To Live Is To Dive!

The sandy bottom is the perfect spot for flounders' sharp taill eel, shake eel, and many cabbage worms. The wall near the surface is covered with sea fans beautiful coral and sponges. At ten feet there are a few volcanic vents that aloud hot water to spring up to the surface. The wall goes as deep as 150 feet, but the best diving is at 25-40 feet. There you will find parrot fish, trumpet fish, barrel sponges, Christmas tree worms, feather dusters, and lots of other fish and coral. This dive is perfect for beginners and night diving.

Located in the Anse La Raye area, the 165-foot freighter was sunk in October 1986 by the department of Fisheries as part of a project to provide an artificial reef. It is covered with hard and soft corals, sponges, and hydroids, and provides an ideal habitat for juvenile fish such as Queen and French angel fish. The wreck sits on an even keel on the sand. It is 30 feet to the sand deck, and 65 feet at the deepest point. It is possible to explore the hall and engine room.

Located at the base of the petit piton this dive can clearly be defined as a continuation of the Piton to 2000 feet. Massive barrel sponges, brain coral, black gorgonian school of glass eye Jacks, and Black jack are just a sample of the verity of fish and coral that you are sure to find on this amazing dive.

Located right at the base of the spectacular Petit Piton Mountain, whale sharks, and humpback whales have been observed passing by. The cliff face here was used as a setting for the film Superman 2, where Superman was filmed flying down the cliff to just above the water.

Divers can take this opportunity to continue this flight well below the surface of the water. There are often current on this site, promoting good visibility. The steep slope presents a number of beautiful soft corals and a great profusion of fish life.

Under the Petit Piton Mountain, Malgretoute, which means "Despite Everything", is a steep slope with large rocky outcrops, encrusted in colorful sponges and bright yellow tube sponges- peek inside these for crabs and basket stars. Because of the healthy reef and good water quality, many flamingo tongues can be found on the sea fans in shallow water.

Many divers have declared that this is one of the most stunning dive sites that they have ever visited. Four spectacular volcanic peaks rise dramatically from the depth to within a few feet of the surface. These are encrusted with a profusion of black and orange gorgonian, file-fish and sometimes seahorses. Larger fish such as grouper, jacks and snapper can also be spotted around the pinnacles.

This crescent-shaped reef to the north of Anse Chastanet bay is a secret tip not just for macro photographers. It drops quickly from a plateau area at around 40 feet to well over 150 feet. From the spectacular pillar coral and barrel sponges to the deeper soft corals and ledges, this reef offers a wide range of exciting marine life.

The occasional turtle has been known to visit, but even if not in evidence, there are plenty of other creatures, like a garden eel, gold spotted snake eel, flying gurnard, peacock flounder, scorpion-fish, queen angel fish, sea horses and the remains of an old Porsche, which makes this dive exceptional. Since the inception of both the SMMA, the schools of mahogany snapper, and the schoolmaster have also returned.

The "Devil's Hole" is a fascinating location. At 40 to 60 feet, there is a steep slope with large barrel sponges and well-developed coral heads, with schools of chromes and grunts in abundance. The shallower section at 20 to 30 feet offers an intricate maze of channels around large boulders covered in a profusion of coral and sponges. This is a great spot to find gold-spotted eels and spotted drums. If one's lucky, one might be able to spot the rare sunfish or a hawks-bill turtle.

Patios or Creole translation for "Great House", Grand Caille has long been known as the home for big fish. Unfortunately, few of these remain due to fishing activities, but it is still a very dramatic dive site, with massive boulders in the shallows, which blend into large reef patches in the deeper part. This dive site also boasts a wall comprising many deep - Water Gorgonian and sea whips, occasionally a large barracuda will curiously observe the divers.

Adjacent to the Anse Chastanet reef, starting at the West Point is the beautiful location of Fairyland This area., located on a major headland, is subject to strong currents; this has the benefit of giving the site excellent visibility and keeping the corals the corals very clean so that the vibrant colors sparkle, painting the many varieties of coral and sponges.

The plateau area slopes gently from 40 to 60 feet; the dives are usually about 50 feet and shallower at this site. Large boulders create numerous nooks and crannies for fish to shelter in, while the water column teams to large numbers of schooling fish, particularly horse-eye jacks, Bermuda chubs, chromes, and Creole-wrasse. Turtles, southern -sting rays, and nurse- sharks are occasionally seen on this splendid reef called Fairyland.

This rare, very shy, and extremely fast, purple-colored, segmented worm is not from a fairy tale. While moving, its color glitters in the moonlight, adding to its myth. Animals of up to 15 feet in length have reportedly been seen in the SMMA. Since it can only be observed at night, clear photos of it are scarce and precise identification has proven to be difficult. The creature is harmless to divers and by no means a beast. Ever seen bioluminescence, a parrot fish in its cocoon, or even coral sex?

Predictions of coral spawning at the end of August have become very precise and the vent is certainly the night dive highlight of the season. Night dives in the SMMA are a definite must for the serious diver. Octopus, squid, spiny-slipper, peppermint lobster, huge channel clinging crabs, conger eel, banded-.spotted- and golden tail moray eel, electric ray, and basket star are just a few examples of nocturnal creatures frequently encounter during night dives.

Coral Garden This dive starts right at the impressive cliff of the Gros Piton.

It comprises a steep slope with a variety of coral species and large barrel sponges. The unusual Sargassum- trigger-fish can be spotted in the deeper area here, and occasionally a large school of barracuda will take up residence.

As with many of the dive sites, divers must be careful to frequently monitor their depth gauge as the slope continues for hundreds of feet. It is easy to get caught up in the beauty on display and descend to greater depths.