Calling all you Shark-lovers… (Yes, Charlie, that means you!!)…

Ocean Optics are organising a “Shark Day” on November 8th.  Details are still being finalised, but the day will feature the following talks/speakers, and more:

• Amos Nachoum: The Great White:  The Legend Portrayed
• Michael Aw: Shark Conservation
• Grant Bates: The Shark - Inside Out
• Rae Sadler: Sharks of the Coral Sea
• James Lea: Shark Research

Our friends up north were kind enough to burn me a copy of Nigel Marvin’s Shark Island, a documentary about Cocos, when it was on TV. If anyone else would like to watch it then please let me know, so I can pass it on.

Royal Evolution - Christmas and New Year 2007
by Charlie Stewart

“I want you to grab a bag, a back pack, anything… and put a towel or book into it.” Having boarded the Royal Evolution, this bizarre request was made to the twenty-four bemused new guests before we were taken, by rib, to the Egyptian Customs in Port Ghaleb. Effectively we were exiting Egypt and had to comply with this charade. Each of our bags was passed through the brand spanking new X-ray machines. In my case, once I had convinced the surly customs man that my car keys were not an instrument of mass destruction, I was allowed to join my fellow travellers. We sat for nearly an hour while they dealt with our passports before letting us return to our boat, which set sail soon after. We had a lot off distance to cover!

The Royal Evolution is 39m long and powered by two 36,000cc engines, which sit on shock absorbers (to minimise engine room noise in the cabins). Our cabins were spacious and complete with stand-in showers, as opposed to the usual live aboard wet rooms. Alan, Brian and myself soon mixed with twenty-two other guests from Germany, UK, Holland and Switzerland. We sailed overnight to St Johns to do our check dives and then, that evening, sailed to Port Sudan, some 440 nautical miles south of Port Galeb. The passport formalities took several hours, after which the real diving started.

Just outside Port Sudan, the 155m wreck of The Umbria is almost exactly as she was on the day she settled onto the seabed (on her port side at Wingate Reef). The bow is the deepest part of the wreck at 38m; at the stern the rudder rests on the sand at 30m. The shallowest part is next to the bridge, where the lifeboat davits just break the surface. Neither the ship nor her contents were ever salvaged. Amongst the various stuff to view is a pizza oven, trucks and 360,000 unexploded bombs, which, if they went up, would wipe out half of Port Sudan. The wreck itself is covered in beautiful soft corals.

On Xmas eve we dived the very pretty south-west plateau of the Sanganeb Atoll. We had our Xmas dinner that evening, complete with Santa hats and tinsel. On Xmas morning we started the day with an early dive on the north plateau of Sanganeb where we were greeted with the amazing site of a school of some 500+ barracuda. They formed a huge funnel effect and gracefully swam around in a circle allowing everyone to take photos. From Sanganeb we headed further north to Sha’ab Rumi.

Sha’ab Rumi (Roman Reef) is most famous for Jacques Cousteau’s Conshelf II Project when, in 1963, five divers lived for a month at 11m, with an ambient air pressure. (Essentially this was an experiment in living under water.) We were able to ascend up into what remained of the Conshelf and remove our regulators for a second, in an air pocket. We spent the rest of our dive exploring the remains of the project and had some pictures taken with our Santa hats.
On the southern plateau of Sha’ab Rumi we got up close and personal with four Grey Reef Sharks which cruised above us as we nestled on the sand.

Further north we dived the Blue Belt wreck on Sha’ab Suedi. Also known as the Toyota Wreck it has the remains of Toyota vehicles strewn around, allowing for interesting photo and videography opportunities. Having explored the wreck, we dived up across the most amazing profusion of table corals, some with three different colours on them - simply beautiful and absorbing!

Another dive of note was at Merlo reef where we saw six hammerheads out in the blue and then made a cruisey ascent up and around the huge and mesmerising pinnacle which characterises this reef.

