Aquatic Wildlife

http://www.nikonapa.co.za/APA_finalist_gallery/aquatic_wildlife_gallery/gallery.html

The Wheel Turns.....

How funny life is. So everyone by now knows that I had a blow-out at the Shootout. Fortunately life finds other ways to pat us on the back and keep us going. Guess what. Check this out! And the Winner is.....

 

http://www.africaphotographicawards.com/picsites/PHP/odac_hs.mp?sth=8

 

A couple of years ago I had an awesome experience at Doodles. We were at Ponta on a company breakout weekend and I was mostly busy helping new divers. The last day I decided to do some shooting as the conditions were good and everyone was by now cool underwater. We went down to the little Ponta house reef. We had seen a turtle there on previous dives. Now everyone that knows me will tell you, "Clive loves turtles!'. So there I was shooting the large snapper school when this fellow approached and approached, right through the school of blue banded snapper and right onto my lens. I could not miss :"Sit and shoot" "Do not forget press the button Clive!"

I only looked at the shots when I downloaded back home and suddenly I felt quite good, some nice shots were taken, I showed the shots around [ my peers were lukewarm...]and had a mixed results. Dave at College of Digital Photography liked the one shot and it landed on their web site [for a while], so it gave me some confidence with that shot. I liked it and it has in fact featured on my Face Book page. Earlier this year I was desperately looking around for shots that made the Africa Photographic award cut-off. I took "that" shot and a few others and forgot about it. All the other entries made Round One, then failed Round Two, except for "Doodles". "Doodles" kept going through .......and then it went silent. On 10 August I got three emails,,, people at the competition were definitely and desperately looking for me. Then someone phones and told me I am one of the FINALISTS and will I not attend the award function. Of course I will, what a question!.

 

Quite chuffed I called my friend Chris. (Wife Sue away at the moment..)..Arrange that we meet up and go and see what was up at Monte Casino on the 12^th, at the Ball Room nogal. They said it was to be formal, but sadly my tux is a few sizes too old so I settle for a black suit and hope for the best.

 

Got there and my name is not on the list. "Confidently" I tell Chris that I spoke to them and it must and can only be a mistake. Was that turn in my stomach some butterflies,,,, Some well known and published photographers check in, Their names are on the list, I am now very certain that they only wanted people to pay and come to the ceremony. Chris and I have a second drink and pass on the canapés. I think I am nervous. I gatecrash the briefing ceremony. Fortunately they do not check names again. I go and sit and there is one more finalist sitting next to me in our category. We speak a few hollow words. Our section is before the interval.

 

The ceremony starts. They have some pretty girls singing, a comedian is master of awards and Kingsley Holgate delivers a great "United against Malaria" speech. Does everyone know he has had malaria more than 50 times! I am definitely going to switch from Jack to Captain. It must the Captain that keeps him alive on his fabulous journeys through Africa. Obviously best to drink safely under a net!

They start handing out prizes. The pictures are fabulous. What the heck am I doing here? Friend Chris must think I am balmy! The last category before the interval: Aquatic Wildlife. They call my name as well as others. I shake hands with one of the other finalists who did not sit with us (I actually know someone!) as I walk sheepishly to the stage. We smile as the funny man (He surely is making another joke) announce: And the Winner is.....I cannot believe it, "They call my name", applause and more photo's. I am by now walking on air as I get showered with good and best wishes.

 

I have learnt some lessons from this escapade: (On reflection and looking back makes for wiser words)

1. Always give yourself a chance;
   
2. Never give up;
   
3. Always come back from disaster (as quickly as possible);
   
4. You do not have to shoot a whale shark to win;
   
5. Trust your gut;
   

Enjoy, one for the memory bank! I am now planning a trip to Kenya. Eat your heart out! Thank You Doodles!

Picking Up The Pieces

What do you call a guy that flooded his new camera? Shattered!! L

 

It is now about two months after my fateful dive at Anton's. That is the dive that that flooded my new 7D....caused my computer to crash....lost me the opportunity to compete at the shootout.

I guess everyone wants to know how I am coping and what the fallout is, has been, and what next?

I can record I am plotting a revenge comeback. That will take some time. To start I tried repairing the camera. After all it looked fine, only a bit of water entered. Sadly after spending another R250 i got the bad news, the 7D is destined to be a museum piece or paper weight. The good news was that the compact disc was fine and I even managed to retrieve the morning dive data. No winners there sadly.

Let's talk computers, any luck there. First I need to tell of the "disruption" that hit us even as we prepared for the Shootout. Yes dear Sue dropped the Mac PC that we normally use for our shoots and we had to take it in for repairs, hence the reason we took the new 4 Core 27" Imac. Now I had the ultimate weapon anyway! So in fact we had four disasters, at least. I also dived without turning on my air, so what can i say, stayed at home, Never!

I took the Imac back and waited. Did we lose the hard disc as well? Was it still under warranty? Fortunately our luck changed. Only the graphics card had gone and everything else was OK! Wow at least there is a change of luck her. I could at least recover all photos that I was unable to enter as well as all our shots from the Monday. I thought I had some reasonable efforts, but no winners. In any please be the judge yourself. I think my conservation shot might again have been a contender.

 

Underwater photography remains an elusive art. You need to know the reefs, dive well, know your equipment, have some luck and have a reliable computer. So what are the lessons? I guess first, do not change your dive procedures. Keep to your regime. Secondly make backups. Thirdly id the bad luck runs then it runs. Lastly I guess it all asks hard questions about yourself and the future. Well the good news is I have a new camera and we all wait with bated breath. Next year is far away. I cannot wait.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Triple Blowout at the Shootout!

