Gorgonians S. Andrea

Mediterranean Marine Life: eagle ray, common stingray, amberjack, bluefin tuna, dusky grouper, damselfish, scorpionfish, forkbeard, Mediterranean moray eel, lobster, sea-hare, gorgonians, basket star, eggs of the small-spotted catshark

Summary: The ‘Gorgonian’ dive site has mesmerizing fields where we can fly like astronauts into the blue and worship these unique soft corals at a depth of 40-50 meters.

Description: This dive site is unique. A very special underwater site within the map of the Isola Bella Marine Park. It has one of the largest fields of Gorgonians (sea fans) in the whole of Sicily where you can encounter some as tall as 1m! The dive site is located at the north side of the Blue Cave, Taormina.
We start with a drop off in front of the natural pool of the Capo San Andrea, jumping into the blue straight to a depth of 40-50m (depending on your tec dive profile and used mixes). At this depth, we can admire the most beautiful fields of yellow and red sea fans, called ‘Gorgonians’. Gorgonian corals, also known as sea fans and soft corals, are characterized by their branched, fan-like structure. Gorgonians are one of the most important and diverse bioengineering organisms in the Mediterranean Sea, forming dense assemblages that extend over vast areas. Depending on the dive profile, with TEC 40 we can stay there for approximately 12 minutes, with TEC 45-50, approximately 25 minutes. After flying like an astronaut over these mesmerizing fields, we will perform the several deco stops, with the possibility to encounter an eagle ray, groups of tuna and amberjack back on the way up.