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.

您此行的高光时刻: Summer devil-ray carousels, blue-water descents, schooling jacks over a mid-Atlantic summit

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

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

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

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

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

高氧（Nitrox）: 在此值得使用——各潜点深度落在富氧空气（nitrox）能有效延长免减压时间的区间（前提是持有相应认证）。