SHEENA Trip report

MALDIVES TRIP REPORT Sheena (Deep South) 

18th of February – 4th of March 2018

18^th of February – 4^th of March 2018 Sheena (Deep South)

4^th – 5^th of March 2018 Bandos Island

TRIP REPORT

18^th of February – 4^th of March 2018

Sheena (Deep South)

Sunday 18th of February 2018

At 7.00 the dhoni of the Emperor Atoll (see Trip Report Sharktastic 12^th – 18^th of February 2018) drops us of at the International Airport of Malé. First we drop our bags at the triple AAA lounge. We ask if we can get an earlier flight but the answer simply is NO. It’s 7.15 and our flight is scheduled sometime late afternoon. I had hoped (expected) an early flight so we could wait at Filitheyo Island, check out the luxury resort and try out the pool, before boarding the Sheena for the 14 days Deep South Tour.

We check at the duty free shop which underwater cameras they have for sale because the yellow  Nikon Coolpix W300 has died and we still have 2 weeks (= 38 dives) ahead of us. Next coffee shop, nice place by the window to read camera reviews. The Sealife d2000 does not come out on top, but is 1 of the 3 available models. We get it, thank God for plastic and wait in the air-conditioning in the triple AAA lounge until we’re send to the domestic airport. Maybe I can arrange an earlier flight here. But first, our luggage must be weighed. For the waterplane we have less allowance as on the international flight. I have out my credit card already but no charge. Hey? We did already drop of a big bag at the Sheena of course. We receive a ticket and leave for terminal C at the domestic airport. Here too I ask at the desk for an earlier flight, especially when it turns out that our departure time is at 2.30 pm. It is now noon. We sit next to the jetty in the kerosene fumes. I put in my earplugs against the noise of running engines. We received a coupon for 1 meal and 1 drink per person because we have to wait so long. I’m called on the speakers and think I will get an earlier flight but no. The hotel wants to know if I’m familiar with a fellow passenger. Nope. Lunch at the buffet. Options are tuna spaghetti, chicken sandwich, roti/chapati with coconut, tuna and pepper. Then I’m called again and we get assigned a flight 1 hour earlier, boarding in 15 minutes. 1 bag cannot be taken along, it will come later. We go to the plane and board. Our first time in a waterplane. I’m excited. We have window seats. Take-off and landing are somewhat different. The flight is only 30 minutes. Atolls from above are amazing but many times we’re in the clouds. Viz is limited. I had higher expectations after reading on internet: ‘Getting to Filitheyo Island allows you to experience a beautiful seaplane journey from Malé Town with stunning views over the Maldives’. When we land we get off on a floating jetty in the middle of an atoll. That is super cool. We do not go to Filitheyo Island but are immediately dropped at the Sheena by the dhoni.

The Sheena is a 24m long vessel, operated by the Werner Lau outfit. It has a maximum of only 14 divers and with 10-12 crew members, including captain Harish offers excellent service. The 7 cabins all have A/C and are en-suite. 5 Rooms (including ours) are on the lower deck. Our room is pretty much the same as on the Emperor Atoll (small, 2 bunk beds, lots of wood) but this bathroom is slightly more spacious. Shower is (also) warm. Diving is done from a dhoni.

It’s the small number of pax, the route to the more distant southern atolls (such as Faafu, Meemu, Laamu, Thaa and crossing the equator to Gaafu Alifu Atoll) and above all the promise of challenging and pioneering diving that made me chose this trip.

On the Sheena we start with paperwork too. We cannot do the diving equipment yet because 1 bag is missing. For that the crew later have to sail twice to Filitheyo because they forget it the 1st time.

We see our fellow travellers and except for Austrian father Peter and daughter Lena age 22 years, everyone is ‘old’. Gerard calls it a senior citizen boat (aka de Zonnebloem). And this trip was advertised as ‘go where other liveaboards stop’ so hard core diving is suggested.

After the paperwork we get lunch. Shame about the rosemary used. But then again I just downed an airport lunch. Following it’s time for dinner. We all sit around a big table on the stern of the boat, open air dining with view of the ocean. The view is much more appealing than the food is. I don’t like dinner either, rosemary again. I don’t want to whine but i.m.h.o. I have concluded yet already that I liked the food on the Emperor Atoll much better. It was also more relaxed with all the dishes set on the table while everything is passed on here due to lack of space.

When the bag arrives, just before sunset, we prepare the diving gear and I tidy up the room. We chat a bit with the crew and they now link to Thomas dive guide on the Emperor Atoll (see Trip Report Sharktastic 12^th – 18^th of February 2018). They’ve been colleagues for many years.

After dinner, the entire crew appears in yellow t-shirts, expressing their political favour. (On the 5^th of February 2018, the government of the Maldives declared a 15-day state of emergency in the Indian Ocean island nation because of the growing political tension. There were some riots in the capital Malé. That’s why going into town was no option and why we had to wait on the airport today for 7 hours).

Maldivian dive guide Ali introduces everyone, after which there is a clapping. This ritual is new to us. The dive planning must be adjusted because 1 person has missed the connecting flight due to heavy snowfall in Germany. His buddy is not going to dive tomorrow.

Monday 19th of February 2018

Faafu Atoll, next to Filitheyo, Maldives

3,5 dives:

1. Check Dive at Dolphin Reef, Faafu Atoll
2. Barracuda Kandu, Faafu Atoll (wrong drop)
3. Barracuda Kandu, Faafu Atoll
4. Little Channel South, Faafu Atoll, WASHING MACHINE

After a reasonable night’s sleep the alarm goes off at 5.20 am. Except for little dive guide Ali and the cook everyone is still asleep and in the dark we try to make coffee and tea. The milk is in the fridge under lock and key. Gerard is not amused. I also have to get used to the new situation and I feel that everything was better organized on the Emperor Atoll. Marco is next at the table and it looks like he didn’t sleep well. The other German looks just as bad. Slowly they all appear. Only the crew, we and young Lena are happy. I ask for an as-large-as-possible tea cup and eventually get a beer glass. Works perfect for me. Briefing at 6.15 am. Ali gives a lot of unnecessary information that I forget a.s.a.p. The assistance on the dhoni is very good, although I slip when jumping into the water. Gerard ditto, he also crashes in the water. It turns out there’s an annoying ledge at the dhoni exit that you cannot stand on with your fins but must step over.

Dive 1:  Check dive on Dolphin Reef, Faafu Atoll

Time: 7.13

Viz: +/- (20 – 10m)

Water temp: 28/29C

Depth: 27,2 meters

Dive time: 62 minutes

We swim a bit against the current before we turn around and float along the wall. Visibility is ok, 20 meters. Then we come to a flatter area with a lot of green coral trees and sweetlips. A whitetip is swimming below. We hook and hang for a while. Above a huge school of fish, brown and yellow snappers. Because there is nothing going on at our level or below we go up and have a look at the fishes. We move on and visibility drops fast to 10 meters. We see a lot of Nemo’s together, 3 Picasso triggerfish and 1 huge titan trigger but it hides under a rock. A large wart slug and a lobster. Gerard has some trouble with his safety stop because the new camera has positive buoyancy. We are the last to get out of the water.

Breakfast on the Sheena. No yogurt (guess my pre-order did not come through) but there is fresh fruit. It is not really cosy at the table. The ambiance lacks ‘gemütlichkeit’. After breakfast the best place to sit and write is in the shade on the top sun deck.

Soon it is already time for the next briefing. We go to Barracuda Kandu. It turns out to be a 20 minute boat ride with the dhoni. 10 dolphins accompany us along the way. Gerard and I lie flat on the bow and see 2 large and 1 small dolphin swimming in front of the boat.

Dive 2A: Barracuda Kandu, Faafu Atoll (wrong drop)

Time: 11.29

Viz: – (15 – 7m)

Water temp: 28C

Depth: 34,5 meters

Dive time: 15 minutes

We arrive at the destination and jump. We are being dropped all wrong. Indian dive guide Vad calls us towards him but he is at 34 meters and the bottom is at least 15 meters further down. We abord the dive and go out. The group with dive guide Ali also surfaces.

Dive 2B: Barracuda Kandu, Faafu Atoll

Time: 12.01

Viz: – (10 – 7m)

Water temp: 28C

Depth: 20,2 meters

Dive time: 53 minutes

We are dropped again but 2 from our 4 pax group decline. Now we end up at the reef. Initially there is nothing interesting. Visibility is also bad. Vad is mainly working on his equipment so we follow Ali. He finds 2 sleeping baby whitetips under a table coral. 1 is startled and swims away. Then we see a turtle demolishing a coral. Several schools of fish. We do our safety stop above a field of Nemo’s. All in all it turned out to be a nice dive. We return back late, 1.30 pm.

Lunch is ready but I think it’s mediocre. I totally dislike rosemary and the cook loves to use this urb. How to make lettuce inedible is a mystery to me, I’m not having any. No problem, I could do with eating less. The dessert cake is ok. Cheesecake-ish. We have an hour until the next briefing. Most of the other guest go to lie down resulting in a long wait before everybody is present (awake) at the 3 pm briefing.

Dive 3: Little Channel South, Faafu Atoll, WASHING MACHINE

Time: 16.02

Viz: – (12 – 10m)

Water temp: 28C

Depth: 23,2 meters

Dive time: 53 minutes

To the next dive site we have to sail for another 20 minutes with the dhoni. We’re just 5 minutes on our way when we notice ‘Sean Connery’ is missing. Turns out he was late and missed departure!

