Capo Caccia & Nereo Cave, the area around Il delfino

Capo Caccia & Nereo Cave · Italy · Artificial reef

Il delfino

Sheltered from the mistral, so it dives when the wind is up

Area photo: Teresa Grau Ros from Barcelona · CC BY-SA 2.0

Il delfino is a shallow dive on the Alghero coast built around a single object: a life-size statue of a dolphin, set on a concrete base at 16 m. The statue is what the site is named for and the depth the dive is planned around. Nothing else about the site is published — no route, no structure, no marine life.

Where it is and how deep

Depth profile of Il delfino: typical dive to 16 m (to 52 ft) 18 m · Open Water30 m · Advanced40 m · Recreational limit16 mtypical dive
Depths on a shared scale to 40 m (130 ft); dashed lines mark common certification limits.

40.5680° N, 8.1654° EPublished position for this site.

The dive

This is a one-feature dive. You go down to 16 m, where the dolphin stands on its concrete base, and the rest of the dive is spent with it and on the way back up. Sixteen metres is the only depth published for the site, so the profile has no second stage to plan for: the statue is the bottom, the turn, and the reason anyone books the dive.

The other thing worth knowing is when the site gets used. Il delfino lies sheltered from the mistral, the predominant wind in the area, and is described as practicable even in adverse weather conditions — which is what puts it on the schedule on days the rest of the coast is blown out. Beyond the statue and that aspect, no route or seabed detail is published for the site, so plan the dive around the dolphin and treat the rest as unknown.

Marine life and season

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

Month-by-month season rating for Il delfino
JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
FairFairFairGoodGoodPrimePrimePrimePrimeGoodFairFair

Season follows Capo Caccia & Nereo Cave: May–Oct is the settled season; winter mistral and north-westerlies make the exposed cape unworkable for weeks at a time.

Questions divers ask

How deep is Il delfino?+

The dolphin statue stands on a concrete base at 16 m, and that is the depth the dive is planned around; no deeper figure is published for the site.

Can Il delfino be dived in windy weather?+

It is sheltered from the mistral, the predominant wind in the area, and is described as practicable even in adverse weather conditions.

Sources

  1. Il delfino - Alghero — Scubago

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