Diving Chile

by Crispin Coates

With a coastline of 4,300 kilometres going from Peru down to Tierra del Fuego, and with a reputation of one the world's largest seafood exporters it is natural to think of Chile as a diving destination. Swept by the Antarctic Humboldt current, water temperatures are considerably cooler than many imagine and even in the middle of summer, packed beaches hide the fact that the sea water is perhaps 11 or 12 degrees.

I was fortunate enough to visit Chile as part of my job and despite making some rudimentary attempts at research prior to departure had only the scarcest of information prior to arrival. Based in Santiago (along with a substantial part of the country's population) the central zone was very much the focus of my diving effort. Large beach resorts at Vina del Mar do not seem to cater for the diving community and being a country still undergoing development many Chileans cannot afford the cost of diving, boats and equipment hire. However within a few weeks of arrival I tracked down a dive shop and was up visiting a dive centre based at Picihidangui. Mostly a young, yuppie crowd seem to dive in Chile, kit is fairly similar to that seen in UK and the US, though wetsuits seem much more prevalent. Given the water temp. this was a surprise but due to tariffs, the cost of an imported drysuit is prohibitive to most Chilean divers.

My first two dives were to the reefs at Pichidangui (a small resort 2 hours north of Santiago). A rather chaotic kit up (no buddy checks and the vaguest of dive plans) and a descent down to 30metres, the site was a rocky reef populated by enormous shoals of Corvina (Chilean Bass) and an impressive number of sponges. Viz was around the 15m mark, good by UK standards but hampered by an algal bloom. At 30m the water was decidedly chilly in my wetsuit and I was eager to ascend on the reef which was teeming with fish (none of which are anything like UK or European species). The highlight of the dive was at the 8 metres mark where a group of 6-7 young sea lions joined us for a 5 minute play. Sealions (Lobos del mar) are found throughout the Chilean coast and are very inquisitive.
The second dive was to a close reef from the dive centre, onto a flat reef at 8 metres that dropped down to about 24 metres, this was covered in Kelp and literally crawled with crabs and shrimps. The tide had turned and viz had dropped to about 10 metres but this was a close up dive rummaging through the kelp, again the fish were a great novelty. The highlight of the dive was a cave which ran into the reef, without lights we were unable to penetrate far, but the fissure ran a good way in and viz was noticeably better.

My next trip was to Los Molles some 10 miles south of Picihidangui, this time I was with Atmosfera.cl, a laid back dive centre. Los Molles is considered the best part of Central Chile for diving. Its a ramshackle resort, but it possesses impressive reef stacks off the beach, it isn't the smartest place in Chile though. The centre seemed very friendly and welcomed me with a good brief and a friendly manner. The dives were pretty good as well. We went out in the centre's Dory, again only the Dive Guide had a drysuit. The viz was frankly appalling at the surface, 2 metres at best. However once we dropped below 10 metres it got to about 15 metres and at 30 metres, the foot of the reef, it was easily in excess of 20 metres but somewhat gloomy. Life was extremely rich, sponges up to 6-7 feet in length, large shoals of fish, huge crustaceans and some impressive pinnacles made for a great dive marred only by a swell at the end. The next day, my appetite whetted, I was eager for me. Fortunately the viz had improved even more and the life was as rich as the previous dive. Sponges and flora were fantastic in colour, size and shape and I only wished I had a decent lantern to make the most of the scene.
This tends to reflect the diving in Chile's central zone, cold water but a rich array of life based around reefs swept by the rich water. Sealions (Lobos) can also be found along the coast and Los Molles boasts a large population of up to 150 some 3kms up the coast where diving with the colony can be enjoyed, the largest being up to 7 feet in length. Diving with them is a formidable experience; the males seem to delight in testing divers with their size and bulk. The centre is about 10 minutes from the colony though locals do not seem interested in diving there.

Iquique is considered another one of Chile's better diving spots, up North some 200kms below Chile's border with Peru it enjoys year round sunshine and is considered a holiday destination. Following some internet research I contacted profundo.cl and arranged a dive at playa Blanca some 10kms from the city. The centre is a small operation run by Carlos and Christian. The site was El Jardin, a small reef some 5 minutes from the dive centre. With bright sunshine and an inquisitive sealion the dive looked promising, however the viz was a little disappointing at 8-10 metres. Despite the viz, the site was excellent, huge numbers of fish inhabit a reef at about the 12-20metre range, the site hosted large numbers of crab and the sponges were impressive. What made the site was the fact that Carlos was perhaps one of the most enjoyable people I have ever dived with. His enthusiasm and knowledge of the site and its residents made it a very good dive. Currently he is lobbying to create a small marine reserve that should make the site even better and I am hoping to return again sometime to see its progress. Despite being so far North, the temperature was still about 14 degrees, so after 40 minutes in one of the centre's wetsuits I was glad to surface.
Another spot I can recommend is Quintay, just south of the large port city of Valparaiso. Again a ramshackle set up is compensated by very good visibility in a bay housing a fromer whaling station. The bay is quite sheltered and enjoys good visibility of about 20metres when I dived it. It has a nice wreck of a small whaling ship sunk in the 1950s. The centre is very small and needs to be contacted in advance.

Summary.
Water temperatures would dictate a very good wetsuit or a drysuit, I was forced to hire a wetsuit each time, this sufficed but I would have taken my drysuit if I had had the luggage space. North European water divers would find it similar in terms of flora and conditions, though the fish and sealions make it radically different. On the note of equipment I took my computer and DV which is recommended as there was an abundance of wheezing aging DVs and a number of potentially dodgy gauges on display. Chileans use A-clamp fitting for DVs.
Summer (Dec-Mar) sees most dive centres open 7 days a week, though in May June there is a good Autumn season. If you are looking to dive it is best to get in touch first (by telephone) though their English can be poor.
I have enjoyed my diving in Chile, being a UK cold water diver I found the conditions familiar and yet exotic. The marine life is excellent and the diving scene is relaxed and friendly. Do be aware that they uniformly descend to 30m on most dives, so less experienced divers may wish to prep for a dive. Costs seem to be about 25000 Pesos for a boat dive in full kit (1100 pesos being 1 UK pound May 2005).
I kept hearing about the South of Chile's lakes and Islands being great dives. Unfortunately, there seems to be no infrastructure to support it, but they looked fantastically clear with some great formations to explore. I believe there are major cave systems as well that remain to be explored. All in all, Chile looks a possible location for real adventurous expeditions, I am hoping to return one day and will head South.

On a final note, to my regret, I did not get my act together to dive Easter Island (allegedly the most beautiful diving location in the world, a 5 hour flight from Santiago) or Juan Fernandez Island (site of robin Crusoe legend). Both of which are considered meccas for Chilean diving. Maybe next time.

Contacts. I would recommend calling in advance (numbers are on websites), most divers seem to have a smattering of English. BSAC is not well known here, but PADI and CMAS seem to proliferate.

Atmosfera4 is a Santiago based dive school that dives out of Los Molles
Aquatica again is based in Santiago and dives out of Picihidangui and others
Archipielago is based in Pichidangui
Profundo is based in Iquique.

C J COATES BSAC Advanced Diver.
May 2005