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Bahamas AtlanticThis dive has to be one of the most exhilarating drift dives out there. The channel, or Cut, between North Eleuthera and Current Island forces the tide to stream through at 6-10 knots, making for a challenging dive. Your buoyancy skills have to be real sharp to be comfortable on this dive.
I went with Ocean Fox, a small and well-run dive shop on Harbour Island. The checked my diving experience and requested that I take a dive with them prior to being permitted to dive Current Cut to ensure I was 'up to it'. I liked that they were safety conscious, and understood their requirement after one pass through the Cut!
We made a total of three runs through the Cut. The first lasted 12 minutes, in which time we must have travelled nearly 2 miles! Dr Andy, the divemaster, made sure we stayed together as a group (there were 3 other divers on the trip) and that we saw what was down there - 3 sharks and 7 eagle rays on just the first run!
The starting depth is around 35ft, and my computer (which didn't like the dive at all - it kept beeping at me) registered a max depth of 61ft. The bottom is hard rock covered with sea fans, sponges and small corals. As you get into the dive the bottom becomes pock-marked with large holes, and Andy did his best to get us in as many as possible. Once in the holes you are somewhat out of the current, so can catch your breath and look around. Many of the holes are packed with lobster, parrot fish, and big queen angels.
The visibility isn't great, since the rushing water stirs up the bottom. We made the dive on an incoming tide, which Andy said is a cleaner run than the outgoing tide. The fast-moving water also tests your photography skills. I managed to get a couple of shots off of the sharks as we flew past them, but positioning yourself in the water at speed isn't that easy!
This is not a dive for the inexperienced or those who avoid 6 Flags! It is an amazing dive, however, and one I will remember for a long time.
more info about Current Cut High-Speed Drift Dive including maps, reviews, and ratings...
AustriaOne popular region to do diving is the Salzkammergut in Austria. Numerous large and small lakes in an alpine setting. Conditions are the same as for the Bodensee: deep, dark, cold, clear.
The viz can be 100’/30M which is as good (if not better) than the Red Sea. Of course the marine life and color is not quite like the Red Sea!
more info about Freshwater lakes, Grundsee including maps, reviews, and ratings...
Argentina Atlantic (South)Forget about diving in Buenos Aires. The city is by the River Plate (Rio de la Plata), which is a mud soup. The closest diving you can try is in Mar del Plata, 400 km south of Buenos Aires, and the diving there is so-so.
If you have time, go to Puerto Madryn. This is 1,500 km south of BA, and the diving there could be spectacular. They have one of the largest sea lion & sea elephant colonies in the world, and depending the time of the year that you go, you are almost guarantied a dive with Right whales. There also several wrecks around there. Don’t remember their depth. Although summer just finished down there, you need AT LEAST 5mm wet suit.
ORCAS Every year since 1976, the arrival of Transient / Resident Orcas to the Peninsula Valdez has been observed.
The Orcas patrol along the steep pebble coastline of Punta Norte, listening to the young seals, only a few weeks old, as they play in the water or cross from one colony to the next.
See
website more info about Orcas including maps, reviews, and ratings...
Antarctica Antarctic (Southern Ocean) Any expedition to the Antarctic is expensive. Dive equipment is more
expensive. There isn't any 'Club Med Antarctica' where you could stay.
There is always the possibility that your vacation excursion could get you
socked in to Antarctica for six months or more. Why would you want to dive in
waters where hyperthermia or getting trapped under ice is such a high risk? Big
and unsusual critters, that’s why!
An Antarctica voyage should be a carefully planned and coordinated adventure,
precisely scheduled to take advantage of the short 'austral summer'
season to visit the frozen continent. Amos Nachoum organizes a 20 nights voyage
that is a dream come true for photographers needing the extra time to capture
the elusive 'one great shot'.
Surrounded by the Southern Ocean, defined as the water between latitudes of
40-64 degrees south, uninterrupted wind circulates vigorously developing into
the notorious 'roaring forties' and 'furious fifties' .This
interaction between wind and sea currents creates a region of intense turbulence
and as a consequence, the Southern Ocean is richly productive ecologically. An
abundance of plankton supports the world's largest concentration of marine
wildlife. Millions of sea birds, penguins, seals and whales appear in glorious
abundance with the coming of the Southern Hemisphere's spring season. Most forms
of Antarctic life clings to the edges of the continent, where beaches and cliffs
offer snow free nesting grounds for birds and pupping locations for seals. It is
our intent on this voyage, to see and photograph most, if not all of the
available species
See website
more info about Antarctic Expedition diving including maps, reviews, and ratings...