We go down for our last dive of the competition at my beloved Anton's. I specifically asked for this dive at this time as the sun is at its best for wide angle (my chosen category). This time I decide to do a backward roll with my camera. On all the previous dives I had the camera handed to me. The camera was fine on the previous dive although I had to replace my one strobe during the off gas period since my left strobe seemed to have packed up. I feel a bit of a surge as I fall back, but assume everything is OK and start with my normal ritual of turning on strobes and checking camera arm position. I check for confirmation that there is no water in the housing chamber and that the pilot light is on indicating communication between camera and strobe. With a chill I realise that something is wrong as I see no light!. I am already 12 metres down and dropping. I do not see any water, but as I turn the camera anxiously I see the water in the dome, not a lot, but enough, my dive is over, I abort and bolt for surface, no time for a safety stop today! The dive boat picks me up and I assess the damage. It looks bad...I know my new D7 is history.

The annual Sodwana Shootout has become the premier underwater photographic competition in South Africa. The cream of underwater photographers congregate for four days in South Africa's diving capital. It has indeed become a wonderful occasion where old friends meet, new acquaintances are made, many new tricks are learnt and taught, but most importantly serious competition takes place. The competition is now in its eleventh year having started in 2000 and during that time have launched the career of most of South Africa's best known underwater photographers.

My wife Sue and I have a long association with the shootout. In 2002 I bought her a starter Sea and Sea underwater camera. Everyone said you have to have a camera in the Red Sea and we were due a trip. We always liked taking family photo's before that but that was it. Now we were introduced to an entirely new adventure.

Sue decided to enter the 2003 Shootout. She and my prospective son in law, Steve, went down early in the week. He acted a s spotter. I only drove down on the Thursday night to support her. In the meantime I had bought myself a housing for my Sony P5 at Male airport in the Maldives. (The best place in the world to buy any diving equipment). I naturally had a few dives and took some photos, but it was too late to enter. In fact there was no digital section and common consensus amongst the experts was that digital had a long way to go before it could beat film. (Strangely, I was not convinced about it.) On the Saturday night Sue wins the Novice section and I guess that got us hooked or was it because Steve and I ended up late into the night celebrating. We met some new friends too.

A year passes sweetly and again we make the trip down. Work only permits me two days, but again it is most enjoyable. Sue now has a better camera and the whole emphasis is in finding a "subject". In the meantime we have been advised to try Reef Teach as dive operator. This is when we met Neville Ayliff, the Sodwana diving legend. We have been diving with Reef teach ever since.

I am now a competitor too and one of the first digital entrants. No winners, but we have a great time. We decided to go fully digital in 2005 as making color slides or prints were getting expensive and it was not fun to wait to see if you "got" the shot. Digital changed all that. With DLSR and compacts you can SRA (Shoot, Review, Adjust). Yes it was dangerous taking expensive cameras down under, but that was what was done anyway with film.

Talk in 2005 was still that there should be two categories and that film will always have its place. (have you seen the blues are better on film we are told with knowing nods) Sadly or belatedly in 2006 there was no special class for film. All the film cameras had bit the dust in less than two years! (Wise words guys!). By 2006 we have started to come down for the full week. Find a subject and try and hope for the best. Sadly again we were also rans. We did have a good time though with the many friends. It has now also become clear that one need to know some photoshop. No shop no prize! . We also end up spending both Decembers of 2005 and 2006 for three weeks at Sodwana. Not only do we make more friends, we also now get to know the reefs really well.

We were there again for 2007 and I even had some models working with me. I took some good pictures, but sadly had lots of back scatter on the best ones and I did not have the foggiest idea how to fix that. My friends were having a beer, so I ended up with no time to fix it anyway. I got a highly commended though as I got a fantastic shot of a large school of resident slingers at Anton's. Now that was a golden hour, if ever there was one. So much activity and shots to take. I think in retrospect I was in a hurryIn 2008 we again participate complete with model. This has now really become an enjoyable annual pilgrimage. I have decided that I am permanently learning. Somehow the weather is not great and I probably did not adjust my white balance properly. I think I entered the wrong photo's proving again how important selection is. Meanwhile Sue is struggling, good photos but no wow! We leave empty handed. By now it has become clear that starting photography underwater is a difficult business. During the competition you need at least three good skills;

• Excellent diving;
  
• Good photography skills; and
  
• Good Photoshop skills.
  

Sue and I have both qualified as DM's, take reasonable photos and I try and do PS. I have now also installed PS Lightroom on our computer which actually works better than Photoshop if you take half decent photos.

In 2009 we have our best Shootout! I take wonderful photos, select the wrong ones or the judges do not like mine. However Sue makes quite a comeback and wins second in Macro. I win a third in the Conservation category using my PS skills. You have come a long way baby! In 2010 we will win the World Cup!

 

So we duly arrive and start diving the Monday before the Shootout. I have a new 7D and Sue is using a 50D now. I also have mu new iMac with the latest software. Not too many competitors we are told so our hopes are up. The weather is gorgeous and Anton's is as good as ever. We try some new spots and hope all the mantas, whale sharks people have spotted recently. On Wednesday we register and meet old and new friends. We get into bed really early. As we expect to do three dives. On Thursday the weather is fine although the wind starts blowing strongly in the afternoon as we do our three dives. We download our photo's and are reasonably happy, but need better. On the last dive my left strobe appears to pack up. I improvise and take some half decent photos with my slave. Sue's camera hits "Error 99". Sue dives Bikini, Mellow Yellow and Caves to Anton's. I do Anton's, Mellow Yellow and Caves as well. We get to bed early, we are tired but happy we have some "bankers".

