Reefwander
A pelagic thresher shark with its long tail glides through blue water over the reef at Monad Shoal, Malapascua.

Malapascua · Philippines · Pinnacle · Reef

Dakit Dakit Pinnacle

A 20 m-wide coral pinnacle topping out at 5 m

Area photo: Petter Lindgren · CC BY-SA 3.0

Dakit Dakit Pinnacle is a single coral-covered rise off the southwest of Malapascua. Its top is about 5 metres deep and roughly 20 metres across, and it stands up from 12 to 14 metres. Hard and soft corals including table corals cover it, and big rocks carry growth of their own, so the whole dive fits inside a small, shallow piece of ground.

Where it is and how deep

Depth profile of Dakit Dakit Pinnacle: typical dive 5–14 m (15–46 ft) 18 m · Open Water30 m · Advanced40 m · Recreational limit5 m14 mtypical dive
Depths on a shared scale to 40 m (130 ft); dashed lines mark common certification limits.

11.3221° N, 124.1073° EPublished position for this site.

The dive

The pinnacle is a contained dive: about 5 metres deep at the top, standing up from 12 to 14 metres, with a top some 20 metres in diameter. Most groups drop onto the shallow crown, work down one side to the base and then circle, which on a structure this size means several unhurried laps rather than a single pass. Keeping the rock on one shoulder is the simplest way to stay oriented on a site with no reef running away from it.

The cover is nice hard and soft corals including table corals, and big rocks carry growth of their own, so the deeper part of the dive has structure rather than bare sand. Because the top sits at 5 metres, the safety stop happens on the pinnacle itself, in the shallowest and best-lit coral, and there is usually gas and time left to spend there once the deeper laps are done.

Marine life and season

The sources we used don't single out particular species here.

Month-by-month season rating for Dakit Dakit Pinnacle
JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
FairFairPrimePrimePrimeGoodGoodGoodGoodFairFairFair

Season follows Malapascua: Threshers visit Kimud Shoal all year. March to May is calmest and clearest; October to January brings rough seas, green water and the most cancelled crossings.

Sources

  1. Dakit Dakit Pinnacle - Scubago — Scubago/SSI

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