Remote dive locations

[Moray]

What's the most remote and pristine place you've dived in and how was your experience?

 

[Doc]

Cayman in 1967, it was fabulous.

 

[DevonDiver]

Ascension Island, mid-Atlantic in 2004. Temperate waters (so not much hard coral) but amazing vibrancy and volume of marine life.

 

[DCBC]

I've been to some pretty isolated diving locations and although this wasn't the most isolated geographically, it made me feel that way. The dives were done in the summer of 1979 in Lancaster Sound (about 450 miles north of the Arctic Circle) near Beechey Island. This is now within the territorial jurisdiction of Nunavut (Canada).

The air temperatures had a high of 50 degrees and my dive log indicates that the water temperatures varied between 31 and 33 degrees F. I was involved in a minor capacity to support a diving expedition that was looking for the Breadalbane; a ship that was involved in the search for the Franklin expedition (who was looking for the Northwest Passage in the the mid 1800's) and went missing. The ship was eventually located (but not during the time I was there) and is now a national historic sight.

It doesn't really qualify as a "vacation location," but it jumped to mind in the isolated category.

 

[Wingy]

Ningaloo in 1969...except I wasnt diving I was probably free diving without knowing it - my father was a diver there in those early years.....personally...theres an island off the west coast of Sumatra called Cubadak that does not get a mention as a dive spot and should but im glad its a private island so unless you are staying there you dont get to meet Grandpa the turtle. Rangiroa is still today remote enough to be almost pristine. The Merguii Archipeligo in 2009 was and I believe still is fairly remote and devoid of dive shops and trips as most of the boats doing LOB stop at Richelluie (sp?) Rock in the Similans. Im not aware of too many vessels heading out there diving. The Trobriand Islands off PNG was awesome and yes, pristine.

 

[diversteve]

Cay Sal Bank (far southern Bahamas) a decade ago. The only ship out there at the time was the Nekton. The only other ship we saw was the Coast Guard cutter that came alongside once near Cuba. We saw the lights of Cuba on several nights from the upper deck. Lots of sharks, barracuda, stingrays, schools of fish and several blue holes. Most seemed unconcerned we were there - or curious. The weekly Nekton boat was pretty much all they saw.

 

[robint]

Cay Sal Bank (far southern Bahamas) a decade ago. The only ship out there at the time was the Nekton. The only other ship we saw was the Coast Guard cutter that came alongside once near Cuba. We saw the lights of Cuba on several nights from the upper deck. Lots of sharks, barracuda, stingrays, schools of fish and several blue holes. Most seemed unconcerned we were there - or curious. The weekly Nekton boat was pretty much all they saw.

ditto, Cay Sal Bank on the Nekton. LOVED it. Great trip, no other boats in sight all week, just us and the fish and sharks. A few years later we did Medio Reef in same area on the Nekton, same arrangements... just us and fish. Would do either again in a heartbeat!! I miss the Nekton.:cool2:

 

[knotical]

Several of the Seychelles Islands in 1967 and ’68. Getting to the islands was either by ship or by the weekly HU-16 seaplane supporting the USAF Satellite Tracking Station (where I worked).
There were no dive shops, practically no tourists, and certainly no dive tourists. Getting compressed air was a variable situation, with the harbor being a fairly consistent source.

Practically all the diving was pristine; the reef systems were robust. The fishing “industry” was primitive and had not yet gone international. Major construction projects like the airport and resort complexes were in their infancy or planning stages. Therefore almost anywhere away from Victoria Harbor was wonderful diving. The only man-made objects I remember finding underwater were the occasional fish trap, and once an anchor apparently from the early 1800s.

When they started dredging for the airport, a mile or so of reef was destroyed. Sad, but since the main island of Mahé is simply a granite mountain peak with practically no flat land, there wasn’t an option to build elsewhere.

The country’s population when I first arrived was only about 50,000, and has perhaps doubled since then. My last tour there ended in 1986, but I’ll bet it still provides some of the best diving in the world.