On Friday Sue dives Bikini twice and I dive Simon's. Unfortunately we have different subjects as she shoots macro and I like wide angle. (That way we keep the competition a bit outside the family) My strobe has now finally packed up and I go and get my spare strobe. I am ready to do the final dive. Sue in the meantime has found a great shot and she wants to go back and try and improve the shot. I feel good in attacking my favourite Anton's again. "Be careful not flood Sue" is my prophetic final words.

We get back ashore and learn that two mantas have been sighted by Sue's group. In the meantime I have a flood but I suggest that I can use my old 20D and try to at least shoot something else. So we decide to go back to Bikini despite my flood. What is the traditional advice after falling from a horse, "get back on" is it not? So off we go around three o'clock in failing light. Its only me, Sue, Charlie , Brian and Corlia. Come manta come. Unfortunately we find no manta but Charlie gets some great shots. Sue has another "Error 99". So much for our Shootout. Fortunately I have three hundred shots from yesterday and I am confident that my morning dive would yield something as the card appears to be fine.

 

We arrive at our room. I rush to download Sue's shots. I thought I had left the computer on, but it's down. I switch on but the nothing happens. Things really cannot get worse. I call for help from friends. The good thing about the shootout is that much help is always around despite the competitive atmosphere. By this time a cold shiver passes through my back. My shootout is hanging on a thread. At least i have this morning's shots. The afternoon shots were nothing. Fortunately I have my small laptop with me and download Sue's photos. I have Lightroom and CS3 on the computer so I feel bulletproof despite the obvious setback. We try four computers, but no one sees any photos. I guess Murphy the famous Irish prophet's bad omens have really hit me. We are now down to Sue's two Friday dives. She has some good shots and she feels confident. At least we have an entry. I console myself, lick my wounds, for the first time since 2003, no entry from me.

The weather deteriorates badly the Friday night and the winter cold hits Sodwana on the Saturday. I enter our photos sorry, Sue's photos and have breakfast, a midday sleep waiting for the Super 14 final. At least a South African team wins is an empty consolation. We hit the prize giving and Sue remains confident. Halfway through she comes to tell me one of the judges says her photos are too much saturated and were thrown out. No prizes for our team, we have had a triple blow out at the Shootout. I run into Charlie the overall winner. He shot his winning shot on the last dive. At least my flood contributed to something positive! Well done Charlie!

 

At last the Bulls won and now we continue to drown our sorrows talking to old friends. I talk to Megan who I have dived with many times and she now works in Barra. It is late and we have another Jack. I am sure I have had enough, but everyone else is still going strong. Megan and I reminisce about how much we love Sodwana diving. We are both convinced it is the best in the world.

" I dreammm.... of two mile" says Megan. I agree and ask which route she likes best. She likes the route Pinnacle to Four Buoy. I can only love Anton's. It's getting late, eventually we get to bed. The next day we get going on the long road back home in Fourways after 7. I have a slight headache as we drive back. The breakfast at Hluhluwe sorts that out however. I think about the week's events as we drive. Despite the significant reverse I have only positive thoughts; "I'll be back" Next time must be my time.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dream Dives

The question is often posed. "What is the best dive you have had Clive?"

Clearly that is a difficult question and one has to be qualified to answer that. Now I am no Jacques Cousteau, but with a few dives under my belt on a few different sites and different conditions let me talk about wonderful dive experiences that I have had over the last ten years.

Unfortunately diving has come late in my life but not too late. I have however taken to it almost like a duck to water, qualifying as a Dive Master about five years ago and notching up over five hundred dives in the process. I have also started photography underwater which is perhaps not the ideal place to start given the fact that it can get quiet technical while one deals with underwater conditions. So I am limited in experience, but have nevertheless dived extensively in Southern Africa (SA and Mozambique), Mauritius and Seychelles. In addition I have travelled to Indonesia, Thailand, Burma, Maldives, Zanzibar and the Red Sea twice. Heck I have almost forgot, I even had a nice dive in Nice!

Now back to the question. "What makes a good dive site." The answer is not difficult. It has to be predictable. That means you tell someone about it or take him there and he experiences more or less what you have experienced before or described. A good example is the Thistlegorm. It is accessible to most divers and while there may be current and visibility variance, the wreck is always there. Then the site must offer something different, something interesting and some excitement. The latter is always brought by current and the presence of large animals.

No lets talk about criteria. Firstly as a wide angle photographer I unfortunately discount all the good macro sites like Bikini at Sodwana where I hang in the background watching Sue shoot (while I wait for the manta). I swore an oath since I ran into a whale shark ( at very close range nogal) at L'lotte a few years ago with a 100mm on my camera."I will never shoot macro again". I do however now as a compromise dive with a 17-85mm zoom as well to be a bit more flexible. The 10mm fish eye forces you have to really shoot big stuff and very close by. Undoubtedly the site needs to have some photographic interest such as a wreck, good coral, lost of fish life, unusual creatures etc.. Thirdly I must have dived the site at least more than once to prove or validate the site so to speak. This last criteria unfortunately disqualifies many good dives.

So here is my list: The list is not in any order but you can judge for yourself. As you can see I can vouch for the sites in no uncertain terms. I unfortunately did not count if I have dived a site more than six times. I also do not have my own photos for Shark Cave as I did not take photos then, but Sue's will do. I did not include having taken a photo as a criteria..shoo!

