MALDIVES TRIP REPORT
Emperor Atoll (Sharktastic)
TRIP REPORT MALDIVES 9th of February – 6th of March 2018
10th of February – 12th of February 2018 Embudu Island
12th of February – 18th of February 2018 Emperor Atoll (Sharktastic)
18th of February – 4th of March 2018 Sheena (Deep South) –> see Trip Report Sheena
4th – 5th of March 2018 Bandos Island –> see Trip Report Sheena
Friday 9th of February 2018 TOP
Abu Dhabi Airport, United Arab Emirates
Thanks to the ‘KLM Werelddeal Weken’ I got a super deal on airfare tickets taking us out to the Maldives. Our flight from Schiphol to Abu Dhabi runs smooth. We land after a warm breakfast.
On Abu Dhabi Gerard sees a coffee place and goes for a latte (6,5 euro). Thank God for plastic. We circle the hall 8 times and look closely at each shop. Then it is time to board our connecting flight to Malé airport. It’s getting light.
On our little tv screens we can watch how the plane flies over the blue sea and lands on the runway. We land perfectly on time. Everything goes smooth. Outside a group of 4 is singing and making noise to welcome another plane load of tourists. 25 people are waiting, holding signs and about 80 resorts and liveaboard boats have a booth. It takes a while before I find Embudu Village. When we visited the Maldives in 2005 we made one dive I always remembered. Lots of current and lots of sharks. We dove the ‘Embudu Express’. I looked at the itinerary of both the Emperor Atoll and the Sheena but concluded that neither of them were diving this spot. So I looked at the closest island and booked a 2 nights stay. This had several advantages. A) by flying on a weekday (Thursday) we saved a lot on plane fair. B) we have time to adjust to a new time zone. C) We can dive the Embudu Express.
Embudu Island looked very nice (www.embuduvillage.com) and had excellent reviews on internet.
Before the transfer arrives we go and buy a sim card (2 weeks 32 USD, 1 week 22 USD).
We sail along the skyline of Malé, that has gotten pretty packed in recent years. Full of tall buildings and they’re also working on a huge bridge. The boat sails at 55km per hour and it takes about 20 minutes to reach the paradise island. We get assigned a superior beach bungalow with some bushes in front of us and the dive center around the corner.
We take a stroll around the island and in the shallows we spot a school of small fishes and some baby blacktips. Wow no sharkless day. This is going to be fun. The island is clean and the surrounding sea superb.
Across the water we see another beautiful resort island and behind it lies Malé. At Embudu Island there are a number of water villas, some are in front of us. On the other side of the island is a terrace over the water and a large bar where Gerard goes to get a beer and a bottle of water. The beer is from the Lion brand. So it’s not a lionless day either. At 6 pm we go to the diving school and hear my request has been granted. Tomorrow at 2 pm we will dive Embudu Express with the note that ‘if we fuck up the dive, it is our problem’, because we don’t want to do a check dive. Well it’s only been a few days since we were diving the South African water with harsh conditions like big waves, cold and bad viz so how hard can it be in warm water with clear viz?
At 19.30 dinner buffet with an Italian theme and a fantastic dessert buffet. Some tables are magnificently decorated with flowers and dolphin drawings made out of little stones. The place is packed and we’re assigned a table with a Swiss mother and son. Can’t choose your on table.
We go to bed early. The bed is hard and short but so much better than an airplane chair.
Saturday 10th of February 2018 TOPPER
Embudu Village, Embudu Island, Maldives
We roll out of bed at 7 am. Sun is shining. We can make coffee and tea in our room using the tap water. It’s fine when cooked.
Breakfast (as abundant as dinner) at 9 o’clock. Next we go snorkelling at the dock (on our side) with gopro and new Sealife Micro 2.0. The water has a perfect temperature and when we put our heads underwater we go crazy with joy. How clear the water is here, what fantastic visibility! When we swim to the deep end we see a cloud of at least a hundred banner fish (my favourite) with a hundred sergeant majors. Many more schools of fish. There are 2 eagle rays hovering about 10 meters below us. How incredibly beautiful. We are going back to the shallow end because we want to film the baby sharks. I see a small lemon shark and then a small blacktip with a cloud of small fish. We snorkel around the island until we reach the dock on the other side. Yesterday all small blacktips swam here and today they’re there too. They swarm around and through a huge cloud of small fishes, hoping to catch one of them in an attack. This doesn’t happen very often. There is also a group of jacks that are as big or even bigger than the sharks. During an attack, the small fish jump high out of the water. Snorkelling is quite tiring. So we go to the room to collect the big camera and phone. We return to take pictures of the sharks from above water. I count 8. Gerard is in the water and is surrounded by the cloud of fish and sharks.
The lunch buffet is open at 12.30 pm. I guess the theme is Asian. The Dahl curry, banana curry and Papadum are very tasty. Of course, all desserts must be tried. We are ready at 1.30 pm so I have a little time to take pictures of the resort island opposite us and the skyline of capital Malé. Next we bring our stuff to the diving school.
