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Certification required
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Cala Inglese
Italy · reef · intermediate
5–40 mintermediateOWboat entry
Cala Inglese
A Caprera boulder field with a rock shaped like a face at the start, worked north along the 18 to 20 m contour to a drop onto sand.
Max depth5–40 m
Required levelintermediate
Entry typeboat
Visibilitynot sourced
The dive
Cala Inglese is one of the short-range Caprera dives in the Parco Nazionale dell'Arcipelago di La Maddalena, listed by the two operators who describe it alongside Tahiti, Il Fiordino and I Picchi, all within about a kilometre of this pin. The seabed is granite: big rounded boulders, small shoals and rockfall, starting a few metres off the Caprera shore. Scuba Revolution starts the dive at a large boulder shaped like a human face, the one a National Geographic Italia photograph made known, and says Mediterranean slipper lobsters and the smaller Scyllarus often sit under it. From there the route runs north, zigzagging between enormous round boulders, to the end of the shoal where the ground falls away steeply to 35 or 40 m.
Orso Diving's briefing describes the same terrain from the boat's point of view: the anchorage is on rock at 15 m, a few metres off the coast, and the bottom then drops through canyons and rockslides and walls until it reaches sand at around 36 to 38 m. The deepest part of the canyon is at its northern entrance, and the far end comes back up to 18 m. The average depth Orso quotes for the dive is about 24 m.
What lives here is den fish and boulder fish. Both operators put large dusky groupers on the 18 to 20 m contour with groups of brown meagre, and Orso adds forkbeard and larger bream in the holes, with dentex and amberjack passing. Occurrence records around this pin include the European spiny lobster Palinurus elephas, the fan mussel Pinna nobilis, ornate and rainbow wrasse, painted comber and seabream, though the same records also contain a lot of shoreline species that belong to the beach rather than to the dive.
Two things are worth knowing before booking. Orso Diving describes it as sheltered from the prevailing winds and suitable for beginners and experts alike, in what it calls a complete absence of current, which makes it the fallback when the exposed shoals are unworkable. And unlike the Grottino di San Francesco and Punta Coticcio next door, Cala Inglese is not one of the park's four protected dive points, so the accompanied-diving rule that applies to those does not apply here, although a park diving authorisation still does.
- The face-shaped boulder at the start of the dive, with slipper lobsters underneath it
- Rounded granite blocks and rockfall zigzagging north to the end of the shoal
- Canyon and walls dropping to sand at 36 to 38 m
- Large dusky groupers and brown meagre on the 18 to 20 m contour
- Sheltered from the prevailing winds and effectively current-free
Please note before you go
- The boulder ground ends in a steep drop onto sand at 36 to 40 m, which is easy to follow further than planned
- The canyon's northern entrance is its deepest point at about 36 m, at the far end of the route from the anchorage
Access & rules
Mandatory requirementsGetting there
Boat dive on Caprera, in the short-range programme of the La Maddalena and Cannigione centres, grouped with Tahiti, Il Fiordino and I Picchi. There is no mooring buoy described: Orso Diving anchors on rock at 15 m a few metres off the coast. Note that beach guides place a Cala degli Inglesi on a different part of Caprera, so treat the exact position of this pin as approximate rather than surveyed.
Operator
Access to the site runs through a local operator.
Restrictions
Inside the Parco Nazionale dell'Arcipelago di La Maddalena but not one of its four Punti di Immersione Protetti, which are the Secca di Spargi (Washington), the Grottino di San Francesco, the Secca di Spargiotto and Punta Coticcio. The requirement to be accompanied by a park-authorised centre applies at those sites, not here; the general park requirement to hold a diving authorisation applies everywhere.
Rules and permits
Non-residents need a park diving authorisation, requested online or on the paper 'pesca e immersioni' form at the park office and paid through PagoPa, with a 5 per cent reduction for buying online. Residents and natives of La Maddalena receive a five-year Seapass covering sport fishing, boating and scuba diving free of charge. The park publishes its list of authorised diving centres annually.
Conditions
Visibilitynot sourced
Currentlight
Surgenot sourced
WaterSalt water
Depth range5–40 m
Environmentreef
Coralnot sourced
Crowdsnot sourced
Sheltered from the prevailing winds, with weak to no current. Water runs 14 to 15 C from January to March and 20 to 26 C from July to September, and operators rate visibility here as excellent.
On current: Both sources agree the site is quiet water: Scuba Revolution rates the current weak, Orso Diving says the dive is made in complete absence of current and that the position is sheltered from the prevailing winds. On depth they differ at the bottom end, Orso putting the sand at 36 to 38 m and Scuba Revolution quoting 40 m, and we have used the deeper figure.
