Author: Corrado Azzali
The island of Caprera, known for being the home of Garibaldi, is the second largest island in the La Maddalena Archipelago, the largest and most populous of the Strait of Bonifacio.
The island of Caprera can be divided into two areas: the first is the western and southern part of the island, facing La Maddalena and Sardinia; the second is the eastern and northeastern part of the island, facing the open sea.
The first part, with accessible beaches and inhabited, can also be reached by car via a small bridge that connects it to La Maddalena.
The second section, made up of pink granite hills up to 200 meters high with sparse vegetation of juniper, broom, and myrtle, is accessible only from the sea or via winding paths equipped with tracking devices.
Overview of the Poltu Quatu fjord, with the Orso Diving floating base at the bottom left, and the island of Caprera in the background, with Punta Coticcio above.
It is here in the northern part of the island at the easternmost tip that it is located Coticcio Point, a crescent-shaped promontory formed by enormous pink granite rocks that time has transformed into true sculptures.
This area, famous to most for the spectacular bay of the same name, known as Taity, was proclaimed “Zone A” by the Park Authority in 2003, where diving is permitted only with authorized diving centers.
The protected sea area (unique in the La Maddalena Archipelago Terrestrial Marine Park, together with the Secca di Spargi, known as Washington Rock) reaches up to three hundred meters from the coast along the entire stretch of the Punta, approximately 400 meters of coast from south to north.
Cala Coticcio, also known as Thaity, is a pretty obvious spot. The tip on the left is the beginning of Zone A of Punta Coticcio, where the Thaity Shoals are located.
The seabed at Punta Coticcio boasts a spectacular morphology. The walls, which mirror the coastline, slope gently downwards, formed by landslides of large boulders and steep cliffs, reaching a depth of 45 meters where the white sand begins, allowing divers to adjust the depths according to their needs and experience.
At Punta Coticcio, divided into different anchorage points, you can take about ten distinct underwater routes, with the same morphological characteristics but offering multiple interests for divers.
Left: the Paramonaceae (Red Gorgonians) of Punta Coticcio.
Right: Spiny lobster photographed in the first few meters at the Secche di Tahity, Punta Coticcio
At the southernmost tip of the Punta Coticcio promontory are a pair of semi-surfaced rocks called the Secche di Thaity. From this anchorage, three underwater routes are possible: one following the ridge that leads south from the shallows, one following the ridge south/east towards the open sea, and one north/east where, detached from the wall, a shallow reef rises from the seabed over 45 meters deep, reaching a depth of up to 18 meters.
About a hundred meters to the north we find another anchorage near the Fiordino (a very characteristic small fjord that wedges itself for about thirty meters into the pink granite).
From here you can take two routes, one towards the North and the other towards the South. At this point the wall drops rapidly to 45 metres.
Corvina in the first few meters of depth at Cala Inglese, Punta Coticcio.
Continuing north for another two hundred meters we arrive at the northern tip of the Punta Coticcio peninsula. About thirty meters from the coast, a granite spire rises vertically from a depth of 30 meters to just a few centimeters from the surface. This is known as the Picchi dive, one of the most beautiful and evocative dives in the entire archipelago.
In this area, from two different anchorage points, three different routes can be followed. The first, for more experienced divers only, starts from the Picchi and heads north-east, following a ridge that reaches a depth of up to 50 meters. At the furthest point of the route, we find a pair of rock formations rising a dozen meters from the seabed, where you can admire the most beautiful and largest Paramunice (Pink Gorgonians) in the Archipelago.
Moray eel among the rocks, Punta Coticcio
The second route goes around the Picchi, circling in a figure eight between the two lowest pinnacles, one to the south and the other to the north. The third route starts from the anchorage in the small bay located 50 meters from the Picchi, heading towards them.
Continuing along the coast to the northwest for another 150 meters, we arrive at the anchorage on the tip before Cala Inglese. From this tip, there are two routes: one following the ridge north and then returning along the ledge towards Cala Inglese, and the other following the ridge north-east and then returning along the ledge towards Picchi cove.
Left: stingray photographed on the sand at the end of the Punta Coticcio wall.
Right: grouper among the rocks of Picchi, Punta Coticcio
Thanks to the establishment of protected areas such as Punta Coticcio in La Maddalena National Park, where both sport and commercial fishing are prohibited, a large number of fish have returned.
The groupers, which until about ten years ago were practically extinct in the area in question, have returned in force, even of large size already in the first 18 meters, as have the brown meagres, moray eels, conger eels, octopuses and all the large fauna in general, ditto.
On almost all dives at Punta Coticcio, you can see Roman remains, such as anchors (there are eight) and shards of amphorae. Larger specimens can be found on all Paramunicee dives after thirty meters, and special sightings such as sunfish, tuna, and anglerfish are not uncommon. Especially on dives to the north (I Picchi and Cala Inglese), it's easy to encounter pelagic and open-water fish, such as schools of amberjack, longline, barracuda, and snapper.
The whole of Punta Coticcio is perfectly sheltered from the sea, which in the Strait of Bonifacio is often stormy due to the strong prevailing west and north-westerly winds.
Diving at Punta Coticcio, thanks to the absence of currents, the waters closed to navigation (unfortunately not always respected), the clarity of the water, the rich presence of marine life even in the first few meters, and the easy underwater orientation, make it the ideal site for all divers, even the less experienced.
Bear Diving Base
From Poltu Quatu seat of theBear Diving Punta Coticcio can be reached easily, even with prevailing winds of up to 35 knots, sailing almost the entire way close to the island of Caprera.
Orso Diving organizes dives every day at Punt Coticcio, which is less than 5 miles (15/20 minutes by boat) from Poltu Quatu.
Cala Coticcio photographed from the Punta Coticcio promontory.
We thank Corrado for the article and invite you to visit the site:
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