Dive: Embudu Express
Time: 15.06
Viz: 25m
Water temp: 27C
Depth: 34 meters
Dive time: 36 minutes
At 2.15 pm we walk to the boat. This dive boat is so relaxed compared to the zodiacs we’ve been on lately. Big. Spacious. Stable. We are only 6 divers. It is a 5 minute boat ride to the dive site and then we jump 1 by 1 straight, negative entry. At 26m in 2 minutes. We are surrounded by a large group of batfish. They are attracted to the air bubbles. The dive guide indicates that we have arrived and we drop to 35m and hook onto a ledge. We hang and watch the show in front of us for the next 15 minutes. Sharks swim up and down, whitetips and grey reef sharks. After a few minutes, a school of 17 eagle rays swims by. Behind it a second school, also about 15 of them. The batfish are also still around and sometimes swim annoyingly in front of your face. Had to send one away because I couldn’t see the sharks. To my left hangs a huge school of barracudas. Down is also a large school of fish that is startled every now and then. It’s totally amazing and we’re the last to let go. As an extra, a marble ray passes by. We swim with the 3 of us (dive guide) to Tila Embudu. We are caught by the current and thrown around the corner, ending up in a small washing machine. The top of the reef is only 13 meters, but the reef is not very interesting after what we have just seen. We fly and inflate the SMB at 30 minutes. The dive should be max 45 minutes. Great dive, even better than I remember from February 2005. Definitely worth choosing staying on this island for.
We ride back to the island, rinse the stuff and pay for the dive (p.p. 90 USD). You can choose euros or dollars if you pay with your credit card. Thank God for plastic. We chat about the current development of recreational rebreathers for nitrox, find out we have a mutual acquaintance in Vinkeveen and then have to go to the reception because we hear from the diving school that we’re scheduled on an 8 am boat leaving the island tomorrow. That is way too early! A) we still have to pack everything, B) what are we going to do all day on the safari boat if it remains in the harbour? We manage to get the 1.15 pm boat and then we take a private transfer to the safari boat for 5 euros p.p. So, we don’t have to wait until 4 pm at the airport for a free transfer too. In addition, we can also have lunch before the transfer at 12.30 pm. Otherwise we would have missed it! Time for a Malibu with fresh orange juice and 5 ice cubes at the bar. How beautiful life is and then on to the magnificent dinner buffet. Tried all desserts again. I’m comfortably sitting in a swing logging the dive when Gerard comes to pick me up because he wants to go to bed. Jet lag.
Sunday 11th of February 2018
Embudu Village, Maldives
The alarm goes off at 6 am. Time for a little workout followed by breakfast, packing and snorkelling. Gerard plays with the drone. The transfer boat just arrived, nice for recordings. Gerard has a dispute with 2 Italian kids throwing stones at crabs. After we have made it very clear that we will not tolerate this, we go to the other side of the island. I go snorkelling along the wall. The coral is very dead here. However, I am again in a cloud of banner fish and find Nemo’s. Nothing special otherwise. The small blacktips are almost all under the terrace jetty and the cloud of small fish is afraid of the shadow of the drone. It is hot but in the water it is fantastic. At 11.15 am we go back to our room (nr 255) after we pick up the diving equipment at the diving school. We pack the last items and at exactly 12 noon we are ready and we bring the key to the reception and pay for the drinks (72 USD for 2 nights). Lunch at 12.30 pm. Just enough time to try all the dishes and desserts before we head to the transfer boat. They were already waiting for us. We wave goodbye to the little sharks because the boat leaves from that side. Arrival was on our side. Full throttle to the airport where we get the phone number of Emperor Divers at the info booth and are allowed to use the phone to call. Not much later we are picked up.
Emperor Atoll
The Emperor Atoll is a small boat, only 26m with 6 A/C and en-suite cabins. So max 12 guests and 2 dive guides. Small groups was my main reason to book this liveaboard. There is a sun deck and seating on the bow. There also is a dhoni to make diving super comfortable.
The cruise itinerary is the 7 days Sharktastic, visiting 4 atolls (South Male, Vaavu, Meemu and South Ari Atoll). The itinerary is not for beginners although only 30 logged dives are recommended. Most dives will involve going to depth and currents can be strong. This is what is written on the site of www.emperormaldives.com
What can we see:
- South Ari Atoll: Whale Sharks, Beautiful Pinnacles
- South Male Atoll: Grey Reef Sharks, Eagle Rays, Other Pelagics, Beautiful Macro Wreck.
- Vaavu Atoll: Beautiful channels with magical soft corals and pelagic delights. Action packed night dive with Nurse Sharks and others.
- Meemu Atoll: Beautiful channels with pelagic action, Sailfish, Grey Reef Sharks, Eagle Rays and beautiful soft coral. Manta cleaning station.
In this period the clean ocean water flows in from the eastern side of the Maldives. That means currents running from Sumatra, Indonesia to the Maldives bring with them not just fantastic visibility up to 40m but also a variety of pelagic surprises coming to the reef for a quick feed.
The Channel dives of the eastern coast of the Maldives are the main order of the day. These Kandus, as they are known in the local language (Dhivehi), attract grey reef sharks, dog tooth tuna and eagle rays as standard but look out into the blue and you never know what surprises await. The outer walls and corners of the channels in Vaavu and Meemu have the added bonus of beautiful overhangs draping in the blues, yellows and pinks of the majestic soft coral.
