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There
are certain dives, which provide an adrenaline rush and stick
in your memory luring you back for more of the some. Some
divers will find this in wreck, deep, fast drift or technical
diving but for me it is undoubtedly close encounters with
big marine creatures and by that I mean close enough to touch.
These meetings are not common and I had waited for some years
for an opportunity to rendezvous with, and photograph at close
quarters, one of the sea's most graceful creatures - the Monta
ray.
Mantas
are common in tropical and serni-tropical waters and although
I had seen them before it had always been fleetingly, at a
distance, or most frustratingly on the surface after a dive
when film and air had been consumed. On a recent trip to the
Moldives I had these elusive beasts on my shot list but incorrectly
assumed that I was visiting at the wrong time of year for
a good chance of meeting them. This assumption was proved
totally inaccurate on the first day when our German dive master
announced that after the worm up dive we would be visiting
a manta cleaning station which had been very active over the
last few days.
I
had been led to believe that mantas are only prolific in the
Maldives during the major plankton blooms between October
and December. However, it seems that the truth of the matter
is that these creatures migrate between the atolls following
the dominant current direction dependant on the season. These
currents ore rich with plankton and nutrients from the Indian
Ocean, so once you have plotted the changes in current you
con begin to predict the movements and location of the mantas.
Like
all fish mantas attract all sorts of unwanted hitchhikers
in the form of parasites and skin legions and like most tropical
species they make use of the reef's valet service at the cleaning
stations. A monta cleaning station demands one overwhelming
criteria - strong current to enable the monta to remain stationary
whilst still passing fresh oxygenated water through its gills.
These sites ore generally found in the shallows on the top
of "thilas" (Moldivian for a submerged reef rising
to within 8-12m of the surface) where cleaner wrasse and angelfish
are abundant. The first indication of the mantas presence
is generally a siting on the surface of one or more manta
rays circling close to the top of the reef awaiting their
turn for a wash and brush up.
Boduhithi
thila in North Mole atoll, our target location, did not look
too promising from the surface, showing not a single sign
of manta activity. Our German guide dived first to investigate
and returned ten minutes later with a smile, he had seen one
manta at, least! We quickly prepared equipment and cameras
whilst the dhoni motored 100 metres or so up current of the
thila. In these conditions you need to hit the water with
a completely deflated BC and dive immediately if you don't
want to miss the reef. As I submerged I could see the top
of the thila at 8 metres approaching extremely fast and realised
just how strong the current was - probably in excess of 1.5
knots and certainly impossible to swim against! The group
managed to come together in a sand channel behind some coral
heads which offered some protection from the current, which
seemed to increase in intensity in waves. At it's strongest
it would at best fill your mask with water, or at worst dislodge
it, if you turned your head sideways whilst stationary. Once
everyone had caught their breath we launched ourselves after
the dive guide and into the current and headed for a forge
coral head in the distance which we settled behind to wait.
For
more than twenty minutes absolutely nothing happened and some
of the group were showing signs of boredom and signalling
for a return to the boot. I began to wonder if this was to
be another fruitless quest as some of the group disappeared
down stream when suddenly the remaining divers became aware
of a movement on the limit of visibility. This shadowy shape
slowly focused into the graceful form of a rnanta ray effortlessly
cruising into the current towards our coral head. I become
aware of frantic activity from the small cleaner wrosse and
angel fish above the head as they began to advertise their
services and the manto, seemingly oblivious to our presence,
positioned itself directly above us whilst the valet service
commenced.
I
frantically shot off a few frames believing that this mythical
creature would suddenly object to our presence and disappear,
but it continued to hover patiently above us and I was able
to relax and appreciate this close, owe inspiring encounter.
Within minutes there was a second monta queuing 5 metres or
so behind the first and soon after that we became aware of
three more on the edge of visibility awaiting their own turn.
I started then to consider the type of photographs I wanted
to produce, but soon found that any movement away from the
protection of the coral head threatened a very quick trip
down current away from the cleaning station! So I had to content
myself with shots from below the manta on the cleaning station
and trying to compose the departing or arriving mantas for
a slightly different image. I was relieved that one camera
was fitted with a fish eye lens which allowed me to get the
whole of the manta's 3 metre wing span in the frame from such
close quarters.
All
too soon, it seemed, both film and air were consumed and it
was time to go. I realised then that only two of us remained
with the mantas, my buddy being a very patient Tim Browne,
our English dive master from our live aboard the Fathulhul
Bari. Bottom time was approaching ninety minutes, fortunately
in a depth of only 8 or 9 metres, but it seemed like only
twenty or thirty to me as we moved up and caught the roller
coaster back to the surface and the pick up dhoni. I was almost
speechless, but I knew that the first thing I had to ask was
when can we dive here again! We planned to return the following
morning and I spent the night pondering the correct f-stops,
shutter speeds and flash power to use to ensure some pleasing
images from this magical experience.
Further
Information:
Currency:
Dollars and Sterling are widely accepted. Major credit cards
in Male and on the resorts
Medical:
No inoculations (ire required but some doctors will recommend
anti malarial tablets.
Climate:
Between December to March the north east monsoon prevails
with hot dry weather. April to October brings the south-west
monsoons and the likelihood of rain and high winds in June
and July.
Recompression:
Decompression incidents are rare in the Maldives, but there
are no less than four recompression chambers in the islands:
Banclos and Farukolhufushi in North Male Atoll Kuda Rah in
Ari Atoll Alimatha in Feliclhu Atoll Evacuation and treatment
at these centres is potentially very expensive, so it is worth
considering insurance.
Tour
Operators:
Dolphin
Diving Holidays, Tel. 01604 405500
Maldives Scuba Tours, Tel. 01379 651555
Dive Sportif , Tel. 01273 844919
Kuoni Travel, Tel. 01306 740500
Hayes and Jarvis, Tel. 01817419942
Maldive Travel, Tel. 0171352 2246
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