CORSICA DIVING: CERBICALE ISLANDS II

Located less than 5 km from the coast near Porto-Vecchio, the Cerbicale Islands archipelago consists of 6 rocky islets: Pietricaggiosa Island, Forana Island, Maestro María Island or Isla Plana, Vacca Rock, Toro Island, the most far away from the coast, at 7 km in the sea and Isla Piana. With a total area of ​​36 ha. They are small islands (the largest, Piana, is only 700 meters long!) and not very high (Forana is 35 meters, being the largest and Maestro María, the smallest, 5 meters)

They have been a natural reserve since 1981. As they have never been inhabited by humans, they are an excellent refuge for wildlife, in fact both fishing and hunting are prohibited and represent an important home for a great variety of flora and fauna, including birds. They are of special interest to the Mediterranean crested cormorant, gray shearwater, stormy petrel and Audouin’s gull, among others.

The marine environment is frequented by numerous pelagic birds and in its rocky and poseidonea bottoms we will find a rich biodiversity frequented by groupers, conger eels, amberjacks, moray eels, …

Therefore the dives here offer a multitude of possibilities with plenty of live across underwater canyons. There is also the possibility of diving through the reck of the Pecorella, a cement ship that sank in 1967. And if we are lucky we will also be able to see loggerhead turtles!

Categoria de buceo - diving activity

Summary:

  • Date & place: 23/08/2020 | Cerbicale Islands, Mediterran sea
  • Level: Open water (18m max) / AdvancedAdvanced
  • External & underwater conditions: strong wind | Good, without currents
  • Duration, visibility & water Tª: 55 min | Very good (+20 m) | 25 ºC
  • Max. depth & Gas: 19,3 m | Air
  • Surface time:  1h (2nd dive)

Map / Profile:

Location:

Current weather:

SECOND DIVE OF THE DAY AT VACCA ISLAND

After our first dive of the day (see Corsica Diving: Cerbicale Islands I), and after resting a little on the boat and having a hot drink we go to the second dive point today, from La Vacca towards the coast. We move just 300 m to the W. We drop anchor and go down.

We are the same group as in the previous dive and as in the first one, we enjoy a rich seagrass bottom with great visibility.

P8230968 CORSICA DIVING: CERBICALE ISLANDS II

Rocky bottom landscape with posidonia

We also see many groupers, brown meagre, scorpora camouflaged with the environment, a bank of very beautiful amberjacks that got very close,…

P8230965 CORSICA DIVING: CERBICALE ISLANDS II

Grouper in the rocky bottom

P8230934 CORSICA DIVING: CERBICALE ISLANDS II

umbrina cirrosa fish in the bottom holes

P8230941 CORSICA DIVING: CERBICALE ISLANDS II

scorpora fish camouflaged in the rocky bottom

As in the previous dive, we also enjoy a lot the macro life; we see many nudibranchs, a small crab in an anemone … In general we also have a very nice and fun dive.

P8230966 CORSICA DIVING: CERBICALE ISLANDS II

Cool crab in an anemone

P8230915 CORSICA DIVING: CERBICALE ISLANDS II

Worm Protula tubularia type (it forms long calcareous tubes attached to the rock and plumes of white and reddish colors at the other end), beautiful!

P8230919 CORSICA DIVING: CERBICALE ISLANDS II

nudibranch type of flabellina

Very happy, we return to Palombaggia beach where each one takes their equipment and bottles from the ship to the club. We clean the equipment and go for lunch while it gets a bit dryer.

We must say that despite the fact that we only dived one day in this reserve and in 1 islet of the 6, we found it a really interesting place to discover and worth to stop here to dive for one or several days (if we have time) during our holidays in Corsica.

More information about Kallister club:

  • Club twinned with the Bonifaccio Plongeé club
  • Good access by car (parking behind the beach)
  • Equipment can be cleaned with fresh water but there are no showers, toilets or changing rooms
  • Link to Website
  • We recommend in the area:
    • Visit the beautiful Palombaggia beach (and other natural beaches nearby) where you can practice snorkeling and paddle surfing (Kallister club also rents boards)

For more information on other Corsican dive sites, read our DIVING GUIDE IN CORSICA

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