We are picked up at the airport and taken by van to our liveaboard the Emperor Atoll. We drive past the airport and have to wait for an international flight to arrive before crossing the landing strip. We see the bridge from Malé to the airport which is under construction. A large part of this island has been reclaimed from the ocean and huge apartment buildings are being built. At the harbour, Belgian diving guide Thomas comes to pick us up with a small boat. It is a 2-minute boat ride to the ship. All 6 other guests are already there. We have to fill in forms and get a briefing from Italian dive guide Martina. She also wants to see our diving insurance. She wants us to look up the policy conditions to see that the decompression room is also insured. Everything is checked.
Next fill up the cabin and set up diving gear on the dhoni. Both the International and the seaplanes fly back and forth. The entire harbour is full of safari boats of all shapes and sizes. Transfer boats and ferry boats come and go constantly. A tanker also sails past. We just see the sunset and then 6 pm briefing followed by food. Dinner is served outside on the bow, the best spot of the boat. Even after dinner I stay here until suddenly I get eaten. Shit, mosquitoes. Adjusted to new times we’re the last guests to go to bed, it’s 21.00. If we travel to a new time zone, I like to arrive a few days early so we can adjust to time and temperature and get rid of a jet leg before going on an intense liveaboard trip.
Monday 12th of February 2018 TOPPER
Safari Boat Emperor Atoll, Malé, Maldives
4 dives, including 1 night dive
1) Kurumba House Reef, North Male
2) Kuda Giri Wreck, South Male
3) Miyaru Kandu, Vaavu
4) Alimatha Jetty, Vaavu (Night Dive)
Highlights:
Whitetip sharks
Blacktip sharks
Gray reef sharks
Nurse sharks
Lots of rays
Big tunas
Nemo’s
Honeycomb moray eel
Giant Trevally
Spinner dolphins
Our cabin is ok. The bed is softer than yesterday and slightly longer. We rather use the fan to the AC. At 5.20 am the alarm sounds and we rise. First again, no surprise there. The rest follows 6 am, in time for the 6.15 briefing.
Dive 1: Kurumba House Reef, North Male (check dive)
Time: 6.47
Viz: +
Water temp: 28/29C
Depth: 26,9 meters
Dive time: 50 minutes
We sail with the dhoni to Kurumba house reef less than 5 minutes from the port of Malé. Here we’ll do a check dive on air. It is a wall and there is a little current. The coral is covered in sand and is quite dead but there is a whitetip and a blacktip and a group of 7 large rays and they all swim by several times so it turns out to be a very nice dive. We see 2 large tunas, 2 moray eels, a couple of dart fish. In the end, everyone has to release their SMB.
During breakfast we sail past Malé. Heavy construction is going on. Tourism is big business. Lots of resorts look out on a construction site instead of having a tropical view. Worth checking before booking.
The further we sail from Malé the quieter it becomes, but we still see sea planes.
Dive 2: Kuda Giri Wreck, South Male
Time: 10.16
Viz: +
Depth: 33,5 meters
Dive time: 62 minutes
A wall with a small shipwreck. Now we dive nitrox. We form a team with Thomas (guide) and Michael. The wall is ok. The shipwreck nice and clearly visible. In coral bushes there are some longnose hawkfish and we spot a pipefish. We swim around the wreck and then go back to the wall. Lots of white coral that looks like spider silk. It gets really fun when there are many beautiful white and blue anemones with Nemo’s. The guide finds an octopus in a hole. Of course we are the last out of the water. All our dive data are carefully written down.
Lunch is served on the bow, lots of vegetables. Broccoli and carrot. Raw red cabbage with corn. Mixed vegetables with cabbage and avocado. Fried potato wedges, grilled chicken fillet and a whole grilled fish. After lunch, everyone goes to the top deck. I stay at the table. A perfect office.
On the way to the third dive site we see spinner dolphins. They jump through the waves and make 180’s. Before we start the 3rd dive we get an explanation about the use of the reef hook. Useful, because this is also new for us.
Dive 3: Miyaru Kandu, Vaavu
Time: 15.03
Viz: -/+ (due to thermo cline)
Depth: 29 meters
Dive time: 48 minutes
We jump into the water and quickly submerge. We swim along the wall to the bottom of the channel. Here we hook and hang in the current. It’s very busy with sharks. Especially grey and whitetips. A school of fish swims by. A shark chases a fish and they swim in circles. It’s very entertaining. Suddenly all sharks swim upwards together, but then come back again. A new group of divers arrives. Some with gloves (not allowed) and they lie flat on the bottom, tinkling annoyingly. With our nitrox we can stay a long time, until everybody has left. The sharks start to come closer. We crawl up the wall a bit to gain extra time, see a huge honeycomb moray, but eventually we have to let go and fly through the channel. There is not much to see in the channel. We shot our SMB and are last on the boat again.
Fresh chocolate cake is ready. We stay anchored with the big boat so Michael is going to fly his DJI Mavick and Gerard flies his Spark.
