Cabilao · Philippines · Drift · Wall · Reef
Current View Point
A current-washed plateau at 25–30 m, pelagics one day, pygmies the next
Area photo: yuichiro anazawa · CC BY 3.0
Current View Point is the sandy plateau on Cabilao's north-western corner, at about 25 to 30 m, and it is named for the thing that makes it work: the current that washes across it. When it runs, barracuda, jacks and other pelagics come in with it and whitetip reef sharks patrol the edge. When it does not, the same plateau is one of the island's best macro dives.
Where it is and how deep
9.8870° N, 123.7565° EApproximate position — the dashed circle shows where the site lies; your operator's briefing has the mooring.
The dive
The site is a sandy plateau at about 25 to 30 m on the island's north-western corner, with deeper ground falling away from its outer edge. That depth is the constraint: no-stop time on air is short, so the dive is planned tightly, run in one direction with the flow, and finished by climbing back up into the shallows rather than swimming home along the bottom.
The name tells you what to expect. When the current is running it comes across the plateau and brings the open-water fish with it — schools of barracuda, jacks, and other pelagics moving through — while whitetip reef sharks work the edge where the plateau drops. It is a hold-on-and-watch dive rather than a swim-around, and the guide picks the entry so the flow does the work.
On a slack day the same ground is one of Cabilao's better macro sites. Pygmy seahorses hold on the fans at the deeper end, thorny seahorses, ghost pipefish and nudibranchs are spread across the plateau, and there is enough on the sand to fill the short bottom time twice over. Which dive you get is decided on the boat, not in the booking.
Marine life and season
- Barracuda
- Trevally & jacks
- Reef sharks
- Pygmy seahorses
- Nudibranchs
- Macro critters
- Frogfish
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Prime | Prime | Prime | Prime | Prime | Good | Fair | Fair | Fair | Good | Prime | Prime |
Season follows Cabilao: Dived year-round; Nov–Jun is the main season and the low season runs roughly May–Oct, when the south-west monsoon works the exposed sides.
Know before you go
- A current-swept plateau at 25–30 m: no-stop time is short, the flow can push you off the edge into deeper water, and a surface marker plus a live pick-up should be assumed.
Questions divers ask
How deep is Current View Point?+
The plateau sits at roughly 25 to 30 m, with deeper ground beyond its edge. That makes for a short no-stop dive on air, which is why the site is rated for advanced divers.
What will I see at Current View Point?+
It depends on the current. With flow, schools of barracuda and jacks come across the plateau and whitetip reef sharks work its edge; without it, the same ground is a macro dive for pygmy and thorny seahorses, ghost pipefish and nudibranchs.
Sources
- Cabilao Dive Sites — Sea Explorers Philippines
- Your Guide to Diving in Bohol — Dive The World
- Cabilao Island — Wikipedia
More dive sites in Cabilao
Wall
A hundred metres of coral wall from 5 m to 60
Wall
An east-coast wall with a cave, and Cabilao's best night dive
Wall
Stacked table corals over a wall dropping to 50 m
Reef
A gentle drift over coral and sand to 18 m
Wall
Giant gorgonian fans on a wall from 5 m to 60
Wall
The corner where Cabilao's sharks are seen, wall to plateau to wall
Wall
Shallow muck over a coral wall that falls to 60 m
Frogfish, ghost pipefish and turtles on a 5-30 m coral wall
Similar dives elsewhere
Juvenile whitetips tucked into small caves along a drifting slope
A hard drift off the point, with tuna and barracuda in the flow
A drifted slope of soft and black coral off Pamilacan's tip
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Whip corals along a drifted wall, with bumpheads passing