Best Dive Sites Worldwide!

[Pelagic]

We cruisers have the advantage of enjoying Dive Sites that are relatively unknown.

What are the very best sites you've discovered or enjoyed?

Suggest Google Earth image showing Lat/Long location and a Diver's guide to enjoying it, if you care to share.

I have many!

[downunder]

Cod Hole of Lizard Island, North GBR and The Bommie at Heron Island, South GBR are just 2 for starters.

On GBR, Australia. Always plenty of big fish to film if you like plenty of fish.

[WebWench]

Whitsunday islands and further north....all of the GBR!!!!!! Tha best!!!

[nhschneider]

I would have to say the Tuamotus, Tonga, Fiji, Banda Islands, Take Bone Rate in Indonesia, Chesterfield Reef, to name just a few that I've visited.

Fair winds and calm seas.

[Blue Crab]

I'm always surprised at the number of folks who don't realize the world class diving 30 miles offshore of Beaufort, and Morehead City, NC. Routinely in the top 5 or so dive sites in the world, and generally #1 in "big animals" sighted. It's getting late here so I won't mention what those big animals are. Heh heh.

50-100' ft vis and 80°+ water temp is common offshore Spring thru Fall. Divers come from around the world for the wrecks. This is where those bad ass Navy SEALs come to play. Cold water divers with dry suits have these sites to themselves all winter long.

Photo Gallery

Caution, a blue crab might be visible to the careless viewer.

[downunder]

I think Pelagic was after specific dive sites rather than generic.

For instance the best site in the Whitsundays?

[donradcliffe]

There's a great wall at about 8-58S, 159-10E, off Heartattack Pass in the Solomons Russell Group. Not for the fainthearted; we spotted a croc the next day.

Khor Shinab, Sudan at 211-21.4N, 37-04.0E--good diving, fantastic anchorage in the desert.

One of my favorite dive sites is pretty well known (Alice's Wonderland in the BVI) but you have to chose your day--it frequently is too rough to dive.

[model 10]

The wall dive just off French Harbor, Roatan.

[Pelagic]

I was hoping we could make this more detailed and useful in case any members were alone in the area doing exploratory dives.
Example ORLUK

I started exploring diving in these atolls in 1982 with Carl Roessler and over the years, always stopped to dive Orluk whenever nearby.
Never disappointed !

Dive One… always had one or two silver tips. Gigantic Grouper. Visibility so good you would get vertigo on the surface

Dive 2 NE Pass… Best near end of flood when the big Pelagics come into the pass and current is not too strong.
If tides work out, a late afternoon dive is intense as 100’s of sharks come in to feed. Because of that, diving on the ebb is too risky

Dive 3….. Lots of turtles and Sea Rays on top of all the other action.

Island 4 is only inhabited by about 8 people from Pingalap…. Very friendly and full of coconut crabs

Notes From undercurrent.org

"One 'corner' on Oroluk Atoll was probably my most exciting dive in over 40 years of diving. It was like a time machine -- entering the oceans when they were teeming with marine life. At 100 feet, I stopped counting at 15 gray reef sharks patrolling the reef. Several oceanic whitetips cruised off in the blue. Three big dogtoothed tuna swam towards me -- the largest one five feet long, chunky and squarelooking, with big canine teeth. A school of bigeye trevally swam around me, and schools of yellowtail kingfish were overhead and in front of me. Pulled along in a two-knot current, I passed a school of chevron barracuda and then found myself in the middle of a spiraling school of yellowtail barracuda. Moving up the wall to the shallower water, I took in an emperor angelfish, a clown trigger, dozens of species of butterflyfish, Moorish idols, and schools of jacks and snappers.

[Seaworthy Lass]

Originally Posted by downunder

I think Pelagic was after specific dive sites rather than generic.

For instance the best site in the Whitsundays?

In the Whitsundays these three areas are best by a long shot:
Top end of Hook Island (eg Manta Ray Bay and Maureen's Cove)
Blue Pearl Bay on the west side of Hayman Island
Cateran Bay on Border Island

All have fantastic coral, lots of fish, manta rays, turtles and the occasional reef shark or bronze whaler

None of these compare to the nearby Outer Reef though (eg Bait Reef). That is world class diving .