Questions & answers
How deep is Cala Inglese?
Scuba Revolution gives a range of 5 to 40 m. Orso Diving anchors on rock at 15 m, follows the ground down through a canyon to sand at 36 to 38 m, and quotes an average depth of about 24 m for the dive. The 18 to 20 m contour is where both operators say the groupers are.
Where is Cala Inglese?
On the island of Caprera, in the Parco Nazionale dell'Arcipelago di La Maddalena, in the group of short-range dives that also includes Tahiti, Il Fiordino, I Picchi and the Grottino di San Francesco, all within roughly a kilometre. It is a boat dive: operators anchor on rock a few metres off the Caprera shore rather than using a mooring buoy.
Is Cala Inglese suitable for beginners?
Orso Diving describes it as suitable for beginners and experts alike and Scuba Revolution lists it as an Open Water site, helped by the shelter from prevailing winds and the near absence of current. Bear in mind that the route as described works the 18 to 20 m contour and averages 24 m, so the profile has to be kept shallow deliberately for a newly certified diver.
Do I need a permit to dive Cala Inglese?
Non-residents need a diving authorisation from the Parco Nazionale dell'Arcipelago di La Maddalena, bought online or on the paper form at the park office and paid through PagoPa. Cala Inglese is not one of the park's four protected dive points, so the requirement to be accompanied by an authorised centre that applies at Secca di Washington and the Grottino di San Francesco does not apply here.
What will I see at Cala Inglese?
Both operators put large dusky groupers and groups of brown meagre along the 18 to 20 m contour, with forkbeard and bream holed up in the boulder field and dentex and amberjack passing. Mediterranean slipper lobsters shelter under the face-shaped boulder that starts the dive. Occurrence records near the pin also include European spiny lobster, fan mussel, ornate wrasse and painted comber.
Why is it called Cala Inglese?
Scuba Revolution attributes the name to the legend that Admiral Nelson kept his fleet in this cove, which fits the archipelago's history as a British anchorage in the early 1800s. The dive itself became known for a different reason: a National Geographic Italia photograph of a diver beside a huge boulder shaped like a human face.
Is there current at Cala Inglese?
Very little. Scuba Revolution rates the current weak and Orso Diving describes the dive as taking place in a complete absence of current, on a stretch of coast sheltered from the prevailing winds. That is why it works as an alternative when the exposed shoals like Secca di Washington are unworkable.
Can you snorkel Cala Inglese?
Only the shallow end of it. The boulder ground starts at about 5 m in clear, sheltered water with no current, which is pleasant on a breath-hold, but the anchorage is at 15 m and the interesting part of the dive is the canyon running down to sand at 36 m. You would still need a boat and, as a non-resident, a park authorisation.
Life recorded at Cala Inglese
31 species within 1.5 km · OBISPalinurus elephasrare · 4 records
Pinna nobilisrare · 4 records
Paracentrotus lividusrare · 3 records
Sarpa salparare · 3 records
Donacilla cornearare · 3 records
Coris julisrare · 2 records
All 31 species recorded in this area
| Species | How often | Records |
|---|---|---|
| Palinurus elephas | rare | 4 |
| Pinna nobilis | rare | 4 |
| Paracentrotus lividus | rare | 3 |
| Sarpa salpa | rare | 3 |
| Donacilla cornea | rare | 3 |
| Coris julis | rare | 2 |
| Thalassoma pavo | rare | 2 |
| Serranus scriba | rare | 2 |
| Diplodus puntazzo | rare | 2 |
| Diplodus vulgaris | rare | 2 |
| Pelagia noctiluca | rare | 2 |
| Sparus aurata | rare | 2 |
| Oblada melanurus | rare | 2 |
| Pachygrapsus marmoratus | rare | 1 |
| Parablennius sanguinolentus | rare | 1 |
| Salaria pavo | rare | 1 |
| Labrus merula | rare | 1 |
| Chromis chromis | rare | 1 |
| Boops boops | rare | 1 |
| Lithognathus mormyrus | rare | 1 |
| Spondyliosoma cantharus | rare | 1 |
| Crambe crambe | rare | 1 |
| Barbatia barbata | rare | 1 |
| Glans trapezia | rare | 1 |
| Bittium latreillii | rare | 1 |
| Columbella rustica | rare | 1 |
| Hexaplex trunculus | rare | 1 |
| Sepia officinalis | rare | 1 |
| Symphodus tinca | rare | 1 |
| Cardites antiquatus | rare | 1 |
| Phorcus turbinatus | rare | 1 |
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