We jump into the blue and swim to the reef, left shoulder. Medium current we were told. We float along the reef and go faster and faster. I’m the 1st to shoot away. First down so I pump air into my BCD and kick up. Then I shoot up and have to dump air like crazy and kick down. I manage to hook for a moment of rest. Gerard pops up right next to me. Together we hang in fierce current between beautiful soft corals. A whitetip shark swims by not bothered by any current. After a few minutes the others also arrive. We all hang on the reef. When the current diminishes, Gerard and I want to hook up a few meters further. That does not work flawlessly, we pull a whole boulder loose (oops, sorry for that) and have to look for a new hook-up place. I miss gloves! We were told gloves are not allowed in the Maldives, but the entire boat is wearing them. After a long time we finally arrive in calm water. Visibility is poor and there is little of interest to see. We do our safety stop hovering over some Nemo’s. I only have 60 bar left and have not been below 25m. Gerard has 30bar. He loved the washing machine! I would have preferred mantas.

Back on the Sheena dinner is served. The mixed vegetables and chickpeas are great, but I don’t touch the fish, mussel or lamb. So that will be dieting. For dessert fresh fruit and vanilla ice cream. I’m going to write for a while. We don’t (never) fancy sitting inside and weather is a bit off so we go to bed early.

Tuesday 20th of February 2018 TOP

Sheena, Faafu Atoll, Maldives

3 dives:

1. Filitheyo Outside, Faafu: Search & Rescue
2. Western Highlight, Meemu: Golden Leave fish, school of fish, coral, 2 turtles
3. Happy Corner, Meemu: sharks, 2 eagle rays, school of fish, 2 turtles, lost fin and attack by titan trigger fish

We get up at 5.20 am and drink coffee and tea. One crew member is fishing and caught 2 jacks.

Dive 4: Filitheyo Outside, Faafu, Search & Rescue

Time: 7.00

Viz: +/-

Depth: 31,1 meters

Dive time: 59 minutes

Briefing at 6 am. The dive site is not far away, Filitheyo South, next to the expensive island resort. For 3 it will be a check dive. The delayed German has arrived and the 2 oldies (75+) are added to our group. They have been diving longer than we have, that’s for sure, but we doubt their physical condition is up for this very challenging and exhausting trip. ‘Sean Connery’ aka Bernd is now also part of our team. He’s 66 and dives since 1978. The other couple in our team, age 70+, is also very experienced. So we have 2 groups of 7. Everybody but 1 (German) women dives nitrox.

We jump 1st. Dark with blue dots all around us. I see Ved sprinting and think whoopee, shark. But no, it is a weight pocket that is tumbling down. Ved catches it. Turns out to belong to one of the old men. We swim along the wall, right shoulder. Visibility is again moderate. Napoleon male, whitetip, lots of green coral trees. The 2 groups come together and everyone hooks up. Strong current now and I am very happy with the glove I could borrow from Ved. Marble ray. Thermocline visible in the water, 2 degrees difference. Brrr. We rise higher and the current becomes less. Some fish, a female Napoleon and a pregnant white tip. Ved has disappeared and later we hear that one of the oldies was low on air. Than the other oldie loses a fin and also runs out of air. Ved goes crazy, searches and finds the lost fin and brings up 2 divers, both low on air, using his regulators. Gerard sees it all happening. We hop onto team Ali who finds 3 sleeping baby whitetips under a rock and under another rock a nice big nurse shark. We have already lost a lot of divers. Mop signals 3 and I think he wants to do his 3 minute safety stop now that I’m just having fun with the sharks. But he meant 30 bar and comes up with 0 for the first time in his life. Not one more gulp. Must inflate his BCD by mouth. WCPGW (What Can Possibly Go Wrong).

I thank Ved multiple times for lending me his right glove. After a very stressful dive he can use some cheering up. Note to self: always bring gloves with you, even if it says that you are not allowed to dive with gloves. Almost everyone wears gloves on the Sheena. That was not allowed on the Emperor Atoll.

Breakfast on the Sheena and then we leave for the bumpy crossing to Meemu Atoll at a rate of 15km an hour. Pff, so far I’m not a fan of Faafu. We were supposed to do the mantas at Meemu this afternoon, but I believe that has been cancelled as well. Later we find out we lingered around Filitheyo  because we had to wait for the missing passenger, while he could also have hopped on board on another island along our route.

Dive 5: Western Highlight, Meemu

Time: 12.01

Viz: – (10m)

Water temp: 27/28C

Depth: 23,4 meters

Dive time: 68 minutes

We arrive at Meemu with a delay of 20 minutes. We dive 2nd group. First we see an eagle ray, then a cloud of fusiliers hunted by in turn 2,1,3 large tunas. We come across a beautiful field of corals with clouds of fish among which blue-green damselfish and orange fairy basslets. Lots of large and blooming tree corals. Lots of feather stars. A huge school of trevallies. We see many Nemo’s varying from big to a few tiny ones, 2 small porcelain crabs in an anemone, 2 wart slugs and a hidden octopus. Gerard sees a whitetip that I miss because I’m too busy finding Nemo. To top it all we find a beautiful green-yellow leaf fish. The first we ever found ourselves.

Lunch is already waiting for us. Fortunately it is all not my taste. Grilled chicken with rosemary. Thank goodness there are many vegetables. My second diet day. (Since the start of our AfriTour 4.0 I’ve lost 10kg. I’m very happy about this and very keen to not gain weight again).

Dive 6: Happy Corner, Meemu

Time: 12.01

Viz: – /- (10m)

Depth: 34,4 meters

Dive time: 42 minutes

We continue sailing for the 3rd dive, which we will make at Happy Corner aka Lucky Reef. We dove here with the Emperor Atoll too. Speaking of the Emperor Atoll, there it is. We wave.

We’re the first to jump and I’m struggling to get down. I swim after Ved and we almost crash into 2 grey reef sharks. Then I see the edge getting closer. We immediately hook on the ledge, Gerard is right beside me. We only have 16 minutes at this 33m depth. We see some grey reef sharks and some whitetips. Some come close. There are also sharks at the back, but visibility is poor and you cannot see far. The current is strong. 2 eagle rays hang above us. When our no deco time hits 0 we unhook and swim across the bottom towards the big school of trevallies. It turns out to be mega and continues many meters to the back. First trevallies, later barracudas. Then we hit the channel and there is no stopping it. We swim towards the wall and hold and slowly climb. Then we also see Ved and ‘Sean Connery’ coming. Bernd has lost his fin and Ved is going crazy because this is already the 2nd today. We see 1 turtle on top and 1 on the bottom. In the boat we hear that Bernd has also been attacked by a titan trigger fish. He has a bleeding hole in his foot when he takes off his booty. The good news is that the dhoni skipper found the fin when it surfaced.

We sail on to the island where we anchored on my birthday (see Trip Report Sharktastic 12^th – 18^th of February 2018). Again a lot of wind but no dolphins. We kindly decline the island visit. We stay on the top deck and chat with father Peter and daughter Lena until it is time to eat again. Rosemary on top of the baked potatoes. I make it thru another day of diet without any trouble thanks to the rosemary, fish (this morning’s jacks), lamb and the fruit that is neither ripe yet nor properly cleaned. The 10 remoras behind the boat are happy with it. Log dives and backup photos after dinner. 9.30pm to bed. They are fishing again on the stern and are pulling out tuna.

Wednesday 21st of February 2018 TOPPER

Sheena, Dhiggaru Island, Maldives

3 dives:

1. Whitetip Station, Meemu ; Grey, baby grey, whitetip, 2 marble rays, school of eagle rays, 1 eagle ray, large tuna, 2 oceanic trigger

2. Mantas & More (Devana Kandu), Meemu ; 10 eagle rays, grey and whitetip, turtle, 2 males and 1 female napoleon, 1 large barracuda, ini-mini stonefish

3. Valley of the Rays, Meemu ; 5 mantas, marble ray, eagle ray, napoleon, brown moray eel, lion fish

We are 1st to rise and shine again. It is dark and behind the boat, where the light shines, there is a lot of hunting going on. The remoras are still there too.

Dive 7: Whitetip Station, Meemu

Time: 7.12

Viz: +/- (15 – 10m)

Water temp: 28/29C

Depth: 32,8 meters

Dive time: 49 minutes

We jump as 2nd group. Little current so we can swim across the channel from right to left, in the blue, about 10m before the channel edge. You can see all the overhangs below very well, with the fluorescent soft corals. There is 1 marble ray at the overhangs. The other is in the channel. We see a huge tuna, grey reef sharks and later the whitetips. The baby greys will come at some point too. I am much more in the blue because I hope the school eagle rays will come along again. They do at the back so I don’t see them. Later a lone eagle ray passes by up close. Gerard stays high and more in the channel and says all the sharks were patrolling behind him more in the channel. 3 white tips swim on the bottom with 2 large groupers. I’m sure we dived this spot with the Emperor Atoll but they called it different (Muli Corner).

When we almost reach the Sheena, the 100 dolphins are back. Some of them are jumping somersaults and screws and about 20 are swimming in the bow waves. They come to the surface and you can almost touch them. The dhoni captain sails an extra round.

Then breakfast with jumping dolphins in the background. Lots of fruit and only 1 slice of bread with very little cheese. Diet day 3 starts of well.

We sail to Muli Island. According to Ali, the first hostel in the Maldives will soon be opening here. One of the reasons being you can surf at the back side of the island. We anchor in a shipping channel.

