Day 6, Dive 2 - Gangehi Kandu - North Ari Atoll
This was a wall dive with some strong currents. As with most wall dives with strong currents there was plenty of shark action with white tips and leopard sharks seen during the dive as well as marble stingrays, large groupers and napoleon wrasse.
Depth - 27.1m
Temperature - 28-30 Degrees
Visibility - 30m+
Notable Sea Life - Sharks
Day 6, Dive 3 - Maaya Thila - North Ari Atoll
This was a night dive and I didn't take my camera on this one. It's a round thila starting around 6m and has some really large over hangs. It also has Erasmus, a mutant barracuda. That thing is huge, biggest barracuda I've ever seen, and is not afraid of divers in the slightest (hence why it has a name) in fact it likes divers! During night dives Erasmus likes to hover just next to a divers right ear and when your torch illuminates something tasty he shoots off. Really disturbing as your finning along, notice something out of the corner of your eye, look around and there is this mouth full of razor sharp teeth hovering above your right shoulder.
As well as Mr Mutant Barracuda we saw hunting white tip reef sharks (about half the size of Erasmus), free swimming morays, sleeping turtles and lots of active Surgeon Fish.
Depth - 18.9m
Temperature - 29 Degrees
Visibility - By torch
Notable Sea Life - The biggest barracuda you'll ever see!
Day 7, Dive 1 - Maaya Thila - North Ari Atoll
This was back to the same reef but during the day. Another fish soup dive. We had 3-4 white tip reef sharks as well as plenty of barracuda obviously brought here by the amount of fish. The top of the reef slowly bubbles as the exhasut air from divers in the large overhangs filters through the reef.
Depth - 32.3m
Temperature - 28 Degrees
Visibility - 15m
Notable Sea Life - Huge amounts of fish and plenty of predators! Octopus
Day 7, Dive 2 - Kalhahandhi Hurraa - North Ari Atoll
This was a long sloping wall dive with the most amazing table coral garden at the end. The coral on this dive was fantastic with plenty of marine life including sea turtles, white tip reef sharks, eagle rays and sweetlips. Currents were strong in places and luckily the wall gave us some protections.
Depth - 30.3m
Temperature - 28 Degrees
Visibility - 30m+
Notable Sea Life - Usual reef life
Day 7, Dive 3 - Angaga Thila - North Ari Atoll
This circular reef starts at 10m and drops down to 25m. It was shark and turtle heaven. We had Silver tip and white tip reef sharks as well as green and hawksbill turtles. The turtles themselves didn't give a stuff about divers and you could sit right next to them watching them feed. the reef itself was very nice with some big magnificent sea anemones. After this dive I felt a bit snotty....
Depth - 22.7m
Temperature - 28 Degrees
Visibility - 30m+
Notable Sea Life - Silvertip and whitetip reef sharks, green sea turtles, hawksbill turtles.
Day 8 & 9
Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!!!! How the hell do you get a full blown cold out in the Maldives? Dosed up on Sudafed could only get to 10m and no deeper with my bunged up head. Missed two whole days of diving! Gutted!!!!!
Day 10, Dive 1 - Niumath Thila - South Ari Atoll
Back to diving! A slightly '8' shaped reef starting at 15m and dropping down. The whole Thila was swarming with Silversides and Baitfish. It was like swimming in fish. Huge blue fin jacks were zooming in and creating a shimmering show for us. I've never seen so many lionfish either. All resting on the bottom looking like the Hellman's mayonnaise cat, stuffed on Silversides.
I was physically attacked on this dive, by an 1" long Jewelled Damselfish. Violent little buggers. They'd be the most feared creature on the reef if they were 100 times bigger!
Depth - 21.6m
Temperature - 29 Degrees
Visibility - 15m+
Notable Sea Life - Massive baitballs of Silversides
Day 10, Dive 2 - Cocoa Thila - South Male Atoll
After crossing from South Ari Atoll to South Male Atoll we dived this tear shaped reef. The currents were strong but we had see half a dozen white tip and grey reef sharks at the eastern end of the thila.
Depth - 28.0m
Temperature - 28/9 Degrees
Visibility - 20m+
Notable Sea Life - White tip & Grey Reef Sharks, Banded Travelle.
Day 10, Dive 3 - Heart Giri - South Male Atoll
This was a night dive on this heart shaped giri. This time I did take the camera and set the strobe on lamp mode. I didn't need a torch and it lasted for the 67 minute dive.
The giri has a bid 'D' shaped swim through on its southwestern side. It appears to defy physics by staying up.
Plenty of sleeping turtles and porcupine fish plus the usual hunting morays and soldierfish.
Depth - 17.1m
Temperature - 28 Degrees
Visibility - By torch
Notable Sea Life - Turtles
Day 11, Dive 1 - Kuda Giri - South male Atoll
This giri has a wreck on it, thank god as the British divers in the group were suffering from rusted metal withdrawal symptoms. The giri itself starts at 2/3m and is circular. The wreck starts at 16m and drops down to 37m at the propeller.
The giri itself has lots of nice corals and reef fish. There are scorpion and stone fish a-plenty probably attracted by the abundance of food.
Depth - 30.2m
Temperature - 28 Degrees
Visibility - 25m+
Notable Sea Life - Scorpion and Stonefish. Eagle Ray.
Day 11, Dive 2 - Lankan Finolu (Manta Point) - North Male Atoll
This was my last dive from Sea Spirit. With the transfer by sea plane to Kuredu the next day I had to miss the last dive of the day to de-gas.
This is a wall dive (although it is a gentle slope)
The coral here is very poor as it's such a popular site being one of the best manta cleaning stations around. As well as the mantas we saw 2 turtles, a large octopus out in the open and lots of big parrotfish and groupers. The current was fairly strong and was difficult to stay still to watch the mantas on the cleaning station.
I had my camera set on video mode for this dive:-
An octopus and a grouper.
Typical, just as we're on our safety stop along come a couple of mantas!
The Dhoini coming to pick us up at the end of the dive
The End
So that was my time on Sea Spirit. Next morning it was a Sea Plane to Kuredu. Report to come soon.
I can thoroughly recommend Sea Spirit. Whilst there are bigger and more luxurious liveaboards out there I'm not sure I'll be using them. Sea Spirit has a great atmosphere and the divers were all experienced, no muppets. We were able to do a huge trek around the Maldives visiting 6 atolls in the 2 weeks. With the expensive fuel out there, will those gas guzzling liveaboards be doing that especially if they are cheap?