The next day at Angarosh (Mother of Sharks), we had numerous sightings of hammerheads, followed by what must have been one of the highlights of the trip for me: a massive manta ray, sweeping gracefully over the top of the reef plateau, at some 40m. Lots of computers bleeped as our diving companions violated there MODs just to get a closer look and take pictures. The atmosphere back on the dive deck was electric and, despite the language barrier, there was no doubt that everyone was recounting the experience. On New Year’s Eve we dived Abu Fanjira (Pfeifer) where, watching some hammerheads in the blue, I sensed something behind me… turning around, I found my first ever Silver Tip, which had cruised up close to me. Surprisingly big and curious, it made my heart jump, initially, and then, ultimately, sing! Back on the plateau I had more action with a curious hammerhead, which did two very close passes to me.

On New Year’s Day we were back in Egyptian waters, which seemed surprisingly cold, at 24 degrees! We finished our amazing trip at Umm Khararim (White Rock) Reef, on St Johns.

The Red Sea was the perfect place to spend Xmas and the New Year with good company. As GLUGies we were particularly delighted to find the DIVE magazine feature on GLUG from last year among the various mags on the coffee table… with genuine interest being shown by our new diving companions. All good!

Thanks to Oonasdivers and the crew of Royal Evolution.

I would like to organise a trip to Lundy in August or September 2008 but very quickly need to gauge an idea of whether we would be able to fill the boat (10 divers). If you are interested in diving this fantastic marine reserve off the North Devon coast please can you either e-mail me or leave a comment below.

This trip would be suitable for most levels of diving qualification and for all those keen to dive with seals and basking sharks! August is the best time of year to see basking sharks there.

Diving would take place Friday to Sunday, staying at the New Inn in Clovelly. Diving costs £40 per diver per day (assuming 10 divers), bed and breakfast is £25 per person per night. Click here for more information

London Divers are holding a Festival of Diving at the London Welsh Centre, Gray’s Inn Road, on December 2nd, sponsored by the London Diving Chamber.

The day kicks off at 9.30am, with free tea, coffee and pastries served before 11am.
Among the presentations are

• Dr Oli Firth from the London Diving Chamber - “The Trouble with Bubbles”
• The Marine Conservation Society on their campaign for British marine reserves
• Bite Back – the shark conservation agency
• Top underwater photography tips from the British Society of Underwater Photographers
• Technical diver Jeff Cornish will also give the first ever UK presentation about this year’s outstanding diving expedition to the wreck of RMS Carpathia – the liner that rescued the passengers from the Titanic and which now lies in 160m, 200 miles off the Scillies.
• Viktoria Batten, one of the UK’s top diving instructors, will share her amazing cave diving adventures.

Mark Ellyatt, the world record diver who discovered the wreck of HMS Victoria will be on hand to sign copies of his book. There’s also a wide selection of diving equipment, diving holidays and diving fashion on offer – including designer jewellery from Aquamarine Silver.

Tickets are just £6 for the day, and give you an entry into a draw to win an Otter Drysuit worth £900 !

To book your ticket, go to the London Divers website.

Just imagine, it’s beginning of December. It’s wet, cold and dark and miserable looking people are pushing their way towards overcrowded underground carriages. But not you, you are in a different world. You are rolling out of bed, waken up by a glorious sunshine, trowing on shorts and t-shirt, having your breakfast on a terrace and walk into a next door diving centre.

5-10 min car journey brings you to the harbour where you kit up and board the RIB. It takes only between 10-15 min to get to one of the diving sites where spectacular rock formations, three species of rays, loggerhead turtle, barracudas, octopus, cuttlefish, trumpet fish, angel shark and friendly dive guides could make your diving trip unforgettable. Look at the pictures from our previous trips to Tenerife in the Gallery, to see how much fun we had.

