Sec Pâté

Sec Pâté is an isolated underwater mountain in the middle of the Canal des Saintes, about 20 minutes by boat from Terre-de-Haut. Three rocky pinnacles crown the summit, and divers usually descend to around 40 m and then work their way up around them through passages and chimneys. Big jacks, barracuda, mackerel, green moray eels and turtles gather here, and dive centres mention dolphins, whales and occasionally marlin. Swell and current often make conditions hard, so the go decision is taken on site and a dive inside the archipelago serves as backup. Operators require deep-diving qualifications and a minimum number of logged dives.