Costa Brava · Spain · Seamount · Reef
Ullastre I
The one Ullastre rated Open Water, 15 m over a 30 m bottom
Area photo: Mikipons · CC BY-SA 3.0
The first and shallowest of the three underwater mountains that stand in front of Calella, and the only one of them a newly qualified diver can take on. The listing gives an average working depth of 15 m over a bottom at 30 m, no current and visibility between 10 and 30 m, and rates the site at CMAS one-star or Open Water.
Where it is and how deep
41.8853° N, 3.2010° EApproximate position — the dashed circle shows where the site lies; your operator's briefing has the mooring.
The dive
The three underwater mountains sit in front of Calella, and Ullastre I is the first and shallowest of them. The listing gives an average working depth of 15 m over a bottom at 30 m, so the usual plan is a circuit of the summit and its shoulders rather than a drop to the sand: stay on the rock, keep the deep ground below you, and the profile stays inside an Open Water limit.
Conditions are the reason this one carries the lower rating. Current is listed as none and visibility as good, between 10 and 30 m, which leaves the dive to be spent looking rather than swimming. The rock holds octopus, nudibranchs, slipper lobster and squat lobster, with damselfish and wrasse over the top and zebra seabream along the edges. Boat traffic is the one danger named here, so ascend on the line or under a marker.
Marine life and season
- Octopus & cuttlefish
- Nudibranchs
- Macro critters
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fair | Fair | Fair | Fair | Good | Good | Prime | Prime | Good | Good | Fair | Fair |
Season follows Costa Brava: Surface water sits near 13 °C from January to March and peaks around 25 °C in August; local guidance is 5 mm in July and August, 7 mm April to June and September to October, drysuit the rest.
Know before you go
- Boat traffic is listed as a danger at this site, so ascend on the shotline or send a marker up before you surface.
Questions divers ask
Can an Open Water diver dive Ullastre I?+
Yes. The site is listed at CMAS one-star / Open Water with an average depth of 15 m and no current. The rock does bottom out at 30 m, so the dive has to be kept to the summit and its shoulders rather than taken to the sand.
Sources
- Ullastre I — Scubago
- Ullastre I — Wannadive — Wannadive.net
- Palamos town to Cap de Begur — area index — Wannadive.net
- Diving in Llafranc — Submarinisme Costa Brava
More dive sites in Costa Brava
Cave & cavern
A 120 m grotto from a 12 m entrance to bats at the far end
Drift
Three rocky bars round the cape, dived as a drift
Pinnacle
A pinnacle from 16 m to a 54 m bottom, with a rock needle east of it
Sand slope
A pool-like training bay from 1 to 8 m
Seamount
Gorgonian walls from 25 m down to a 53 m bottom
Seamount
A summit at 8 m over a wall that bottoms out at 54 m
Gullies and caves under the islets, gorgonians on the rock
A pool ladder into a cove of nudibranchs and shrimp
Similar dives elsewhere
A submerged mountain from 55 m to 3 m, four hulls on its flanks
A rock needle to 3 m, with a conger cave at 22 m on its east side
Seamount rock from 5 m to past 40 m, gorgonians throughout
A submerged rock arch at 5–8 m with a shoal running south