Rodrigues · Mauritius · Drift · Channel & pass
La Passe St François
A kilometre of channel drifted on the outgoing tide
Area photo: Ludovic Lubeigt from Taiwan · CC BY-SA 2.0
The kilometre-long channel that cuts the barrier reef off St François, and the dive Rodrigues is known for. The outgoing tide does the work: you enter at the shallow end and drift the full length of the cut, dropping from 6 m to 30 m as the walls fall away. Tuna, trevally and barracuda hold in the moving water, and caves along the sides catch the light.
Also known as La Passe Jacky.
Where it is and how deep
19.7010° S, 63.5050° EApproximate position — the dashed circle shows where the site lies; your operator's briefing has the mooring.
The dive
You are dropped at the inshore end of the channel in about 6 m of water, on a natural cut that runs roughly a kilometre out through the barrier reef. There is nothing to hold and nothing to swim against: the outgoing current takes you the moment you are down, and the dive becomes a matter of staying off the coral and letting the walls go past at the speed the water chooses.
The floor steps down as the pass widens, reaching about 30 m towards the ocean end. Caves and undercuts open in the sides along the way, with light shafts angling into them. Fish sit where the flow is fastest — unicornfish and parrotfish over the reef, tuna and barracuda in mid-water, giant trevally cruising the edges — and schools of big-eye jack of about a hundred wheel through the open sections.
Small sharks turn up along the channel, and turtles are seen from time to time. The dive only runs on the outgoing water: Sea-Seek describes the current in the pass as quite strong, and every guide that covers the site treats it as a one-way drift rather than a dive you can turn round and swim back. It is the site the island is best known for, and the one most visiting divers come to do.
Marine life and season
- Trevally & jacks
- Tuna
- Barracuda
- Sea turtles
- Reef sharks
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fair | Fair | Good | Good | Prime | Prime | Prime | Good | Good | Prime | Prime | Fair |
Season follows Rodrigues: May–Jul and Oct–Nov are the calmest windows; Jan–Mar brings cyclone risk and August can be windy.
Know before you go
- The current runs one way and does not let you turn back — stay off the coral, keep the group together and plan the whole thing as a drift with a boat pick-up.
Questions divers ask
How deep is La Passe St François?+
The channel runs from about 6 m at the inshore end to 30 m where it opens towards the ocean; one guide gives the shallow end as 8 m rather than 6 m. The drift covers roughly a kilometre.
Sources
- Rodrigues Travel Guide — Rough Guides
- Top 8 des plus beaux sites de plongée de l'île Rodrigues — Tropicalement Vôtre
- Les sites de plongée de Rodrigues — Spots d'Évasion
- Passe St François (Rodrigues) — Sea-Seek
More dive sites in Rodrigues
Reef
Named after a grouper that changes colour on the spot
Pelagic & blue water
A blue descent with no reference onto a shelf at 25 m
Drift
A natural aquarium at 10 m, or a 50-minute tidal drift
Reef
Coral totems and valleys between two reef blocks
Reef
Coral drop-offs at 21 m under a ceiling of fusiliers
Coral garden
A sheltered lagoon pool at 7 m for first dives
Cave & cavern
Chimneys through the barrier reef that flood with daylight
Cave & cavern
A canyon that passes right under the barrier reef
Similar dives elsewhere
Drift
L'Ilot
Seychelles · Seychelles
Drift a 200 m passage where eagle rays school
A brief, powerful drift where threshers and hammerheads come out of the blue
Drift the channel corner on either tide, 5 to 25 m
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Overhangs and cavities from 10 m to beyond 30 m on the channel's south side