The hunt for (Red October) Silver Bat fish...

So we (Sue and I ) thought we just would jump in for quick dive at Isle Seche after a spate of bad weather. We had guests on board Suzy Q and while we dived they went snorkeling. We did not expect much, after all it was only Isle Seche and not a highly rated dive site. I paid scant regard again and did not take my camera, choosing to hold onto a buoy nogal!

What spectacle awaited us. The boulders were covered in glassies with big posses of Karang (Golden Trevally in Sesel Creole) stalking. Hovering above the glassies  was a very large school of bigger silver bat fish enhancing the scenery in beautiful symphony. (I had to consult my fish book as they are not too common in Seychelles). They are also called diamond fish and appear to be endemic to the Indian Ocean. It was a site to behold and I just knew we had to come back with a camera.

So there we went for two further times and each time, nada, no site of the damsels. I even consulted special agent Tamara of Angel Fish Diving (underwater). She investigated and reported that I should move my attention to Isle Seche Pinnacle  and not Isle Seche Grande. So off we went to Pinnacle! I wonder how many Pinnacles and Aquariums there are in the world....

We moved our drop-off the required 100m and dove. We found them, voila. Now what is this, why is my flash not firing? The cable seemed to be badly connected and no flash fired, au naturel, today, buddy during amateur hour.  I was able to take some photos, but remained bitterly disappointed.

So off we went again and again we struck a problem, bad wind, large waves, very strong current and Sue had free flowing regulator. When we hit the bottom she was already on 120 bar. We decided to continue as Pinnacle average was below 10m and she was light on air. After 9 minutes finning against the strong current, we are back on the boat. We go back a few days later in splendid conditions and this time I am more satisfied but I still need to go  back. See some of what I talking about below.

Agent Tamara