United States Pacific
San Benedicto is a very rugged
island that looks like a volcano rising right out of the ocean. The last
eruption was in 1952 and you can easily see where the eruption took place, on
the lower side of the southeast corner of the island.
Shark Caves is located on the East side of the island. A dive briefing
was given prior to our arrival at which time we were informed that gloves,
lights and knives are strictly prohibited while diving any of the islands.
Target lights and focus lights attached to any camera gear are exempt. The
recommended water exit procedure is to climb the ladder with your fins on to
avoid any injury with the potential bouncing, surge and currents that may exist.
This was not difficult with the wide, well spaced steps on the ladder and was
indeed a very good recommendation. Once the anchor was dropped and the RIB’s
were in the water, everyone suited up and jumped in for the first checkout dive.
The dive was to approximately 70 feet. Visibility was poor at only 30 feet, but
I was able to get up close with at least a dozen white tip sharks resting in
their caves. I also spotted a Shovelnose Guitarfish, a very Stingray-ish looking
variety of the shark family.
There were hundreds of Moorish Idol's and even with the reduced visibility,
it was a great dive and the water temperature was a pleasing 76 degrees, 10
degrees warmer than the water in Cabo. Once all of the divers were back on
board, the Solmar V moved to a protected bay with calm water on the south side
of the island and dropped anchor for the evening. It seemed that in a matter of
only minutes, a few Silky sharks showed up and began patrolling the boat a few
feet under the surface. After dinner, we were treated to a shark feeding show
off the side of the boat where tuna parts were hung off the side.
more info about San Benedicto, Baja including maps, reviews, and ratings...
Samoa PacificAn interesting place, a couple of dives excellent, better than Raro, the others rather mediocre. Moana Divers in Apia, and Pacific Resort Divers in the south were both OK (that means the air was clean, everything worked, the boat was there when you surfaced, they seemed to know what they were doing, and they did not insist on guided diving). PRD set a ridiculous 20m depth limit but we ignored it.
more info about Western Samoa including maps, reviews, and ratings...
Cayman islands Caribbean Sea
- Seaview reef
[61 minutes, max. depth 56’]: We
headed South from Seaview towards Sunset House and rode the slight current
back, ending right at the ladder at Seaview. Highlights: Spotted Scorpionfish,
Pygmy Filefish , Peacock Flounder.
- Hepp’s Pipeline
[52 minutes, max. depth 65’]: Looking back at the
18 dives we did that week, this one was one of our favorites. Right away we
saw a 5 foot green Moray tucking himself into an overhang. We crossed over a
sandy plain, down over a mini-wall to a huge coral "mound". The
coral here seemed very healthy compared to other areas we saw. The site is not
dived very often because conditions are rarely favorable for the dive. In
other words, we were very lucky! During the dive we saw the first and second
Turtles of the trip. I snuck up on the second one while he was sharing a snack
with a grey angelfish…very cool!
[44 minutes, max. depth 13’]: Often called the
greatest 10 foot dive in the world. That I think goes to Moses Reef, Eilat,
Israel. Still good though! Dived with Don Foster’s since TI didn’t have
enough divers to go out. The one tank trip was not included in our dives for
the week, so it cost us $55 US each. We rode a van out to the North side,
and then boarded Foster's very large catamaran style boat that wasn't
specifically outfitted for diving (no tank holders). A short boat ride to
the shallow, sandy site and soon we were surrounded by many friendly
stingray. Everyone should do it at least once, I guess. Don Foster's staff
was very friendly, but the time we spent with them was really too short to
form any kind of opinion. It's certainly a much larger operation than
Treasure Island.
Water Temperature on all dives was 83 degrees F. On all dives the coral
was fairly healthy with a wide variety of fish life inhabiting it.
more info about Stingray City including maps, reviews, and ratings...
Bahamas Caribbean SeaWith advanced booking checking in was breeze, and was on the boat in 10 minutes upon arrival. The boat was great, 46ft lots of room and shade, topside sundeck, bathroom, freshwater showers, camera table, huge water cooler, everything you need.
The first dive was at Razorback reef, about a 15 minutes from the dock. During the dive briefing we were given the choice of following the divemaster or heading out on own. I followed the divemaster and it was very good dive, lots of life, saw a hammerhead, cool.
The 2nd am dive was 2 wrecks laying bow to stern, the first starting at about 35ft,the 2nd ending at around 60ft. Both of these ships are 180ft island tankers, this was a cool dive. This site is only about a minute from Stuart Cove's dock.