I received this today from Ocean Optics, together with a Downloadable Flyer which gives more details:

“Visions in the Sea” is the UK’s biggest Underwater Photography Event, and is now in its eleventh year. As well as talks from some of the World’s leading Underwater Photographers, they will also be hosting Photo Clinics, where you can take along up to 10 of your own photos and get professional advice about how to improve your technique. Also on site will be Ocean Optics, with a range of Camera Housings (dSLR and Compact), Strobes, Lenses, etc.; the Shark Trust; and BSoUP.

For anyone keen on Underwater Photography, this is a great weekend (I speak from experience), and although the cost (£69 for 1 day, or £99 for both) might seem high, when you consider the quality of the presenters, and the price of similar events, it’s well worth it. (For example, the RGS (Royal Geographical Society) has a Wildlife Photography event the following weekend, which costs £66 more!). The price also includes tea & coffee, as well as a buffet lunch each day.

For more information, click the logo above. If you want to book, download the booking form.

GLUG is running a training trip to Sharks Bay with Oonasdivers from 24th-31st October.

The trip is open to non-divers who would like to learn, to qualified divers who’d like to take a further course, and also to qualified divers who just fancy a dive trip to the Red Sea.

The cost is £439, plus whatever training you want - Basic qualification costs £200. For other courses see the Events Page.

The great thing about doing your basic qualification at Sharks Bay is that your initial training is done in a shallow area near the beach, rather than in a swimming pool - so you get to see fish even on your training dives!

The price includes flights, accommodation, and transfers to and from the airport. If you’re not already a GLUG member, you will need to join - but it only costs £10!

For more information, please contact us using the Events Page, choosing “Dive Training” from the drop-down menu.

GLUG, as a social organisation, does not seek to control where or how our members choose to dive. Beyond expecting GLUG divers to adhere to good in-water dive practice we feel that all other decisions should be left to the members themselves.
We also feel that the GLUG website should act as an open forum in which our members can voice their concerns and opinions without fear of judgement.

The ethics of diving, dive travel and tourism in general are increasingly coming under the spotlight. It is an unfortunate fact that some of the best diving in the world is to be found in countries where human and gay rights and environmental issues are ignored (or worse).
This page is meant to act as a resource for those divers who may be looking for information on particular issues.

Good Dive Practice

GLUG has adopted the guidelines laid down by the Marine Conservation Society in the following three codes:
Coral Code
Underwater Photographer’s Code
Seashore Code
GLUG supports the look-but-don’t-touch maxim encouraged by the Marine Conservation Society. However, we do realise that for many of our members a dive in UK waters wouldn’t be complete without the chance to hunt for their evening’s dinner. The Marine Conservation Society has advised us that the taking of crabs, lobster and scallops in non-protected areas is a low-impact, sustainable practice. They do recommend that no diver take more than needed for personal consumption (with a suggested bag limit of 1 or 2 lobster, 4 crabs and 20 scallops per day). All divers should respect any relevant legislation regarding minimum sizes and closed seasons.

Marine Conservation

The well-being of the world’s oceans, and the species that inhabit them, are of obvious importance to any diver. But, from shark-finning to commercial whaling, and dredging to drift nets, there are so many issues to consider, and so many countries and companies implicated in wrong-doing, that no single diver could possibly hope to take a stand against all of them. What matters is that divers stay informed of the issues and act when they feel it necessary.
Concerned shoppers can consult Fish Online to make sure that the fish they are eating is sustainably caught and that by-catch and damage to the marine environment is kept to a minimum.
And ethically-minded divers may wish to read John Nightingale’s Bite Back column in Dive magazine where, each month, he highlights a different marine conservation issue, discusses the countries and companies involved, and provides details on how the general public can take action. You can find an archive of these articles by doing a search, using the words Bite Back, on the Dive Magazine site.
Further information on specific issues is available on the following sites:
Greenpeace
Sea Shepherd
Whale and Dolphin Society
Shark Trust
Bite Back

Gay Rights

Gay Rights are often unprotected, or even wilfully violated, in many countries which divers choose to visit. The hypocritical nature of the international tourism industry means that, more often than not, gay travellers have little to fear (although discretion may occasionally be advisable). Some of our members prefer not to support the tourist industry in such countries, whilst others feel that gay tourists can have a positive influence in the communities to which they travel.
Travellers who are concerned about these issues can gain further information from the following websites:
International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Watch
International Lesbian and Gay Association
Stonewall
Divers who find that they are unable to avoid travelling to areas in which Gay Rights are not protected may wish to spare a little time to get involved in one of the many campaigns detailed on the above websites.