1. Manta Reef-Mozambique: 9 times
   
2. Antons-Sodwana; many, many times
   
3. Shark Reef (and Yolanda Wreck)-Ras Mohammad: four times
   
4. L'ilotte-Seychelles: many times
   
5. Thistlegorm-Red sea: six times
   
6. Shark Cave –Mauritius; six times
   
7. Brisaire and Dragon's teeth; many times
   
8. Seven mile-Sodwana: Countless
   
9. Doodles-Mozambique; Quite a few times
   
10. Mannes Bank-Seychelles: Four times
    

Other contenders considered, but disqualified by the criteria or otherwise: Quarter mile, Roonies, Doodles, Pinnacles, Bass City, Grand Bazaar, Johnnies, Bikini, Lembeh straits, Burma banks, Richelieu rocks, Three sisters, Nine Mile-Sodwana, Marianne South and many others.

So why do these dives warrant selection? Clearly my biaise, but I have spent many enjoyable hours in the water at these reefs and have some great photo's to prove it. Sure, I like lots of fish, some pelagic action and some interesting animals but most of all turtles…Need I say more.

1. Manta Reef
   

I spent some enjoyable hours at the end of 2003 and the beginning of 2004 at Paindane where we were introduced to this fabulous reef. It was part of a family "Drive and Dive" holiday, ( Ma, Pa and two boys, what a wonderful time to all be under water together). We actually had our first dive on manta on Xmas day and I just knew it was going to be special when as we were busy kitting up we were joined by a small whale shark who had lost his mommy.

Diving conditions were excellent throughout the next week, but nothing tops our dive (s) on New Years Day. We did Manta twice! That day the viz was never ending and the three cleaning stations were very busy. We lay there at 25m gaping at the spectacle. It was very much like a huge air port with huge 3-6m mantas gliding in for "cleaning". Then on the first dive we had a magical moment when as we were ascending we were visited by a large whale shark and some devil ray. I missed the latter but have a pic of a manta and whale shark (not a great one, but a record). The mantas make what is a very good reef starting with a fish bowl with good schools of big eyes and snappers, a resident large potatoes bass and lion fish plus numerous smaller critters a world class site. In addition the site is in fact a very advanced and challenging site where most operators allow you to undergo a negative descent dive, starting at 16m and ending at almost 29m. One needs to watch your computer all the time, which is not easy with all the animal activity and trying to shoot the ultimate shot. Plankton and current can increase the challenge of the site but in my view it is undoubtedly the best dive site I have dived. What a great family bonding experience.

1. Anton's
   

   
   

   Sodwana Bay is in my view the most underrated dive locations. We South Africans do not promote and value it highly enough. Many prefer to dive across the border at say Ponta because the beach is better and more accessible. Despite that I can say categorically that the quality of diving at Sodwana is better and second to none. I have spent two Decembers there for three weeks diving nonstop and the more you dive the more it surprises and delivers as it has been during the annual shootout in May for the last ten years.
   

   
   

   Anton's is situated on the southern point of two mile reef and many people start and cave and overhangs (or even further up) then migrate to Anton's. I prefer just doing Anton's as it has my personal favourite weakness, large fish schools of zebra, slingers and humpback and blue banded snappers. Set against some colourful corals what more can one ask for. Through in the wonderful collection of other fish, such as baartman, king fish, and various groupers not to mention the resident potato bass and turtle. Yes the current needs to be "work" for the fish to aggregate and it can be a bit of washing machine if the swell runs, but hey on average. I can also tell that even the macro guys like Anton's because I have seen the whip gobies, frog fish, anemones and shrimps that have been shot on this fabulously consistent underwater site.
   

I have had some of my best ever dives here. One can easily strike a hot streak with a turtle, big bass, large schools of snappers, slingers, hump head snappers and much more in 20 minutes, simply awesome!

1. Shark Reef (and Yolanda Wreck)
   

Ever been on a roller coaster? On an underwater roller coaster? Got you! Shark Reef must be one of the best around as its underwater and when the current pumps you get swept along a wild ride from anemone city through shark reef and then around the bend to the site of the wreck of the Yolanda where you can have a toilet seat of you want one. (Sadly they tell me the toilets are no more). I did this site three times in 2002 and once in 2004 and I will always remember the tuna, the king fish, the bat fish and all the beautiful other critters along the wall. It is different to most dives as it is a wall dive t hat you cam start at 20 plus and end up in the shallows. As most red sea dives are wall dives one can either check the wall or the blue behind you and in most cases you will be well rewarded.

Sadly it is unlikely that you will not see a shark (as is the case with most reefs with the name shark in it). The Reef is situated in the Ras Mohammad marine park and is actually offshore and as many of the reefs there submerged islands. The reef is actually made up of three submerges islands and you have to stay on the outside until you are swept round the last one to then get to calmer shallower water and the site of the Yolanda wreck/ When we dived it you could still use the toilets. One needed the toilets as you were also prone to be attacked by some of the most vicious titan trigger fish. Along the way there were critters such as crocodile fish, scorpion fish and others to keep watchful divers occupied.

Our last dive was quite eventful as the current was very strong and swept us around the second island and we there we were three dive masters and two instructors, helpless to get back on, We watched some attempt the swim against the current and suck their cylinders dry. We elected to have a longer dove and explored the back of the island before completing our safety stop.

Diving the Red Sea never disappoints!