Dive 8: Mantas & More (Devana Kandu), Meemu

Time: 11.02

Viz: + (20 – 30m)

Water temp: 28/29C

Depth: 30,2 meters

Dive time: 48 minutes

We get a briefing for Mantas & More where we should especially not count on mantas because it is not the season. We jump first, almost on top of a group of eagle rays. Visibility is good at last. 20+ meter. We swim wall left shoulder. Little current, but incoming. First we stay in the blue. Next we hook up behind the crack in the earth and realise we’ve also dived here with the Emperor Atoll. There is a small stonefish next to my hook. Left, right, sharks everywhere. Ved signals to show a beautiful turtle in the niche. When it swims upwards to breath it almost collides with 10 eagle rays. They are back too. A large, solitary barracuda is swimming on the left. Sharks still everywhere. We level up as slow as possible to extent our bottom time, eventually have to let go. We float through the channel and we see a large Napoleon swimming and a second one at the bottom. A bit further a female. We eat fresh coconut on the dhoni and lunch is ready when we arrive on the Sheena. This one is better as I remove all the rosemary from the steak and the baked potatoes. Mixed vegetables, rice and yellow vegetable curry. Chocolate cake for dessert.

We continue to Manta Point and encounter the Emperor Atoll again. They also dived with the mantas and later we hear from the captain that they saw 3. We sail along the 3 idyllic islands that I have already photographed twice before. Now it is cloudy and very hazy, so no pictures. As we sail past the largest uninhabited island, Mop sees a dolphin leaping out of the water. I also see the next 2 screw jumps. No other dolphins. We sail along the island with the crane and then it is time for the briefing for Valley of the Ray.

Dive 9: Valley of the Rays, Meemu

Time: 15.01

Viz: – (6m)

Depth: 15,7 meters

Dive time: 80 minutes

When we sail to the dive site with the dhoni, a second dhoni arrives. Now they are suddenly in a hurry because whoever is in the water first has the best spot. We win, but Ved swims in the wrong direction so we’re still last to arrive at the show and on closer inspection are at the back of the block. 1 manta is already hanging above the rock and 4 more arrive soon. They come and go. Sometimes they fly right over us. In front of us is a brown moray eel and behind us is a lionfish that luckily also gets some attention.

When the mantas are gone, a marble ray swims over the block, but the mantas soon return. An eagle ray swims by. Visibility is limited, again approximately 6m. When the large group leaves, some divers are held by the guides by their tank to steady them. O my, these (Asian) people lack basic diving skills. Pretty irresponsible i.m.h.o.

A large Napoleon male swims by. We swim around the block to the front. Now we clearly see that when the manta arrives, all the fish swim to its belly. After 60 minutes our group gets ready to leave, but I stubbornly remain with 130 bar and the mantas that just keep coming. The older couple in our group has swum up and is now hanging above the block. Oops, this is what you should absolutely not do! The mantas will think their cleaning station is occupied and they will leave. We were told this in the briefing, but the problem is, most of the group does not understand English. All effort Ali puts in his briefing is thus largely waisted.

But when we finally go up we have a manta at eye level. After 80 minutes I’m quite cold but it was worth it. Our own manta cleaning station!

Time for a hot shower and a cup of tea on the Sheena. The group is all seated in the front of the boat, but we preferer the sun at the back together with the 2 dive guides. More and more people are coming that way. Some really don’t speak any English.

Ved indicates that diving around Filitheyo is always shit (viz not that good, unpredictable/heavy current, fewer ocean live encounters) and that they would have preferred to leave immediately to start the tour, but were forced to wait the arrival of the last guest (who could have joined at another island).

Today was a good diving day and the food is ok again. Pommes gratinee, pumpkin, grilled chicken without rosemary. All rosemary went into the  zucchini and aubergine so that goes into the water after the first bite. It’s super convenient when you sit at the stern of the boat. Nasi, fried fresh tuna (caught last night). Dessert is pistachio ice cream with fresh fruit. I’m going to log dives and Gerard is going to back up all of today’s photos. Must be many because I emptied my camera battery.

Thursday 22nd of February 2018 TOPPER

Sheena, Meemu Atoll, Maldives

3 dives:

1. Valley of the Rays, Meemu Atoll ; Mantas, eagle ray, marble ray
2.  Beauty and the Beast, Thaa Atoll ; Grey and whitetip sharks, turtle, big tunas
3.  Beauty and the Beast, Thaa Atoll ; Dolphins on the way to dive site, lots of sharks, big tunas, Napoleon, huge school of barracudas, 10 baby sharks

2x whale shark

Hunting dolphins (at night)

Dive 10: Valley of the Rays, Meemu Atoll

Time: 7.04

Viz: – (6 – 3m)

Depth: 14,6 meters

Dive time: 65 minutes

Up at 5.20 am. Cloudy again but then a beautiful red sun rises above the clouds and we sail to Valley of the Rays. We are the only ones because the other boat (Adora) has breakfast first. No wind. A manta is already swimming on the surface. We all jump at the same time in good spirits. Visibility is worse compared to yesterday and we have to swim a bit before we get to the rock. We see an eagle ray and we swim right over a nice porcupine pufferfish. It is quiet at the rock and it takes a while for the first manta to arrive. Later there will be 2. Fewer and far in between. Meanwhile, Gerard makes videos of the garden eels and the shrimp – goby combis that are everywhere. Bernd is sprawled out in the coral. He is bored. The mantas are top but visibility is very poor and gets worse as the current increases. After 45 minutes we hear a dhoni above us that keeps manoeuvring. It’s a terrible noise and super annoying. No self-respecting manta will linger. After 10 minutes the divers come down right on top of the block. Thank you Adora! Our dive is over, just as the little manta returns. Visibility is very bad. We go for a swim and see a marble ray on the bottom. As soon as we’re back on the Sheena it will start sailing because from Meemu atoll we now go on to Thaa atoll.

My breakfast consists of fruit again and I have a roti/chapati with a little cheese. Our cook Laurens bakes the roti fresh every morning and it stinks like hell. But respect, he’s up working every morning when we rise. Because we’ve seen manta it still is a great dive so I celebrate by eating a toast with Nutella. Amin, the waiter shows. They made me some yoghurt but it is not edible really even though it’s sweet.

During the crossing between the 2 atolls we have little wind but we do suffer from swells. When we arrive at Thaa atoll we sail along 2 beautiful islands and a huge reef. Here we go diving at Beauty and the Beast and No Name reef.

Dive 11: Beauty and the Beast, Thaa Atoll

Time: 11.10

Viz: +

Depth: 31,1 meters

Dive time: 59 minutes

We jump 2nd group. Little current so we keep swimming in the blue below the channel edge. Small turtle on the wall, right shoulder. Huge tunas swim by. Large and small grey sharks and whitetips. The wall here has large niches. We stay with the school of fish in blue.

Ved thinks he has seen a tiger shark and that plays a role in the choice of the next dive site. The smaller No Name reef can’t compete with more sharks. So we will make the 3rd dive again at Beauty and the Beast.

Dive 12: Beauty and the Beast, Thaa Atoll

Time: 15.01

Viz: +

Depth: 33,1 meters

Dive time: 46 minutes

Dolphins when we sail to the dive site. We see the current swirl on the surface. The dive plan is the same as the previous dive, only more in to the blue and even faster down because the current is now medium to strong. We swim down fast when we hear Ved cursing and see him shoot up and pull old Herbert out of the channel. Afterwards we hear that he could only accomplish this because of his mega fins. We keep swimming because Ali is there with his group. We hook in the middle of the channel. The current is ripping. Ali’s mask keeps filling up and he signs off. Marco is glued to the steep wall below us. His buddy Stephanie is next to me and I get her bubbles in my pictures. But both are not really comfortable and leave pretty quickly. We stay until the max, which is a long time because we are only hanging at 25 meters. Current still fierce. A Napoleon comes swimming right in front of Gerard. I have to shout because Gerard only has eyes for the sharks. We unhook last and fly through the channel. We see 1 swimming whitetip and then another one and one more and then suddenly there are 5 whitetips on the channel bottom. To the left a huge school of barracudas also on the bottom, a long string of fish. At least 10 baby greys on the right.

On the Sheena, a large lamp is now hanging on the stern to attract the plankton and thus the whale sharks. After dinner I sit down and yes. I know those dots. At 8 pm there is a big boy behind the boat. I quickly get my mask, booties and fins from the dhoni and sit on the back deck looking at the whale shark’s mouth. I have to wait a while before sliding into the water otherwise I’ll land on top of its head. But when I gently slide in, the whale shark dives and is gone. After an hour suddenly the whale shark appears again. Now however, he is gone even faster. Everybody goes to bed except Marco, me and some crew members. At 11 pm Marco drops out. I see a small 20cm long sea snake, black and white striped. Dolphins start hunting flying fishes. There is a small moon lighting the spectacle. At 11.30 pm we hear noise from the neighbours, the Princess Rana, and we suspect that the whale shark is visiting there now. Maybe after it’ll pass the Sheena again on its round. So I wait a little longer. 1 of the crew members is fishing because a lot of fish is going after the plankton.

Friday 23rd of February 2018 MEGA TOPPER

Sheena, Thaa Atoll, Maldives

3 dives:

1) Dhiyamagili Kandu, Laamu ; Dolphins swim along with dhoni to dive site, Gerard 500^th Dive, 800m long crossing with many sharks

2) Jack Fish Channel, Laamu ; Huge school of up to 100 grey reef sharks

3) Sharks and Rays, Laamu ; Back and forth many dolphins and 75 dolphins on scuba during safety stop.