Human Rights

As with Gay Rights, Human Rights are often entirely unprotected in some of the most popular diving destinations. Travellers who are concerned about supporting tourism in such destinations can consult the following websites before making their travel plans:
Human Rights Watch
Amnesty International
World Organisation Against Torture
Rights & Democracy

Ethical Tourism

The following sites contain useful tips and guidelines for low-impact tourism:
Ethical Traveller
Responsible Travel

Carbon Emissions

For many of us a dive holiday will include a flight to our destination. The following article examines the possible effects:
Diver Article
Divers who are concerned about the carbon emissions produced by their dive holidays may wish to consider carbon off-setting.
Climate Care
CO2 Balance
Carbon Clear
Carbon Footprint

Hi Everyone. For those of you who may have a keen interest in sharks, especially Oceanic Whitetips and Hammerheads, I am going to Red Sea Safari Shagra on 21st November for one week. This is prime time to see the Oceanics especially at Elphinstone. Elphinstone is a 30 minute rib ride from Shagra and, although challenging, is an amazing reef. Please feel free to read my reports (here and here)on my dives there and my stays at Shagra.

As well as Elphinstone, there is Dolphin House reef which is great for photography. Shagra also offers its house reefs and truck diving. Please check out the Oonasdivers website for further information on Shagra.
Flights, transfers, full board in a Madyafa with ensuite and unlimited diving £695.00 except for Elphinstone which is an additional €35 for 2 dives and Dolphin House which is €50 for a days diving.

Feel free to get back to me if you want any further information.

Charlie

Djibouti - New Year 2006/2007
by Brian Broadbridge

There were so many of them! I didn’t know where to look!
And so there were. Whale sharks that is, and that’s the reason for going to Djibouti, or the main one.
Dji – where? Alan Larsen and I travelled south to the horn of Africa. Tucked at the foot of the Red Sea where it meets the Indian Ocean, Djibouti was a former French colony known as French Somaliland. Next door to the North is Eritrea, to the West is Ethiopia and to the South is Somalia. Do not worry however as you have the largest French permanent overseas military base there which they share with the Americans. So you are well protected in this strategically positioned country.
We were on a week’s liveaboard boat, the M. V. Mila, over the New Year period leaving on a direct flight from London, Gatwick. You travel from the Gulf of Tadjoura, where Djibouti town is, to the North. After a tryout dive at Maskali Island in the Gulf of Tadjoura, we motored North to the Sept Frere (Seven Brothers) Islands where the Indian Ocean meets the Red Sea.

The Sept Frere group of islands was our main base for the next three days and there was plenty to do. We were greeted by dolphins swimming around the boat at Les jardins Chinois, always a good start! The diving revealed turtles, blue spotted sting rays, a honeycomb moray eel and the usual fish life of groupers, batfish, damsels, trevally and potato cod. These Indian Ocean reef fish, amongst others, were with us throughout the trip.
Rhonda Island showed us mobula (small mantas) swimming in formation, as well as a free swimming moray eels, one a huge honeycomb again. The La Siesta night dive involved a large porcupine fish. Next day at the Japanese Gardens, named after the resplendent corals, we saw large morays, a large sting ray and smaller blue spotted sting rays. There was a large leopard shark sleeping under a ridge.
The arch at Tolka Island involved a fast current, fine for UK divers trained to put up our DSMBs with practised nonchalance! Back to La Siesta next morning for a drift dive ending with an exploratory shallow cave inhabited by cleaner shrimp. A large leopard moray completed this dive. We ended our Sept Frere stay at Isle Boeng and Isle Est amongst coral gardens and the usual reef fish.