1. L'ilotte
   

What can one say about a site where the whale shark lurks. This innocuous looking islet off the north coast of Mahe has so much to offer. It is only 18m deep and prone to viz and current variance. It does however offer fantastic bounty for both macro and wide angle photographers. There is fantastic soft and hard coral along the vertical granite rock face. Shot against dapple light and blue water surroundings can be quite striking. But it is the fish life; large schools of bat fish, snappers, big eyes and most astounding and unusual a large resident school of buffalo parrot fish that are the most striking. These schools typically congregate en masse when there is current. Throw in that whale sharks frequent the area September through January and it is really a special place. Yes it was here that I heard "chariots of fire" play underwater when at 16m Sue tugged me from behind my damn 100mm lens and showed me the 8m whale shark accompanied by a swarm of remora led by some yellow pilot jacks. We immediately abandoned the dive and upon surfacing our skipper had already spotted that in fact there were eight of these beautiful creatures following the schools of mackerel following the plankton. A truly wonderful, bone chilling experience that a few words can never really get across, but those of us that have seen and experience will surely agree and concur while each of us have our reminiscence of equally exquisite times.

Have I spoken about the eagle ray squadrons, Napoleons, schools of yellow kingfish, white tip reef sharks, nurse sharks I can also report that the macro guys have shot a paper fish, partner and whip gobies and even a frog fish at this exceptional site.

L'ilotte reigns supereme!

1. Thistlegorm
   

   
   

   We had just finished a morning dive in wonderful calm conditions near Ras Mohammed on our way to the Thistlegorm when our dive leader stormed in and said. "I have great news." "I have just spoken to the captain and he wants us to sail for the Thistlegorm now instead of tomorrow morning early. Seas are expected to be quite calm and that way we can have an afternoon exploratory dive as well as a night dive. Tomorrow we will do our scheduled dives early morning before the rush from Sharm arrives"
   

   The excitement (and trepidation) in our group immediately increased manyfold. This is what we came for. The Thistlegorm is easily the most dived site in the world (and for good reason). It is an easily accessible wreck lying between 16 nad 30m in reasonable conditions, although viz and current can spoil the party (or increase the adventure). This 10 000 WW2 freighter was bombed by German Heinkel bombers from Crete looking for the troop carrier Queen Mary. The bombers were on their return flight and dropped the bombs mistaking the ship for their target. The Thistlegorm took a direct hit on its ammunition hold while lying at anchor on its way with vital war supplies to the British troops in Egypt. Three sailors unfortunately did not survive but the rest were all taken to safety.
   

In the fifties Jacques Cousteau found the wreck and salvaged most of the bounty including the precious ship's bell. Cousteau never disclosed the ship position and it was only rediscovered in the eighties when people starting diving seriously in Sinai. Since then much damage and pilferage has occurred to the wreck but it it is still a spectacle to behold as it now is home to some special marine life while also affording most amateur a guided penetration dive. On board one can still see the Bedford trucks, motor cycles guns and other supplies.( No bodies, maybe some ghosts)

On the way to the site four of us had enrolled for a Nitrox course (great selling) that would enable us longer dive time on this fabulous site. So we tried to complete ours studying in a hurry to be suitably qualified in the morning….By the time we got their in late afternoon we were well versed and ready to go. We quickly got into our gear and into the flat ocean and descended down to have a recce on the captain's cabin and main control, rooms. After about 40minutes we were back on board and having an early supper, no sundowners. What follows were really special. This was my ( and Sue's) first night dive and ON the THISTLEGORM nogal WOW! We got ready and prepared for a30 minute dive. One of our team was so excited he forgot his weight belts, but at that time we were already down the anchor rope and it was too late to return, So we all helped him stay down with spare weights and stayed below and completed. Strangely even the experienced divers sucked their tanks dry in 30 minutes. Was it thoughts of bluebeard….

The next day we went down to 30m and swam around the large wreck of around 50m. We encountered some current but it was a great experience. Then we did the penetration and what a wonderful experience, finding ones way through dark passages, thank you for torches and guides! Be careful what you touch as rusted steel is no one's friend but what about the scorpion fish masquerading on the rusted parts. Be warned.

Many, many divers frequent this dive every day. Some days there may be as much as 30 boats with about 20 divers apiece. Nevertheless the dive remains worth it and we certainly enjoyed the dive two years later but this time conditions were l less benign and we only did two dives. I will be the first one for another dive. Sadly I do not have many pictures as I was still very much a hacker in those days.

This is a dive with difference!

1. Shark Cave also known as Shark Pit
   

This remote dive is at Pigeon Rock the other side of Flat Island north of Grand Baie Mauritius. Normally white tip or most other sharks make their way away from divers. (How many times do we really encounter the beasts most of our non-diving friends are so scared of?)

I was fortunate to have dived this excellent site about four times some seven years ago and have never forgotten the sheer excitement of this very close encounter with our worst fears.

The dive is quite an interesting one as one descends to about 18m and then one ascends through a narrow tunnel/swim through to a depth of around 10m where around 6-8 divers can hover in amphitheatre watching a large number of white tip reef sharks circle in the cave. Sometimes look behind you at what is bumping and it another one coming through the back door.

I never forget on one of dives with an Italian Gentlemen who was not going to go down without a fight against the "dangerous sharks". As we hovered as quietly as our regulators would allow in a semicircles enjoying the awesome site of the circling sharks , I glanced sideways when I caught a shiny glimmer. I almost drowned laughing as this was our man was holding out a large knife ala crocodile Dundee. Man that was a knife1 Sadly our intrepid hero was also weighted too heavy and steadily kicked everything around him to powder and dust. I thought with irritation, people like that should get a life diving ban but sadly diving in Mauritius had not yet reached the conservation approach when I dived this stunning,must dive site about seven years ago. Will go back soon! The site is best dived in December, at least that is when we dived it with success.

