Shore diving at Tabaiba & Poris

As nice as it is to enjoy the luxury of diving from the boat every day, it’s also good to get out and explore some of the beautiful shore diving spots accessible around the coast of Tenerife from time to time. Tabaiba and el Poris are two of our favourite shore diving sites, and they are located in ideal positions to allow both dives in one day!

Tabaiba

Tabaiba is a small coastal town just to the west of Santa Cruz, the island’s capitol. The dive at Tabaiba is focused around the wreck of a rather large tug-boat which used to operate in the harbour of Santa Cruz until it was decommissioned and sunk intentionally, just a short swim from the coast.  It was partially stripped to make it safer for SCUBA- and free-divers to explore without added risk.

We enter in a man-made sea-pool which feeds directly under a small foot bridge out into the open ocean. It is a very picturesque way to begin and end a dive. After descending down the initial coastal slope, we find a submerged pipe which is home to a variety of critters including beautiful, colourfull Anemones, Arrow Crabs, Flabellina Nidibranchs and occasionally seahorses!

At around 20 metres it is possible to make a hard left and after a brief swim over a sandy sea bed full of Garden Eels you will find a statue/monument, of which the Anchor of the wreck makes up an element.

From this monument you can follow the anchor chain to discover the wreck itself.  It is sitting in the sand at a maximum depth of around 35 metres, listing to one side at an angle of approximately 45 degrees.  the wreck itself is not huge, and at that depth we have limited time to explore unless using Nitrox. Even then, gas supplies don’t last forever and we will need to begin the ascent back along the pipe to our exit point.

Plenty of man-made coastal fortification in the shallows provides an artificial reef habitat to a wide variety of local fauna, which we can enjoy while making our safety stop.

El Poris

El Poris is the name of another town located on our way back from Tabaiba. It is a very peaceful, sleepy coastal town but sits on a very large bay offering protection from the usual wind which batters this coastline.  Entry for the dive is made easy by a stone harbour wall with steps built in. Locals have even helped avoid danger by installing rubber matting on the stairs to ensure you don’t slip!

After a gentle descent to the bottom at around 3/4 metres, we put the land on our left and head out towards the headland. The bottom gradually drops away and, as we approach the open ocean we begin to see more and more schools of fish searching for food among the rocks, shaped into psychedelic forms by the relentless power of the ocean.

This is generally a very easy dive, and one which provides plenty of opportunities for both wide-angle and macro photographers.