Dive Sites Catalogue

[ReinhardtS]

I looked around and couldn't find a forum specifically for logging dives or finding sites, so I guess "General Scuba" it is.

Basically I was wondering whether there's a catalogue or database somewhere online where I can look for dive sites and their GPS coordinates. The SSI app has a bunch, but on the app you can't find the coordinates, and not all sites are on the website, great programming!! haha

I found a couple of websites mentioning some sites, but most don't have coordinates. Anyone have any ideas?

 

[Para Goon]

Here are some sites I've found useful in my GPS data point gathering. I also started using a GPS data logger to collect GPS data points for my dives. I turn it on prior to departure and turn it off upon return. I leave it on the dive board in a dry location and sometimes in a plastic zip-lock bag to keep it dry.

- Wannadive.net - World dive site atlas

Dive Site Map — ROATAN

Dive Site Map of all Scuba Diving sites around Roatan. Each location has been geotagged and is represented in an interactive map. Come explore Roatan's dive sites.

roatan.online

List of shipwrecks of Oceania - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

The Scuba Directory

Read the latest reviews of dive shops & dive sites and get specific details before your next dive trip!

thescubadirectory.com

http://www.scubaearth.com/dive-site/

 

[100days-a-year]

I have 56,000+ for the Atlantic coast of the US from the Keys to NC. I have dove probably 4000 individual sites and confimed several thousand more via my personal side scan or US government gathered multibeam and sidescan.
Any list you find will be limited. Some significantly.
I do like the idea of logging locations of actual places I've dove when possible.

 

[tursiops]

I looked around and couldn't find a forum specifically for logging dives or finding sites, so I guess "General Scuba" it is.

Basically I was wondering whether there's a catalogue or database somewhere online where I can look for dive sites and their GPS coordinates. The SSI app has a bunch, but on the app you can't find the coordinates, and not all sites are on the website, great programming!! haha

I found a couple of websites mentioning some sites, but most don't have coordinates. Anyone have any ideas?

Why, and for what area? Since anywhere you can get wet is potentially a dive site, can you be more specific? Do you -- for example -- places dive boats from resorts in Belize go to, or named shore dives in Bonaire, or what? As you've asked the question, only "logging dives" is really possible, and there are numerous apps to do that for your dives. "Finding sites" is much too general.

 

[ReinhardtS]

Why, and for what area? Since anywhere you can get wet is potentially a dive site, can you be more specific?

Thanks, and indeed, I of course you are right, any place can be a dive site. But I'm talking about the simplest option here. When I log a dive, I want to say where I did it. Operators have sites in the areas where they work, and these site names help divers identify the sites to other divers. I like logging these places, and I'd like to also know exactly where on the planet they were. Many people log these sites in their books, their apps, etc. But sharing them (like on some of those sites quoted above) is of course more efficient.

 

[tursiops]

Thanks, and indeed, I of course you are right, any place can be a dive site. But I'm talking about the simplest option here. When I log a dive, I want to say where I did it. Operators have sites in the areas where they work, and these site names help divers identify the sites to other divers. I like logging these places, and I'd like to also know exactly where on the planet they were. Many people log these sites in their books, their apps, etc. But sharing them (like on some of those sites quoted above) is of course more efficient.

You'll find that dive sites are like fish; the names differ depending on who is talking, and there is no equivalent o the scientific name for a fish other than GPS coords, which are still not completely helpful. The GPS coords also depend on whether it is the location of the mooring (which changes sometimes, for the same site), or where a diver first went in or where they came out. What is "the" GPS coordinate for one of the drift dives in Cozumel? Can't really say, in detail, because each site is a broad area.
I'm not saying you shouldn't log your dives, or right down site names, just that you need to be aware that the names are variable and the locations are flaky. In Bonaire, for example, Bari Reef and Buddy's Reef and Reef Scientifico are all side by side; where does one end and the next begin? And it is not always Buddy's Reef, nor is it always Reef Scientifico. If you look at the Bonaire Marine Park (the local management authority) guide over the years you will find that site names come and go; even sites come and go.

 

[dmaziuk]

Many people log these sites in their books, their apps, etc. But sharing them (like on some of those sites quoted above) is of course more efficient.

But then you have to do something when 2 people supply different coordinates for what they say is the same site. And for when they give you different site names for the same coordinates. And for the accuracy of their GPS, if they had one (I copy-pasted some coords from teh Roatan map into my log, no idea how accurate they are), and so on and so forth.