BAIT FISH, SISTERS ROCKS,
CARRIACOU, GRENADA
Jill Heinerth, technical diver,
photographer and inaugural
explorer-in-residence, Royal
Canadian Geographical Society
Having de ly manoeuvred the
small cra into position, Georg
Schmitt yells “Dive, dive!” and we
quickly roll and splash, plunging
rapidly towards the bottom. The
fl ow catches us and we join a
current that whisks us past giant
so corals, sea whips and bountiful
gorgonians. Above us, purple
Creole wrasse rain down as we look
upward through the crystalline
water to see our boat following
our trail of bubbles. The stormy
seas crash against the pillars of
rock, creating a wash of white and
turquoise, when suddenly the sky
darkens and we’re engulfed in a
cloud of bait fi sh.
Huddling as a group, the fi sh
pulse in the water, moving together
in a murmuration of motion. My
dive partner, Conny, points her
camera towards the sky and the
bait fi sh swirl in a vortex around
her. A small shark zips below us,
fi nding refuge in a cave, but it’s the
bait fi sh that hold our attention.
DIVE RATING: PADI Advanced
Open Water Diver, comfortable
with dri diving.
DEPTH: 12-30 metres. Bait fi sh
typically seen in 2-12 metres.
HOW TO DO IT: arawakdivers.comMANTA RAYS,
THE MALDIVES
Chris Stevens, PADI
AmbassaDiver and
travel blogger
Manta rays are incredible to
dive with as they e ortlessly ‘fl y’
underwater using their wings,
which can have a span of over 20.
The Maldives is home to over
2,000, which migrate year-round
to di erent islands depending on
the monsoon season. The best
place to spot them is at pinnacles
and cleaning stations (sections
of reef where cleaner fi sh gather
to pick dead skin and parasites
o large marine animals and fi sh).
The weaker currents here will suit
less-advanced divers. The mating
season (Oct/Nov and Mar/Apr) is
when the rays are most numerous.
The pinnacles are their favourite
feeding grounds, where they
take advantage of nutrient-rich
currents being pushed towards the
surface. This is the ideal place to
dive alongside a group of mantas.
DIVE RATING: Depends on the dive
site, but at Manta Point all levels
of diver (PADI Open Water Diver
and up) depending on the current.
DEPTH: Around 12 metres, but
at other parts of the Maldives
it’s possible to snorkel with
manta rays too.
HOW TO DO IT:
cinnamonhotels.com
backpackerbanter.comWHALE SHARKS, OMAN
John Butland, sales executive,
Regaldive, and PADI Advanced
Open Water Diver
You can bet that pretty near the
top of every diver’s wish list is an
encounter with the biggest fi sh in
the sea, the whale shark, a fi lter
feeder that lives in warm tropical
climes and lives up to 80 years.
My chance to tick that one o
came a few years ago while on a
liveaboard in Oman. It was right
place, right time: autumn.
The fi rst encounters were while
snorkelling, which is good, but
I hoped better was to come. It
eventually happened when we
were least expecting it. We were
diving on a pretty reef, looking for
tiny critters, when I caught sight
of something big out of the corner
of my eye. I was amazed to see an
eight-metre whale shark cruise by
just above us. They can grow up
to 12 metres, so not the biggest,
but still pretty impressive. And
while they can move fast when
they want to, this one just took a
lazy swim past, giving us as long as
possible to enjoy the view.
DIVE RATING: PADI Advanced
Open Water Diver or equivalent,
with 30-plus dives.
DEPTH: Max 30 metres.
FIND OUT MORE: To see whale
sharks in the autumn in Oman
or year-round in the Maldives,
contact Regal Dive. regaldive.co.ukLEFT: Bait fi sh at
Sisters Rocks, Grenada
November 2016 165