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Maldives Indian OceanSituated in the Maldives, Bandos Island Resort has an excellent house reef and suitable for diving all year round. The water temperature is consistently around the 30ºC mark so only a 3mm wetsuit required. I've been to the Maldives quite a few times and this is probably the best house reef I've ever encountered.
The Dive Centre staff are a friendly, helpful bunch and very keen on underwater video and photography so if you ever need any tips or tricks they're more than able to help. Unlike some Maldivian islands, diving here is slightly more laid back with no pre-booking necessary. If you're qualified and pass the necessary check dive, you can enter the water unguided when it suits and there will always be a cylinder waiting. Obviously, it's necessary to sign in and out of the water for safety and billing purposes! The island also has a hyperbaric chamber onsite so should an emergency arise, (and this can't happen because we're careful right?) you're in he best place. Boat trips are also readily available, usually two in a morning or full day trips. These are pre-booked and may be cancelled at short notice if not enough people show interest.
Water entry is just a short walk from the Dive Centre, an easy 20 yard swim to the marker buoy and then straight down. Maximum depth allowed by Maldivian Law is 30m. Currents were very mild with only one exception on full moon when it was impossible to keep still and I watched my buddy's bubbles go horizontal :-D Of course, this makes things more interesting because now the sharks come in to feed!
The reef has just about everything to offer, white and black tipped reef sharks in abundance, turtles, stonefish. eagle wrays and the usual huge shoal of blue striped snappers you would expect to see in the Maldives. Other sea life includes moray eels of varying sizes, batfish, blue jacks and a very shy octopus. The batfish appear very protective. On each dive, one seems to break off from it's family to follow your every move, where you go, it will go and it won't let it's friends come near. Try and make eye contact with it and it looks away fast! Very cool, bless!
Let me not forget the mighty lobster. From the entry point, descend to around the 10m mark and turn left. About twenty kicks of the fin in, you'll meet the mighty lobster and what a beautiful sight he is! He is impossible to miss, has no shyness at all and will pose with relish for the camera. At approximately 40cm long with antennae reaching a total of 1 metre across he is a beauty!
The corals on this reef are coming along nicely and in fact there's little evidence of bleaching on this particular reef. It consists mainly of hard corals but there are a few soft as well. We didn't get chance to do a night dive this time which is when you're most likely to see the softies.
Lastly, there's also a small wreck available for viewing. It's too small to be penetrated but nonetheless offers a further attraction to diving here. This is again, to the left of the entry point and starts off at around 15m and goes down to 27m (ish). There are huge grouper fish living in there as well as a cute but rather large brown moray.
This island is highly recommended, if you get the chance, go!!
more info about Bandos Island Resort House Reef including maps, reviews, and ratings...
Italy Tyrrhenian Seachromis e' una associazione sportiva dilettantistica senza scopo di lucro.
Nasce dalla voglia di un gruppo di subacquei di vivere il mare nel modo piu' sicuro e divertente, in compagnia.
Far parte dell.associazione vuol dire andare sott'acqua, ma anche trovare nuovi amici e condividere le proprie esperienze.
website e.mail:eugenio.vecchio@asdchromis.org
tel. +39 3286222139
chromis and 'Amateur Sports Association a non-profit.
Born from the desire of a group of divers to experience the sea in the most 'fun and safe in the company.
Being part dell.associazione means go underwater, but also find new friends and share their experiences.
more info about a.s.d. Chromis Divin Club - Palermo including maps, reviews, and ratings...
United Kingdom North SeaGreat Green Carr has loads of kelp and myriad marine life
more info about Great Green Carr, St. Abbs including maps, reviews, and ratings...
Egypt Red SeaBrien Carrier MK II
more info about 7 October including maps, reviews, and ratings...
Belize Gulf Of MexicoNice coral not much fish
more info about Islamorada Reef including maps, reviews, and ratings...
Indonesia Halmahera Sea///
more info about Sorong including maps, reviews, and ratings...
Malaysia South China SeaTop reef at 16m sloping down to 30m, exposed reef on the outer edge of the TAR Park, 7 mins boat ride from the Downbelow dive centre on Gaya island
more info about Edgel small including maps, reviews, and ratings...
Belize Gulf Of MexicoGreat Coral and big animals
Ecological Divers
more info about Islamorada including maps, reviews, and ratings...
Indonesia Ceram Sea...
more info about Fryendly Canyon including maps, reviews, and ratings...
Malaysia South China SeaDeep top reef starting at 16m going down to 35m, nice for nudi's and fish life, 6mins from the Downbelow 5' IDC Dive Centre (the only dive centre going there)
more info about Richard's Reef, TARP, Kota Kinabalu including maps, reviews, and ratings...
