Cap d'Agde, the area around Le Casier Nord

Cap d'Agde · France · Reef

Le Casier Nord

Coralligenous rocks at 18–19 m west of the Brescou rock

Area photo: Christian Ferrer · CC BY-SA 3.0

Le Casier Nord is a set of coralligenous reefs of different sizes lying on the sand west of the submarine Brescou rock, between 18 and 19 m. Two of the rocks stand apart from the others to the south-west, which gives the dive a natural out-and-back. The life is the standard Cap d'Agde list: congers, octopus, nudibranchs and lobsters.

Where it is and how deep

Depth profile of Le Casier Nord: typical dive 18–19 m (60–62 ft) 18 m · Open Water30 m · Advanced40 m · Recreational limit18 m19 mtypical dive
Depths on a shared scale to 40 m (130 ft); dashed lines mark common certification limits.

43.2493° N, 3.4988° EPublished position for this site.

The dive

Le Casier Nord sits west of the submarine Brescou rock, between 18 and 19 m, and it is made of coralligenous reefs of different sizes spread over the sand. Two of them are more isolated than the rest, off to the south-west, and that gives the dive its shape: work the main group of rocks first, then cross the sand to the pair and come back over the same ground.

At 18 to 19 m the bottom time is generous for the depth, so this is a dive that rewards looking rather than covering distance. Congers are back in the holes in the rock, octopus are in the smaller gaps, lobsters sit under the ledges and nudibranchs are out on the faces. The open sand between the reefs is worth watching on the crossings rather than swimming straight over.

Marine life and season

  • Octopus & cuttlefish
  • Nudibranchs
  • Macro critters
Month-by-month season rating for Le Casier Nord
JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Off-seasonOff-seasonFairFairGoodGoodPrimePrimePrimeGoodFairFair

Season follows Cap d'Agde: Abyss Plongée opens March to December; the sea averages 12 °C in February and 22 °C in August, and the Tramontane or Mistral can stop the boats in any month.

Sources

  1. Le Casier Nord — Scubago (SSI MyDiveGuide)

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