Princess Alice Bank

Named for the research vessel of Prince Albert I of Monaco, which sounded the bank in 1896, Princess Alice is an open-ocean seamount whose summit lies about 35 m down with nothing but Atlantic around it. Divers descend a line or drift over the plateau while sicklefin devil rays rise from the blue in slow, stacked formations, sometimes dozens deep, circling swimmers at the safety stop. Jacks and yellowmouth barracuda school over the top, and anything can cruise past — this is one of Europe's few genuine pelagic stations.

वह पल जिसके लिए आप आते हैं: Summer devil-ray carousels, blue-water descents, schooling jacks over a mid-Atlantic summit

टोपोग्राफी: Basalt summit plateau at about 35 m falling away into deep ocean on all sides

करंट: Current over the summit can strengthen without warning; dives are managed as live-boat drifts.

प्रवेश: Roughly 45 nautical miles southwest of Faial and Pico — a crossing of several hours each way, run only in settled summer weather.

खतरे: Deep start, bottomless blue water, surface current and remoteness — self-sufficiency and a DSMB are essential.

संरक्षण: A recognized offshore biodiversity site; operators follow no-touch, no-chase practice around the ray aggregations.

Nitrox: यहाँ इसका फ़ायदा है — प्रोफ़ाइल उस रेंज में हैं जहाँ enriched air no-stop समय को सार्थक रूप से बढ़ाता है (इसके उपयोग के प्रशिक्षण के साथ)।