Anguilla Caribbean SeaThe wreck is located in the waters off St Eustatius, about 30 from St Martin. Great diving, great folks at Golden Rock Dive Center.
more info about Wreck of the Charlie Brown including maps, reviews, and ratings...
Malaysia South China SeaSlopeing reef down to 20m ok corals but lots of critters including Mandarin fish, mainly a macro dive, This is a shore dive from the Downbelow dive center on Gaya island
more info about Downbelow House Reef TARP Kota Kinabalu including maps, reviews, and ratings...
Italy Ligurian SeaChrist of the Abyss refers to a number of bronze sculptures of Jesus Christ submerged in water.
The original sculpture, "Il Cristo degli Abissi" is in the Mediterranean sea off San Fruttuoso between Camogli and Portofino on the Italian Riviera. It was placed in the water on 22 August 1954 at approximately 17 metres depth, and stands ~2.5 metres (~8.5 feet) tall.
"Il Cristo degli Abissi" was created by Guido Galletti after an idea of Italian swimmer / diver Duilio Marcante. The statue was placed near the spot where Dario Gonzatti died in 1947. He was the first Italian to use SCUBA gear.
The statue depicts Christ in a pose offering a blessing of peace. His hands and head are raised toward the surface (or the sky, when positioned above water).
The harbour of San Fruttuoso.
Due to increasing amounts of corrosion and the growth of crustaceans, the statue was removed from the water and restored in 2003. A hand that had been detached by an anchor was also replaced. The statue was returned to the water with a new base on 17 July 2004.
A second bronze sculpture cast from the same mold exists off the coast of St George in the Caribbean. This was a gift of the navy of Genoa for assistance in rescuing the crew of Italian vessel Bianca C destroyed by fire in the port of St. George. The sculpture was placed under water on October 22, 1961.
A third bronze from the original mold was presented to the Underwater Society of America in New York in 1962. On August 25 1965 it was placed approximately 25 feet off the waters of Key Largo, Florida. It is located around Dry Rocks, around six miles North east of Key Largo in the John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park. While the statue weighs around 400 pounds, the concrete base to which it is attached weighs about 20,000 pounds.
Various other casts of the statue exist both under water and above water in churches and museums.
The original clay statue minus the hands was located in a foundry in 1993. This is now on display with replacement hands at the National Museum of Underwater Activities in Ravenna, Italy.
more info about Christ of the abyss including maps, reviews, and ratings...
Malaysia South China SeaNice little snorkel or dive site, top reef 0-5m slope down to 10-12m, sheltered location, accessed by boat from the Downbelow Dive Center on Gaya in just 3 mins.
more info about Coral Garden Sapi Island TAR Park Kota Kinabalu including maps, reviews, and ratings...
Egypt Red SeaRas Mohammed
more info about Ras Za'atar including maps, reviews, and ratings...
Malaysia South China SeaLarge reef offshore but situated alongside the TAR Park, top reef around 10m slopes down to 30+m with very nice corals, accessed in just 6 mins from the Downbelow Dive Centre on Gaya Island
more info about Edgel Patches, Tunku Abdul Rahman Park, Kota Kinabalu including maps, reviews, and ratings...
China South China SeaGreat training site and location for beginner divers.
Also fature great wreck diving and offshore pinnacle dives for the more experience divers.
more info about Hainan Island, Wenchang， Cloud Dragon Bay (Yunlong Bay) including maps, reviews, and ratings...
Mexico Sea Of Cortés /Gulf of CaliforniaThis reef is located in The sea of cortes North of Los Islotes sealion colony. 52 ft. max. hard coral reef with emmence amount of sea life. Scorpion fish, lobster, sealions, garden eels, sea horses, nudibranches, huge schools of fish that completely engulf you as you dive through. Little to no cuurent and can easily plan a dive which will allow you to continue enjoying reef formation and life during your safety stop as the top at low tide is only 17 ft. below the surface. Sea lions are very interactive with divers when they are there. viz max listed is during annual upwelling in June. Apparently clears in the fall.
more info about Swanee reef including maps, reviews, and ratings...
Honduras Caribbean SeaSand patch/muck dive in the caribbean, south side Utila, only a few good divemaster know where the good stuff is to be found on the sand in the bay islands. Seahorse, Pipe horse, Flatworms, Spoon nose eels, batfish, stargazers, atlantic longarm octopuss, and fighting sailfin blennies can all be found on plain "boring" sand patches.
more info about Big rock, Utila including maps, reviews, and ratings...
Malaysia South China SeaStrong slope starting at 5m graduating down to 25m (out reef) offers some wonderful corals and particularly good for Nudi's, located just 6 mins boatride from the Downbelow Dive centre.
more info about Sulug reef including maps, reviews, and ratings...