Chile?

[dbvail]

OK, it's not the warm Carribbean, but does anyone have experience in diving Chile? Skiing in Portillo is great, but what about the diving? Thanks for anyone with info.

 

[Scuba65]

I was wondering the same thing..might be going there in Nov. though i did hear that it's a drysuit diving thing.

 

[EPE]

I'm from Chile and we have very goods sites to dive, especially in the central area of the country. The water Tº is not so cold to use a drysuit (about 52ºF), a 7mm is just fine.

The diving community is growing and there are many good diving centers and stores.

 

[drbill]

I've always thought it would be great to dive and film the kelp forests there since I'm a SoCal kelp forest ecologist. Temps sound fine!

 

[Scuba96]

OK, it's not the warm Carribbean, but does anyone have experience in diving Chile? Skiing in Portillo is great, but what about the diving? Thanks for anyone with info.

Right now Portillo www.skiportillo.comhttp://www.skiportillo.com has has lots of snow, it's going to be a great season. Diving in the lagoon at Portillo is a challenge, you will need a dry suit.

Diving in Chile is great (it's very similar to Califonia and all the way up to Oregon). You will need a 7mm wetsuit and got to love it since you won't find accomodations like in the US.

Scuba96

 

[Robertmech]

The water temp close to the coast is about 12 deg C in Summer and 10 deg C in winter, the water
warms up a bit as you go north.
Further out eg 500 nautical mile off the coast the water temp is 20 deg C.
We are going out to San Felix and San Ambrosio in November for 10 days.

Regards Robert.

 

[Robertmech]

We are working with a company called AQUATOUR in Coquimbo and will be doing day
trips to Isla Paquaro(bird island) and other islands off Punto Choros during the summer months.
Isla Paquaro has a large seal colony and has only been dived 3 times before, we can tailor
these trips to your needs.
Regards Robert.

 

[Gilldiver]

I have always wanted to go to Chile to dive the Juan Fernández, or Robinson Crusoe Islands
Juan Fernández Islands - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Being way out in the Pacific they hold a lot of life and have a few wrecks. One of the wrecks is the SMS Dresden a German WWI cruiser sunk after a number of battles with the British.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SMS_Dresden_(1907)

There seems to be a growing diver support system on the Islands, but deep diving like the Dresden may not be allowed all the time. But there is at least one Tech guy doing her
Tec Diving in South America TecRec Blog

Pete Johnson

 

[Gilldiver]

Here is some oinfo on diving the islands.

- Diver Magazine May 2001
Dive Global :: Destination of the Month :: Robinson Crusoe Island :: Juan Fernandez Archipelago, Chile

 

[Robertmech]

I believe the Dresden is at a depth of 60 metre, not exactly a recreational dive?

Regards Robert.