Turks & Caicos · Turks & Caicos Islands · Wall · Reef
Half Mile Reef
A sheltered bowl in the wall with two huge elephant ear sponges
Area photo: SNORKELINGDIVES.COM · CC BY 2.0
Roughly half a mile of reef lying east of French Cay, dived at a large bowl in the wall that tends to cancel out the currents met elsewhere along it. Large schools of barracuda and mahogany snappers are always present, and two elephant ear sponges sit about six metres apart on the 26 m contour.
Where it is and how deep
21.5073° N, 72.2007° WApproximate position — the dashed circle shows where the site lies; your operator's briefing has the mooring.
The dive
The reef is roughly half a mile long and lies to the east of French Cay. The popular section is a large bowl in the wall, and the shape of it matters: the bowl tends to eliminate the effects of the currents encountered elsewhere on this reef, which makes it the dependable choice on a day when the rest of the site is moving. Large schools of barracuda and mahogany snappers are always present here.
Follow the wall down to the 26 m contour, where the landmark is a pair of elephant ear sponges, each a little over two metres across, standing about six metres apart. They make a natural turn-around: the wall keeps going below them, but 26 m is the deep end of a sensible profile here. Work back up into the bowl and let the schooling fish carry the rest of the dive, with the shallow reef along the top of the wall for the ascent and the stop.
Marine life and season
- Barracuda
- Reef fish swarms
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Prime | Prime | Prime | Prime | Good | Good | Fair | Fair | Fair | Fair | Good | Good |
Season follows Turks & Caicos: January–April brings calm seas and the humpback whale migration through the Turks Island Passage; September–October is peak hurricane season.
Sources
- Dive Sites — Dive Provo — Dive Provo
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