rising to 284 m from the ocean. The island is roughly 1 km long and 500 m wide, with sheer cliffs on the north side and a more accessible slope on the southern lee. It has been a nature reserve since 1983 and is closed to overnight landing; no permanent residents and no infrastructure of any kind exist on the island. All access is by day-trip speedboat from Grand Baie (20–30 minutes), and the boat anchors offshore while passengers snorkel from the hull. The tidal regime affecting Coin de Mire is the same semidiurnal regime as the Mauritius mainland, with spring range 0.8–1.0 m. However, as an open-ocean island with no barrier reef on its northern and eastern sides, Coin de Mire is exposed to the full Indian Ocean swell. The southern lee provides shelter and that is where the snorkelling operations anchor; the northern and eastern reefs are exposed to swell and are accessible only to experienced divers and in very calm conditions. The snorkelling habitat around Coin de Mire is among the most ecologically significant accessible by day trip from northern Mauritius. The southern reef consists of a shallow platform (1–4 m at mean water level) that drops to a rubble-and-sand floor at 6–8 m, then a steeper outer slope descending toward the oceanic depth. The coral coverage on the southern platform has recovered substantially from the bleaching events of 1998 and 2016; the fish biomass — particularly the predator community of large trevally, grouper, barracuda, and the occasional dogtooth tuna — is noticeably higher than the lagoonal reefs inside the Mauritius barrier. Timing the snorkel to the tidal state matters here in a way that differs from the inner-lagoon sites at Trou-aux-Biches. At Coin de Mire, the tidal stream through the channels between the southern reef features can reach 0.5–0.8 knots on spring tides. On the incoming tide, cleaner offshore water is drawn over the reef from the south; on the outgoing tide, the current reverses and any suspended material from the northern exposed reef washes through. The slack period at high water — typically 30–45 minutes of minimal current — and the first half of the flood give the clearest water and the most comfortable snorkelling. In practice, the speedboat operators plan departures from Grand Baie at 08:30 or 09:00 to arrive at Coin de Mire near the mid-flood on most days; ask the operator about the day's tide timing when booking. Seabird nesting at Coin de Mire includes white-tailed tropicbird (Phaethon lepturus, locally called paille-en-queue), the red-tailed tropicbird (Phaethon rubricauda), and wedge-tailed shearwater (Ardenna pacifica). The cliff ledges on the northern and western faces are the primary nesting sites, most visible from the south anchorage on a calm day. Nesting season is October–May; during that period Mauritian National Parks and Conservation Service rangers may restrict approach to the cliff base. For anglers, Coin de Mire represents the northern boundary of the Mauritian trolling and deep-sea fishing zone; charter vessels out of Grand Baie run past Coin de Mire on the way to the northern banks. The island itself is not a shore-fishing site — access to the ledges is restricted by the reserve status and the cliff topography. Deep-sea fishing charters from Grand Baie typically depart at 07:00 and fish the banks between Coin de Mire and Flat Island; billfish, wahoo, and dogtooth tuna are the primary targets. Predictions for Coin de Mire on this page come from Open-Meteo Marine, a gridded global ocean model; accuracy is typically ±45 minutes on timing and ±0.2–0.3 m on height. For any navigational approach to Coin de Mire, use UKHO Admiralty charts for Mauritius (BA 711).