Formigas and Dollabarat from Sao Miguel

[diveUAE]

Hi there

We’re in the Azores (Sao Miguel) and have enjoyed 2 days of diving. Viz is good and the Dori Wreck was nice. Other than that the water is cold and we’ve mostly seen “fish” - add in a few nudies, 1 octopus, barracudas and a large grouper. We have decided not to do any more “close to shore” diving here on Sao Miguel.

Thursday there’s a trip to the offshore islets of Formigas and Dollabarat. And initially I was very keen on going, but then I searched for videos of the dive sites and found most videos had few mantas/mobulas and big groupers … if I pay 230 € and get on a rib to sail 2.5 hours out in the open sea, I think I might be disappointed…

Has anyone done the trip and can share their experience?

After Sao Miguel we’re going to Pico and hope to do Princess Alice Bank and do the “shark dive”. Any experiences with those trips would be appreciated as well.

Thank you.

 

[David Novo]

How cold was the water? My experience is 21ºC-24ºC in September.

When I was in Dollabarat there were a mix of mobulas, large stingrays, large groupers, barracudas, amberjack and other small fish. It is in the middle of Atlantic, far from the shore, so anything can happen.
Formigas is known for its concentration of large groupers.
I did both in September 2018.

Last year in September, I was in Faial / Pico and did Princess Alice and the "shark dive".
In the former, there were plenty of mobulas as expected, a school of barracudas, another of amberjacks, another of grey triggerfish and a whale shark. As far as I understood, whale sharks are not common there. They were seen more consistently in August / September in Ambrósio bank (another mobula hotspot) near Santa Maria island (I think there are trips from São Miguel to that dive spot also).
We were with 4 blue sharks during one hour in the shark dive. It is in the blue, you can't see the bottom and it is not due to the visibility (it was 40m+).

Did you confirm with any dive center that they are doing Pricess Alice and the "shark dive"?

Regarding mobulas, I also saw one in a shore dive from Pico.

Are you just looking for large animals?

 

[diveUAE]

Thank you for the fast reply!

Water is 19-20 C and with 7 mm suit it’s ok, but 50-55 minutes is my max. And I fear sitting waiting on the rib will be cold and choppy (I’m prone to seasickness, but have tablets).

We’re not only looking for big stuff - I love my nudies, crabs etc, and if I find a seahorse or frog fish I’ll forever love the dive site:-D
but if it’s mostly “fish”, then the price tag of 230 € combined with the length of the trip, might be too much, compared to what we can get at PA.

Did you feel the trip duration was “worth it”? We’ve seen plenty of mantas in RA, Maldives, Bali etc… But I would love to see the smaller mobulas.

I’m in contact with Twin Peaks dive center on Pico, but they have not confirmed the longer trips and I’m aware that we might need to travel to Faial to embark on a trip to Pa or do the shark dive (we have 10 days on Pico) - however there’s 3 of us, and they say they’ll do the trip with 6, so hopefully we’ll get there. We have other reasons to stay on Pico …

 

[David Novo]

Thank you for the fast reply!

Water is 19-20 C and with 7 mm suit it’s ok, but 50-55 minutes is my max. And I fear sitting waiting on the rib will be cold and choppy (I’m prone to seasickness, but have tablets).

We’re not only looking for big stuff - I love my nudies, crabs etc, and if I find a seahorse or frog fish I’ll forever love the dive site:-D
but if it’s mostly “fish”, then the price tag of 230 € combined with the length of the trip, might be too much, compared to what we can get at PA.

Did you feel the trip duration was “worth it”? We’ve seen plenty of mantas in RA, Maldives, Bali etc… But I would love to see the smaller mobulas.

I’m in contact with Twin Peaks dive center on Pico, but they have not confirmed the longer trips and I’m aware that we might need to travel to Faial to embark on a trip to Pa or do the shark dive (we have 10 days on Pico) - however there’s 3 of us, and they say they’ll do the trip with 6, so hopefully we’ll get there. We have other reasons to stay on Pico …

Princess Alice and Dollabarat / Formigas are different types of dives.

In Princess Alice you are mostly on the mooring line (the mobulas are on the first 10 meters anyway), as you don't spend too much time at the peak of the seabank (around 36-38m). In Dollabarat / Formigas, you are able to move around. I enjoyed both dives but YMMV.

For mobulas, the spots are Princess Alice and Ambrósio (Santa Maria). You may find them somewhere else in the Azores but is not guaranteed.