I finally went to bed at 1.30 am. The whale shark never returned but the hunting dolphins were very spectacular. From 11.30 pm I was on the 1st deck and there you had a perfect view. The moon had already set before midnight, but the dolphins were clearly visible in the water. Biofluorescence works well. I saw 1 dolphin catching a flying fish 2m from the stern. A big dolphin with a small one along its side were also hunting. They swam very close to the boat and were shooting after flying fish. When the dolphins come up and breach, it sounds like emptying your snorkel. At 1.00 am I was just about to go to bed when a hear a bang. A flying fish landed on the roof of the dhoni. The fisherman throws the numbed fish into the water. A big dolphin immediately comes over, checks the fish and eats it.

The alarm goes at 5.20 am. The boat is started at 5.30 am. The lamp is off and disassembled. Tonight they will put it up again for a new attempt.

The sun rises over the island at 6:20 am but soon disappears behind a small cloud. The briefing is at 6.30 am because we are not yet complete at 6.15 am. It is a slow group on ‘de Zonnebloem’. Sick, weak and nauseous. We are going to swim an 800m wide channel. 3 do not feel like this and want to be dropped on the corner (will be a failed dive). Ali’s briefing lasts and he repeats everything 4x which is useless because most of the guests don’t understand English anyway.

On the way to the dive site dolphins are playing in the bow wave of the dhoni.

Dive 13: Dhiyamagili Kandu, Laamu

Time: 7.18

Viz: +/-  (15 – 10m)

Water temp: 26/27C

Depth: 36,2 meters

Dive time: 39 minutes

We jump in the blue. The water is cold!!! 26/27 degrees. Within 2 minutes we’re down at 28m. Have to swim and then see the wall. We pass it and have to kick even deeper and harder to avoid being sucked into the channal. At the wall and the bottom of the channel we see many sharks. Big and small, all grey. We are going pretty fast but underwater you have no idea of distance travelled. Visibility is 10 to 15m. It’s hard to see anything in the blue or down. The channel bottom starts to become shallower and Gerard hooks. I follow, but we’re only 5 minutes from deco. In front of us sharks, big, small and a very large one. Unfortunately we can’t see it’s head but Ved and Gerard think it might have been a Hammerhead. After all, it is Gerard’s 500th dive. Now it gets hectic. We ascend with 5 but lose 3 in the strong current. We see the wall looming and Gerard shoots his SMB. Next we spot 3 others including Ali and they try to swim away from the reef desperately. Oh yes, we were told during the briefing (4x) that we should avoid being pushed onto the shallow reef at all times and that is exactly where we are heading now. Kick! Gerard is kicking down so hard he just pulls his SMB down with him. With a minimum distance to the shallow reef we surface in a kind of washing machine. Fortunately, the dhoni is nearby and we are the next en route. Quickly out of the water and pick up the others. This was a fantastic but very strenuous dive just what we had booked this tour for.

Breakfast for me is a plate of fruit and 1 roti with some cheese. The mango has already vanished when we join at the big table at the stern. Waiter Amin gets us some from the kitchen. The atmosphere at the table often leaves much to be desired and the principle of first come, first served certainly applies. As a nature and animal lover I can live by natures rules, fight for your food and the strongest will survive 🙂 I just didn’t expect it to apply during the holiday.

We continue to the next dive site and that too is a bumpy ride. The next dive site Jack Fish Channel is a channel of yes 1200m wide! I wonder if we are going to cross that too. When we sail through it, the water swirls over a low edge. But when we go diving the current turns out to be next to none, slightly incoming and from left to right.

Dive 14: Jack Fish Channel, Laamu

Time: 11.09

Viz: +

Depth: 31,7 meters

Dive time: 56 minutes

We jump roughly in the middle of the channel and the plan is to swim back and forth in the blue at the height of the overhangs with enough distance to the channel that we don’t get sucked into it. We jump and sprint down. We swim along the wall, left shoulder but soon hook because we cannot make it swimming. We encounter current and it gets messy again. The old Herbert braces his fins against the coral and Bernd lies down with 1 leg to the left and 1 to the right of my reef-hook-line. But, we do see sharks. We crawl forward a few meters at the time. 2 male Napoleons come along. An eagle ray flies by. We hang around and then the biggest school of grey reef sharks I’ve ever seen passes by. It is amazing! Time to unhook and fly into the channel. Bernd in the lead and he also shoots his SMB and gets entangled in the line.

After lunch we continue sailing and it’s time for a ‘beauty’ nap. When I wake I see islands and 3 safari boats. The Emperor Leo and Princess Rana are doing the South Tour too. Tomorrow they will, like us, cross the One and a Half Degree Channel. This channel lies between Haddhunmathi Atoll and Huvadhu Atoll and it is one of the broadest channels between the atolls of Maldives.

We head to the 3rd dive site, Shark and Rays. A pod of approx. 100 dolphins swims in front of the boat.

Dive 15: Sharks and Rays, Laamu

Time: 15.13

Viz: + (20m)

Depth: 34,1 meters

Dive time: 56 minutes

We jump into the blue and pop down as fast as our ears allow. Instead of using the current we have to pedal into it. Reef left shoulder. Gerard soon gives up and hooks. We see grey reef sharks in the blue. Above us in the channel at least 5 whitetips that go crazy when Ved starts to squeeze the plastic water bottle. They come real close to check. We also see 2 large barracudas. When time’s up we let ourselves  float into the channel. The coral here is all broken and colourless. Few fish, although we still see a cute turtle that we wave to. We’re going way too fast to make a picture. You can do nothing, just hang and enjoy the ride. Same-same when we see a beautiful nurse shark cruise. We’ve just finished our safety stop when I hear dolphins. There they are, a pod of at least 50 to our right. Coping my role model Jean Pierre van de Walle (Protea Banks) I swim like crazy for a movie shot. Awesome. I see the 1st to the last. Very happy I swim back to the group. But now another 25 dolphins pass by on our left. I exit  the water with a huge smile of joy. Most everyone on the boat has seen the dolphins. The pod of dolphins accompanies us back to the Sheena. Some swim right in front of the boat in the bow wave while others are happily twisting and jumping. What a party.

Back on the Sheena a hot shower, tea or beer, cake and almost a real sunset, at the last minute the sun disappears behind clouds again. 7 pm Dinnertime. We sit at the table early with Peter and Lena. If you don’t quickly go for vegies and fruit you might miss it. Now that I have indicated that I do not like rosemary, I get my own plate of food. Perfect.

After dinner we watch todays movies of the sharks and dolphins and Marco’s recordings of yesterday’s whale shark. We go to bed early around 9 pm.

Saturday 24th of February 2018 TOP

Sheena, Laamu, Maldives

2 dives

1) Dolphin Kandu ; Grey reef sharks, spawning parrot fish, eagle ray

2) Hithadhoo Corner ; Manta, Napoleons, turtles, eagle ray

We wake up at 5.50 am, that equals oversleeping. Gerard has a swollen eye. Looks like something stung him. Turns out it is not just his eye but his whole body is covered in ugly red bumps. Some become blisters, then break leaving a hole.

Fast we do our water, coffee and tea routine. 2 buckets full of dead fish on the stern. We do not really enjoy the sight. The others are already looking forward to lunch.

The sun rises like a red ball behind the island, but no time to look at it or take pictures. We’re going to dive. There are 4 more boats and when we arrive at Dolphin Kandu, another dhoni is already there. It’s not a wide channel.

Dive 16: Dolphin Kandu, Laamu

Time: 6.49

Viz: ++ (25 – 20m)

Depth: 31,1 meters

Dive time: 64 minutes

Good visibility, 20-25m. Some fish. Not any current. We swim along the wall, left shoulder. Another group of divers swims towards us. Note: if you can swim in 2 directions you know there is hardly any current. The coral on the wall is not in good shape. Then again we haven’t seen a lot of beautiful and colourful coral except for the one dive with the Emperor Atoll. In the shallow at dive site Hakuraa Thila (Meemu) the coral was recovering. We hear from an older couple in our group, Ralph and Monica, that this used to be different. The corals were healthy, colourful and full of fish, even in the channels, pre global warming.

What also drives me crazy is the multiple pieces of fishing line we see on the walls and sometimes also pieces of fishing nets. You don’t see plastic in and under water. All plastic we see is on the ‘tropical’ islands both inhabited and uninhabited islands

When we return to the Sheena, the buckets of fish have been cleaned. 1 bucket is completely full of smaller fish about 25 pieces. The day before yesterday 1 of the crew was fishing and caught the same small fish. The creature screamed when it was killed. Gerard is all done with eating fish. I eat more fish than he does. That’s the weirdest thing because when we met, I never ate fish. The other bucket is full of barracuda, tuna, jack and more. If there had been a dead chicken, cow or sheep on the stern, I would not have eaten it. Hmm. Maybe I should stop eating fish too. But for the vegetables you have to be quick here because quote Gerard, ‘they gobble like pigs’. We didn’t have that problem on the Emperor Atoll. There was always enough food.

After some fruit, 1 roti with half a slice of cheese, two toasted sandwiches with Nutella (there is a new jar!) I settle in a lounger on the top deck and write. Halfway through breakfast we already started sailing to the 2nd dive site. There is only little wind and the sea is very calm. Just what you need for the big crossing. We are on a schedule. Sky is not clear blue again, but hazy with a few small clouds. We sail along a resort island with all large water bungalows, opposite a local island.