1. Brisaire and Dragon's teeth
   

   
   

   Pick up any dive book of the Seychelles and Brisaire gets a mention as a top site. I have been fortunate enough to have dived this beautiful place a number of times together with its sister reef, Dragon's teeth. The two rock pinnacles are about 6 km off the northwest point of Mahe, the main island of the Seychelles archipelago. The two sites are mostly done on a two tank dive and is accessible from most dive resorts in Northern Mahe. Currents can be a problem so care should be taken what time of the month the sites are dived. Both sites are around 16-18m in depth and the exposed granite pinnacles taper down to the bottom like an upside cone. The coral both soft and hard is in remarkable condition making the diving all the more pleasure-able. Many local experts rate Dragon's teeth as the best dive in Seychelles even though it is often mentioned in a second breath to Brizaire.
   

   
   

   The fish life at both sites is prolific. Large schools of crescent tail big eyes and blue banded snappers abound. There are also many other varieties such as oriental sweet lips, various wrasses and parrot fish, Invariable a number of large Bumphead parrot fish and napoleons come looking at the divers and then shy away. On Brizaire one is likely to see a few white tip reef sharks and sometimes even dolphin and whale shark. A regular site is a number of eagle rays patrolling the area, followed by one or more hawksbill or green turtle. One is sure to find a variety of lion and scorpion fish plus a number of smaller critters. My favorite past time at these site is too hang around these schools of fish. Like clockwork towards the end of the dive large schools of fusiliers come around for closer investigation.
   

   
   

   There is usually some very active pelagic activity especially if the current is pumping a bit. These include some large schools of barracuda and a variety of king fish. Dives last around one hour on 10-12 liters and pass all too soon in the invariable spectacular 20plus viz.
   

   
   

   These dives are consistent good dives that always offer something new and spectacular.
   

1. Seven mile
   

   This is arguable the most famous dive at Sodwana whether you do Mushroom rock, amphitheatre or Northern wall. The dive is a twenty minute boat ride from Sodwana and is surprise, surprise seven miles from Jesser Point. The dive can be prone to some current and the viz is variable. Strike it on a good day and you descend in blue waters to a depth of around 22m. One of the most striking memories I have of this wonderful wall dive at Sodwana is the beautiful walls of red thistle coral covered by large schools of blue banded snappers, goat fish, trumpet fish and all other mostly yellow creatures.
   

   The dive provides unique photo opportunities and on a good day one cannot but think you are in an aquarium. Other life also abound such as schools of surgeon and big eyes, some turtle and invariable many scorpion fish. Sometimes one sights a white tip, grey or even a tiger shark….
   

   Reef conditions can vary but the rich fish and coral life abound making this a truly memorable site.
   

   Seven mile is mostly done around fifty minutes and time flies when one has fun. A dive for many happy returns.
   

2. Doodles
   

   
   

   Doodles is the inimitable "house reef" of Ponta D'Ouro, a small coral formation a mere ten minutes from the launch area. The site has a fish bowl of fish, some interesting pelagic activity, a resident loggerhead, large inquisitive potatoe bass and much more. Most people do one of their qualifying dives at this site. Other people go to Ponta for the weekend and die the site four times despite good weather and availability of other sites. It is similar to Stringer at Sodwana but probably can be dived more regularly as it is deeper and less susceptible to the swell.
   

   Doodles is around sixteen to eighteen meters and despite being only about fifty meters long offers a lot for both the experienced and beginner diver. The site offers many rays and sometimes dolphin and some sharks. Vizability varies from ten to forty meters. On one of my first dive there over an Easter weekend we had less than ideal viz and followed our dive leader's yellow fins, that is three of us on the advanced course. Twenty minutes into the dive, the dive leader signaled us to ascend. Suddenly we realized we were in the wrong group, but we had no choice as we had no clue where the rest of our group was, what a shock as even I had tons of air left.
   

On another occasions the swells were so big that we missed the reef, yes it is a small reef and looking at sand ripples is not fun. Needless to say we recovered and still had an enjoyable 45 minutes.,

Doodles brings many happy memories.

1. Mannes bank
   

   This little known reef off turtle rock near the Mahé airport is a real gem. In variable a mild current pulls you along this rather deep dive of around 22 metres. The reef has abundant coral and fish life and one invariable also se the resident large nurse shark and some other pelagic activity. Squadrons of eagle ray, Napoleons and bump head make the day. It is also one of the few place in Seychelles where one finds the skunk anemone. Both soft and hard coral are in excellent condition.
   

   The reef is submerged making it different to most Seychelles dive sites. The reef is a circular underwater plateau with a wall of around 5-10 meters.
   

These are my selection of dream dives. Not necessarily the best ever but certainly all worthwhile.

Future topics

• The near misses
  
  • Burma Banks
    
  • Richelieu Rocks
    
  • Lembeh straits
    
  • Quarter Mile
    
  • Aliwal Shoal
    
  • Nine Mile
    
  • Pinnacles
    
  • Mahe tilla
    

• More Seychelles diving
  

• The Sodwana Shootout:
  

• Sites to dive in future
  

  
  

  • Cuba
    
  • Aldbara
    
  • Des Riches
    
  • Palau
    
  • Chuuk Lagoon
    
  • ABC islands
    
  • Chagos
    

• The little one
  

  
  

• Recalling the Tsunami
  

  
  

• Drive and Dive
  

  
  

• A diver is born
  

  
  

• Now we take pictures too
  

  
  

• Taking care of Sue
  

  
  

• Diving Family
  

  
  

• Greater diving family
  

  
  

• Diving holidays
  

  
  

• It all started in Mauritius, an adventure in diving
  

  
  

• Recalling the Red Sea
  

Clive in Beijing

Marianne and Johnnies

Seychelles Diving: Two worlds in one!

