Togian Islands · Indonesia · Pinnacle
Space X
A tornado of barracuda circling the reef at 16 m
Area photo: Arian Zwegers · CC BY 2.0
Space X is a pinnacle off Buka-Buka that drops more than 60 m, but the dive is built around one shallow thing: at 16 m a tornado of barracuda schools above the reef, described in the site listing as a galaxy circling the planet of the reef below. That image is where the name comes from, and 16 m is the depth to plan around.
Where it is and how deep
0.7365° S, 121.7675° EPublished position for this site.
The dive
The site is a pinnacle that goes down more than 60 m, so the structure runs far past anything a recreational dive will use. The part that counts is the top of it, and specifically the water at 16 m, where the barracuda hold in a slow rotating tornado above the reef. Seen with the reef underneath, the school is described as a galaxy circling a planet, which is the image the site takes its name from.
That makes the plan simple: get to 16 m, stay off the school and give it time. Below and around, the pinnacle keeps dropping into the blue with nothing between the shallow part of the dive and 60 m, so the open side deserves a glance at the computer rather than a swim out into it. Nothing else about the site is published, no current, visibility or temperature figures, so the briefing sets the rest of the profile.
Marine life and season
- Barracuda
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fair | Fair | Good | Prime | Prime | Prime | Prime | Prime | Good | Good | Fair | Fair |
Season follows Togian Islands: Mar–Sep is driest and calmest; the wet season from November to February brings rain and rougher inter-island crossings.
Know before you go
- The pinnacle drops past 60 m directly below the shallow part of the dive, so a lost reference on the blue-water side can take you deep quickly.
Sources
- Space X dive site, Togian Islands — Scubago
More dive sites in Togian Islands
Wall
The Togians' best odds on schooling scalloped hammerheads
Coral garden
Temple, cabbage and mushroom coral in 15 m of water
Reef
Huge schools of yellow snapper over a southern slope
Reef
Reef network from 30 m down to a small wreck at 10 m
The Crack, a swim-through at 50 m, and night dives at Little Lembeh
Wall
A north-pointing finger from 15 m down to 34 m
Reef
Shallow 12-15 m reef that links across to Pinnacle 2
Reef
An 18-30 m point with good visibility year round
Similar dives elsewhere
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A concrete cross set between two pinnacles at 15 m
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A holed rock at the surface, a coral-covered pinnacle below