{"id":7080,"date":"2020-02-24T03:46:36","date_gmt":"2020-02-24T03:46:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/svtoucan.com\/svtblog\/?p=7080"},"modified":"2020-02-24T03:46:36","modified_gmt":"2020-02-24T03:46:36","slug":"dive-dive-dive-misool-raja-ampat","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/svtoucan.com\/svtblog\/?p=7080","title":{"rendered":"Dive, Dive, Dive! – Misool, Raja Ampat"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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We\u2019re having the time of our lives diving here in Misool. Every day we explore a new dive site and discover more underwater delights. Mostly these are wall dives or submerged reefs with masses of soft corals and fans. Sometimes there\u2019s so much to see it\u2019s almost overwhelming knowing where to focus the camera, and unfortunately without a wide angle lens we can\u2019t get the big panorama shots (it\u2019s on our wish list!). We\u2019re still trying to improve on our photography skills, but we\u2019re doing our best to document what we can of this unique and amazing subterranean world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

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colourful soft corals cover every inch of the wall<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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pretty blue crinoid or feather star<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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a giant oyster feeding<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Emperor angelfish<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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the tiny but exquisite christmas tree worms<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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another colourful crinoid<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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and so many schooling fish…<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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more purple soft corals wafting in the current<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Balbulol has been stunning and it\u2019s hard to leave, but after a week it\u2019s time to go exploring further afield. Our next destination is only 12NM away at the Daram Islands on the south-eastern point of this island chain. They\u2019re very rarely visited by private yachts because they\u2019re exposed to the elements with no suitable tie-up anchorages (this area is part of the Marine Conservation Area and the rules stipulate no anchoring within 300 metres from a reef and no anchoring in depths less than 40 metres. Yikes!) Luckily for us, before we left Sorong Wick told us that two new moorings had been laid here and he was keen for us to check them out. OK, we\u2019re happy to oblige!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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the remote Daram Islands<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

But good grief, are they expecting a visit from a Cunard cruise liner? These things are ginormous! As we get closer we see they\u2019re constructed from soft foam covered in weatherproof material so we\u2019re slightly reassured that they won\u2019t destroy our hulls, but puzzled by their location – quite a way off from any of the islands and completely open to wind and swell. It seems the live-aboard phinisis have rejected them, they\u2019re all anchored closer in behind the islands.  Oh well, nothing for it but to give it a go. The second mooring is another couple of miles away further south, so given the glassed-out conditions we  raft up with \u2018Jams\u2019 for the night. Big mistake – no wind but a persistent rolling swell makes for an uncomfortable night, we bounce and jerk like balls in a pinball machine. Plan B is implemented – Jams moves to the other mooring for the night and then comes back to raft up during the day while we\u2019re diving. Much better!  But these moorings also pose a hazard to catamarans – with wind against tide the mooring ball gets lodged between our hulls.  Luckily no damage done but it\u2019s a close shave – a couple of inches higher and it would have ripped our lovely new trampoline. The only solution is to make the pick-up line as short as possible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Our oversize mooring ball<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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The rolly raft up<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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At least it was a beautiful sunset before the rolling started<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Like elsewhere in Raja Ampat it\u2019s challenging to dive here from a dinghy because of the strong currents and topography of the dive sites. But we\u2019ve worked out a good system with \u2018Jams\u2019. We rotate \u2018dinghy duty\u2019 – one person on the surface minding the dinghies while the other three dive. It works a treat.  Bruce has also worked out a good system for Toucan\u2019s filling station – a big bucket of water and an umbrella to keep the tanks cool while being filled (it helps to maximise the fill). He tells me that a cold beer to keep the tank fillers cool also helps, and he and Murray enthusiastically test this theory on a daily basis – they keep muttering about needing more data\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Toucan’s filling station<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

As we\u2019ve already discovered, trying to predict correct time for slack tide is something of a black art and we\u2019re rarely on the money –  but that\u2019s OK because with current you also get more fish and more colour from the soft corals.  However, a reef hook is invaluable in these parts – it allows you to hang in strong current rather than being swept away, and it\u2019s useful when doing a safety stop.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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my safety stop- tethered on with the handy reef hook<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

We continue our circuit of Misool, moving west where there\u2019s another tie-up option at Kalig.  This is a bit more exposed to the NW than Balbulol, but convenient for several other gorgeous dive sites – Boo Rocks, Tank Rock and Whale Rock being some of our favourites.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Our tie-up anchorage at Kalig<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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For this one we need 3 lines, one from each bow, one from the stern<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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more beautiful fans and soft corals at Tank Rock<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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so pretty!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Coral trout<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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we even have a manta ray glide past – what a treat!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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tassled scorpionfish – very well camouflaged<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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This huge map puffer fish is surely pregnant?<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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delicate soft coral<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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and another one closer up…<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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friendly batfish follow us everywhere like puppy dogs<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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and we even get a brief visit from a grey reef shark<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

We’re just around the corner from Misool Eco Resort, and as we\u2019re getting a bit low on dinghy fuel we pay them a visit in the hope of being able to buy some benzene. No joy on the benzene unfortunately but they\u2019re friendly enough and give us a tour of their dive facility where Bruce drools over the expensive camera set-ups their high-paying guests have on display. It\u2019s all way out of our league I\u2019m afraid!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Misool Eco Resort – they own the lease on this area and organise the daily diving schedule for all visiting boats so there isn’t more than one boat diving a site at a time.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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The list of dive sites near Misool Eco Resort – it would take a while to do all these!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

For those of you who\u2019ve had enough of underwater photos, our next instalment is (mostly) non-diving related – we go in search of the \u2018love lake\u2019 and we\u2019ve heard rumours about a jellyfish lake that sounds intriguing but no-one seems to know where it is. Challenge accepted!
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

We\u2019re having the time of our lives diving here in Misool. Every day we explore a new dive site and discover more underwater delights. Mostly these are wall dives or submerged reefs with masses of soft corals and fans. Sometimes there\u2019s so much to see it\u2019s almost overwhelming knowing where to focus the camera, and … <\/p>\n

Continue reading “Dive, Dive, Dive! – Misool, Raja Ampat”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7080","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-svtoucan"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p6B46t-1Qc","_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/svtoucan.com\/svtblog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7080","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/svtoucan.com\/svtblog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/svtoucan.com\/svtblog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/svtoucan.com\/svtblog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/svtoucan.com\/svtblog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=7080"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"http:\/\/svtoucan.com\/svtblog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7080\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7088,"href":"http:\/\/svtoucan.com\/svtblog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7080\/revisions\/7088"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/svtoucan.com\/svtblog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=7080"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/svtoucan.com\/svtblog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=7080"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/svtoucan.com\/svtblog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=7080"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}