Sipadan · Malaysia · Wall · Drift · Coral garden
Staghorn Crest
A cracked deep wall under a shallow coral garden
Area photo: Bernard DUPONT from FRANCE · CC BY-SA 2.0
Staghorn Crest sits just north of South Point and is dived deep, between 25 and 40 m, along a wall split by many cracks. A coral garden covers the shallows above a plateau at 15 m, but the dive itself is deep and the current here is strong, which is why it is kept to experienced divers.
Where it is and how deep
4.1048° N, 118.6356° EApproximate position — the dashed circle shows where the site lies; your operator's briefing has the mooring.
The dive
The site lies north of South Point, and the shape of it is a coral garden in the shallows running out over a plateau at 15 m before the wall drops away. Most of the dive happens below that, in the 25 to 40 m band, so the descent is the part to get right: time spent sorting buoyancy at depth is time off an already short bottom clock.
Along the face the wall is cut by many cracks, and those are what divers work — short looks into the openings rather than a straight swim past. Current here is strong and the site is dived as a drift, so the water decides the direction more than any plan does. Gas and no-decompression time both go quickly at 40 m, so this is a site where the guide's turn signal comes early.
The fish list is a wall list: angelfish, gobies, groupers and triggerfish along the face, with green turtles passing through. The ascent goes back up onto the plateau and the coral garden, which is the sheltered part of the site and the sensible place to hold a safety stop after a deep run.
Marine life and season
- Sea turtles
- Groupers
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Good | Good | Prime | Prime | Prime | Prime | Prime | Prime | Prime | Good | Fair | Fair |
Season follows Sipadan: Diveable year-round; a slight dip in visibility can occur during the November–February monsoon.
Know before you go
- Strong current on an exposed deep wall — dive it in the direction the water is going, stay close to your guide, and carry a surface marker for the ascent.
- A 25 to 40 m profile leaves little no-decompression time; plan the gas turn early and treat the 15 m plateau as the shallow part of the dive, not a bonus.
Questions divers ask
How deep is Staghorn Crest?+
It is a deep site, dived between 25 and 40 m along the wall. The shallows above hold a coral garden and a plateau at 15 m, which is where the ascent finishes.
What certification do you need for Staghorn Crest?+
It is reserved for advanced open water divers or CMAS two-star. The combination of a 40 m profile and strong current puts it outside entry-level limits.
Sources
- Staghorn Crest Dive Site — Divezone
- Sipadan Dive Sites — Scuba Junkie
More dive sites in Sipadan
Thousands of barracuda wheeling into a tornado that darkens the sun
Soft coral in pastel lemon and antique rose, and turtles by the dozen
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Lobsters, frogfish and pipefish on a deep macro wall
The deep corner, where rare hammerheads pass at 40 m and beyond
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Barracuda massing on a wall with no bottom in sight
Reef
Large table corals with turtles and whitetips over them
A limestone labyrinth holding the bones of turtles that never found the exit
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Black coral on the wall, resident groupers and turtles
Similar dives elsewhere
Steep wall to 30 metres, the strait's moderate-current option
The northbound current sweeps divers through the gap into the lagoon
Gorgonians and soft coral on a limestone wall, averaging 20 m
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Sea fans on a vertical face, dived as a guided drift