This is a resort where everyone has their own pool and their own dive guide. Top for Arabs whose wife  wants to swim or dive unseen. Bogdan from the Utila Keys worked at such an island. He would go along on these private dives just as photographer / cameraman. We anchor at a buoy behind a local island. The beach is idyllic. White sand, crystal clear blue water and curved palm trees. The photo can go straight in to in a travel brochure. When I look into an island street I see fully covered Muslima’s walking. Quite the contrast.

Dive 17: Hithadhoo Corner, Laamu

Time: 10.58

Viz: – – (7 – 5m)

Depth: 21,2 meters

Dive time: 62 minutes

We’re going to dive on the corner. The water here is greener and visibility will only be about 10 meters (turns out to be even less). There are some blocks and we dive here because it is just before the crossing. Ali does the current check and immediately sees 2 mantas at 1 of the blocks. His group jumps first, we’re second. There is some current, but we also have swell. Ved hooks up regularly. The coral is again not nice. On a large bolder there are many Christmas trees in all different colours. We see a whitetip. No mantas at the block but 3 large Napoleon males together and a female. A school of jacks. A stonefish is hidden under a rock. On the way to the next block we see a small eating hawksbill turtle. At the next block there is a huge green turtle. We look around a bit but there is very little to see. An eagle ray flies past when we swim back to the 1st block and there is a manta! We hook up and enjoy the sight of the manta that hangs calmly in the current. We hear dolphins but don’t see them. Visibility is very limited. During our safety stop we’re surrounded by all kinds of small creatures. Mini balls the size of marbles. They feel gelatinous. The distance between the balls is 5 to 10cm so there are really a lot of them. After the dive we take a quick shower and Gerard notices the water is salty. At lunch we hear that the pump has problems and the water is indeed salty. The water dispenser is also out of order. Lunch is quite nice although I wouldn’t even consider serving dry factory cake to my guests. The points for the best desserts go to the Emperor Atoll. I quickly write my log and then go upstairs and settle in a deck chair. Shade is the place to be as the sun is too hot. At tea time we’re served fresh banana cake. I’m happy I brought my own Rooibos tea. Note to tea lovers: bring your own on safari boats. We spend some time looking at Peter’s best Canon Mark II pictures and Marco’s film of the pooping manta.

The sunset is beautiful with the veil clouds. After dinner I have a look at the fish bible and recognize many creatures we’ve seen on this trip. At 9 pm we finally drop anchor and go to bed. They gave us a 1.5L bottle of drinking water. They’re still fixing the water maker/ purification machine.

Sunday 25th of February 2018

Sheena, Gaafu Alifu, Maldives

3 dives:

1) Viligili Kandu, Gaafu Alifu ; Lots of sharks and large schools of fish.

2) Nilandhoo Kandu, Gaafu Alifu ; Dolphins on way to dive site. Sharks, Napoleon. Medium current

3) Maarehaa Kandu, Gaafu Alifa ; Mega school of jacks

5.20 am rise and shine. Everything is still dark and everyone except the cook is asleep. There are 100 1.5 litre bottles of water in the salon. We sit on the foredeck and watch it get light. The sky turns a beautiful red. Captain Harish comes to tell that the water filter installation was fixed last night. So there is drinking water again and we can take a sweet water shower. At 6.20 am the sun rises over the local island of Viligili. There are 3 other safari boats.

Dive 18: Viligili Kandu, Gaafu Alifu

Time: 6.57

Viz: + (25m)

Depth: 32,8 meters

Dive time: 50 minutes

Current: little

The briefing starts with a big delay because some of our fellow divers are late (again). It’s 6.25. We will make the 1st dive in the nearby channel, Viligili Kandu. Our group jumps first and visibility is good about 25m. The water is warm. We start with 2 huge schools of yellow & blue and blue fusiliers 25m in height and wide. Next we see 5 greys. The wall slopes into the deep. Little current so we’re able to swim along the wall for a while before we hook up. Above us in the channel a huge school of several hundreds of jacks, more fusiliers, brown sweet lips, a school of barracudas and grey and whitetip sharks. The fish swim by in long strings. Even though it is not necessary we hook up to get 2 extra meters and thus some extra no deco time. It’s great to hang with all the fish and the sharks. But when we move on we see even more sharks and something drives them crazy. They shoot out of the blue towards us! Now the sharks are getting really close. But peace is restored and they swim back into the blue. Ved hears dolphins but we don’t see them. It’s time to slowly make our way up and so we zoom over the almost bare channel bottom. I see the heads of 2 brown morays in 1 hole. Then a huge school of brown fish, hundreds on the channel floor. Another whitetip. We hang and hang until everyone has lost their deco and made their safety stop. On the dhoni we hear that the crew has just freed a large turtle from a huge ghost net. The poor beast was stuck with his legs. We see the footage of the liberation on a phone. Meanwhile there are 6 large safari boats. Some boats are based in the deep south and you have to fly over there.

After breakfast we sail on and pass several islands. Two are connected by an enormous pier. There are enormous water villas and on the other side more are being build. We also sail along a cute pile of sand with green bushes, some umbrellas with a reef around it. The typical example of a paradise island. A little further we anchor near a channel. According to Ved, the dives are only getting better with even more sharks. Peter and Lena counted 20 at the same time on the previous dive. I always lose count.

Dive 19: Nilandhoo Kandu, Gaafu Alifu

Time: 11.09

Viz: + / –

Depth: 33,3 meters

Dive time: 50 minutes

Current: medium

The next dive is at Nilandhoo Kandu. We have a huge school of spinner dolphins in front of and around the dhoni at least 75. Half the group jumps twists and somersaults, others swim in front of the boat in the bow wave, sometimes as many as 12 at a time and I feel like they are pushing each other aside to get the best position. When we leave the channel they follow us in rows of 6 jumping through the wakes behind us. We jump as 2nd group and immediately descend to 25m. First blue everywhere, nothing to see. Then the fusiliers appear and the wall comes into view and the 1st sharks, immediately 5 greys. Spot and hook. Hurray for the glove of Ved. I hang perfect in first attempt, exactly on the channel edge so that I can also look into the deep. Viz down is only 10 meter because after that it turns grey. I see some silver bodies glitter, maybe there is a school of jacks. In front of us a beautiful spectacle unfolds of blue fusiliers that are hunted by sharks and tuna. The school is moving in all directions. It looks like fireworks. Unfortunately, visibility is poor. I only count 10 sharks. Next to me a pregnant whitetip patrols. The greys come and go, up, down and far away. The current is now pounding. When we unhook at 0 a large Napoleon swims past, casual at first, but he is also blown away by the current. We shoot through the channel. Hey, the corals here are a bit nicer and we see 2 big groupers. We hope to see the dolphins, but no. Ved hears them. All of a sudden a lot of leaves and a whole green cloud appears before us. Quick we swim to the side, away from the washing machine!

Lunch. I try to avoid spicy food because my lips start to hurt again. Need to cream and wear a scarf. In the meanwhile Gerard is leaking moisture from all his bumps. Even in his face the moisture is running out. Also on his arm. Fortunately, the wet blister on his toe is closed. We still haven’t found the cause.

Just before the 3rd dive, Ali and Ved come to talk to us. They tell that the other boat anchored next to us spotted a whale shark and hammerheads diving into the blue yesterday at about this time. Ali and Ved are eager. They hope to get the group to join, but the guests are much less enthusiastic. 8 are against diving in the blue and that’s a majority. So we just go diving according to plan at Maarerhaa Kandu.

Dive 20: Maarehaa Kandu, Gaafu Alifa

Time: 15.08

Viz: + / – –

Depth: 33,2 meters

Dive time: 48 minutes

Current: little

We jump first and shoot to 30 meters. Visibility is less. First come the yellow & blue and blue fusiliers. When we arrive at the wall we see a huge school of jacks. Many hundreds and they swim towards us before they dive deeper. Little current so we can swim a bit along the wall before we hook up. We only see a few sharks. The huge school of jacks swims below us. Ved finds a cute black leaf fish. The grey reef shark that glides over us is a little less interesting at this point. We see it every dive. Not many more sharks but they’re there, we only can’t see them. We have a thermocline. Down it is a lot colder than up. Sometimes we are in the middle and everything becomes blurred. Next to us another pregnant whitetip and a huge barracuda. When time’s up we let go and see some nice coral and some fish life, a shark and an anchor. After that it’s only avalanche landscape.

When we get to the boat, Ved needs to vent. He is so hyper he jumps into the water before we get a chance to go out. It turns out that old Herbert took a dip to 54.4 meters. His diving buddy Ralph saw him drop down and followed him up to 35m but did not dare to go further. Our dive limit on nitrox is 32m. The guides are not amused with the situation.

At tea time Frank proposes to visit the uninhabited island. 10 guests, 2 guides and the dhoni backup captain join. We walk a bit on the island. Plastic everywhere!!! What a drama!!! Paradise really does not exist anymore. Not even in the Maldives. There is so much, cleaning is not an option. I’m depressed, but I see several wild dogs flying and those always bring a smile to my face.

We meet the divers from the other boat. They’re French and they have seen the whale shark and hammerheads. The whale shark was eating and stayed for 5 to 10 minutes. They also had a whale shark visit behind the boat when the light was on. Everyone was woken up at 1 am. The first time the whale shark left quickly but when he came back he stayed for an hour. Wow, how cool is that.

We have a beautiful sunset and then sail back to the Sheena where they are still working on the water purification system. The water from the dispenser did smell a bit off before. I’ll stick to water bottles for a while. The entire inside room is being rearranged because we can’t sit at the back with the construction work going on. But there is nice space at the first deck where I can sit and write.

