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Cortes Bank
The Cortes Bank is
located 100 miles west of San Diego and 40 miles southwest of San
Clemente Island. It is a undersea mountain ridge or seamount that
rises to within 20 feet of the surface in many places.
The Cortes
Bank is a truly wild spot best dived by intermediate to advanced
divers. It is a far cry from the Caribbean! The Bank is far from
land and is often swept by strong open ocean currents and large
swells -- considerable surge can be encountered even at depths
approaching 100 feet!
Then why dive the Cortes Bank? Because you'll be diving a wild and
stunningly beautifully open ocean seamount that acts as a giant
sealife magnet! Vertebrates and invertebrates call the Bank home.
Lobster in great numbers can be found here for those who know where
to look! In fact many of our dive trips to the Cortes Bank are
scheduled during lobster season (October - March).
Since the
seamount is a truly an open place, sightings of pelagic animals are
common. Tuna, huge numbers of yellowtail (jack family), large
schools of baitfish, large rafts of sea lions and occasional sharks
are seen here.
The water is typically very clear here with
visibility approaching 100 feet due to the open ocean currents that
sweep the Bank. Not much giant kelp grows here, but endless swaying
carpets of short, tough palm kelp cover most of the seamount. Below
the kelp are found crevices and cracks, loaded with bottom fish,
lobsters, moray-eels, abalone and huge tufts of purple hydrocoral.
Diving at the Cortes Bank can be exciting, challenging and
beautiful! Although the captain anchors in progressively shallower
spots as the day goes on, the first dive each day is typically in
excess of 60 feet.
Since no islands exist at the Cortes Bank to offer
protection from wind and swell, the boat may roll while at anchor.
The crew is expert at conducting dive operations in these conditions
and will help you on and off with your tank and with your entry into
and exit from the water. On multiple day trips more than one day
could be spent on the Bank. But if weather conditions are not favorable we'll take you to either San Clemente Island or San
Nicholas Island.
If you are comfortable with open ocean diving conditions, the Cortes
Bank should be high on your diving priority list. Perhaps nowhere
else while diving in California will you feel so "out there".
Cortes Bank is a remote, exciting and pristine dive spot that
embodies the spirit of adventure!
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Click to view interactive range map
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