Sint Maarten · Sint Maarten · Reef
Coralita
A 12–18 m reef replanted with Acropora after Hurricane Irma
Area photo: Gillfoto from Juneau, Alaska, United States · CC BY-SA 4.0
Coralita is a reef opposite Philipsburg in what the dive shops call the golden triangle of the Dutch reserve, starting at 12 m and ending around 18 m. It is an easy Open Water reef dive with turtles and sharks, and it is also the reef the Nature Foundation chose for its 2020 coral restoration work, replanting Acropora fragments including some that survived Hurricane Irma.
Where it is and how deep
17.9897° N, 63.0566° WPublished position for this site.
The dive
The boat moors over the reef opposite Philipsburg and you drop onto the top of it at 12 m. From there the reef slopes away to around 18 m, and the dive is a simple traverse of that band: follow the reef along its length, drop to the deeper edge around 18 m and come back along the shallower side to finish. There is nothing deep or complicated about it, and the whole profile fits inside Open Water limits.
Look for the restoration work as you go. In 2020 the Nature Foundation chose Coralita for its coral restoration initiative and replanted Acropora fragments on the reef, some of them from colonies that had survived Hurricane Irma, so patches of young branching coral stand out against the older reef. Different species of turtles and sharks are seen on the site, and PADI describes the ground as sand-bottom gullies with corals peppered across them. Come back up over the 12 m top of the reef for the ascent and safety stop before returning to the boat.
Marine life and season
- Sea turtles
- Reef sharks
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Prime | Prime | Prime | Prime | Prime | Good | Good | Fair | Fair | Fair | Good | Prime |
Season follows Sint Maarten: Conditions vary little through the year; Jun–Nov is hurricane season and Dec–Apr plus Jul–Aug are the crowded months.
Questions divers ask
How deep is Coralita?+
The reef starts at 12 m (40 ft) and ends around 18 m (60 ft), so it fits inside an Open Water profile.
What is special about Coralita?+
The Nature Foundation designated Coralita for its 2020 coral restoration initiative and replanted Acropora fragments there, including some that had survived Hurricane Irma. Turtles and sharks are seen on the reef.
Sources
- Coralita — Scubago
- Coralita dive site — PADI
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