Monday 26th of February 2018 TOPPER

Sheena, Gaafu Alifu, Maldives

4 dives:

1) Gemanafushi Outside, in the blue ; Some sharks, mobula or manta, eagle ray, turtles, WHALESHARK

2) Vodamula Kandu ; sharks, Napoleon, blacktip reef shark, current strong

3) Furedhoo Kandu ; sharks, 2 Napoleons, current strong

4) Boaddoo House Reef, night dive ; large school of small fish, large marble ray with 2 remoras, squid, shrimp, lots of plants, moderate current,

Shit, overslept again because the phone didn’t sound at 4.55 am. We hear cups clinging upstairs, but there are only 2 people about. It is cloudy and it is even raining. Only where the sun has to rise are less clouds. Today we head of early for a dive in the blue at sunrise. Nah, it doesn’t go that fast with these people. We end up seeing the sun rise from the dhoni at 6:20 am. The sea is very calm as there is hardly any wind. 3 people stay on the Sheena, among them the one German who doesn’t dive Nitrox.

Dive 21: Gemanafushi Outside, in the blue, Gaafu Alifa

Time: 6.22

Viz: +

Depth: 35,3 meters

Dive time: 64 minutes

We dive as 1 group in the blue and swim through a layer of jellyfish to 25-30m. Ved is the first to spot something but it turns out to be an ordinary grey reef shark. Above us at about 15 meters 2 oceanic blacktips. Then another little curious grey that keeps circling. A mobula ray or manta is swimming just below the surface of the water. The shape can be seen very clearly but the size is difficult to estimate. Ali thinks mobula ray. We arrive at the  reef/wall and after some doctor fish we see a small eagle ray. We cruise along the wall. Some fish, also some small schools. Up to 4 turtles. The coral is damaged, dead and colourless. We swim away from the wall to do the safety stop. I have another minute left when I hear Gerard scream. I look and see something very big with the divers at the dhoni ladder. At first I think tiger shark. Full throttle ahead! But when we get closer we see it’s a whale shark, but a baby of roughly two meters. It is beautiful. The whale shark calmly swims towards Ralph and Monica who, as always, keep their distance from the group and follow their own dive plan. It looks like it wants to play with them. Then the whale shark comes over to us and swims to the dhoni. After a few rounds, the animal swims away. What a gift. I hear Lena jumped back in from the dhoni with only a mask, but she got hold of Ali’s octopus and the guides took her in tow. In the end everybody got the see the whale shark except the 3 who stayed on the boat. Note to self: never skip a dive!

After breakfast everyone quickly goes to watch their whale shark footage. Ours is top notch.

Dive 22: Vodamula Kandu, Gaafu Alifa

Time: 10.52

Viz: + / –

Depth: 33.8 meters

Dive time: 49 minutes

Current: strong

The 2nd dive is at Vodamula Kandu. We hear current is strong. We jump as 1st group. A shark comes to greet Gerard at 5m and keeps circling around him. I’m afraid to turn on my camera to take pictures after Ved’s lecture. If current is strong and you don’t focus, you miss the channel’s edge! Visibility is poor. You feel the warm and cold current. We see the wall looming and we pedal further down. Look for a spot. I now have a favourite mushroom coral. Grab right (with glove), fly over and simultaneously hook up with left, tension on the cable and little air in BCD. We hang next to each other at 30m. We can look into the deep, but it is cold with very poor visibility due to the thermocline. You can hardly see the school of blue fusiliers in front of us either. I count 5 whitetips and 6 greys. The crowd must be in the dark. A large Napoleon passes by twice. A whitetip and grey patrol together. At 0 we level up 5 meters higher and gain another 2 minutes. On the next 0  we release and fly very fast over reasonably nice (table) coral. Better than we’ve seen. Little colour. At 20m we see an adult blacktip. We fly along in the same direction.

Note: tip from Peter. National Park Ras Mohammed, Street of Titan. Colourful corals and fish, but no sharks.

Dive 23: Furedhoo Kandu, Gaafu Alifa

Big waves in the long channel to the 3^rd dive site. The plan: hang on the corner, take a look at the reef which is supposed to be nice and find zebra sharks aka leopard sharks.

We jump 2nd and see the wall coming closer very quickly. We’re still at 20 meters so down like crazy to 32m. Just in time to hook on the ledge. Down thermocline again and poor visibility. Current is pumping. In front sharks, 2 Picasso triggers and morish idols. Gerard is hooked close to a piece of fishing net. He’s fine until the 2 old Germans crawl up to him and for reasons unknown hook right under him! Ved has a laugh attack. Whitetips, greys, baby greys, fireworks from blue fusiliers. With 2 minutes of deco we finally let go. We totally miss the nice wall with gorgonians, good coral, turtles and 2 eagle rays. We only see a large Napoleon in the channel. We fly and surface in the middle of the channel.

We continue sailing and anchor at a pile of sand. There are already a few large boats.

Pace is good. The 4th dive is a night dive and Gerard isn’t coming.

Dive 24: Boaddoo House Reef

I buddy with Bernd, but lose him most of the time. Every buddy team is given a flashlight. We leave with light, but it is indeed dark when we jump into the water. Very cool is the big cloud of very small fish. It sparkles fantastic. They shoot in all directions and I could watch them for hours. There is a little bit of current. Some coral of low quality but a lot of green, leavy plants everywhere. It looks like a stroll in the woods. A very, very slow stroll. We see a huge marble ray with 2 suckfish. The beast is terrified, runs of and hits a block. Then in blind panic it swims the other way to collide with another rock and then is gone. Sometimes there are some fish in the coral. I see puffers, 2 lionfish, a stonefish and a sea cucumber. When I find an octopus I report it. Note to self: on a night dive do not share your find because the poor fish will get 10 divers on top shining big lights into its eyes. I am really happy when the 45 minutes are up.

At dinner sashimi is offered. Gerard declines.

Last night we had a small hunting squid behind the boat. It was fun to see how it caught several small fishes. Now the light is on again to attract whale sharks. But there are 5 more enormous boats all with gigantic lights. A dolphin swims through the light. Around 9 pm we hear a lot of noise at neighbours. Maybe the whale shark is there. We are going to bed.

Tuesday 27th of February 2018 TOPPER

Sheena, Gaafu Alifu, Maldives

2 dives:

1) Kooddoo Kandu ; Little current, but sharks. Napoleon couple.

2) Viligili Kandu ; Little current, lots of sharks. 1 blacktip.

Alarm clock at 5.20 am. Engine is started at 5.30 am. It is of course dark and we see it turn light. At 6:30 am we arrive at the next dive site. With the dhoni we sail past a hotel with water villas. Some have a small pool on their terrace.

Dive 25: Kooddoo Kandu

Time: 7.01

Viz: + (25m)

Depth: 34 meters

Dive time: 54 minutes

Current: next to none

We dive 2nd. Little wind. Blue water. Good viz. Blue and yellow fusiliers. No current so we don’t have to hook. We swim to the left. Ved brought a new 1.5 litre bottle to lure the sharks. They are in the dark cold thermocline below and come out only when the bottle cracks. The blue and yellow  fusiliers circle Ved and later me. First we see a beautiful Napoleon female and later a large male. He comes close to take a look. 2 oceanic triggerfish. The sharks are difficult to spot. I count 10 at the same time at most, mainly grey but there are also whitetips. The whole crowd is in the dark below. In the channel 1.5 fish only and no coral. We surface at the domestic airport.

Breakfast. We’re officially out of mango and bananas, but there is a new jar of Nutella. There’s also French toast. Until now, every breakfast has been the same. 0 variation. Roti, toast, tuna salad and you can choose your egg. Fruit, of course, but you have to be on time if you want mango.

My Sealife Micro 2.0 camera is full and needs to be partially emptied. Another stress moment because I would have preferred a full backup. We bought a LaCie Rugged for this purpose. It is shock, rain and pressure resistant and will die as soon as we arrive back home so we lose all footage stored!!!! The boat stays moored between dives and that is nice.

Dive 26: Viligili Kandu

My log of the previous dive here only said “little current and we swim until we see sharks”. We jump first and a little close to the edge. We have to go down full throttle, sorry ears. Little current again. We fall on top of a group of sharks! We start by swimming over the plateau along the edge. At least 5 white tips below. Furthermore, a lot of greys. We have to wait until everyone has left and then Ved can start playing with the bottle. The sharks are getting closer and there are many! Deco is starting to count, but there are really a lot of sharks now and there is no more diving today. A blacktip swims over the plateau and dives into the deep. I have 8 minutes of deco and Gerard 9 when we let go. I think this is our record. We float through the shallow channel. We have plenty of air, still 100 bar. Visibility is good, 20+ m. Nothing until suddenly there are hundreds of fish on the bottom. A yellow fin tuna swims by and we hear dolphins but don’t see them. We see the playing and jumping dolphins from the dhoni. Another very large school of spinners. Shower and lunch. The crew took the dhoni shopping. Lunch is becoming more and more sparse and if you are not on time you will miss the vegetables. For dessert frozen chocolate cake that tastes just a bit less dry than last time but is still shabby.

We go for the big crossing. Quickly put everything in position because it becomes more intense than the previous ride. Just a quick picture of a beautiful island and move upstairs. In the atoll it is quiet but outside there are big waves. The boat squeaks and creaks. We are out for half an hour when we see about 20 small dark birds on the water. You don’t see many birds here. After a few raindrops we’re hit by a tropical shower. We make it inside just in time. After 30 minutes we can go up again. I see a frigate bird. Around 5 pm the clouds are gone and it gets nice. Before it was actually chilly, but hey back home in Holland it’s freezing. Can’t say we look forward to going back with a 30 degrees difference. But the countdown has started. Gerard says he likes diving here. He  has heard that you have to go even further south for the tiger sharks. By the way, at Kooddhoo Kandu they saw a mola mola yesterday.

