Paling Around Puerto Rico
April 27th – May 3rd, 2025
Guide: Claire Richcreek Captain: Tim Brennon Boat: Grace Regina
“Want to come to Puerto Rico? We’ll be staying in the middle of the jungle, and the house that we’ll be staying in doesn’t have an exact address, but I can give you some GPS coordinates, and we should have power. You most definitely shouldn’t get murdered at all during the trip. However, I can’t promise that you won’t be and if you are, I get your scuba gear.”
Thus was the invitation to go to Puerto Rico and hopefully visit Desecheo Island. As the trip began to get closer, comments were made that didn’t help gain confidence that this wasn’t an elaborate ploy of murder and theft. However, a plan slowly came together and more and more details about everything slowly came to light, and thus the truth was discovered. “You’re really just invited so the dives are cheaper.” “I want someone there who will take good photos.” “We can totally go and visit the bioluminescent bay and it’ll be a great time and it’s really cool.” Two of the three of these things were true and the multiple conversations about the bio bay were a flat out lie.
The plan was set in place: arrive in Puerto Rico, work the first day, go diving the morning of the next two days and then work the third day. “Unfortunately,” “illness” took hold and after the dives, the afternoons were spent recovering on the beach getting much needed vitamin D and enjoying refreshing drinks full of lime juice, totally to make sure we didn’t have scurvy.
After much complaining on everyone's part about having to work, slightly curbed by fresh acai bowls on the beach while watching the ocean, it was time to go and get ready to dive. Other than the night dives, the dives were led out by Claire Richcreek, owner and founder of Nautilus Adventures. Her bubbly personality and stellar snack packs only added to the appeal and made “recovering” from being sick all the better. We planned to do two shore dives and then make the sometimes-daunting cross over to Desecheo Island for two boat dives.
Crash Boat
51’ for 61min & 39’ for 44min
A popular beach that was named after the pier that US Air Forces used as a base for rescue boats to rescue downed aircrews. While there are no wrecked boats at the site, portions of the pier have collapsed and formed an artificial reef due to hurricanes Maria and Irma in 2017.
Since the hurricanes the downed pier acts as an artificial reef that makes for easy navigation and home for a large number of fish, turtles and other invertebrates. If going west past the wreckage, and to deeper waters, fields of garden eels and sometimes eagle rays or other larger animals can be found.
Getting to the site requires a surface swim to the second vertical buoy, past the rope sectioning off the swim area. Care must be taken while entering and exiting as waves and shifting sands can easily lead to getting a mouthful of sand. Due to the relatively easy entrance and ability to navigate the wreckage it is well suited for night diving. The site offers a couple of small tables for assembly and showers to rinse off gear and get any sand and salt off of your body.
El Natural
51’ for 52min (1436)
A short drive up the coast led us to the next dive site. Getting down to the water requires a slightly precarious walk down a hill on a rough path, with exposed roots and uneven rocks. Difficulties weren’t solved once the water was reached, a large bloom of red marine algae blanketed the first several yards of the ocean hiding large rocks below the surface that had to be gingerly avoided.
However, once in water that is clear of algae, deep enough to float, kicking out to depth was much simpler. Descending below the surface El Natural usually has a slight current, with the first half of the dive is spent swimming into the current for a lazy drift back to the starting point at the end.
The site is covered with a variety of hard and soft corals with large sponges inhabited by fish, turtles, and eels. Occasionally nurse sharks and smaller reef sharks can be found hiding under ledges or cruising over the sponges.
Desecheo Island
The main goal of the trip was to dive Desecheo Island. A National Wildlife Refuge established in 1983 sitting roughly 14 nautical miles west of Puerto Rico. The island was used by the United States Air Force for survival training between 1952-1964, it is now uninhabited and due to unexploded military ordinances landing on the island is illegal and monitored by the Federal government.
Invasive species including rhesus monkeys were introduced in 1966 to study their ability to adapt to novel environments. Initially only 56 monkeys were introduced however they were found to be detrimental to the natural flora and fauna of the island. This led to a severe decline in the sea bird population as they preyed on the egg and chicks. Multiple eradication efforts were started but were unsuccessful until 1987. Eradication and the exact number of monkeys was difficult to determine due to the rugged terrain and lush, however in 2017 the island was declared free of invasive species including black rats and goats.
Getting to Desecheo Island is difficult due to strong currents while crossing the Mona Passage. The passage is a straight that connects the Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea roughly 80 miles long and reaching a depth of over 1,000’. These depths make it common for whales, dolphins and other large animals to be seen while on the boat or even from lookout towers on the mainland.
Due to the deep waters, currents will hit the island and create upwellings to bring cooler, nutrient rich water up around the island. Resulting in very healthy corals and an active dive site, that usually will support good visibility.
For the boat dives we continued on with Claire and met up with Captain Tim with Island Style Charters to make the journey. As we set course for the island a large rain cloud partially obscured the island, however we pressed on with Captain being optimistic. Alas, the fates did not align and 15 minutes into the hour-long crossing we had to call it due to continuing growing storms and white caps.
Rincón Wall
86’ for 61min (1438)
While not the dive site we wanted to visit, Rincón Wall is a very nice wall dive full of life and coral. The top of the site is around 30-40’ before a sheer drop down to over 100’. Along the wall invertebrates hide in between sponges and corals while large schools of fish flit about. On top of the wall there are several channels that exit to the wall giving a variety of interesting things to check out and explore.
Outer Tres Palmas
63’ for 60min (1439)
The final dive of the trip is a part of the Tres Palmas Marine Reserve. The Marine Reserve was founded in 2004 to help protect and preserve the area’s rich marine biodiversity. It is very similar to the top of Rincón Wall in terms of life and coral growth with large barrel sponges and lots of crevices for lobsters to hide in.
While we didn’t make it out to Desecheo Islandthe diving was enjoyable and provided plenty of things to see. The hope that next time we will make it out to the island is all the more reason to return in the future. And thus, the adventures continue!