Motoring back to the Gulf of Tadjoura for New Year, we dived the site at Ras Eiro, greeted by a large Napoleon wrass as well as a school of chevron barracuda. There were many moray eels, a couple free swimming, the most morays that I have ever seen free swimming! Then on to the bay of Arta.
This was a relatively shallow bay off a beach and here you donned your snorkel, for our “dive” did not involve scuba gear. A quick search aboard the dive motor boat soon resulted in a large fin, then more appearing above the water. Here they were, whale sharks that is.
Most if not all were young adults or juveniles who come here for what? Mating, just feeding, who knows? The world’s largest fish is just a planktonic feeder and ours were from 4 – 6 metres long (12 to 20 feet). First one thrilled us, then it was joined by another swimming slowly around us. Then another, until you could not work out how many there were! Buzzing us out of nowhere, they passed so close you wondered how these gentle giants avoided banging into us. They were certainly not shy of humans!
As if that were not enough, we were joined by a young manta ray, curious to the hilt. After eyeing us, as mantas do, it had an exploratory swim around us to decide that we were not dangerous and then played with us by circling and doing under water somersaults! Who says fish are not intelligent? This manta was having fun! And so were we!
We naturally had several snorkel dives around the whale sharks and solitary manta in this amazing place.

We motored further into the gulf to finish the trip by diving Ras Eiro reef, with the ever present moray eels in abundance and the largest table coral that I have ever seen , and then Les Isle des Requins (sharks) with yet more whale sharks. The last dives were at Ras Eiro West where the photographer Alan almost had a collision with a turtle who not a bit shy of divers! Extraordinarily, an anemone “nemo” fish not much bigger than a thumbnail attacked this turtle invading its patch by bashing its sell! Then a wreck (une epave) on Maskali Island finished the trip as far as diving was concerned.

The last day before diving allowed us a brief look at Djibouti town, whose main claim to fame, besides the military, is as the seaport for Ethiopia so much marine cargo activity was to be seen. We had one tour to Lake Karum, the lowest geographic point of Africa, where one could wonder at a large salt lake with weird crystalline structures at the shore.

If whale sharks are your scene, then Djibouti is your destination from the UK, close and accessible enough to be affordable, unlike say the Ningaloo Reef of Western Australia. We are told that from October to the end of January is the time to see them almost guaranteed! At least, Regal Dive with whom we went, confirmed that of all their trips during that period, 100% saw and snorkelled with whale sharks and so what more can one ask?

FOR: Whale sharks, the best coral that I have seen, abundant coral fish life. December & January water temperature 28 – 30 degrees centigrade.
AGAINST: Lack of any other sharks! Long flight. Food unexciting, odd for a former French colony.
Note: It helps a lot if you can speak French.

We have a GLUG trip to Pembrokeshire at least once a year. These trips would suit divers of all levels and make an excellent introduction to UK/cold water diving as drysuits are not a necessity during late summer.

Please choose a report from the following:
Pembrokeshire on Blue Shark - July 2008
Pembrokeshire on Blue Shark - July 2006

Pembrokeshire on Blue Shark - July 2008

by Val C.

It’s 8pm Sunday evening, I’m sipping ginger beer and being driven home down the long M4 at high (but legal-ish) speed by Corinne. The sun’s shining, Annie Lennox is entertaining us and it’s the end of another fantastic GLUG weekend in Pembrokeshire.
The weekend started on Thursday afternoon and whilst driving the other way along the M4 Corinne exclaimed, “Oh no, guess what I forgot?” Well, where do you start, I hear you say? What piece of vital kit had Corinne forgotten… dive computer, bcd, mask? Oh, no, thanks to the binmen’s surprise early visit (well, that’s Corinne’s story) Corinne had got dressed minus a bra and non packed. Fortunately it was a girlie weekend, a spare one was donated which added to an uplifting weekend for our leader.