Dive 4: Night Dive at Alimatha Jetty, Vaavu
Time: 18.18
Depth: 21,8 meters
Dive time: 50 minutes
At 5.45 pm we have the 4th and final briefing. We will dive at the jetty, just like all 8 other liveaboards that are now anchored. We enter the water at dusk. Underwater we find the 1st group. Chaos. They are surrounded by many nurse sharks and rays. The sharks are huge, up to 2.5m and they come very close. 1 blonde troll touches the sharks and rays several times with her bare hands. We get annoyed, signal something and before we end up in an underwater bitchfight swim on. Later it turns out that the group were also chumming. We go to a quiet area and here too are many nurse sharks and rays. They just swim against you and you really have to look everywhere constantly. There is also an adult blacktip reef shark swimming in between and a monstrous trevally of about 60 kilos. We leave the water with mixed feelings. Rinse all 4 underwater lights, the 2 underwater cameras and computers. Still dived for 50 minutes and used the reef hook again. Was a thing among the lionfish. The food is fantastic again with homemade spring rolls, papadums, sweet and sour chicken with peppers, vegetables and apple pie with warm custard sauce for dessert. What a life.
Tuesday 13th of February 2018 TOPPER
Emperor Atoll, Vaavu, Maldives
3 dives:
1) Devana Kandu
2) Golden Wall
3) Fushi Kandu
Highlights:
Grey reef sharks
Whitetips
School of about 20 small blacktips
2 large marble rays
Humphead wrasse
Large school of barracudas
Large school of blue / yellow fusilier fish
The alarm sounds at 5.20 am. At 5.30 am we’re once again the first to have coffee and tea. Behind the boat there is a lamp and the water is full of water fleas / crustaceans and small fish. We see it getting light, but because of the clouds there is not a beautiful sunrise. A seaplane takes off from the island where only Italians visit. Martina recently worked here as a dive guide and left after 1 month screaming.
Dive 5: Devana Kandu, Vaavu
Time: 7.18
Viz: 20m
Depth: 31 meters
Dive time: 55 minutes
6.45 am briefing. Thomas is very strict and wants everybody to be 5 minutes early period. We are going to do a channel and if the current is incoming, the chance of sharks is high. It is only 5 minutes by boat.
We swim along the wall to the corner. Visibility is ok. You cannot see into the blue very well. First we see a large ray on the bottom. Then we see a whole school of small blacktips circling in the channel. At least 20. We stay at the ledge and see more and more sharks swimming by. Greys and whitetips. Other divers above us plunge into the water but disappear. Our other group too. We are left with 4 and because there is very little current we are now hanging in the channel surrounded by a huge school of barracudas. We can stay and swim again to the edge where all the small blacktips and the big sharks are. We hover until our no deco time is up. We gain a bit more time by hanging higher on the wall, but then we eventually let ourselves be carried away by the current. We see an octopus in a hole with a small lionfish next to it. A mini anemone carpet with a Nemo family. We swim to the centre of the channel for our safety stop. Here the water is colder and there is a huge cloud of blue and yellow fusilier fish that starts surrounding us. Last on board so, drawback, there is very little fresh coconut left. I remember that during our visit in 2005 we also always got fresh coconut after diving. We love it.
Breakfast is 15 minutes later. I get yoghurt (pre ordered) but also try the roti and chickpeas. We are now sailing and there are waves. I am going to sit on the front again and log the 1st dive.
Dive 6: Golden Wall, Vaavu
Time: 11.15
Viz: +/-
Depth: 30,6 meters
Dive time: 58 minutes
The 2nd dive is at Golden Wall, named after the yellow and orange soft coral. It takes a long time before Gerard jumps into the water and it turns out he has forgotten to put on his fins. Visibility is less, the sun is gone too. The big surgeon fishes go for our bubbles. We swim along the wall, right shoulder, to the corner and linger for a while. No current. A whitetip swims by and Gerard sees a nurse shark. There is nothing else to be seen in blue. Vague school of barracudas above us. Next we go into the channel and swim along the wall, the reason for this dive. The soft yellow and orange coral. We see another whitetip on the bottom. We see large sweetlips and small groups of yellow fusilier fish among the healthy coral along the bottom. A Humphead wrasse. The wall is indeed covered with small soft corals. Lots of Moorish idols. We’re encountering more and more current. We’re alone. That’s cool. They allowed us to dive to maximum dive time. We swim a bit along the wall until the coral is gone. Then we turn around and stop the dive. A large barracuda swims on the surface.
After lunch we stay anchored for a while because the 3rd and last dive site is not far away. We get the briefing at 2.45 pm. It is also a channel, but not that deep.
Dive 7: Fushi Kandu , Vaavu
Time: 15.12
Viz: – / 10m
Water temp: 30C outgoing current/29C incoming current
Depth: 26,7 meters
Dive time: 49 minutes
Before we jump into the water from the dhoni, current is always checked. Now it is outgoing. That means we are dropped into the channel and swim to the edge. Depending on the current, we may be able to hang there. Visibility is a lot less. On the way to the ledge we already see 2 whitetips. At the bottom of the channel many table corals and closer to the ledge green coral trees. A school of barracudas. It is difficult to see over the edge into the dark grey. But we start seeing shark shapes and 10 baby greys swim by. A large tuna is swimming above us. The current has turned 180 degrees. Our group is entering the channel, but I’m just in the middle of a huge cloud of barracuda. With enough air and enough time to deco, we linger for a while. I hang in front and Gerard now has trouble getting to me. The incoming current is steadily increasing and so is the fish activity. In addition to the small sharks, large greys are now also swimming by. The whitetips circle too. Another school of fish passes by and then suddenly an eagle ray. The sharks continue to patrol. Here too, groups of divers come and go. We also let go and get shot. Flying through the channel where there was hardly any current before! Below us we see 2x 4 baby sharks on the channel floor.
