The rich variety and larger than normal corals and fans are breathtaking on walls. Wall diving holds a particular fascination for most divers. Nearly every diver talks about “feelings” after a wall dive, compared to discussions of marine life.

When some people start out on a reef and swim over the edge, they get a sensation of falling. Constantly monitoring your depth gauge or computer is one way to intellectually reassure yourself that your eyes are playing tricks.  It is absolutely critical on a wall dive to have proper instruments to know your depth and bottom time. It feels as if you get heavier the deeper you go, owing to this loss of buoyancy.

Wall diving has two frames of reference – the big panorama and up close views of the wall. It is easy to become so absorbed by one perspective that you miss the other. In clear water it is fun to turn around or back away from the wall and see for hundreds of feet. Look for the big pelagics appearing out of the haze and swimming through your area. Watch other divers’ bubbles expanding as they climb toward the surface.

Deeper walls are generally protected from the effects of surface waves. Without these destructive natural forces and with less human contact, fans and sponges often thrive and grow to much larger than normal sizes. Hard corals disappear as the light penetration fades but soft corals and other colonial animals do well in the darker but low silt environment.

Remember to have an adjustable lanyard on anything you carry – there’s no way to pick up a dropped item on a wall dive.