Washing Machine
Depth is the range from the top of the site to its usual maximum; "recommended cert" is the mainstream-agency level operators usually ask for, not a legal rule. Currents and visibility change daily — treat everything here as planning ranges.
A series of shallow ridges and channels on North Atoll where converging water tumbles divers first one way, then the other, like laundry on a gentle cycle. Riding it is the point. The grooves funnel nutrient-rich flow past hard-coral gardens in unusually good health, whitetips slot into the channels, and grey reef sharks patrol where the ridges fall away into the wall. On slack it becomes an ordinary, pretty reef; with water moving it turns into one of the park's most entertaining rides, best dived with an empty hand and a close eye on the guide.
The moment you come for: Roller-coaster surge channels, sharks in the grooves, vigorous hard coral
Topography: Coral ridges and sand grooves on North Atoll
Current: Surging, multidirectional water in the grooves gave the site its name; guides time it to the tide and sometimes call it off.
Know before you splash
Hazards: Strong surge and washing-machine turbulence in the channels; keep clearance from the reef.
Conservation: Park rules apply; no gloves and no grabbing coral even when the surge pushes.
Nitrox: Worth it here — profiles sit in the range where enriched air meaningfully extends no-stop time (with the training to use it).
Who you'll meet
Great Barracuda
Grey Reef Shark
Hawksbill Turtle
Whitetip Reef Shark
For photographers
Wide angle: ★★★★☆ · Macro: ★☆☆☆☆ — editors' 1–5 rating of what this site gives each style of shooting