Dixon Pinnacle
The deep one everybody comes back for
- Depth
- 18 - 40 m
- Visibility
- 20 - 35 m
- Minimum level
- Advanced Open Water
- Site type
- Pinnacle
- Entry
- Boat entry
- Boat ride
- 45 min boat ride
- Water
- 27 - 30°C
- Pinnacle
- Havelock Island
Dixon rises out of open water about forty minutes east of the jetty, and it is the only site we run where the bottom is never in sight. You drop on the shallowest point of the pinnacle, work around it into whatever current there is, and finish the dive climbing back up the same rock you came down.
What you will see
Schooling trevally and barracuda hold above the top of the pinnacle almost every morning. Below 25 m the soft coral takes over completely - fans, whips and a wall of orange that photographs far better than it looks in the moment. Napoleon wrasse are resident, and eagle rays pass through often enough that the guides stop pointing at them.
How it dives
This is the site the conditions decide. On a slack morning it is a relaxed circuit of an underwater hill; on a running tide it is a genuine drift and you will spend the dive on the sheltered face. Your guide makes that call from the boat, and if the answer is no, we go to Jackson Bar instead and nobody argues about it.
Deep, blue and offshore - a computer is mandatory and we run every dive on a fifteen-minute reserve.
What you will see
- Schooling trevally and barracuda
- Soft coral wall below 25 m
- Resident Napoleon wrasse
- Eagle rays in season
When to dive it
Best conditions: December - April
Outside those months the site still gets dived - visibility and sea state just move around, so ask us what the water is doing the week you are here.
What the water is doing
The figures our guides brief on. They are what the site usually gives you - the sea gets the final say on the morning, and the boat briefing always wins.
- Depth18 - 40 m
- Visibility20 - 35 m
- Water temperature27 - 30°C
- CurrentStrong current
- No current
- Mild current
- Moderate current
- Strong current
Drift diving on the day it runs - stay with your guide and start the dive up-current.
Under the surface
Before you dive
The rules every diver on this site is held to, whichever trip brings you here. None of them are negotiable, and none of them are a surprise on the day.
Minimum age
Ten years old for a first guided dive, twelve and above for certified diving. Ask us if you are travelling with younger children.
Medical declaration
You will complete a diver medical questionnaire before entering the water. A "yes" to any question means a doctor has to sign you off first, so tell us early rather than on the boat.
Flying after diving
Leave at least 18 hours between your last dive and your flight. Book your trip home with that gap already in it - we cannot shorten it for you.
Insurance
Bring travel insurance that names recreational scuba diving, including chamber treatment and evacuation. We will ask to see it.
This is general guidance for recreational diving, not medical advice about you. If any of it is a question rather than a formality, speak to a doctor before you travel.
Questions divers ask about this site
Do I need to be Advanced certified to dive Dixon?
Yes. The top of the pinnacle is at 18 m, which means the whole dive sits at or below an Open Water diver's limit, and the site regularly runs current. We will not put an Open Water diver on it, however many dives they have logged.
How often does the current cancel the dive?
Perhaps one morning in five between December and April, and more often outside those months. The call is made at the site by the guide, and we run Jackson Bar or Johnny's Gorge instead at no extra cost.
Can I take a camera?
Yes, once your buoyancy is settled. It is a deep site in blue water and it is not a good place to learn to hold a camera - if it is your first dive of the trip, leave it on the boat and shoot it on the second visit.
What surface interval do you run before a second dive?
A minimum of an hour, and usually longer. After Dixon the second dive of the day is always shallower - typically Turtle Bay or Lighthouse.
More diving around Havelock Island
ReefHavelock IslandAdvanced Open Water and upJohnny's Gorge
A garden of fans at 26 metres22 - 30 mVisibility 18 - 30 mExplore site
ReefHavelock IslandOpen Water Diver and upJackson Bar
The best all-round reef on the island8 - 24 mVisibility 15 - 30 mExplore site
ReefHavelock IslandNon-diver and upTurtle Bay
Shallow, calm, and full of exactly what it says5 - 12 mVisibility 10 - 20 mExplore site
Want this site on your log? Tell us when you are on the island and we will put you on the boat that goes there.
What people say once the boat is back in
Best first dive I could have asked for. The instructors were unbelievably patient - I panicked at four metres on the first attempt and nobody made me feel stupid about it. Second attempt went fine and I finished the course three days later.
Rahul MenonOpen Water Diver Only one of us dives. Every other operator we spoke to had a plan where the other one sat on a beach for four days. Aqua Nomads put the snorkel line off the same boat, so we were in the same water the whole week - and by day three I had done a Discover Scuba dive too. The sunset sailing on the last evening was the best hour of the trip.
Priya and Arjun NairHoneymoon, FebruaryThey called the Dixon crossing on our first morning because of a swell, and I was quietly annoyed. We dived Jackson Bar twice instead and it turned out to be the best day of the week. Getting Dixon on day three in flat water made the point - they were right and I was wrong.
Daniel OseiAdvanced Open Water Diver Two teenagers, neither of whom had dived. The instructors worked one-to-one with both of them for the first two dives without us asking, and my daughter has since booked her Open Water for next December. Whatever they did, it worked.
The Fernandes familyFour divers, two of them under fifteen I cannot swim well and I said so when I booked. They ran the whole thing one instructor to one diver, stayed in the shallow half of the bay, and never once made it feel like a concession. I have since done the swim assessment and the full course.
Aditi SharmaOpen Water Diver