Rappel lies below a steep cliff with no road leading to it: the site is reachable by boat only. That keeps visits low and the reef in good condition. Anyone doing one boat dive in the north usually does this one.
Rappel is an advanced boat dive below the cliffs of the north-west coast: reef top right under the boat, steep slope with sea fans to forty metres, no shore entry.
Right below the boat a reef top begins that falls away after a few strokes into a steep slope full of sea fans and black coral bushes. Lobsters and morays sit in the crevices; tarpon and jacks hang above the rim. The coral stands denser here than on the visited shore dives.
When the dive school sails there and the sea below the cliff is calm. With north-westerly swell the water slams against the rock face and the boats do not go.
You depend on a boat and therefore on a schedule. There is no shore to fall back on. The slope drops away quickly, which makes the dive shorter than expected.
Decisions on diveability, technique and health belong with STINAPA, a dive school or a doctor. This page only describes the conditions.
The name refers to the cliff above: the story goes that the site was once reached by descending the rock. Nobody does that now, and the area belongs to the protected north coast.
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