Lantern Point West

Also known as Inner Lantern Point, this site is on the opposite side of the thin peninsula of rock from Lantern Point.

Depths here range from 30m to less than 5m, and it is suitable for all levels of diver. The underwater landscape is almost as beautiful as Lantern Point: here you have a sheer wall, a shallow cave, and lots and lots of large boulders lying against each other, giving several swim-throughs. In fact the more you dive this site, the more swim-throughs you will discover, some obvious, some not so, and a few that are just too tight for even the smallest diver.

You can start the dive anywhere along the wall that forms the coastline, or even around the corner at Lantern Point. The wall extends straight down underwater, with a maximum depth of 25m at the headland. There are two large inlets which can be seen on the aerial photograph: these are interesting to explore when conditions are calm. The wall itself is covered in colourful growth, including sponges of all colours: red, black and green. If you can dive this site in the afternoon you will benefit from natural sunlight illuminating the wall.

Moving away from the wall is a large boulder field, most of which are leaning against each other in just the right fashion to give numerous swim-throughs underneath. On the far side of the boulders the seabed slopes down to a sandy area around 30m deep. On this side you will find some of the tallest boulders, the tops of which may be only 12m below the surface. Explore each boulder looking for swim-throughs, as well as octopus, comber and the multi-coloured ornate and cuckoo wrasses.

Towards the end of your dive, swim with the wall on your right until you reach a little plateau 6m deep. Here an overhang starts to form above the water, and within the plateau you will find two large wells carved out of the limestone by wave action over the centuries. You can see the rounded rocks responsible lying at the bottom of the wells.

Finally you will reach a shallow cave on your right, whose entrance is at 5m. There is actually air on top of you, and it is possible to continue through the wall in a U-shape until you exit at only 2m deep. Before you go too far however, turn and look behind you where the cave entrance and the overhanging rock frame a dazzling blue window. This is an excellent photograph, especially if your dive boat is anchored within the picture.