Tarifa & the Strait of Gibraltar, the area around La Piscina

Tarifa & the Strait of Gibraltar · Spain · Wall · Drift

La Piscina

Sand pools at 8 m under a wall worked from 15 up to 9 m

Area photo: Karan Jain from Washington, DC, USA · CC BY-SA 2.0

La Piscina is a buoyed site on the island's wall line where the anchorage lands at 15 m and the wall is worked between 15 and 9 m. The ground is sand and rock on a low-angle profile, with sandy clearings at about 8 m that gave the site its name. Cuttlefish, octopus, electric rays and moray eels are the regulars, and the site can be run as a drift.

Where it is and how deep

Depth profile of La Piscina: typical dive 9–18 m (30–60 ft) 18 m · Open Water30 m · Advanced40 m · Recreational limit9 m18 mtypical dive
Depths on a shared scale to 40 m (130 ft); dashed lines mark common certification limits.

36.0022° N, 5.6063° WPublished position for this site.

The dive

The anchorage lands at 15 m. From there the ground is sand and rock on a gentle slope rather than a drop, and the wall section is worked between 15 and 9 m; Scubago notes the site can also be run as a drift. The shallow sand patches sit among the rocks at around 8 m, pool-shaped clearings that are where the name comes from and where most of the dive is spent.

Look into the rock rather than out into the blue. León Marino's list for the site is schooling fish, cuttlefish, octopus, assorted crustaceans, nudibranchs, electric rays, snapper and dentex, moray and conger eels, with barracuda and sunfish turning up occasionally. The maximum is 16–18 m, so a long, slow shallow dive is the shape of it rather than anything the depth dictates.

Marine life and season

  • Octopus & cuttlefish
  • Stingrays
  • Macro critters
  • Nudibranchs
  • Barracuda
  • Mola mola
  • Reef fish swarms
Month-by-month season rating for La Piscina
JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
FairFairFairFairGoodGoodGoodPrimePrimePrimeFairFair

Season follows Tarifa & the Strait of Gibraltar: August to October holds the warmest water; visibility does not track it, and the strait's funnelled Levante and Poniente winds can stop boats in any month.

Sources

  1. La Piscina — Scubago
  2. La Piscina — León Marino Buceo Tarifa
  3. La Piscina — YellowSub Tarifa
  4. La Piscina — YellowSub Tarifa

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