Around 6 pm we do a hilarious photo session with Lena and Peter while we wait for sunset.

Wednesday 28th of February 2018

Sheena, Laamu Atoll, Maldives

2 dives:

1) Hanahanaa Giri, Laamu ; Turtle, Nemo’s, nudibranchs

2) Jack Fish Channel ; Some whitetip and grey reef sharks, 3 napoleons, turtle, eagle ray, schools of jacks and barracuda.

Dive 27: Hanahanaa Giri, Laamu

Time: 7.03

Viz: +/-  (15-10m)

Temp: 28C

Depth: 25,3 meters

Dive time: 68 minutes

Current: next to none

Up at 5.20 am. We were going to dive Hithadhoo Corner, the 1st dive site after the crossing. However, comments came from the group. They did not like the location (with manta, whitetip, 2 turtles, 1 eagle ray, 3 Napoleon males and 1 female). They want a quiet dive (= easy peasy). So we go dive a giri and the guides are really looking forward to it. NOT. But some of the group want a relaxed swim. Well they get it. We jump 2nd on the split. A single fusilier. No current. Moderate visibility. Sand. Rock. Lunar landscape. 99% dead coral, few fish, but sometimes you see some recovery and the young coral contains fish again. We swim to a rocks with dead coral. A turtle. Only old Herbert, (53m on nitrox), chases the beast away with his go-pro. 10m further is a nice big grouper until Herbert dives on top again and the fish hides as far away into its hole as possible. I’m furious that the old man chases everything away and move as far away as possible. The turtle comes swimming back accompanied by the 2 remoras and we find 2 nudibranchs right next to each other. We swim around a block. I see Gerard getting bored already even though we see 3 beautiful Nemo’s all housed in their own little anemones. One Nemo is no bigger than 0.5 cm, so cute. I can watch for hours. Ved passes and acts as if there is a fierce current and hooks up. I play a panic attack and we all start laughing. This place must have been so beautiful when the coral was still alive. In the end I did enjoy myself quite a bit on this dive.

Breakfast. Moods are going down fast now. Half of the guest thought this was a great dive but our side of the table including the guides thought it was jerky.

Dive 28: Jack Fish Channel, Laamu

Time: 10.55

Viz: ++/-  (20-15m)

Depth: 31,4 meters

Dive time: 66 minutes

Current: next to none

Last time there were a lot of sharks at Jack Fish Channel so we’re looking forward to the 2^nd dive. We jump 1st and go to 30m. Unfortunately no current and only the occasional shark. Above 1 whitetip, a grey, 2 greys and 4 more in the blue. Down thermocline again and no viz. But at least there is fish on the wall. Lots of life. Lots of big groupers, a moray eel, a turtle, a school of jackfish, an eagle ray, 2 Napoleons in the deep. The last 20 minutes when we have given up hope for sharks, we see 10 baby sharks in the deep. Lots of schools of jacks, barracudas, brown sweetlips and fusiliers. We swim from the middle of the channel all the way to the split. When we surface, the dhoni is broken and we are picked up with the small dingki and taken to the dhoni. From there it goes to the Sheena in 2 shifts. After lunch we go sailing with the dhoni in tow. The sea is very calm. We see 2 large dolphins and in the distance enormous rain showers. We sail to Meemu Atoll where the dhoni needs to be repaired. The captain does everything he can to get the part and eventually it will arrive tomorrow with a speedboat. No more diving today. We finally arrive at 6 pm. 2 new dolphins (large and small) swim around the boat for at least 30 minutes. The sun sets behind clouds, but nevertheless the sky is beautiful. It’s a full moon. The lamp is back behind the boat, but there is little chance that a whale shark will visit. The dolphins are clearly visible as well as the remoras that we feed all leftovers. Gerard and Lena totally misbehave at dinner, playing with water they both end up soaking wet. The guides come with a diving proposal for tomorrow. We go with the small dingki and have to do 2 shifts. An early one that goes for the channel. And a later one for a relaxing dip along the wall. The easy peasy divers decline. Frustration is growing. The dive guides are very disappointed. Now they want to meet the dull divers, they don’t want to come along, they rather sleep in. In the end Ali has 6 for the channel crossing and Ved 2 for the wall.

Thursday 1st of March 2018

Sheena, Thaa, Maldives

The boat starts sailing at 5.15 am, so we get up well before the alarm sounds. We watch the moon set. The whale shark apparently did not come by and the big lamp has already been dismantled. It rains a lot. We sail to the island where the dhoni needs to be repaired.

Dive 29: Dhiyamigili Kandu, Thaa

Time: 6.59

Viz: +/- 

Depth: 35,7 meters

Dive time: 39 minutes

Briefing at 6.15 am. We get dressed on the dhoni and get into the dingki. We immediately put on our BCD. We are 8 divers, the captain and Bilal. The small boat occasionally scoops water. Good thing there is little wind and the waves are small. We have to go through the channel hole and Ali does a current check. Outgoing and along the reef. We do a backwards roll. It takes a while before we get to the drop off. It is a sloping wall and we can clearly see the ledges. There is nothing on it. We see very few fish. First 1 and then 2 large barracudas. Only after 15 minutes 1 grey, then 1 again after 3 minutes, possibly the same and only then we see a whole group of about 20 in the deep, dark part. Meanwhile we’ve travelled 800m. Hooking is no option. A number of sharks joins on the plateau. We see a huge cloud of dust coming. The current has turned and is now outgoing. We manage to surface before viz is gone, away from the shallow reef and the washing machines. Small boat, big waves. We see goats on the beach and a double rainbow that later becomes 1 of 180 degrees. Shower on the Sheena. Gerard is still furious. The dive guides told him the corrupt president now allows 3 Chinese fishing boats. It should be line fishing only but the Maldivian people already found nets with sharks. The future doesn’t look bright here either. All sharks on such a corner as this can be caught in 1 swipe and then the Maldives are done because for the corals you really don’t have to come here. 2 Ninos were very effective. It doesn’t make me happy.

Gerard is exchanging photos with Peter. I do some writing and logging. Outside it looks like rain. We now have to wait for the part that should arrive. The dhoni is already in the harbour. The second group off the 2 wall divers returns and we have lunch. A two hour wait is the plan so we should be able to do an afternoon and a night dive. Obviously this is not the case. The dhoni is ready at 8 pm. Rain is pouring down. We start sailing towards even worse weather.

To get rid of my frustration I had a nice workout this afternoon on the 1^st deck overlooking the beautiful tropical island.

Friday 2nd of March 2018 TOPPER

Sheena, Thaa Atoll, Maldives

4 dives:

1) Olhugiri Kandu ; Grey reef sharks, marble ray, nudibranch, humphead parrotfish, giga school jacks, turtle, little incoming and then outgoing currents, from channel to outside wall dive

2) Valley of the Rays ; Slight outgoing current, 3 mantas, 6 eagle rays, flatworm, large sweet lip, biting nemo

3) Whitetip Station ; Sharks, grey, white, 1 silvertip?

4) Boomerang, night dive ; Flatworm, stonefish

We quickly get out of bed because we are finally going to dive again. The last full day of diving. We are the 1st on deck and everything is still dark. The big full moon is in the sky but disappears behind clouds.

Dive 30: Olhugiri Kandu, Thaa

Time: 6.52

Viz: +/- 

Depth: 32,2 meters

Dive time: 56 minutes

Current: little

We are going to make our 1st dive at Ohulgiri Kandu, Thaa Atoll. We jump first. Little current but instead of in the blue we are now in the channel! We swim out against the light incoming current. We’re getting to the edge. Below us a plateau. Not a shark in sight. There is life on the wall. Green, blooming coral trees. Gerard finds a slug. Then 1 grey and again a few minutes later. In The end I see 6 at the same time. Hurray. The visibility down and in the blue is again poor because of thermocline. Fusiliers eating around us. Always funny. On the wall is a beautiful marble ray. The current has changed. Now it is outgoing, so instead of into the channel we float a long way along the wall. Still an outside wall dive. A huge school of jacks of a few hundred fishes swims on the wall. In between a humphead parrotfish, the 1st we see here. The coral on the wall is jerky. We swim away from the wall and go up. Now that we are on the outside atoll the waves are huge, 3+ meter. It takes a long time for the dhoni to arrive and getting into it is hard work.

Breakfast with a plate of fresh fruit and 2 toasts with Nutella. We immediately continue sailing, the crossing from Thaa to Meemu atoll. Huge waves. We had sun but along the way we see rain coming. It will soon be dry again but it will remain cloudy. We hear that we might not dive Valley of the Rays because the current is incoming. We also get a double briefing for both the manta and aquarium.

Dive 31: Valley of the Rays, Meemu

Time: 11.19

Viz: – /- 

Depth: 15,8 meters

Dive time: 73 minutes

Current: little

At the current check, there appears to be a small outgoing current and there are mantas near the block. We jump as one group. On the way to the block we see 6 eagle rays above. However, visibility is poor. In a hole lies the huge lionfish that was there last time. A beautiful flatworm glides over the bottom. In the meantime, the mantas are already swimming past us. We have to wait at the block for them to arrive. At one moment there are 3 mantas at the same time and they are very large. They come hoovering right over us. If you look at one, another one flies over you. Next to me on a stone is a beautiful anemone with Nemo’s. It is a colourful family of 3 with a little one. Dad is very aggressive and even bites my glove when I take a picture. There is another more peaceable Nemo in a very beautiful flower anemone. Meanwhile, the mantas are still flying back and forth. It is usually the smaller of the 3 that keeps coming back. At one point there is a large fish with huge lips near the block that is also being cleaned. Our 60 minutes are up and we get ready to leave. I linger and see the smaller manta come round again.