After lunch out to Sharkwall and Sharkarena, about 45 minutes or so, defnitively worth the ride. The dive is on a wall and coral gardens that surround Sharkarena the site of the 2nd dive. The sharks know a snack isn't too far away, with 6-10 following us around (and a couple grouper too). After a surface interval back down to the Sharkarena a natural sand spot surrounded by coral, the feeding begins. I was totally blown away by these 2 dives it was great lots of sharks in your face action, 6 days later I'm still processing it. If you want to see sharks and want to go with a great dive op chose Stuart Cove's. I can't think of anything negative about Stuart Cove's the entire staff was fantastic. I hired a private photographer from Stuart Cove's Fin Photo for the Shark encounter dives, Tori did a awesome job during the dives and gave me a disc with 61 great pictures, worth the extra money. I can't wait to go back
more info about Shark Dive with Stuart Cove's including maps, reviews, and ratings...
Tanzania Indian OceanMafia Island and its reefs are renown as an excellent, World-class diving destination. Mafia has some of the richest reefs in the World, with an unparalleled variety of hard and soft corals and diversity of tropical fish. The Island lies close to the Rufiji Delta, just a short aircraft flight from Dar es Salaam, the Selous Game Reserve or Zanzibar. The island was a regular stop for two thousand years for Arab and Persian dhows plying the coastal waters from the Gulf to Madagascar and Mozambique. Chole Bay, Mafia's protected deep-water anchorage and the original harbour, is studded with islands, sandbanks and beaches. The clear, protected waters offer wonderful snorkelling, sailing and swimming. Outside the Bay unbroken reef runs the length of the island, from Tutia in the south to Ras Mkumbi at the northern tip.
Mafia Island is set in a Marine Park situated about 130 km south of Dar es-Salaam and about 25 km from the mainland. It is part of an archipelago formed of a number of very large islands and small uninhabited coral atolls . Due to its position alongside the barrier, the island is the meeting place of large oceanic fish and the the vast variety of fish common to the Indian Ocean coral reefs. There are over 400 species of fish in the park. The Park is a paradise for both expert scuba divers as well as those wishing to snorkel or sail in the native local boats from island to island.
more info about Mafia Island including maps, reviews, and ratings...
Maldives Indian OceanThis site lies on the east side of the South Male’ Atoll, outside of the reef at the south side of the channel mouth. Nearby islands are Losfushi, Guraidhoo and Kandooma. The reef top drops from ten meters (33 feet) to 30 meters (100 feet) and more; there are grottoes and projections just about everywhere. The edges of the channel drop down to a depth of 30 meters (100 feet). Large isolated coral blocks grow, from the scarp of the reef upward.
Guraidhoo Corner is a drift dive. It is therefore necessary to be quite an experienced diver on the reef; all the more so because there are powerful vertical currents all around the site at certain hours of the day. The direction of the principal horizontal current is towards the interior of the atoll. At the edge of the channel, which is also the deepest point, one comes drifting along the reef. The dive comes to an end along the wall of the channel or at the edge of the reef.
Because of its location outside of the reef, and because of the water movements and the topography, this place is destined to be the home of larger fish.
On the edges of the channel, which is to say, at depths ranging from 25 to 30 meters (80 to 100 feet), the best chances are that one will be able to observe a great many gray reef sharks (Carcharthinus amblyrhynochos) and the local school of eagle rays (Aetobatus narinari). The latter tend to swim in the open ocean, at a considerable distance from the seabed. In this same spot large hammerhead sharks (Sphyrna lewini), whale sharks (Rincodon typus) and sailfish (istiophorus platypterus) have been sighted frequently. Guraidhoo corner is also home to large schools of oriental sweetlips (Plectorhyncus orientalis), bannerfish (Heniochus diphreutes), and large black-and-white striped snappers (Macolor niger). And of course the large and friendly humphead wrasses (Cheilinus undulatus) are ever present.
more info about Guraidhoo Corner including maps, reviews, and ratings...
Maldives Indian OceanThe wreck of the
Maldives Victory lies on the western side of the airport-island, Hulule, precisely near the first quarter of the southern side of the landing strip. The wreck lies parallel to the reef on the sandy sea bed at a depth of 35 metres (115 feet), upright and with the bowsprit pointing north.
In the early morning hours of Friday, 13 February 1981, this 35,000-ton freighter ran at full speed onto the southern tip of the airport island. Since it had not been built with watertight bulkheads, the ship sank in the space of about an hour even though the hole was fairly small. The sailors and the few passengers aboard managed to make their way to the landing strip, only about thirty metres (a hundred feet) away; all were rescued, and none were even injured. The freighter was only ten years old, and hailed from Singapore; the holds were full of merchandise, chiefly for the tourist facilities.