A delicious vanilla cake is ready on the big boat. It is cloudy and wind is blowing. We sail on to the overnight stop. There are 6 boats moored already. People walk on a tiny sandy island, but without the sun it’s not that appealing. Gerard is going to backup and I log dives on the top deck. It is a long stretch from 5 pm to dinner at 7 pm.
Wednesday 14th of February 2018 TOPPER
Emperor Atoll, Vaavu, Maldives
Highlights:
26 years together!
Lots of sharks
Turtle
Eagle rays
Humphead wrasse aka Napoleons
1 dolphin
3 dives:
1) Fotteyo
2) Rakeedhoo Kandu
3) Happy Corner
The alarm sounds at 5am. Coffee, tea and 5.45 am briefing. We’re congratulated.
Dive 8: Fotteyo
Time: 6.18
Depth: 28,9 meters
Dive time: 64 minutes
Thomas wants to be the first boat in the water to look for hammerhead sharks. Being first is successful, but it is close. The 2nd boat is right behind us. We swim into the blue and back to the wall, into the blue and back to the wall. We repeat this for 15 minutes at 25m. The hammerhead sharks do not show. Only doctor fish that go for our bubbles again. Little current. We swim to the wall and in a large niche at 27m it is full of fluorescent yellow soft coral. On top of the reef we see some sharks swimming. Thomas, Michael and we hook up on the plateau at 16m. Very little current. A large school of fusilier fish passes by chased by a tuna. Whitetips and 2 grey reef sharks swim up and down. School of fish. Left and right Nemo’s. Then Michael gestures that he only has 50 bar left. With a 100 bar left each, we’re allowed to stay. We’re moving to a higher position, next to a titan trigger. I don’t particularly like titan triggers but this one is ok, too busy with itself. A group of divers pops up from the blue. Asians. All gloves, bad buoyancy and they bang the bottle constantly. Only when this group is gone do the sharks return. The two of us still hanging out together after 26 years. We look at a large nudibranch on the lower plateau because there is very little current. The sharks are getting close now. See where we just hung. After 60 minutes we end the dive and swim to the corner where we see some more sharks and 3 big tuna. 1 whitetip lies on the bottom. We are the last back on the dhoni.
Breakfast with yoghurt, pineapple, papaya and 1 pancake. In my office on the bow there is a speaker and while I log the dives the captain plays good music while sailing. He seems to like ‘I’m an albatroaz’ too (4x). We sail past an atoll and some very idyllic islands. The captain signals and I see 1 dolphin through the waves so close that it seems as if he’s looking at me.
Dive 9: Rakeedhoo Kandu
Time: 10.05
Depth: 29,4 meters
Dive time: 63 minutes
We arrive at Rakeedhoo, a local island with 25 inhabitants. We have to hurry because a whole fleet is coming this way. We start with a short distance swimming against the current. Green coral trees. A small turtle. Some fish at the edge. School of trevallies. School of barracuda. Above little shark. Grey shark in the blue. The blue is actually more dark grey. Visibility is better up than down. Another turtle and another one. So it could be the same one because you don’t see many turtles here. Nemo’s. 2 small brown morays eels and a cleaner shrimp. Around the corner a couple of Humphead wrasses. More Nemo’s, 1 with a nice little shrimp. A medium and a large tuna. Clouds of blue fusilier fish. Nice table corals. 2 angelfish. School of unicorn fish. Black eagle ray. Octopus. We finished the dive with Martina who enjoys being in the water for a full hour. I’m getting chilly by the end of the dive. Water is 29 degrees.
Scheduled lunch at noon is postponed because the boat rocks like crazy while sailing. Everywhere we hear things falling, especially in the kitchen.
When we get to the atoll the water becomes calmer. Lunch is finally served at 1 pm. Delicious and I end up eating too much. Mini zucchini, cauliflower and carrot, chicken, fried potato wedges, rice with vegetables, cabbage and tomato and mango. There were more dishes but fish is not my favourite.
With a full belly we have to close our eyes. Gerard crashes on the bow, in the office. I head up to the sun deck a find myself a bean bag.
Dive 10: Happy Corner
Time: 15.20
Depth: 28 meters
Dive time: 58 minutes
Briefing 14.45. We’re going to dive at Happy Corner and here current can be fierce. On the boat we already get permission to finish the dive with just us two if necessary. There is a strong current and the guides are worried about the beginners. We can come across washing machines. We jump and make our way straight down to the edge of the channel. We look for a place to hook up. I try to avoid the green coral trees and immediately fall 10m behind. I crawl forward and have to watch out for small sea urchins. I’m right behind Gerard. Our neighbour lies in an anemone with Nemo’s. Her knee is completely covered with rash later, but luckily the Nemo’s are fine. They will probably more often have a diver in their house. The current makes my octopus start to free flow but it stops when I hold it against my body.
