Map with up-to-date diving site information

[MusikAnimal]

It seems just the matter of a few years can mean the difference of a dive site being full of vibrant, beautiful, lively coral, as opposed to dead, dull-looking, near lifeless experience. My prime example is Flinders Reef at the southern tip of the Great Barrier Reef. A few years ago this place was teeming with life and coral, when I got there last year it was all dead. Of course the dive shop did not let us in on that little nugget of information.

After my poor experience diving in Australia, I'm planning a trip to dive the Red Sea, but want to do it right and make sure I get to see the real thing. I'm a novice diver, PADI certified open-water, but not advanced. It seems this will prohibit me from seeing the real gems in the red sea, such as Big Brother which is reserved for the very experienced, but as long as I see some awesome coral and fish I'll be happy. I'm just terrified that despite what the dive shops say, we'll get out there and all of the coral will be dead. What I'm getting at is that you can't necessarily go off of the pictures and reviews.

This forum seems like it'll be a lot of help, but I was wondering if anyone knew of a map-style website with updated information about what dive spots around the world are still good to see? Or am I better off just asking at the Red Sea forum on here or what have you?

Many thanks in advance!

 

[LandonL]

Sorry to hear about your experience at that particular dive site in Australia.

Contact a few of the shops in Egypt and ask about the dive sites they frequent, and then look at their photo galleries or search google images for recent photographs if you wish to plan ahead that way, also do like you said and ask here on SB in the geographic forum for that region, as many dive professionals that work in that area frequent the board. The Red Sea is an excellent choice for a dive vacation.

Unfortunately, many dive sites are in a constant state of change, so there is no unified central source with up to date information, conditions are usually passed along locally by word of mouth. The conditions at a dive site can change daily, currents can get stronger, visibility can improve or worsen, temperatures can change with cold water upwellings, surface conditions can shift, so you really can't guarantee every day is going to be the best day on that particular site.

When living in Grenada I dove a lot of the same sites frequently, some days I would see eagle rays, turtles, nurse sharks, sea horses, frog fish, and almost everything else on a single dive... the next day at the same location I would see none of the above. It all just depends.

However, if you go the Red Sea I can guarantee you will at least find a few dive sites to satisfy your interest. I was there years ago and really enjoyed the Sinai, my biggest regret is that I didn't do any dives at the time as it was before I really got into diving.

 

[MusikAnimal]

Unfortunately, many dive sites are in a constant state of change, so there is no unified central source with up to date information, conditions are usually passed along locally by word of mouth. The conditions at a dive site can change daily, currents can get stronger, visibility can improve or worsen, temperatures can change with cold water upwellings, surface conditions can shift, so you really can't guarantee every day is going to be the best day on that particular site.

Thanks for all the info! I of course can understand how marine animals can come and go based on conditions, but the coral itself is or more less consistent, right? The bright colours, sponges and what not, they all are one intact organism that is there day and night? If there is any consistency there perhaps there is a portal somewhere out there is up-to-date in that regard – just the reefs themselves, and if not, maybe there should be. Either way I will ask about the best spots in the appropriate forum here on SB. Thank you LandonL!

 

[LandonL]

but the coral itself is or more less consistent, right? The bright colours, sponges and what not, they all are one intact organism that is there day and night?

Well, they should be more or less, but realistically that isn't the case. It's no big secret some reefs are in decline the past few decades. Coral bleaching comes to mind, fishing pressure, inexperienced boaters dropping anchor on the reef itself, pollution, trash, etc, and even scuba diving. Most scuba courses now try to deal a little bit with the later by teaching students about not touching the reef, not breaking coral, paying attention to your fins, and other skills to minimize impact, but it does occur. I have noticed dive sites that get tons of visitors do show obvious signs of stress, so you may try to use a dive op that goes to several different sites instead of continually hammering the same few,. Just ask for a list of dive sites they have used recently or have a conversation with them.

About the day or night thing... if you go on a night dive the reef will look completely different. Cup corals, which are non-photosynthetic, extend at night to filter feed from the water, so what may look like a wrinkled tube during the day, will look like an underwater sunflower at night. Also many nocturnal species will be more active at night, such as lobsters, various species of fish, and other cryptic organisms.

If there is any consistency there perhaps there is a portal somewhere out there is up-to-date in that regard – just the reefs themselves, and if not, maybe there should be.

There are a few websites out there that list dive locations and have reviews, but I find that most of them don't really live up to the idea. They don't have many reviews, the reviews are old, the information is outdated, the coordinates are off, etc.

By far the best dive resource you are going to have is the local dive shop or local divers in the area you wish to dive.

 

[DivemasterDennis]

Consider joining Undercurrent ( undercurrent.org ). Their subscribers write in about dive destinations and their annual "Chapbook" contains thousands oif reports, most of which are dive site specific. It is not free, but it is very reasonable.
DivemasterDennis