Question How to know which way the current is heading, and other La Dania questions.

[RIHappyDiver]

That sounds great! I don’t remember many details, but I remember it being a nice dive.
Who were you diving with?

 

[Trailboss123]

1. How do I find out if the current will cooperate before taking The Leap! Or, is this even a concern? Is the current there typically so mild that there is no fear that one will have to drift to Tolo to get back on land?

It would be extremely rare to have current that would prevent you from making it to Karpata from La Dania. I suggest choosing your target depth for the dive and stay there for 20 minutes or so and then make your way up into the 40-35 foot range for the remainder of the dive and keep an eye out for the anchor, which is your indicator for the exit point. Enjoy.

 

[scubadada]

We are planning this so that we can do La Dania as well as Karpata. Dive Friends hasn’t seemed inclined to take a boat that far north...

I haven't been to La Dania's Leap with Dive Friends since 2019. You might try to request it in advance and/or have your group request it for the first dive. I have not thought to ask for it and have never heard it requested by others. I have not done the drift from La Dania's to Karpata.

We did do Bruce's Rappel and Bloodlet at the end of 2023 and frequently get to Country Garden.

Best of luck on your upcoming trip, look forward to hearing all about it.

 

[tursiops]

We dove la Dania leap by boat yesterday. We saw some divers jump in and it looked like they were heading towards karpata. There was another group on cliff sizing up the situation. My question is why do this other than to say you did it? Looks like it has all sorts of unnecessary risks and logistical complications. Why not just dive karpata and head towards la Dania if the current permits

K>>LD>>K roundtrip is pretty far; one-way makes it a nice leisurely dive, esp if the current is with you, which it usually (but not always) is. The Leap at La Dania is fun, anyway.

 

[wwguy]

South from Karpata is the only legal direction; north put you into a restricted area.

I get your point, but it is permissible to dive a short distance to the NW (right) from the Karpata entry.

The restricted King Willem-Alexander Reserve begins just past the intersection where the Kaminda Karpata road leads inland to Rincon. (Marine park legislation officially defines the SE boundary of the reserve at GPS coordinates 12°13'10.8"N 68°21'09.9"W, and STINAPA has placed their markers on the shoreline accordingly.)

I'm only picking the proverbial nits here because the ~100 yard section between the Karpata entry/exit and the beginning of the marine reserve to the NW is a great—and perfectly legal—place to enjoy consuming any remaining gas at the end of a dive there.

 

[tursiops]

I'm only picking the proverbial nits here because the ~100 yard section between the Karpata entry/exit and the beginning of the marine reserve to the NW is a great—and perfectly legal—place to enjoy consuming any remaining gas at the end of a dive there.

I agree on both points: it is a nit, and the shallows there are great, with some still-standing very nice elkhorn coral.

 

[tkaelin]

That sounds great! I don’t remember many details, but I remember it being a nice dive.
Who were you diving with?

Capt dons.

 

[RIHappyDiver]

That’s who I was diving with when I did La Dania 7 years ago (I miscounted in my first post). I checked with them about diving their boat. Guests are first priority, rightfully so, then first come first served. No reservations or pre signup list. I enjoyed diving with them, even with the trips back to the dock between dives.

 

[dmaziuk]

As for the giant stride, the Reef Smart Guide says it’s 4’, which is 6’ less of a drop than Oil Slick, which I found to be fun.

There is a ladder at Oil Slick, was it not there back when or did you feel like you needed a challenge?

 

[tkaelin]

Didn’t we all just jump and use the ladder to exit? That’s what we did way back when including our then newly certified 12 & 15 year olds