Princess Alice Bank — Terceira Access
Dive site
Princess Alice Bank is the Azores pelagic benchmark — a seamount plateau sitting at 35 to 60 metres where blue sharks, mako sharks, oceanic whitetip sharks and giant mobula rays concentrate from June through October. Access from Terceira adds a different client mix than the Faial approach: longer crossing, fewer boats, and a sense of genuine remoteness. The plateau itself is wide and current-swept, so divers are dropped upcurrent and drift across the top, blue water pressing down from above and the seamount rising below. Manta rays appear from August onward, cruising the thermocline edge.
Conditions
Depth
35 to 70 m
Advanced depths
Current
Usually gentle
Can pick up on the edge
Visibility
25 to 40 m
Clearest in the calm season
Water
15 to 24°C
5mm wetsuit
Month by month
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Water (°C) | 16 | 15 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 19 | 21 | 22 | 21 | 19 | 17 | 16 |
| Vis (m) | 15 | 15 | 15 | 18 | 20 | 25 | 25 | 25 | 22 | 20 | 15 | 15 |
| Current | Strong | Strong | Strong | Moderate | Moderate | Gentle | Gentle | Gentle | Gentle | Moderate | Strong | Strong |
Field journal
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