I wake up with a jolt. The boat is moving! I have a slight headache, remnant of some extra Jack last night. Then I remember we asked Skipper Alastair to start early so that we can see the sharks of Marianne South before breakfast ( and not be breakfast ourselves!. We have three guests on board, two of them avid diving photographers like ourselves and we have been on safari in the Seychelles for the last three days.
I get up and good wife Sue has already made tasty plunger coffee. A tasty muesli Rusk breaks the morning stomach pangs. Fortunately I have given up smoking else I think the aches would have been worse . Weather is calm despite the slight breeze of the previous days which caused some slight discomfort on mooring choice at night. Rowan our intrepid Dive Leader is already up on the fly bridge of the 42 ft Catamaran, Suzy-Q with Alastair. The boat is moving at about 8 knots on calm flat seas and no wind. Things are looking good.
“I hope we see some sharks today” says Rowan. “We will try a better drop-off if the current permits.” We both silently relish the thought of some exciting animal encounters especially for our guests.
This is the second time we have tried this site renowned for its schools of grey reef sharks. The previous time (about eight months earlier) we were restricted by bad weather and although we saw some white tip reef sharks (one sees one on most dives in the Seychelles) no Grey Reef Shark was spotted. Truth be known we also did not have the exact drop-off point. Unless you get it from someone by paying, bribing (or other means) one has to resort in the Seychelles to some exciting adventure discovery dives. Another option is to find another dive boat on the prospective site and watch their drop-off point carefully (assuming they know what they are doing). Marking the spot on the GPS then becomes a formality. (This is how e got Johnnies!) This however is a rare occurrence in the Seychelles (to find many boats on any site) especially on remote ones like Marianne South! This site is only really accessible from the sole dive operation on nearby La Dique island or by long range yacht.
I go down to the kit up area where our guests ( Andrew and Fernando) are now already kitting up while sipping some more of the aroma rich coffee. The sea is flat and everyone is now starting to look forward to the dive. Andrew and Sue busy fixing their cameras. Sue does not really care about Sharks as she has her macro lens on ( this is a religion!) but Andrew is busy fitting his new 14mm wide angle onto his new camera. As an equally avid macro man he gas asked me twice what lens to use. He also plans to shot some video as that is what this new toy ( %D Mark II) also does well. He shot some amazing footage yesterday at Ave Maria of the masses of sweepers and schools of patrolling golden pilot jacks (king fish or trevallies) . Sue is fast finding her feet with my 100m lens and shooting some “good ones” as well having shot previously mostly with a 60mm. Fernando and I finish our coffee. We did our gear last night already. In fact Andrew kept me awake last night ( or was I the culprit?) as we also solved some of the world’s great problems. Not sure about those solutions right now. This late night is really the cause of my slight headache which fortunately is now subsiding as it makes way for the growing excitement of the morning dive. Glad Rowan did most of the kitting up though!
About thirty minutes after departing Anse Petite, our wonderful anchorage off the island of La Dique , we arrive at Marianne South, the southerly point of the island Marianne. We are all ready and there is a silence of excitement. The viz she looks good and we can see the blue bottom in navy blue seas. Alastair and Rowan scout the site. We want to drop off as close to the southerly point. The depth gauge is showing that we are now around 20 meters and decreasing. We are about 50 metres from the land. The land mass is dramatic with beautiful shaped granitic rocks covered with lush green vegetation.
“Lets drop here” says Alastair and Rowan drops in first to gauge current. He quickly gives the all clear sign and we all drop in like flies. We have one non diving guest on board but she only watched with bemusement as at 80 she is not a diver although a strong swimmer.
We descend into the blue warm waters (temperature 28 degrees) and the photographers frantically get their cameras ready on the way down. The viz really is good and there is no current to speak of. Marianne South is actually very different to most other dive sites in the Seychelles as it is almost a wall dive. The 20 plus metres of granitic boulders are really dramatic and it “colours” up nicely when photographed, especially with some coral on it.
We see our first white tip and everyone is now fully alert and awake as we move along “right shoulder”. (In the Seychelles you only have two directions depending on current). We soon see some great schooling snappers, soldier fish and big eyes. We watch a small squadron of eagle rays glide past effortlessly and a turtle making his way up for air. Then suddenly out of nowhere he is there! A nice two metre grey reef shark appears out of nowhere. His mere presence immediately has the attention and cautious respect of all of us. Circling us a few times and coming a bit closer in to investigate we try our best to get a good shot. Suddenly it rears off as it loses interest. Unfortunately save for PID not great photos. (Wide angle shots require “virtual kissing the animal” and we were still about four meters away!)
Suddenly we realize we have to honour our deco times and some of us are running low on air after a dive where we touched 22metres. Slowly we ascend back into the blue until we reach our safety stop. A few friendly bat fish come close rand play. There is some interesting jelly fish for the macro guys in the water and a remora is seeking a host with one of us. After a fabulous 61 minutes we are back on Suzy-Q for breakfast, in time for Spanish omelets.
The above dive at Marianne is the second last dive on our three day safari. We have breakfast on the boat as we make our way back to base camp or Eden Island about 20 nautical miles away on Mahe the largest and principal island of the Seychelles. We reach Mahe in the early afternoon after a leisure trawling speed. We manage to hook some Job and Bonito for the braai later tonight.
Rowan calls the last dive of the Safari at the Eden island “house reef,” Johnny’s Rock., a real special reef.
The rock is serious of submerged boulders covered with beautiful stag and plate coral as well as some interesting soft coral. The site is is only about 20 minutes from Eden island off the Mahe coastline. The highest point of the boulder lurks only 5m below water level. There is significant fish live activity, a lovely pair of swim-throughs and a number of interesting cleaning stations. There is the usual resident reef shark, pair of huge Napoleon wrasse and buffalo parrot fish. Fish so large you really get a fright because of their last shadow! There is also a resident school of dolphin that patrols the area and has been encountered underwater. When we arrived earlier in the summer the whole reef was covered in millions of sweepers and bait fish dancing around the boulders. A huge school of golden kingfish was patrolling the area in hunt of nature’s bounty.
We have wasted a bit of time fishing along the way and it is quite overcast when we finally fall into the water (with giant stride and all) almost at 4 o clock. The viz is not so good as the previous week and it almost eerie dark. However arriving below a new sight greets us. All the reef is covered in “yellow flowers” as the turret coral have opened up, mixed with red thistle coral ,dark blue sea and silver dancing bait fish make for a spectacular vision.