[downunder]

Originally Posted by Seaworthy Lass

In the Whitsundays these three areas are best by a long shot:
Top end of Hook Island (eg Manta Ray Bay and Maureen's Cove)
Blue Pearl Bay on the west side of Hayman Island
Cateran Bay on Border Island

All have fantastic coral, lots of fish, manta rays, turtles and the occasional reef shark or bronze whaler

None of these compare to the nearby Outer Reef though (eg Bait Reef). That is world class diving .

Most of the cruisers that visit the Queensland Coast sail up the coast rarely spend much time amongst the GBR but amongst the mainland islands such as the Whitsundays. The GBR has stacks of good anchorages.

We locals call Bait reef the inner reef vs outer barrier reef.

Cheers

[downunder]

Pelagic,

Did you get a chance to dive the Cod Hole? Virtually every cruiser heading north towards Asia seems to stop in at Lizard but few bother with the Cod Hole at Cormorant Pass only a max of 5 nm away.

cheers

[Seaworthy Lass]

Originally Posted by downunder

Most of the cruisers that visit the Queensland Coast sail up the coast rarely spend much time amongst the GBR but amongst the mainland islands such as the Whitsundays. The GBR has stacks of good anchorages.

We locals call Bait reef the inner reef vs outer barrier reef.

Cheers

Stacks of good anchorages? You need to reveal a few of the well kept local secrets. Map accuracy is appalling for this area and is is a very dangerous zone to try and navigate without decent maps.

I have anchored only in Hardy Lagoon and Bait Reef and yes, as others can see from the attached photo, Bait Reef is very much inner of the outer LOL.

All the Barrier Reef would probably have remarkable diving, but Bait Reef stands out as one of the areas where it is possible to enter the reef reasonably safely (always a hairy experience) and anchor in only about 14 m. As long as the weather holds out, that is. The reef is completely covered at high tide, so you are a sitting duck in the middle of the ocean then. I have been known to sleep try and sleep eagle spread on the floor to avoid being tossed from side to side at high tide . Well worth it for the diving and the whole experience though!

Bait Reef is the small oval at the very centre of this Google image. If you look at the adjacent reef that looks like a hook and line, it is obvious why it was named Bait .
The location is roughly 19° 48.48 S, 149° 04.32 E :

[downunder]

Nearly always 6-12 around and large Maori Wrasse as well.

[downunder]

Originally Posted by Seaworthy Lass

Stacks of good anchorages? You need to reveal a few of the well kept local secrets. Map accuracy is appalling for this area and is is a very dangerous zone to try and navigate without decent maps.

I have anchored only in Hardy Lagoon and Bait Reef and yes, as others can see from the attached photo, Bait Reef is very much inner of the outer LOL.

All the Barrier Reef would probably have remarkable diving, but Bait Reef stands out as one of the areas where it is possible to enter the reef reasonably safely (always a hairy experience) and anchor in only about 14 m. As long as the weather holds out, that is. The reef is completely covered at high tide, so you are a sitting duck in the middle of the ocean then. I have been known to sleep try and sleep eagle spread on the floor to avoid being tossed from side to side at high tide . Well worth it for the diving and the whole experience though!

Bait Reef is the small oval at the very centre of this Google image. If you look at the adjacent reef that looks like a hook and line, it is obvious why it was named Bait .
The location is roughly 19° 48.48 S, 149° 04.32 E :

Lass,

the current charts are very accurate and can be used to plan and obviously the normal safe pilotage rules apply, using sun to spot individual bommies.
Look at the reef shapes that give you good sand and a shape that will give protection from the prevaling winds. at this time of the year generally that's SE. Deep keel monos need to take a bit more care but is doable.

Quote
" I have been known to sleep try and sleep eagle spread on the floor to avoid being tossed from side to side at high tide "

Some reefs are lower and don't provide as much protection as the higher ones. A wide reef flat also helps. Would not say you are a sitting duck in the middle of the ocean. Bit sloppy at top of the tide sometimes. Certainly more of an issue in a mono. Never really been an issue with the cats and charter boats i have been on.

Cheers