Hooked up, air in BCD, now we can really enjoy the spectacle in front. SHARKS, lots of sharks. 30+. Big, small, grey and (pregnant) whitetips. Everywhere from left to right, bottom to top. Much more than at Embudu Express, but further away. The stage is a lot bigger. 2 sharks revolve around each other. A tuna swims by followed by a school of about 8 eagle rays. I hope Gerard is taking pictures but he signals that the camera is dead ?! A flounder swims directly underneath him. For a while it’s just the Emperor divers, but when the air divers leave another group pops up from behind. They had been dropped wrong and are now crawling forward over the bottom. A guy wants to crawl right under me but I shove him away. He hooks in further to the right but is annoyingly messing with his free flowing octopus. As the other divers arrive and lie close to the edge, shark action becomes much less. Then Michael and Thomas leave. We overstay the new group before we hit the max and unhook ourselves. We fly over the bottom with green coral trees and slowly swim to the wall were current is getting less and less. Above we see a turtle. I check a ledge at 16m because Thomas was talking about turtles and sleeping nurse sharks. But the overhang is empty. We do see Nemo’s and 2 types of dart fish. The coral is pretty dead. At about 6 meters we pass some large overhangs with large fish, especially groupers, sweetlips and angel fish. When Gerard gets out the SMB, the little bottom weight at the end of the line almost falls on top of a turtle on the bottom.
We sail to an inhabited island. Sea is choppy again and we arrive too late to visit the island. At 7 pm it’s time for dinner. Deep fried octopus rings (wrong!!) leg of lamb (nope), ratatouille (yes), potatoes (top), rice, carrot and cabbage salad and strawberry cheesecake (hurray). It is a very quiet group and everything is very pleasant.
Thursday 15th of February 2018 TOPPER
Emperor Atoll, Mulah Island, Meemu Atoll, Maldives
3 dives:
1) Muli Corner, Meemu
2) Kuralhi Dandu, Meemu
3) Hakuraa Thila, Meemu
Highlights:
Grey reef sharks
Whitetip reef sharks
Turtle
Mantas
Bannerfish
Flatworm
Lots of jumping dolphins
Birthday cake
Briefing at 6.45 am and congratulations again. We are going to dive at Muli corner. The wind is blowing and there are waves.
Dive 11: Muli Corner, Meemu
Time: 7.15
Viz: +
Depth: 30.6 meters
Dive time: 63 minutes
There is a heavy current we need to swim into. We pass an overhang with fluorescent yellow soft coral. We swim to the corner and there are indeed enough fish here. We see a barracuda, big tunas, an eagle ray, a grey reef and a whitetip shark and schools of trevally’s, fusilier fish, sweetlips, a few banner fish. We have some problems due to the swell, hooking up is difficult. Thomas leaves with Michael and gestures us to stay and watch the fish. Let’s do that. We go to 12m and hook. Lots of fish. After a while sharks also show, 2 whitetips and 2 grey reef sharks, 1 of which has a long line in its mouth. We see a small eating turtle with an emperor fish. With 62 minutes and only 50 bar we end the dive. It is difficult to take off fins and climb into the dhoni because of the big waves. There is a lot of coconut left. Half the group got seasick when they had to wait for us. Breakfast and then log this dive.
Dive 12: Kuralhi Dandu, Meemu
Time: 11.01
Viz: +/- (6 to 7 meter and pretty greenish)
Depth: 15 meters
Dive time: 66 minutes
We sail along idyllic, tropical islands to the second dive site, the most southern of this trip, called Kuralhi Kandu. It is a shallow channel with a sandy bottom and 2 manta cleaning stations. And we’re lucky. A) The mantas are present. B) We are the only ones. C) Visibility is better than last week. After a few minutes the 3 mantas disappear and we go have a look at the nice speckled tube eels and the combination shrimp and dart fish. We swim up and down a bit past a lot of Nemo’s and a beautiful flatworm. When we get back to the cleaning station, the mantas have returned. More divers, from at least 2 boats, are now enjoying the spectacle. We stay until 58min. When we return to the dhoni another huge manta passes underneath us. What a (birthday) gift.
Lunch is served inside because outside is to windy and there are too many waves. Also the program is adjusted.
Dive 13: Hakuraa Thila, Meemu
Time: 15.11
Viz: +
Depth: 29,5 meters
Dive time: 62 minutes
Due to lack of time we will not do the 3rd dive at Happy Corner but at Hakuraa Thila, Meemu. Here the coral was almost dead but it is now recovering. We dive into the water and swim against the current to the split. No sharks, but we had heard this beforehand. We swim along the wall and look into empty niches. Current fades away. Large coral trees with 2 longnose hawkish. We lose Michael who was taking pictures. Thomas goes looking for him and we don’t see him again either. We decide to turn around and follow, but much more shallow and here the fun starts. Lots of Nemo’s, different kinds and different sizes. We also see the recovering coral between 5 and 10 m. A small shark passes above. We come across 2 very large schools of fish. A juvenile midnight snapper with very long fins and a juvenile black snapper. Then a small turtle emerges from the depths and on the reef (3m) we see an approximately 50cm small eagle ray. We do our safety stop in a huge cloud of bannerfish. Another 60 minutes and of course the last ones out of the water.
