Skeleton Wreck

This wreck is the keel, ribs and stringers of a steel-hulled boat about 25 meters long. Location: Northwest corner of Coron Island

This wreck was beached with the bow a dozen meters from Coron Island. The stern points directly away from the island. The wreck slopes along the reef from 5 meters deep at the bow to 22 meters at the stern. A pass through on the starboard side of the hull at 14 meters allows you to swim from the inside of the boat out over the coral reef.

This dive is best when made while breathing 36% Nitrox for a 75% increase in allowable bottom time.

Max depth: 22 meters on the bottom. Slopes from 7 to 22 meters. Recommended certification level: Skin Diver, Open Water Diver.

The Fishing Boat

Location: Coron Island. A recently sunken fishing boat approximately 35 meters long at Coron Island, near the entrance to Cayangan Lake. This is an easy wreck dive site for all beginners or in combination with the Coron drop off. It is also a very interesting night dive site.

Max depth: 16 meters. Recommended certification level: Open Water Diver.

Barracuda Lake

"The craziest dive site in the Philippines." Location: North end of Coron Island.

This spectacular dive starts with some challenging mountain climbing in full diving equipment over sharp limestone cliffs. We do wear tennis shoes or sandals and carry our fins strapped to our tank. We use 53 cubic foot tanks for this dive as they are more than 4 kilograms lighter than the usual aluminum 80. The climb only takes 10-15 minutes and the exertion is worth it. The scenery around the lake is spectacular and the under water terrain has been likened to flying over the surface of the moon. The top 4 meters is warm fresh water. Below 4 meters the water is salt. There are dynamic changes of water temperature in the lake with temperatures ranging from 28 to 38 Celsius. You can even see the thermoclines at 4 and 14 meters. At 34 to 35 meters the water changes from crystal clear to tea brown due to the tannic acid in the leaves that fell into the lake. After cooking and boiling, you will meet the "king of the lake." It is a barracuda approximately 1.5m long that likes to guide divers around his domain. It is a good chance for underwater photographers to get a close-up of the big barracuda. A dive that you should not miss!

Max depth: 35 meters. Recommended certification level: Open Water Diver, Mountain Climbing Diver Specialty.

Cathederal Cave

A cave under Coron Island, Palawan directly connected to the sea. Location: South end of Coron Island on the East side.

Cathedral Cave is a beautiful dive spot. It starts 6 meters deep at a hole in the bottom of the sea next to the sheer rock wall of Coron Island. You enter a tunnel and descend to 12 meters. If you take the time to look, you see the antenna of juvenile lobsters waving from holes in the tunnel above and out from under the rocks below and cowry shells clinging to the ceiling of the tunnel. Then you pass out of the tunnel and see a shaft of daylight penetrates the interior of a cave. The roof of the cave has collapsed sending down a full sized tree. The skeletal trunk and main branches of the tree rest on top of the sand mound in the middle of the cave. You follow the light and surface inside a big underground cathedral. You pass over the sand dune and continue ahead and left to another passage that leads to a chamber with an air pocket above ocean level. Back through the tunnel into the open sea and you dive among beautiful corals with 20 to 30 meter visibility. A dive you should not miss!

Maximum depth: 10 meters inside the cave. Recommended certification level: Advanced Open Water Diver, Cavern Diver Specialty.

Weather Advisory: Cathederal Cave MUST ONLY BE ATTEMPTED in calm weather with slight waves. It would be physically dangerous to attempt to enter the tunnel in the surge generated from large waves.

The Cave in Barracuda Lake

A very deep and serious cave in Barracuda lake entered from Barracuda Lake at 33 meters depth which allows a penetration of 30 meters. Location: North Wall of Barracuda Lake starting at 33 meters deep.

The cave has been marked with a fixed line on the right side as you enter. The cave is just large enough to allow one diver to swim in and turn around. The silt and sediment on the bottom is packed and should remain down with reasonable care by the diver. This cave is dark and the sediment is dark and gives an eerie sensation. Proper equipment would be a light with backup and at least an octopus with a 7-foot hose or redundant alternate air source. The current in the cave tells you that it is connecting Barracuda Lake to the ocean. This is a dive that you should not miss if you are prepared. The combination of mild nitrogen narcosis at depth and the dark confined surroundings on this dive will tell you if you are claustrophobic for continued cave diving.

Max depth: Please do not descend below 40 meters!

Recommended certification level: If you limit your penetration to a maximum of 40 meters total distance from the surface (a 6 meter penetration) then Advanced Open Water Diver with Deep Diver Specialty and Cavern Diver Specialty is sufficient. If you wish to penetrate beyond 40 total meters from the surface then you should be Cave Diver trained and carry the necessary redundant equipment.

Nanshin-Maru tanker

(Civilian tanker / 834 gt.) The so-called "Black Island Wreck" can be easily identified as a small tanker converted to carry specific fuel (gasoline, Diesel, lube oil etc.) in small isolated tanks for replenishment of land-based depots. The ship is approximately 50 meters long sitting upright on a sandy bottom.

Location: Close to Black Island Beach in front of the stranded vessel. This wreck is located 3.5 hours away from Dive Right. It is done as a day trip with a 7 AM departure. We would normally make one dive here and dive the Okikawa Maru as a second dive on the return trip. This dive site is perfect for beginner wreck divers and underwater photographers. It is a beautiful dive in clear water. You can see plenty of scorpion fish, lion fish, trumpet fish, groupers, and bat fish.

This dive is best when made while breathing 32% Nitrox for a 50% increase in allowable bottom time.

Max depth: 32 meters. The wreck starts in 21-meter deep water. Recommended certification level: Advanced Open Water Diver, Wreck Diver Specialty.

HISTORY OF THE ERROR IN NAMING THIS WRECK: The Japanese had many ships named Nanshin Maru. One Nanshin Maru was a Japanese freighter sunk in the Malacca Straits by a US submarine. There was also a tanker, the Nansai Maru ex. British oiler Ploiden, sunk at Black Island during WWII. This ship was captured in Hong Kong and renamed by the Japanese. The location of the Nansai Maru is not definitely known. It may be on the opposite side of Black Island in 60 meters of water.

Kyokuzan Maru
Japanese freighter approximately 160-180 meters long

Location: Northeast of Busuanga Island. Due to it's distance from Coron this wreck is dived by a one hour jeepney ride to the north end of Busuanga and transferring to a rented dive boat. This is done as an all-day trip for two dives on the Kyokuzan Maru.

This is a beautiful wreck dive experience. More or less intact, this huge sunken ship usually offers good visibility of about 20 meters and ideal diving conditions. Japanese staff cars and trucks can be found in the cargo rooms.

This dive is best when made while breathing 36% Nitrox for a 75% increase in allowable bottom time.

Max depth: 40 meters on the bottom. The deck level lies between 22 and 28 meters. Recommended certification level: Advanced Open Water Diver, Wreck Diver Specialty.

Dos Islas (Two Islands) Reef

A 300 meter by 50-meter coral reef and drop off. Location: North shore of Coron Island West of two small islands.

This reef is just at the surface at low tide and each side drops off into deeper water. The outstanding features of this reef are large formations of pristine staghorn coral and table corals. Underwater you will find a saddle connects the two small islands. There are schools of reef fish and juvenile barracuda. There are 13 resident Napoleon Wrasse and two Hawksbill Sea turtles.

Max depth: 22 meters. Recommended certification level: Open Water Diver

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