Secca del Capo

The shoal lies in open water about three miles north-east of Capo Faro, and the boat anchors on the shallowest of its pinnacles. From there the dive drops into the blue along steep walls, then circles the base among a fall of large boulders that shelter big groupers, conger eels, moray eels and forkbeard. Its position far from the coast attracts tuna, large dentex, amberjacks and barracuda, and dolphins and even sharks have been seen. Dense crinoids, melon urchins and candelabra-shaped Axinella sponges cover the rock. Because of its exposure the dive needs near-perfect weather.