We sail back along the same beautiful islands and are again too late to visit the island. When we anchor at the inhabited island we see a group of about 10 dolphins. A little later we see 2 more groups and they all come together. They are doing a lot of jumping, twisting and somersaults, all against a setting red sun. There are at least 100 spinner dolphins and they swim 245 degrees around us. Michael is recording the scene with his DJI Mavick until a group of crows start chasing his drone. The birds even come out to the boat and only when the drone has landed they fly back to the island. Then the sun has also set. At 7 pm we eat inside because outside everything is wet due to wind and waves. After dinner the light goes out and a heart cake with 3 candles is brought in with my name on it. The crew is singing my name and happy birthday. Very cute. The side of the cake is bright pink but it tastes great with white cream and chocolate cake. Time to log the dives and make backups. Michael has beautiful recordings of the dolphins. What a great birthday again. A large lamp burns on the stern. A whale shark popped up here last week.
Friday 16th of February 2018 TOPPER
Emperor Atoll, Maldives
3 dives:
1) Happy Corner
2) Rakeedhoo Kandoo
3) Hiyaru Kandoo
First again at 5.20 am. At 5.40 am the boat starts sailing because we still have to go quite a bit.
Dive 14: Happy Corner
Time: 6.56
Viz: +
Depth: 30.8 meters
Dive time: 57 minutes
Our 1st dive is at Happy Corner but we have no luck with the current, it’s next to none. We are dropped outside and swim to the wall. The doctor fish are diving again on to the air bubbles. We still see some sharks. 10 little grey ones, then at least 4 large greys and 3 whitetips. They keep swimming up and down. Some tunas of which one extra-large. We hang around and are the last to go to the corner. Here are some schools of fish, yellow fusilier fish and brown snappers. Nemo’s. In the channel, along the wall (left shoulder) we see 2 frolicking Picasso trigger fish and 2 angelfish.
Breakfast and off we go. On the advice of Thomas I take a pill and lie on the sun deck in a beanbag. The boat is rocking and rolling, but I’m fine and when I wake up we’re back at Raakeedhoo Kandu. The Sheena, our next liveaboard, is also here. Thomas worked for Werner Lau for a long time and also on the Sheena. I ask if we can already transfer a bag of luggage, extra wetsuits, long pants and sweaters, etc and that is ok. Saves us weight and carrying luggage on the transfer waterplane and give Thomas an excuse to visit his old mates. He’s back at 11 am sharp for the briefing. But it is short because we are diving here for the 2nd time.
Dive 15: Rakeedhoo Kandoo
Time: 11.20
Viz: +
Depth: 32,2 meters
Dive time: 60 minutes
We dive along the wall to the corner. The split has several floors with niches. The niches sometimes contain soft white and yellow coral trees. The Humphead wrasse/Napoleon couple immediately comes to check us out. An eagle ray also swims by. According to Gerard, all sharks were down over the 30+ meter ledge. I only see a whitetip followed by a lot of fish. There is a lot of fish on the split. We are the last to hang around again and suddenly feel the current increase enormously. The water is getting colder and the temperature also drops 1 degree to 28C. All fish, including the big Humphead, swim with their heads in the current. Then the current disappears and all fish change their behaviour completely by swimming in every direction. We float along the reef and see a single nemo. At 5 meters are some table corals. We do our safety stop with reef hook on the reef and next swim into the blue to be picked up by the dhoni.
We have lunch inside because the whole front is again soaked. Then hang in a beanbag on the sun deck. First I look at the amazing atolls we pass, but when all I see is water, I take another power nap. I wake up because I am cold and we are at the next island. Here Martina worked and we also did the night dive here.
Dive 16: Hiyaru Kandoo
Time: 15.21
Viz: +
Depth: 29,3 meters
Dive time: 61 minutes
We are going to dive Hiyaru Kandu again and now there is current. It is very busy with boats. We swim along the wall (right shoulder). The channel opening is already occupied, so we hook into the wall. Next to us a fish is being cleaned. In front of us is the stage with lots of sharks and they are very active to almost neurotic. Shoot in all directions just like the fish. A few even get in between Gerard and Michael. The latter is shocked. A tuna is also hunting. There is a stone with a hole and occasionally a small octopus sticks out its head out of the hole. Bad timing with all the sharks swimming by, he must be thinking and therefore quickly hides again. When everyone has left, the sharks come again very close. But we too need to leave and fly into the channel along the wall, past 3 large groupers. Lots of rainbow runners swim towards us in a long line. We see several schools of fish, yellow fusilier fish, brown snappers and silver ones. We film a beautiful pink trigger fish and while doing our safety stop we see a beautiful little turtle swimming down. All sand at the bottom.