Even just a few hours after the Maldive Victory sank, a great number of fish had begun to establish residence in and about the ship. For more than a decade now, the superstructures have been patrolled by a large school of batfish (Platax teira), while a number of barracuda (Sphyraena sp.) hover above the deck; those who swim around the wreck are provided with an escort of humphead wrasses (Cheilinus undulatus). Large schools of fusiliers (Caesio sp.) dart through the water, as a foreshadowing of the fact that in the pipes, passageways, nooks and crannies of this ship, one will encounter all of the animal species that can normally be found on reefs, and in grottoes and underwater caverns. During a number of dives, one will encounter a large sea turtle sleeping at the tip of the bowsprit of the Maldive Victory.
more info about The Victory Wreck including maps, reviews, and ratings...
Maldives Indian Ocean Alifu Atoll is comprised of three geographical atolls –
- Ari Atoll :
one of the largest atolls in the Maldives, measuring 80
kilometres in length and 30 in width
- Rasdhoo :
Atoll also boasts some exceptionally exciting dive sites
such as the hammerhead point
- Thoddoo :
Atoll.
If you visit a resort in Ari, you will be surprised to learn that this is one
of the most highly developed tourist areas in the Maldives. However, they are
all protected dive sites and famous for sighting of whale sharks.
more info about North & South Ari Atoll (Alifu Atoll) including maps, reviews, and ratings...
Maldives Indian OceanKaafu Atoll consists of four
geographical atolls;
North and South Male’ Atoll, Gaafaru and Kaashidhoo
Atolls . This collection of smaller atolls is located almost in the center of
the Maldives atoll chain. With 80 islands in all, only 12 are inhabited. Kaafu
Atoll is dotted with dive sites, many of them well known in the diving
community. Manta sightings, interesting reef formations, coral gardens and
wrecks are all part of the diving experience in these atolls.
The wreck of
the Maldives Victory , which sank on Friday the 13th 1981 near the airport
island of Hulule, is now an exciting diving attraction.
more info about North and South Male' Atoll (Kaafu Atoll) including maps, reviews, and ratings...
United States PacificHonolulu, Oahu, Hawaii
The YO 257 and the San Pedroo are the best wreck dive in the Hawaiian Islands. We have 2 170 ft shipwrecks laying side by side, 75 ft apart at a maximum depth of 100ft. Both wrecks have been there over 25 years and have atracted lots of marine live. There is tons of coral and fish, many big green sea turtles and 2 reef sharks that are permanent residents. It is a great dive for the intermediate (20 dives) to the experienced diver and a must to divers visiting the island of Oahu.
more info about YO 257 & San Pedro Shipwrecks including maps, reviews, and ratings...
Maldives Indian OceanA bit of a current here. Saw grey sharks and some large Napoleon Wrasse and resident turtles that came up to nosey around. They seemed quite tame.
more info about Mushi Mash Magili (South Ari Atoll) including maps, reviews, and ratings...
Maldives Indian OceanShort boat ride to the dive. This is a cleaning station for Manta Rays when the current is running. There were nurse sharks but we were to busy photographing the Mantas!
more info about Rangali Madivaru including maps, reviews, and ratings...
French Polynesia PacificA short Zodiac ride gets you to the site where there are Turtles, dolphins, and very boring coral (very dull).
The exciting part of this dive is the many grey sharks that are being hunted by the resident hammerhead and tiger shark.
more info about Tiputa Pass - Rangiroa including maps, reviews, and ratings...
French Polynesia PacificThis dive is for the experienced diver only. The dive site is a narrow canyon where there are very strong currents. We went in when the tide was running in, found a place to hang on (making sure that all our kit was attached) and then photographed the thousands of grey reef sharks that seemed to be just hanging in the current.
more info about North Channel (Apataki-Tuomotos) including maps, reviews, and ratings...
Cocos Islands PacificOn the Oceanus Agressor live aboard. This is a dive that has quite strong currents. There are lots of large creatures to photograph including sharks, whale sharks, dolphins etc. It is a very exposed site and can get very busy with live aboards and divers.
more info about Baja Alcyone including maps, reviews, and ratings...
Costa Rica PacificOn the Sea Hunter Liveaboard. Dirty rock is a dive site near to Cocos Island which attracts large species: Mantas, Whale Sharks, Hammerheads, Killer Whales, False Killer Whales, Dolphins and large shoals of Jacks. Because it is round, you can stay in the same place and photograph the same animal/s several times as they swim round and round the rock.
more info about Roca Socio (Dirty Rock) including maps, reviews, and ratings...