It is quite clear that the sweepers masses have now been seriously depleted by the marauding golden trevallies. There is still a few million left however. The macro guys find some spectacular anemones and all with porcelain crab! The resident white tip scout s around as we approach the swim through. An eagle ray drifts past looking for food. This reef is something special as we enjoy the spectacle below us at the safety stop.

We finally ascend after 61 minutes. A great day of diving! I visited the Seychelles the first time in 1991. At that stage I was no diver (yet), but I can remember the good snorkeling and the lingering interest in the resort course being taught in the hotel swimming pool. However the sheer beauty of the islands ( paper white beaches, blue water rugged grey mountains and lush vegetation). I made a promise then that I will be back!
Nine years later I visited Mauritius and had to do a resort course as in the interim I had watched my wife and youngest son qualify as Padi open water divers. Me and the rest of the family duly did nine dives and then as they say the rest was history, the family got hooked1today everyone dives and we have two serious photographers in the family.
We eventually came back to Seychelles in 2007 for a holiday and then renewed our love affair by buying a place at Eden island and then also Suzy Q!, today the ultimate diving experience in the Seychelles.
Suzy is 42 ft Africat with tow IPS Volvo D6 engines. Three cabins and on board anything to keep you busy and satisfied from a TV to full dive gear and of course an ice machine. Suzy operates from the new Eden island marina the highly successful marina development in Seychelles that has been largely done by a South African developer.

Marianne Island
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Marianne Island is a small (238 acres) granitic island of the Seychelles. It is located 3.8 km ESE of Félecité Island. The island was a former coconut plantation, and on the western side of the island is a long beach. The southern tip of Marianne is known as a world-class diving location. The tallest peak on the island is Estel Hill at 130 meters.
Presently, Marianne Island is uninhabited but is routinely visited by tourists and boaters. For much of the 19th and 20th century, farming and copra production took place on Marianne. There was a former settlement called La Cour, and in 1940 the island had 60 inhabitants.
There are a few species of gecko on Marianne, including the La Digue day gecko (Phelsuma sundbergi ladiguensis) and Phelsuma astriata semicarinata. Reportedly, the rare Seychelles Paradise Flycatcher {Terpsiphone corvina) is occasionally spotted on the island.[1]. Also, it was once home to the extinct Seychelles Chestnut-sided White-eye.
[edit] References
Report on Marianne Island
^ [1] Nature Seychelles
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marianne_Island"
Categories: Islands of Seychelles

MAP and some pictures


The Seychelles are a group of 115 islands spread over a very large ocean mass. The Seychelles lie just south of the equator and although tropical are free of malaria and enjoy a high rainfall and a humid ambient 30 degrees C year round. The islands have two prevailing wind systems. The stronger SE monsoon blows May thru September and the milder NW Monsoon prevails November – February. In between these times there are fairly wind free times that makes for the best diving but diving is in fact possible year round.
Mahe is the main and biggest island with Victoria the capital. The population of Seychelles is around 90 000 with most people living on Mahe, Praslin and La Dique but with the majority on Mahe. Mahe lie only 4 degrees south of the equator and the weather is highly tropical with harsh sunshine, high ambient temperatures of around 30 degrees and very humid (one has to get used to this). If you are diver this is much less of a problem as we spend so much time at 28 degrees our bodies hardly know better. Rainfall annually approach three metres and the rain showers are both torrid (almost like a “leibeurt”) but moist welcome as they cool matters down as well. The best time f here is April-May or October/November, although trust me it is still very nice in December as well.
The Seychelles broadly consist of the inner islands situated on a large underwater granitic plateau that is no deeper than 50m. At the so called drop-off where the depth plunges to thousands of metres there are the first of the outer islands that are all in fact coral atolls. These islands are all varying distances away from the capital Victoria and beg for further exploration. At the moment we restrict ourselves to the inner islands. Apparently here are some stunning wall dives at Des Roches, Alphonse and of course Aldabra, but that surely must be the subject of later discoveries.
Diving the Seychelles offer great bounty. There are masses of fish and underwater life despite significant bleaching following the 1998 El Nino. The good news is that the coral is recovering nicely. The fish life is still prolific and many interesting species abound.
In my (limited) view the reefs are not in such bad shape and appears to have improved over he last few years although there are certainly less turtles. (Turtles have been a delicacy in the Seychelles for decades, although this is now officially banned)
The viz is generally good and one can dive year round in warm water (27-30 degrees), only requiring a “shorty”. There are many sites and a good variety of fish, reef and macro photography. There are species that you do not see in other places in such great numbers as here.

1. Eagle rays; battalions; 90% site chance
2. Many white tip reef sharks: 70% probability
3. Buffalo parrot fish: 75%
4. Napoleons: 60%
Seychelles has a whale shark season from September through November. There is a website that covers this at www. seychelles-whale-sharks.blogspot.com/

In fact I have seen these creatures as late as January and this last December I am aware of at least four sightings and two in January. Sightings usually take place all around Mahe.