Navigability index · Chebba
Indicative only: the same bulletin reads differently in a fishing boat, a cruising yacht or on a kite. It does not replace the official bulletin or your own judgement on site.
Small boat: waves, gusts and short chop all count.
Sailboat or motor cruiser: a gale sets the limit.
You need wind, but steady. Check it isn't blowing offshore: it would carry you out to sea.
Flat sea
Between each wave
119°
11 km/h - gusts 10 kt
148°
Temperate water
Mostly swell: long, regular waves from offshore, more comfortable than their height suggests.
Sea calm over Chebba (Sfax / Mahdia). Waves of 0.4 m, period 5 s, direction ESE. SSE wind at 6 kt (11 km/h), gusts to 10 kt. Excellent conditions for sailing. Water temperature: 21.4 °C.
48h evolution
| Day | Max waves | Max wind | Navigability |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fri 13 NovToday | 0.5 mSE | 7 ktSE · gusts 12 kt13 km/h | 🟢 Excellent |
| Sat 14 Nov | 0.6 mESE | 7 ktENE · gusts 11 kt12 km/h | 🟡 Fair |
| Sun 15 Nov | 0.4 mESE | 5 ktS · gusts 11 kt10 km/h | 🟢 Excellent |
| Mon 16 Nov | 0.2 mESE | 6 ktSW · gusts 11 kt11 km/h | 🟢 Excellent |
| Tue 17 Nov | 0.6 mSSE | 8 ktSSE · gusts 14 kt14 km/h | 🟢 Excellent |
| Wed 18 Nov | 0.5 mSW | 7 ktSW · gusts 11 kt12 km/h | 🟢 Excellent |
| Thu 19 Nov | 0.4 mNNW | 4 ktSW · gusts 7 kt8 km/h | 🟢 Excellent |
Index computed over daytime, 6 am to 6 pm: a night-time gust no longer downgrades the whole day. Waves and wind shown: 24-hour maxima.
Chebba is a maritime town in the Mahdia governorate, halfway between Mahdia and Sfax on Tunisia's east coast. Its fishing port, one of the busiest in the Sahel region, is home to a coastal fleet of small-scale boats, gillnetters, longliners and sardine boats, alongside a few offshore units. Fishing is the town's economic heart, and the port's rhythm follows the sea conditions displayed on this page.
The town sits at the foot of Ras Kaboudia (the ancient Caput Vada), the easternmost point of the Tunisian coast and the northern gateway to the Gulf of Gabès. Around the cape, waters stay shallow well offshore: in strong winds the sea quickly builds a short, breaking chop that is harder on small boats than a regular open-sea swell.
Wind is the key figure at Chebba. If you are looking for an alternative to Windfinder for Chebba wind forecasts, this page shows real-time wind speed in knots and km/h, direction and gusts, with hour-by-hour trends over 48 hours and a full 7-day outlook.
In summer, the north-easterly thermal sea breeze usually picks up around midday and drops at dusk, delivering a steady 10 to 20 knots appreciated by windsurfers and kitesurfers. In spring and autumn, north-easterly blows (the grigale) dominate, and Ras Kaboudia takes them head-on. The sirocco (chehili), a hot dry southerly wind, can blow a few days a year in summer and turn a smooth sea into a choppy one within hours.
From May to September the sea is mostly calm to slight, with waves under one metre: the safest window for coastal fishing, boating and water sports. June and September offer the best balance of warmth, moderate wind and fewer crowds.
From November to March, Mediterranean depressions bring spells of strong wind and 1.5 to 3 metre seas around the cape. Trips are then planned in the calm windows between systems, keeping an eye on the navigability index above and the forecast gusts.
Frequently asked questions
Today's wave height at Chebba is shown in real time at the top of this page, together with swell period and direction. In summer it rarely exceeds 1 metre; during autumn and winter blows it can reach 2 to 3 metres around Ras Kaboudia.
The sea is generally calmest from May to September, especially in the morning before the north-easterly sea breeze picks up. Calm spells also occur in winter, but they are shorter and fall between passing depressions.
Real-time wind speed, direction and gusts for Chebba appear in the current conditions above, in knots and km/h. The 48-hour chart shows the expected trend - useful for spotting a kitesurfing wind window or avoiding gusts when fishing.
Check the navigability index at the top of the page: it combines wave height and wind strength. Below 1.5 m of waves and 30 km/h of wind, conditions remain manageable for a coastal boat; beyond that, caution is required, especially near the shallows around the cape.
Other coastal zones
Find real-time marine conditions at Chebba, a coastal town in East Coast (Sfax / Mahdia, Gulf of Gabès (N)). Our service provides wave height, wind speed and direction, wave period, water temperature and navigability index, updated every 30 minutes.
Marine forecasts for Chebba include: hourly forecasts for 48h and 7-day forecasts with maximum wave height, dominant wind, maximum gusts and daily navigability index. Wind speed is shown in knots and km/h. Data from the Open-Meteo Marine NWP model.