Gizo 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 15:00 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 Pacific/Guadalcanal local. Folk tradition, not a scientific forecast.

Gizo is the main town of Solomon Islands' Western Province, on a small island of the same name 500 kilometres northwest of Honiara in the New Georgia Sound — the body of water that WWII-era Allied forces called The Slot. The town of approximately 7,000 people is the commercial and administrative hub for a province that stretches from the Manning Strait in the north to the Vangunu and Marovo Lagoon in the south, a marine territory that contains some of the most diverse coral reef ecosystems in the world. The tidal range at Gizo is approximately 1.2 m on spring tides, mixed semidiurnal with the same diurnal inequality pattern as Honiara. The range is consistent across the Western Province; the tidal influence here is modest by global standards, but the 1.2 m swing is sufficient to expose meaningful sections of the shallow reef flat and to affect access timing for the dive sites off the surrounding islands. The most significant effect is on the coral-reef accessibility: the reef flat at low spring water in Gizo Bay drops to 0.1–0.3 m depth over the shallowest coral sections, and any boat with a keel deeper than 0.5 m must navigate carefully or wait for rising water. The Toa Maru is the primary wreck dive of the Western Province — a Japanese freighter of 9,400 tonnes, sunk in January 1943 during a USAAF bombing raid, lying in 40–45 m depth in Gizo Bay approximately 800 m from the town wharf. The wreck is largely intact, sitting upright on the sand, with its cargo holds still containing military equipment, vehicles, and personal effects from the Japanese soldiers aboard. The holds and the exterior hull are covered in soft coral and gorgonian sea fans that have colonised the structure over 80 years. Visibility at the Toa Maru is typically 15–25 m, best on neap tides when current over the site is lowest. The wreck requires scuba equipment and an experienced guide — dive operators in Gizo town run regular trips from the main wharf. Kennedy Island — officially Plum Pudding Island, now Kasolo Island in Solomon Islands — is 5 kilometres south of Gizo. On the night of 1–2 August 1943, PT-109, commanded by Lieutenant John F. Kennedy, was rammed and sunk by the Japanese destroyer Amagiri in the passage between Gizo and Kolombangara. Kennedy led the survivors (11 of the 13-man crew survived) in a 5-kilometre swim to Plum Pudding Island, then to Nauru Island (now Naru) for rescue. The island is visited by a small but steady stream of history-focused travellers. A boat from Gizo reaches it in 20 minutes; landing is straightforward at mid-tide and above. Sandfly Passage, between Gizo Island and Kolombangara Island to the northwest, is the main current-dive site for the area. The tidal flow through the passage reaches 2–3 knots on spring tides and carries nutrients that support extensive soft-coral growth on the passage walls. Dive operators use the current to drift divers through the passage at 1–2 knots; the timing is planned for the flood phase when the current direction takes divers from west to east, ending closer to Gizo town for the pickup. The passage is not suitable for beginner divers due to the current. For anglers, Gizo's position in the Western Province gives access to the productive pelagic fishery in the Kula Gulf and the New Georgia Sound. Yellowfin tuna, wahoo, and dogtooth tuna are the primary targets; the passage currents that make Sandfly an exciting dive site also concentrate pelagic species at the current lines. Shore fishing from the town wharf and the rocky coast around Gizo Island targets reef species at all tidal stages. For families, Mbabanga Island (accessible by boat from Gizo in 5 minutes) has a calm shallow lagoon behind its fringing reef with safe swimming at mid-tide and above. Sea temperature is 28–29°C year-round. The November–April cyclone season is less predictable for sea conditions; May through October is the dry-season prime travel window. All tide predictions for Gizo come from the Open-Meteo Marine gridded model. Timing accuracy is ±45 minutes; height accuracy is ±0.3 m above Chart Datum.