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Roca Partida – notes from a tiny island
Roca Partida is the smallest of the islands we will be visiting on this trip. Calling it an island is a bit of an exaggeration, as really this is a volcanic plug poking out of the surface, with an undersea volcano below. Brown Boobies (these are birds by the way) rest on the surface, squabbling for the best spot. Once below, however, currents will decide your dive plan for you!
For those who like it deep and blue, then the search is on for schooling hammerheads, but the go-to shark on this site is the whitetip shark. They gather here in large numbers and rest in the many crevices and holes in the steep walls. You can find over 20 sharks in one spot, sometimes piled up on top of each other, as they shelter and rest on this incredible dive site.
Huge schools of fish move around this tiny rock. It only takes 15 – 30 minutes to swim all the way round it, but there is always plenty to see. However, this is also a site that is exposed and divers need to be aware of currents moving in all directions throughout the dive. Our crew on Nautilus Belle Amie have issued each diver with an emergency satellite GPS system just in case we stray out of sight of the RIBs patrolling the island waiting for us to ascend. These systems give us extra confidence and make you feel really safe whilst diving a site such as this one, some 300 nautical miles from the Baha Peninsular.
Today, the reef has not given up its full treasure trove, with the groups only seeing a few distinct species of shark and all the schooling fish. A lucky few have seen hammerheads. When this site rocks, it is considered one of the best pelagic dive sites in the world. We have to keep everything crossed for tomorrow…
For more from Nick and Caroline, visit www.frogfishphotography.com.
Over the next 12 months, specialist scuba holiday company Dive Worldwide will be supporting Bite-Back Shark & Marine Conservation with donations collected from client bookings to any one of its stunning dive destinations around the world. The independently-owned operator expects to raise £3000 for the UK charity.
Manager at Dive Worldwide, Phil North, said: “We’re especially excited to work with Bite-Back and support its intelligent, creative and results-driven campaigns to end the UK trade in shark products and prompt a change in attitudes to the ocean’s most maligned inhabitant.”
Bite-Back is running campaigns to hold the media to account on the way it reports shark news along with a brand new nationwide education programme. Last year the charity was credited for spearheading a UK ban on the import and export of shark fins.
Campaign director at Bite-Back, Graham Buckingham, said: “We’re enormously grateful to Dive Worldwide for choosing to support Bite-Back. The company’s commitment to conservation helps set it apart from other tour operators and we’re certain its clients admire and respect that policy. For us, the affiliation is huge and helps us look to the future with confidence we can deliver against key conservation programmes.”
To launch the fundraising initiative, Phil North presented Graham Buckingham with a cheque for £1,000.
Visit Dive Worldwide to discover its diverse range of international scuba adventures and visit Bite-Back to learn more about the charity’s campaigns.
MORE INFORMATION
Call Graham Buckingham on 07810 454 266 or email graham@bite-back.com
Free Octopus with every purchase of a SCUBAPRO regulator system
Just in time for the spring season, divers can save money with the FREE OCTOPUS SPRING PROMOTION! Until July 31st SCUBAPRO offers an Octopus for free
with every purchase of a regulator system!
Get a free S270 OCTOPUS with purchase of these combinations:
MK25 EVO or MK19 EVO with A700
MK25 EVO or MK19 EVO with S620Ti
MK25 EVO or MK19 EVO with D420
MK25 EVO Din mit S620Ti-X
Get a free R105 OCTOPUS with purchase of the following combinations:
MK25 EVO or MK19 EVO with G260
MK25 EVO or MK17 EVO with S600
SCUBAPRO offers a 30-year first owner warranty on all regulators, with a revision period of two years or 100 dives. All SCUBAPRO regulators are of course certified according to the new European test standard EN250-2014.
Available at participating SCUBAPRO dealers. Promotion may not be available in all regions. Find an authorized SCUBAPRO Dealer at scubapro.com.
More information available on www.scubapro.com.
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