I did shore dives last year with Twin Peaks and found them to be a great dive center. It would be my first choice if they are doing those trips. Last year, they were not, so I stayed in Faial before moving to Pico to do Princess Alice and the "shark dives". The name of the dive center I went with in Faial is Norberto Diving.

Pico also has nice shore diving. Plenty of black coral around 30m and deeper.

P.S.: I am also prone to sea sickness. When I went to Formigas, it was easy (sea was flat) but Princess Alice is known to be a rough ride (and it was).
P.S.2.: Regarding smaller non-fish, I just saw some hermit crabs on a night dive in Faial. You can also see some Portuguese Man-O-War if you are unlucky/lucky (depends on your perspective).

 

[JMBL]

Hi !

Went to the Azores 4 years ago, and loved it.

Concerning Formigas (sorry didn't dive Dollabarat) : it was well worth the money and the long navigation (went from Santa Maria). I've been diving since 1990 and seen my fair share of large groupers, but there, they were the most curious and friendly ones I've ever seen, although they're wild and don't meet divers every day. I could even see the little critters living on their body. Nice soft coral forest and black coral as well, lots of them, large trees and only 30m deep (to see some in the Med, you have to go deeper than 50m). Lots of different fishes as well. Spent the day there (2 tank dive), had a picnic on the rocks, it was great fun. Only one regret, not been able to go deeper. Well, rules are rules...

Concerning my experience with the mobulas : stayed 2 weeks in the Azores (one on Santa Maria, one on Faial), and I've seen at least one mobula every 2 dives. According to the locals, I was very lucky. The best place for me was Ambrósio : the DM (a young and pretty Spanish brunette) had to pull me out of the water , everybody had sucked their tank dry but I still had plenty of gas, for once it was good to be an old timer .

Princess Alice bank wasn't that good an experience. I was set on diving there, it's been a mythical place for me since I was a kid, but we weren't lucky with the weather. Sea had been choppy for a while, so viz was rather murky. Don't get me wrong : it was a nice dive, but condition were less than optimal.

Concerning the shark dive (off Faial, there's a 600m deep drop out, between Faial and Pico) : I was on the boat with a couple and a guy. All three were total jerks ! They expected the blue whalers to be at rendez-vous point right on the strike of the clock ! And they called themselves experienced divers ! After 3 and a half hour of chumming, the DM were so pissed off by those guys complaining, they decided to go back home. I've seen 3 sharks from the boat though, but they didn't stay. Couldn't give it another go before the end of my trip : weather wasn't good enough.

Concerning water temperature, I was there in July, it was like the Med, my 2 pieces 5 mil wet suit and a neoprene tshirt underneath were quite enough.

Hope to get back there within 2 years, I think I fell in love with the archipelago. Btw, if you're interested in wines, you MUST try the local ones : Pico produces the best ones.

 

[David Novo]

Concerning the shark dive (off Faial, there's a 600m deep drop out, between Faial and Pico) : I was on the boat with a couple and a guy. All three were total jerks ! They expected the blue whalers to be at rendez-vous point right on the strike of the clock !

We were lucky with the sharks because a different dive center had been there just before. On arrival, we could already see their dorsal fins on the surface.

 

[diveUAE]

Thank you both - really helpful!

We spoke with the dive center and right now it looks like the weather will not be good enough for the trip on Thursday, so no need to decide weather or not to go …

Good to know about twin peaks dive center! Gary wrote back to me, PA was good with mobulas already and they saw 4 blue sharks on their last trip - can’t wait - will hope there’s another boat before us, and promise not to be annoying if they do not show up, we know it nature;-)

Wine and walking up to Pico is our reason for choosing Pico in the first place Any wineries not to be missed?

 

[David Novo]

and they saw 4 blue sharks on their last trip

I saw the videos/pictures they posted. It looked great.

 

[JMBL]

Concerning wines, have look here.

 

[diveUAE]

So 2 days ago we did the shark dive - 3 blue sharks Fantastic dive, time flew by and sharks came so close!

only thing: Gary put us on a boat from Pico Sport. Guide was good, but compared to “best sports azores” on Sao Miguel, service was non existent.

Today we did PA - again with Pico Sport, and although our second dive was fantasti (it was not their fault first dive was average- it was the conditions) I would still say: AVOID this company! Honestly I’ve never, ever dived with a company that did not have someone to help with exiting the water. I mean: in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, boat is rocking up and down and not a person to take your weights or your fins… at 250 € for 2 dives … and the did not bring enough tanks … very unprofessional.