Sesimbra & the Arrábida · Portugal · Reef

Cabo Submarino

A disused submarine cable over rock at about 20 m

An old communications cable, long since taken out of service, lies visible over rock formations at about 20 m and gives the site its name. Life concentrates on those rocks: pouting, seabream and wrasse over the tops, with gorgonians and sponges on the stone itself.

Where it is and how deep

Depths on a shared scale to 40 m (130 ft); dashed lines mark common certification limits.

38.4834° N, 9.1957° WPublished position for this site.

The dive

The site is named for what marks it: an old submarine communications cable, disabled long ago, that lies visible across rock formations at about 20 m. The cable lies over the rock rather than buried in it, so it stays in sight, and on a coast where visibility runs anywhere from a couple of metres to about 15 m an obvious line on the bottom is worth having.

Life concentrates on the formations the cable crosses. Pouting hang over the tops in numbers, with seabream and wrasse working the edges and gorgonians and sponges on the rock — the usual fauna and flora of this coast rather than anything unique to the site. At 20 m there is time to follow the cable out and work the rocks properly on the way back.

Marine life and season

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

Month-by-month season rating for Cabo Submarino
Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Fair	Fair	Fair	Fair	Good	Good	Good	Prime	Prime	Prime	Good	Fair

Season follows Sesimbra & the Arrábida: Aug–Oct is the warmest window; sheltered bay sites are diveable all year, but cape-facing sites take Atlantic swell in any month.

Sources

Cabo Submarino — Scubago — Scubago / SSI MyDiveGuide

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