Cascais & Cabo Raso · Portugal · Reef
Pedra da Nau
Sheltered bay where an undulate ray turns up on lucky days
Pedra da Nau is a reef in a protected bay off Cascais, reached by a short boat ride. Rock cutouts hold schools of seabream and wrasse, along with octopus and cuttlefish. The bay suits beginners, yet the cutouts and the species in them keep experienced divers interested.
Where it is and how deep
38.6894° N, 9.4255° WApproximate position — the dashed circle shows where the site lies; your operator's briefing has the mooring.
The dive
The dive stays inside a protected bay, over rock full of cutouts, to a maximum of 14 m. Several schools of different seabreams and wrasses work the rock, along with octopus and cuttlefish. On lucky days an undulate ray turns up.
Marine life and season
- Octopus & cuttlefish
- Reef fish swarms
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Good | Good | Good | Good | Good | Good | Good | Good | Good | Good | Good | Good |
Season follows Cascais & Cabo Raso: Boats run all year; the sea is coolest around March and warmest around September.
Dive videos
Mergulho na Pedra da Nau | Cascais · Marco Cerieiro on YouTube
Sources
- Pedra da Nau – ScubaGo dive site — ScubaGo
More dive sites in Cascais & Cabo Raso
Reef
Small passages through the reef top on the swim back to the sand
Countless nudibranchs below the rocky recess that names the site
Reef
Large gorges that look like the Sintra hills on a clear day
Small-spotted catsharks on a rock-and-sand bottom at 24 m
Beach entry onto a reef split by cracks running out from the shore
Reef
Try-dive reef where nudibranchs, octopus and cuttlefish share 8 m of water
Similar dives elsewhere
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Wreckage and coal at 12 m under a reef that crests at 1.5 m
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A false ceiling right around a 10 m shoal off Corralejo