We had 3 days of diving in all, not one day blown out, and, yes, we were in Wales, no detour via Heathrow. Also we had pretty much back to back sunshine all weekend…. but before you get to thinking this was all plain sailing, we did have a somewhat gusty time, especially day one and two before the south westerly wind turned to a more pleasant northerly. A few of us stayed at the lovely Dot and Reg’s ex b& b in Little Haven.

Day one started overcast, so I left the sunglasses and sunscreen at home and we headed to the Neyland marina, we all loaded up the boat and loaded up on Stugeron, and then headed out on the Blue Shark (with skipper Steve). It was a long bumpy ride and no seat belts were going to help us on this trip. When we reached our distant destination, the Lucy wreck at Rye Rocks, the buoy was missing and the swell was big, so we gave that spot a miss and headed round to the more sheltered South Haven. As the skies darkened we started our first dive. We had a surprisingly good dive, all in all, according to my buddy Brian it was his “best drift dive ever” which involved flying at high speed spotting endless lobsters and crabs. When we came up we were way away from the boat round the headland and the swell was up (nothing like a bit of rough!) so we had a bit of wait for a pick up but….the sun was shining and a friendly puffin appeared to keep us company. Allan and the skipper spotted our dsmb and torch, and when we got back on board we followed the general style of boat entry for the day - the sexy beached whale approach; hopefully no paparazzi spotted us.
We then lunched in South Haven with Sammy the seal entertaining us and the not so lovely puffins shitting on us. As time was ticking and we were all a bit knackered we called it a day and headed back to solid land (and light refreshments…nudge, nudge).
Dinner that night was in the Swan pub in Little Haven - full GLUG star rating for location (overlooking the sea) and quality of food.

Day two and we awoke to sunshine but also another gusty southwesterly which didn’t bode well. We had a change of skipper (Howard) and we headed out to Watwick Bay, a good bolthole when the weather is bad. We had another great dive, stuffed with life and also a submarine thrown in. We lunched again in the sunshine, Alison and I had a bit of a sunbathe on the top deck…very nice and I had to blink a few times to remind myself that I was in the UK and not the Med. Then we headed back to the shelter of the bay and dived the Dakotian wreck. I loved it; it’s flattened but quite intact and about 40m in length, so plenty to see.
Back into the marina we spent a very pleasant evening in Neyland Harbour (rooftop) bar and restaurant. At 6pm my dive computer was reading 32 degrees and we were all well topped up on sunshine, no longer green, more red. After another tasty meal we all headed back to our (own) various beds (I think) for an early night, so lots of happy, tired divers.

We were promised the best day of weather for our last day, Sunday, as the wind was due to settle. So Sunday morning brought more sunshine, a final breakfast with Dot and Reg and 7 (yes, 7) rashes of bacon for the lovely Brian. There was still some wind but it had moved northerly. We did the usual trolley dash (which, of course, we were highly skilled at…) loaded up and headed out on calm (almost flat calm) seas. We dived Rye Rocks off Skokholm Island, a great dive, where we spotted some dogfish and crayfish. Lunchtime was spent in another glorious sundrenched location, this time with seals on every rock…..diving heaven on earth I say! So just one more dive to go, on the Angelica, ‘HMS scattered’ as Howard describes it, which had some amazingly large lobsters lurking here and there. No, none came home for supper…we left them happy in the Pembrokeshire sea and we headed home happy and tired.

So here I am still driving fast down the M4, the sun is setting and I’m loading up, CDs this time - I’ve got to get some heavy metal going to keep my driving buddy awake; some Van Halen should do the trick.
So thanks Corinne for another fantastically organized GLUG weekend, and I can highly recommend Pembrokeshire 2009.

Pembrokeshire on Blue Shark - July 2006

We don’t have a report from this trip but you can have a look at our pictures in the gallery.

