An astounding world under the sea 'Dive Experience' for The Palm, Jumeirah

The Palm announced today it will develop an expansive 'Dive Experience' at The Palm, Jumeirah. The man-made dive park is set to be a divers delight  and a world of discovery under the sea. Keeping with the diverse offering on The Palm, divers will have the choice of four key themed areas including 'Snorklers' Cove', 'The Lost City', 'Dives of The World' and a Spear Fishing area.

The Palm Jumeriah - Dive Centre (click image for larger version)

Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem, Chairman of The Palm said, "I am excited beyond belief about the 'Dive Experience' that is being created at The Palm, Jumeirah. Many tourists to Dubai and people living in the UAE, including myself, are eager snorkelers and divers, we have therefore designed the most extraordinary dive experience to excite beginners through to the most avid explorers".

Creating a diving destination like nothing on earth is clearly at the heart of The Palm's vision. Inside the Crescent island will be a 'Snorkelers' Cove' where people can discover coral and sea life and search for a lost treasure - one kilogram gold bars will be carefully placed on the seabed around the cove continuously.

The Palm Jumeirah - Dive Map (click image for larger version)

The 'Dives of the World' experience will be located just outside the Crescent  island. Various artificial reefs will be created and placed to simulate the coral and bottom topography that you might find whilst diving in the famous dive destinations of the Red Sea, Maldives, Bali, Palau and The Great Barrier Reef.

Many of these 'Dives of The World' will be shore dives, meaning that they will be accessible right from one of the hotels on the Crescent. A leisurely swim  right off the breakwater will put you over one of the reefs, and on a good day with a snorkel you could have a great adventure without too much effort.

The 'Lost City' dive site will be located at the base of the Crescent and will allow divers to sift through the ages of a lost city. Comprised of a series of underwater replica artifacts from the Arab world including wind towers,  pyramids and Roman columns, the places to explore will be plentiful.

For those so inclined and wanting a more challenging experience a Spear Fishing dive park will be located in an area beginning one kilometre offshore from the center of the Crescent. A range of wrecks will eventually be transported to site and submerged, including two passenger aircraft, an Illuyshin 86 and Airbus 300 along with the possibility of a train from India and several cars.

"The Illusyshin 86 plane will be the first of our wrecks to be transported to site via a barge in one months time", commented Sulayem. It will sit approximately 10 metres under water. According to experts working on the project, surveys have been done to ensure that where the planes and vessels are placed has the least amount of impact on sea life.

Interestingly, by placing artificial reefs such as the aeroplanes, vessels and environmentally friendly concrete compositions, fish aggregating devices (FAD's) are created. Gradually, smaller fish will be attracted to the reef as they have a place to hide from the larger predator fish. As marine life attaches itself to the artificial reef surfaces the amount and diversity of  marine life in the area will naturally grow.

At the heart of these dive experiences and about 100 metres of the Crescent will be a Dive Centre, incorporating a dive shop, café and platform allowing access to the nearby dives, all in one convenient location.