Ilha Grande & Angra dos Reis · Brazil · Cave & cavern · Drift
Jorge Grego
A crack almost 4 m wide and 15 m deep, dived off a drifting boat
Area photo: Feliperogeriobr · CC BY-SA 4.0
Jorge Grego is an island in the open sea outside Ilha Grande, and the dive is its fenda: a crack splitting the middle of the island, almost 4 m wide and 15 m deep. Scubago calls it one of the most famous and sought-after sites on the outer coast. The boat drifts rather than moors, and the source is explicit that the dive asks for experience.
Also known as Fenda Jorge Grego, Ilha do Jorge Grego.
Where it is and how deep
23.2261° S, 44.1626° WPublished position for this site.
The dive
Jorge Grego lies out in the open sea beyond Ilha Grande, on the exposed side where the bay stops sheltering you. The dive is the fenda, the crack that splits the middle of the island: an opening almost 4 m wide running down to 15 m. Everything about the site follows from that geometry — a narrow slot with rock on both sides of you and open water at either end of it.
The boat does not moor. Divers go in from and come back to a drifting boat, and Scubago is blunt that this requires experience: you want to be comfortable entering, descending and surfacing without a line, and to stay together so the pick-up is one stop rather than four. Work the crack in the direction the guide sets on the day rather than picking your own line through it.
No figures are published for this site on its own — no visibility, no current strength, no water temperature and no marine-life reports tied to the crevice itself. The islands out toward the open Atlantic carry moving water and better clarity than the sheltered inner bay, but treat that as background rather than a forecast; the briefing on the day is what you plan the dive on.
Marine life and season
The sources we used don't single out particular species here.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Prime | Prime | Prime | Prime | Good | Good | Good | Good | Good | Prime | Prime | Prime |
Season follows Ilha Grande & Angra dos Reis: October to April brings warmer water and the best visibility; the mainland-facing north coast is diveable all year.
Know before you go
- Divers are dropped from and picked up by a drifting boat, so there is no fixed surface reference: carry an SMB, surface as a group and keep the boat in sight.
- This is the exposed coast outside the bay, dived as a weather-dependent extra rather than a fixed plan, so treat the site as a conditions call on the day.
Dive videos
Mergulho Ilha do Jorge Grego Ilha Grande - RJ 2° Mergulho 03/01/2015 · Nicolas Montanari on YouTube
Questions divers ask
Is Jorge Grego suitable for beginners?+
No. The dive is run from a drifting boat on the exposed coast outside Ilha Grande, and the operator's own description says it requires experience. Keep it for after you are comfortable with live-boat entries and exits.
How deep is the Jorge Grego crevice?+
The opening is almost 4 m wide and 15 m deep, so it is a shallow dive by depth; what makes it demanding is the exposed position and the drifting-boat entry, not the profile.
Sources
- Fenda Jorge Grego — Scubago (SSI MyDiveGuide)
More dive sites in Ilha Grande & Angra dos Reis
Rocky coastline between 4 and 15 m, dived by day and by night
13 m, sheltered and currentless: the region's first-dive island
Artificial reef
The best-preserved wreck on the Costa Verde, at 18 m
200 m of submerged reef running down to 26 m
Similar dives elsewhere
A 72 m rope descent onto a lake 80 m deep
A huge cave-like arch dotted with yellow sponges and nudibranchs
A twin-entrance overhang at 24 m below a 16 m cleaning station
Ragged-tooth sharks rest in the caves from July to November.