Barra Beach and Tofo - April 2005
by Jason

After flying into South Africa I spent a few days diving the KwaZulu-Natal South Coast, I then made the journey north of Durban, driving to Mozambique via Swaziland. The infrastructure in Mozambique has never been very good, the Portuguese concentrated on developing the coastal towns that serviced their East African trade routes and the roads linking these were never more than basic. The situation was then compounded by fifteen years of civil war which only ended in the early nineties. The Mozambican tourist industry is still therefore relatively undersubscribed and offers deserted beaches, unspoilt diving and a real sense of getting away from it all.

We were staying near Inhambane, a beautiful town on a 23 kilometre-wide saltwater lagoon. This port was first established by Arab traders as the southernmost destination in their trade routes and their influence is apparent in the town architecture and the traditional fishing dhows which are still used on the lagoon.

Our chalets were in beautiful coconut groves on Barra Beach at the mouth of the lagoon. The dive sites off Barra are coral reefs in about ten metres of water which, despite not looking impressive, have a lot to offer a dedicated fish-nerd (like myself). It is their proximity to the sheltered breeding grounds of the lagoon that make these reefs special and I repeatedly spotted the juveniles of a number of different species including emperor angelfish, checkerboard wrasse, rippled triggerfish, bluespotted tamarin, black snapper and rockmover wrasse. I also found tiny juvenile morays of every stripe, clearfin lionfish, many nudibranchs, and crocodile, stone and scorpion fish by the dozen.

Tempted by the promise of yet more juveniles I did a muck dive in the lagoon itself. The three metres of water were hardly teeming with fish but the floor of the lagoon was the focus of our attention and here, amongst the urchins, rotting mangrove leaves, sea grass and rubbish, we found hundreds of tiny juveniles including porkys, cowfish, scorpionfish and lionfish. One member of our group spotted a seahorse and I had an encounter with a very curious cuttlefish.

The majority of the dives that I did in Mozambique were not off Barra but round the point in the open ocean off Tofo and about 20 minutes away by RIB. These sites ranged from 15 to 30 metres.

The shallower sites provided all the usual reef suspects and most had busy cleaning stations of some sort or another. At Salon the numerous overhangs and gullies contained hundreds of cleaner, banded, dancer and zebra shrimp which happily cleaned anything put in front of them (finger and toenails included) and at Mike’s Cupboard I watched thousands of fusiliers streaming over the reef like silver darts to converge on an overhang containing a single harassed looking cleaner wrasse who was darting into the mouth of each in turn. On these reefs I also found huge cowries and cushion starfish, lots of octopus and my first paperfish.

The deeper reefs in this area were the most interesting topographically, their rock amphitheatres and escarpments dotted with sponges and green coral trees. These reefs are also the site of numerous manta cleaning stations which never failed to live up to their hype. I did 5 dives on these deeper reefs and saw mantas on every one. Reaching up to 4 metres from tip to tip and sporting impressive-looking shark bites the mantas seemed completely unconcerned by our presence. They swam over, around and between us trailing their attendant remoras. One station was manned by butterflyfish which fluttered behind the mantas like a bright yellow train. I don’t have an underwater camera but luckily one of the divers on my RIB did, all the underwater pictures and video footage in the report are his (thank you, David Park).

On our last dive we saw two bull rays and about a half dozen mantas as we made our way along the rocky ridge of Giant’s Castle. A crack in the reef held a huge crayfish and a nest of geometric morays, one adult and four juveniles, their bodies twined like rope. Juvenile redfang triggerfish no bigger than anthias swarmed around holes in the reef, while adults flapped clumsily through the water above them. As we ascended to our five metre stop the water around us was full of barrel-shaped tunicates as big as rugby balls and chain salps over a metre long. Below us a group of six mantas converged once again on the ridge. Coming in close, they turned in an almost perfect circle, each just feet from the next, as though they were reclaiming the reef.