Small Crack
Position : 27°43.900ŽN / 34°05.900ŽE
Access : 150 min.
Short Briefing :
  • Difficulty : 2
  • Current : 1 to 2
  • A varied underwater environment rich in different fauna.
  • A calm site with few divers.
  • The chance to see Leopad sharks.
  • Check the direction of the current before your dive.
  • If the current is strong and running northwards, do not dive, especially if you do not have a dinghy.
Map :
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Description : The long, half-outcropping coral reef running from northwest to southeast that costitutes the impressive Sha'ab Mahmud and separates a broad sandy lagoon from the open sea, is breached by two channels known as Small Crack (or Small Passage) and Big Crack (or Big Passage). Small Crack, called Fossma Saghir by local fishermen, is the more southerly channel. Its central body is divided by a large coral formation into two secondary channels from 5 to 8 meters deep with tidal currents that can become extremely strong. When the tide is flooding and the current it generates moves northards, you are pushed from the lagoon towards the open sea. If on the other hand the tide is ebbing, the current runs south towards the lagoon: it is therefore preferable to dive then, so that you can drift back to your boat moored inside the lagoon. Obviously a dinghy would be ideal for dives in Small Crack. On the outer reef wall, which descends to a 18-22- meter deep sandy floor, you will see gorgonians, Alcyonarians and large Acroporidae. Often there are sea turtles; Leopard sharks and Whitetip reef sharks may sometimes be seen. In the summer there are schools of barracuda and Jackfish and, near the mouth of the channel, a school of Doublebar breams (genus Acanthopagrus). Inside the northern channel there is an abundance of fire corals (Millepora dichotoma), which are typical of the areas with strong currents.