Enchanted Forest Roatan
This diving site is a newly discovered dive. Located at a distance offshore from French Harbour, it is definitely a diving paradise with a sharp plummetting wall of elegant and unmarred quality. The apex of the reef lies in deep water starting at a depth of 55- 60 foot. The wall literally drops into the abyss with the Bartlett Trench with an excess of 5,000 feet deep. Ridge after ridge at the reef crest is interrupted by huge forests of staghorn and pillar corals. Massive rocks of coral form shingled projections and shelves on the forereef. Deep blue vase sponges and black coral grow abundantly here. It is stimulating as well as very exciting to glide through a black coral forest. The experience is simply mind blowing and incomparable. Deepwater lace lends more quality and grace to the already stupendous craggy structure. The marine life here in the Enchanted Forest is mostly identified with deeper offshore waters. The breathtaking scenery is embellished with the presence of sea turtles. Large barrel sponges are capped by black crinoids, and there is an abundance of scrawled filefish, queen and ocean triggerfish, tobaccofish, hogfish, blackcap basslets, black durgeons schools of jacks. One interesting breed is the scrawled filefish who when threatened, hide in fissures and cavities by triggering their modified dorsal fin in order to lock it into place in a vertical position. It has been said that in the past, sailors dried their skin for the purpose of striking matches. The scrawled filefish are a delightful site to behold, with slender bodies decorated with blue scrawls, marks and black spots. The Enchanted Forest offers a dive that is hard to forget. However one must be aware of the fact that it is a deep dive and thus requires careful monitoring of buoyancy, air comsumption and gauges are very important. Thus it becomes an absolute necessity for a diver to take safety measures in such deep waters.
Average Depth Extent: 55 feet to unlimited
Average Current Status: Variable
Proficiency Required: Intermediate with a divemaster
Access: Boat
