Bay Islands Dive Sites
DIVE BRIEF: This is one of Utila's most impressive sites, especially when the water is clear. With a wall that runs to a depth of almost 300 metres, it makes your descent over the plateau feel like your jumping off a cliff with a parachute. The sensation of its depth is unforgettable. The buoy site is at 8 metres on an extensive plateau where a diver will see many different types of brain coral. East of the plateau you will spot a deep sand channel (17 metres) that is often visited by the Great Barracuda and the occasional Nurse Shark.
DIVE BRIEF: Moon Hole is a sandy semi-circular site (12 metres) surrounded by stoney coral formations. Don't miss this chance to check out the variety of sand dwelling creatures living here, from the Flounder to the Sea Horse. This site is ideal for night dives due to the many crustaceans living on its walls. It is also perfect for navigation and buoyancy training dives.
DIVE BRIEF: From the coast of the wall there is a plateau teeming with sand channels, towards the West the wall descends to 16metres and meets with a sandy bottom that continues on a gradual decline. Towards the Eat: The wall descends to 35metres until it reaches the sandy bottom that will continue it's descent to more than 40metres. From the buoy going South East, a diver will spot a sunken sail boat that lies on the sand at 25metres with it's top rising to 18metres. Another interesting point to check out towards the South East is Erroll's grill that was sunk in 2003.
DIVE BRIEF: The combination of depth, natural lighting and the location of this site produce a haunting effect, hence the site's name Duppy Waters. "Duppy" in the local vernacular means ghost. From the buoy (7metres), you are on the upper part of the reef wall, where the site's haunted lighting is apparent. To the west: The wall is crossed by several chimneys and we see Giant Barrel Sponges . Ahead the diver will find the entrance to a narrow sand channel (23metres) that take you to the sand patch (16metres) which lead to the boat. To the East: The chimneys enrich the dive on this deep wall.
DIVE BRIEF: Aquarium was named for the colorful wall that coral and encrusted sponge produce near the coast and for the great variety of soft coral found on the plateau between the coast and the reef wall. Below the boat (10 metres), the wall runs parallel to the coast and descends to 100ft. The sandy bottom will continue to 40 metres where it is common to find Southern Stingray. On the plateau at 12 metres a diver will find a great congregation of Sea Plumes.
DIVE BRIEF: Diamond Cay is named after the small cay to which it is near. The buoy is found at a depth of 20 ft on a narrow coral formation between two sand channels that run from wide sand patches (30ft) to the west, and to the top of the reef wall going to the East; the fringing reef wall that surrounds the Cay reaches a depth of 100ft where the sandy bottom continues in a gradual decent to more than 130ft. Going North at about 80ft lives a colony of Bushy Black Coral which is worth a look. Towards the South you will find many Common Sea Fans whose size is quite impressive.
DIVE BRIEF: This site has a lot of canyons to explore, one of the best swim throughs in Utila and sandy area that allow for excellent opportunity to encounter a Nurse Shark. It is named after the small bay that is located close to this area,
DIVE BRIEF: Black Hills is undeniably one of Utila’s most interesting sites because of it’s huge variety of marine life. It takes the form of a semi-circular sea mound, its highest part at 10 metres and going deeper than 45 metres. Because Black Hills is 2 miles off the coast it’s important that the sea be calm in order to dive safely. Here a diver will see schools of Horse Eye Jacks, Atlantic Spade Fish, and Sennets. If you pay careful attention you can find the Spotted Scorpion Fish and Lettuce Sea Slugs.
DIVE BRIEF: Jack Neil Beach's (or Madelaine's) white sand beaches make this site exotic both in and out of the water. The beach, which is next to the dock is used for Confined Water Training Sessions and not one but many dive students have been surprised by the appearance of the Southern Star Gazer. From this area students can follow the sand whilst observing Caribbean Reef Squid passing by in their formation. For the more experienced diver this site has a fringing reef wall that goes down from 5 to 17 metres where it meets the sandy bottom that continues its gradual descent to 30 metres.
DIVE BRIEF: Black Coral Wall offers a lot of options for your dives. In its shallowest part (5-7 metres) there are sand patches and sand channels full of aquatic life and due to its depth the natural light is ideal for underwater photography. The reef wall runs parallel to the shore and descends to 24 metres where it meets the sandy bottom and continues its gradual descent. The site is named after the Black Coral found East of the bouy.