A fresh carrot cake is awaiting us on the ‘big’ boat. We immediately continue sailing and then it starts to rain. The plastic shutters must be closed. We arrive at Fulidhoo Island and are allowed to go on land. We were not actually planning to, but everyone is going. So we also jump in the small boat. It is now dry. We walk around the island. 2 streets. A hotel with a diving school and a coffee shop. See a fruit bat. Again, plastics and waste everywhere. 3 mosquito bites. Wait on the beach until we are brought back to the Atoll. On board they worked all day on a feast. A whole fish went into the oven this morning at 8 am. The buffet includes this fish, baked potatoes, shrimp, lamb, chicken, spaghetti Bolognese, vegetable rice, carrot and green beans, lettuce, tomato with cheese, spicy cashew nuts and flan with fresh mango. It is a quiet evening, but hence it is a quiet group. Yves the biologist from Switzerland, friend of Laure and Davis who now live in the Netherlands. Father Frank and his 22-year-old daughter Emelie. Michael who has just moved to China from Egypt and teaches at an international school. Thomas the dive guide from Belgium who worked for Werner Lau for a long time and 36-year-old Italian Martina who dislikes Italian guests. Tomorrow we’ll do the last dive. This week passed way too quickly and I’m glad we booked another boat.
Saturday 17th of February 2018 TOPPER
Emperor Atoll, Maldives
The alarm sounds at 5:20 am. Gerard wants to know how the bed feels when the boat is sailing. I get out as soon as the engine starts at 5.30 am. When the sun comes out from behind the clouds, it is beautiful red.
Dive 17: Guraidhoo Corner, South Male
Time: 8.44
Viz: +
Depth: 31,2 meters
Dive time: 61 minutes
At 8 am we are at Guraidhoo Island where we will make our last dive on the corner. The current is moderate and we jump reef left shoulder. At 20m a brown moray eel with cleaner shrimps lies in a hole. On top of the reef a small shark patrols and an eagle ray swims past followed by a female Humphead/Napoleon wrasse. We get to the corner and hook. We see a grey and a whitetip shark. Mr. Napoleon is also coming to have a look. A marble ray swims right in front of us. We see more sharks. Whitetips and small greys. To the left of the split hangs a group of grey Trevally’s. When everyone is gone, all the big boys come and say hello. An eagle ray, the Napoleon males, 4 big grey sharks at the same time and 3 whitetips. In front of us a cloud of fish. The doctor fish behind us are looking for bubbles. The last minutes we swim into the blue because current is gone. We see some more grey reef sharks. Above us 2 turtles swim to the surface. We back up into the channel. There are 2 whitetips on the bottom and a 3rd arrives. We swim further towards the wall and spend some time with a black puffer with white dots. Ahead 2 large and 1 small porcupine fish. Then a bright yellow puffer and 3 black with white dots, a yellow and blue and white dotted boxfish, Nemo’s and a turtle that I can swim next to quietly. Before our safety stop we kick away from the wall and end up in the middle of a large school of eating blue fusiliers. I see another 4th turtle dive down. Then the 17th and last dive with the Emperor Atoll is also finished. We can leave all our stuff behind because everything is washed by the crew and Thomas in the Dettol.
Breakfast is ready. I get my daily cup of thin, sour yogurt and add papaya with lime. Let’s go crazy and have a roti with curry potatoes and a roti with a coconut, onion, tomato mixture. The original version contains tuna, but I opt for the vegetarian. Thomas is talking about guest forms and the tip jar. On this boat there is only 1 and everything is shared. We sail back to Malé again. The scenery is amazing, reefs and paradise islands. When it’s just water I go inside where everyone is sitting behind lab tops, exchanging photos, movies, addresses, writing logs, stamping logs, etc.
Lunch is tuna (caught yesterday evening), chicken, carrot and green beans, 2 kinds of lettuce, potato in curry and pineapple. We sail the last part along the Malé skyline. Water taxis come and go. We see an international flight landing. A few huge private ships are anchored. We sail past the submarine for tourists again. A seaplane takes off every minute unless an international plane departs, then the interval is 3 minutes. We enter the harbour which is full of safari boats of all shapes and sizes. Gerard is annoyed by all the plastic that floats around. We get the opportunity to go ashore. We decline and stay on the boat. Michael also stays because he has 2 whole days in this shithole due to an inaccurate planning. The men are going to work on a video of the trip to show on the big TV tonight. I’m going to reorganize and pack. I fill in the survey form but have nothing to complain or improve. We also have a gratuities envelope. 150 USD pp is recommended. I think it is a bit pricey because the Dutch travel agency advised 45 euros pp. But hey, service was great!
Lots of strangers come on board. Thomas goes to his Maldivian girlfriend for the night. It’s a weird atmosphere. We eat on the front deck despite the wet seating. We watch Gerard’s movie on TV. Because there is nothing else to be done (some might have a little party on their last night, but not this boat) we go to bed early.
Sunday 18th of February 2018
Emperor Atoll, Male, Maldives
5.20 am rise and shine. Coffee, tea, bags in the hall and breakfast. Weird atmosphere. Martina wants us off the boat as soon as possible. Michael says check-out times are 7am and 9am, but she insists on 7am. When I later check my papers it also says 7 or 9 o’clock. Eventually Michael takes the small boat to the shore and we take the dhoni to the airport.