Page 138 - Florida and the US Caribbean Isles

Wall Diving and the Abyss

Wall dive experience ranges from shallow water to dramatic
wall dives off the southern edge of Puerto Rico. Wall dives
are a dramatic and breathtaking experience. With the beauty
come danger to to pay attention to your dive profile.

D Wive a wall and you know anything can hap- alls are found throughout The US Virgin Is-
pen. The deeper the wall plunges the greater lands and their profiles range from those

the chance of encountering a truly remarkable that end at sand bottoms 60 to 100 feet deep, to

experience. Sharks and other large pelagics can seemingly infinite vertical descents. It is along

regularly be spotted at a wall’s drop-off zone. The these escarpments of the deep reef that the

Bahamas boost some of the sheerest walls. The majesty of coral spires and the magnificence of

walls off of southern Puerto Rico can start at the sponges is fully realized. Seafans, bryozoans, sea-

50 foot depth with sheer walls that plummet to whips and Black Coral mix and mingle with the

the deep abyss. Divers regularly spot Caribbean sponges, creating a garden carpet of life. More

Reef Sharks during the descent into the abyss. color and the addition of motion is provided from

Most wall dives have a slight current and are also solitary and schooling reef fish. Every wall is

classified as a drift dive. Many of the wall dives similar, yet different: profile, shape, size and

also have coral encrusted tunnels. The topogra- predominant colors vary from site to site.

phy of the southwest shore of Puerto Rico is var- What makes Bahamian walls so special are

ied with shallow and deeper sites. Many of the several deep - very deep - basins across the

deeper sites are located in the outer islands and southwest shoreline of Puerto Rico and areas

rarely visited.