Lunch. Sashimi. Inedible fries. Cold macaroni. Cucumber and carrot cabbage salad, papadum, and I get 2 pieces of grilled chicken. So I’m making my fitness salad again. There is a lot of wind because we are already sailing and the food is blowing off my fork. In the atoll the waves are less high. We gain speed.

Dive 32: Whitetip Station, Meemu

Time: 16.03

Viz: + 

Depth: 34,4 meters

Dive time: 56 minutes

Current: medium

The 3rd dive is at Whitetip Station, close to dolphin/birthday island. On the way to the dive site we have dolphins in front of the boat. We jump 1st. Medium incoming current. We immediately pop down and see the wall looming. We have to wait for Ved’s ok before we hook up. He gives it when he sees a lot of sharks. I hang perfect, right on the edge of the overhang. There is a whole group of sharks on the plateau. Large and baby greys and whitetips. A pregnant whitetip swims up and down in front of us and the greys come nice and close. Then the 2nd group arrives and falls down on top of the sharks on the plateau. Those sharks are gone, but when Gerard cracks the plastic bottle, sharks come up from the deep an go crazy. One specimen acts very aggressively and that would be a silvertip. 1 shark has a rapela/lure in the corner of its mouth. It’s a very entertaining show and Gerard lies flat on the bottom so the sharks can’t see it right away. We’re fine on deco time but it turns out Bernd has 30 minutes of deco! Later we find out that the old Suunto computer automatically sets the air percentage to 21% when one is clean. That is what happened at Bernd who skipped some dives. On the way back we again see dolphins.

I just have time to down 2 bananas and 2 cups of tea. Marco is the driving force behind the night dive. His argument: we pay, so we choose the music. There is only a small group of volunteers. 6 in total. It’s a 15 minutes ride to the side. Full moon.

Dive 33: Night Dive at Boomerang, Meemu

Time: 19.17

Depth: 22,7 meters

Dive time: 55 minutes

It is dark when we jump. Sand, rock, dead coral but also some small restorative coral. Different sizes cleaner shrimps. Small crabs in young coral. Several flatworms and a giant stonefish. Starfish and feather stars. The 45 minutes are over quickly. We swim away from the reef and turn off the lights for the fluorescence. It works. We have to sail back again for 15 minutes back to the Sheena.

Saturday 3rd of March 2018 TOPPER

Sheena, Digaru Island, Meemu, Maldives

2 dives:

1) Happy Corner, Meemu ; Small incoming current, greys, barracuda, tuna, schools of fish, nurse shark, DOLPHINS

2) Filitheyo Giri ; Strong current

We rise extra early, 4.55 am. Ali wants to dive a little earlier to have an opportunity for current. When everyone is up at 6 am, the Sheena sails to Happy Corner.

Dive 34: Happy Corner, Meemu

Time: 6.38

Viz: + / – (17 – 15 m)

Depth: 34,4 meters

Dive time: 60 minutes

Current: next to none

We jump first. Almost no current but we do drop to 30+ meter as quickly as possible. Visibility 15 to 17m. The doctor fish are diving en masse on top of Ved. We see the wall with large overhangs with fluorescent yellow soft corals. We also see grey reef sharks below us, a group of 6. We can hang in the channel opening without hooking up. A huge tuna keeps circling and a large barracuda swims by. Large schools of yellow/blue and blue fusiliers put on a show. There is a large school of trevallies below. Before deco we swim to the left corner and along the wall. Without current we can stroll and have a good look at everything. In the overhang is a huge sleeping nurse shark. A present. On top of the reef all kinds of beautiful fish. We float quietly along the wall with green trees. Down a sleeping whitetip and a school of barracudas. During the safety stop we hear dolphins, louder and louder. Yes, down is a whole pod of approx. 50. A little later we see them again but now they are swimming on the surface. Fantastic and what a way to end the diving trip.

Breakfast on the boat. Fresh fruit and Nutella toast. Most are done diving and will rinse their belongings. Gerard is done too. I will join the dive on the house reef. Never skip a dive and it is better than sitting on the boat or inside as it starts to rain.

Dive 35: Filitheyo Giri

Time: 11.49

Depth: 31,7 meters

Dive time: 52 minutes

Current: super heavy

We’re divided in 2 small groups. Ali takes 3 and I’m with Ved and Bernd. We get a dive briefing and it is supposed to be an easy dive. When we roll, no such thing. The current is absolutely ripping. No way we can follow the dive plan. Ali and his group go with the flow. We crawl right into it and pull ourselves forward rock by rock. I love the glove! We make it to the top of the tila. Lots of green coral trees. Lost of fusiliers. It’s fantastic. We stay for a while and then let go. We see 1 whitetip, a Napoleon lots of red tooth triggerfish. We end our dive in the middle of a washing machine!

Late afternoon we’re taken to the Resort Island. It’s too late to try out the pool so we walk along the beach. It is a nice island. The German guest complain to the Werner Lau Rep. And it turns out they have a whole lot to complain about. Mostly the diving was not good enough. It was too strenuous. But that was what this tour was advertised for. I.m.h.o. most of the guest were not physical fit for this trip. The German women on air complains about her experience. Well, she was offered to take a nitrox course during the trip so she could stay down longer with the rest of the group. She declined. They complain about missed dives but when the dhoni broke down the crew did their best to fix things a.s.a.p. The dive briefings weren’t good but the real problem was many didn’t understand English. The dive guides can’t be blamed for that. We have never experienced such whining at the end of a trip. The dive guides take it personal even though they tried really hard to please everyone catching fins, weights and sharing air along the way. The mood is totally ruined.

 Our opinion: The dives were fantastic, so were the guides and the crew. We didn’t really enjoy the food. Especially me, I’m not a fan of rosemary and neither of frozen cakes/pies for dessert. Would we go again. Not on this boat! The boat is old and it turned out the bed had bed bugs. The itching and open wounds (later scars) Gerard got ruined the last days. At the time of writing (January 2021) it says on the Internet that the Sheena is recently taken out of service.

Sunday 4th of March 2018 TOPPER

Sheena, Maldives

6 Blacktip sharks

Red parakeets

Flying dogs

4.55 am alarm clock. First to rise and shine again and some extra time to pack the last things. Breakfast at 6.30 am. We are ready at exactly 7:00 am and scream ‘thjuus’ to the Germans. The 1st plane landed before 6:30 am and took off. The plane at the jetty leaves at 7 am but without us. Our seaplane arrives at 7.30 am and that gives us some time to take a group photo with most of the crew. We are both on the single seats again and now make sure to see the other side. The flight is fast. We are collected at the airport, put in a bus and taken to the International Airport. Our luggage follows in a separate van. We say goodbye to Peter and Lena. On to the Bandos desk. They send us to the Thomas Cook desk for important phone numbers and back. Less than 5 minutes later we walk to the transfer boat and at 9 am we are on Bandos Island. Our room is not ready until 12.30 pm. We also get an upgrade from classic room to standard. I ask for a map because it is quite large here. We sit at the huge reception for a while. Mop is itchy all over, covered in lumps and looks awful. He googled that he has an allergic reaction to bed bugs. Then we look at the swimming pool and the fitness. Next we go to the corner where the baby sharks should be. Well, those aren’t babies. 6 blacktips patrol in front of the 24h Sea Breeze Restaurant. Maybe snorkel later. At 12.30 pm we are brought to the room with an electric golf cart. It is a wonderful room with a seating area both inside and outside and sea view. Gerard takes a shower against the itch and then we go to the swimming pool, packed and covered with towels and snorkel gear. It is calm and the water is warm. I keep swimming in circles for a while because Gerard doesn’t want to go into the water with his open wounds. He wants beer. We see flying dogs and bright red small parrots. Then we walk to the restaurant with the sharks. The water is high and raging. Snorkelling is a ‘no go’. Back to the pool. It is getting busier with a group of Chinese and with parents with very young children. Gerard orders a burrito but gets a hamburger. It goes back with the same cart and 20 minutes later the burrito is delivered which tastes quite good for 15 USD. Beer is 8USD here too. Note: next time get the all-inclusive. At 4.30 pm the pool is so full of kids that we leave, take a shower and walk around the island. Beer and Pina Colada, 14USD and not really good, in the Sun Down Bar. At 7 pm to the restaurant. The buffet is good and to my surprise they have Boursin au Poivre here. For real! The dessert buffet is not as extensive as at Embudu Island, but it tastes better. After dinner we walk past the sharks. The light is on but the sharks are not there. We walk home. Gerard is itchy. His feet hurt and he doesn’t feel like sitting on the beach looking at the lights or the starry sky. Because I’m tired of his mood, I go straight to bed. Too bad about the last night in the Maldives but I understand he feels totally shit.

Monday 5th of March 2018 TOPPER

Bandos Island, Maldives

Snorkelling with 7 blacktips

Hunting baby blacktips

Nice snorkelling along the reef

Cloud blue fusiliers with 3 huge hunting jackets

Nice trigger fishes, very small to very large.

I have a wonderful time snorkelling the reef and with the blacktips. Gerard feels terrible because of the itching and the open wounds. He doesn’t go into the water. We hang out until we’re taken to the International Airport to catch our flight home.