Westkant naar Haaien Gordon Reef is known and easily identified by the wreck of the Panamanian cargo ship Loullia (3,461 tonnes), which ran aground on the northern end in September 1981. The fact that there is a fixed mooring on the southern side and a wide and rather shallow (10-24 meters) plateau that fans out in a south-westerly direction, makes this dive site safer than the preceding ones. A red and white beacon lies on the south-western corner. The first dive (A) starts off from the mooring point and winds in an easterly direction and then northwards along the eastern side of the reef. Halfway along this side, you can see many metal drums scattered at a depth of TO to 20 meters. From here you can either double back to the starting point or make a drift dive and proceed north (dive B); in this case, you will come across a rather small sandy plateau on which some Garden eels (Gorgasia sillneri) live. On the third dive (C) you can explore the vast plateau that extends in a southerly direction. After reaching the sand-filled depression with a vaguely circular shape (known as the ‘Amphitheater’ or ‘Shark Pool’) you will pass by a mass of cables and metal bars. From here you can go back to the starting point either by heading towards the reef or, after crossing a zone filled with fire corals (Millepora dichotoma), by drift diving along the western side. |
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