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A dive to remember

By Antonio Anastasi

Standing below the Lantern at Cirkewwa, I anticipate my stride entry and the fizz of bubbles that will follow.Out of the fizz I hear my breath, sounding both mechanical and real.I take an obscene pleasure in being in the water, feeling it all around me.Turning to my buddy, we decide to start the dive, and I cannot stop the smile spreading from deep inside of me as I start my descend.

I trim by weight for the first time and look around me. I orientate myself and head to the great deep blue.The visibility is just too extraordinary to describe, the only limit to this is the hundreds of Fried Egg jellyfish swarming for as far as I can see, reminding me of the introduction of the spoof sci-fi movie Mars Attacks. Only there is nothing ominous or dangerous about these beautiful ,graceful creatures, with their Yellow stems, blue tentacles and reddish caps. The sun shining through them as they catch the light.Getting closer I see individual fry or small colonies of fish living amongst their tentacles.

We leave the the shallow reef and dive out at 6M till I am over the anchor, my head constantly moving, alert for any sudden movement of small fish as they move fast in a shimmer of light away from a predator.

We get to the anchor, trying to spot the, to me, illusive, seahorse.

We had planned a deco dive of a max of 4Min. decompression as we wanted to go for a wander on the sand approaching the Rozi from the bow.

As we swim across the sand I remeber my friend Johnathan’s advise to keep a look out on the sand for Serpent Eels.I am lucky.I find one.

With my fingers I gently feel for its body buried in the sand. It comes out about 30cms. A second touch brings it out completely and as I kneel in the sand, the Serpent Eel stands coiled looking me straight in the eye, like it was telling me “What have you been told about animal intereaction?”

It was at least 2M in lenght and we watched it as it swam a short distant, stopped and looked back at us, to swim off ever so graceful to stop again to look back to slowly desappear in the distance.

I looked at my buddy and reminded him that on that day he had decided to leave the camera on shore.

I recognize alot of tracks in the sand, and using my snorkle I gently uncover these large sand urchin, and watch it as it burys itself back.

As we approach the Rozi we start seeing alot of Golden Anemones.

We stop and take a moment to look at the Rozi.She seems to raise from the sand, seemingly still steaming in the worlds oceansas she did before she was retired.

The baracuddas, the Amberjacks and the mire of color from the smaller fish.The light down from the surface reflecting on the sand.

Am I narked or is this really as beautiful as it seems?

Down to 100bar and my computer an Aladin Air, tells me my air will last me another 10mins if I stay at that depth.

Time to start heading back!We leave the bottom reducing our depth, slowly spiraling around the wreck heading to the 16M reef to its NE.

I just love that part of the reef. I love the sight of the Pasedonea meadows.But most of all I just love sitting there watching, waiting for things to happen.

My computer tells me I now have 20mins air left at that depth and 3mins deco. We make a desicion. We are only 5mins away from the 5M reef behind us or about 10Mins to our exit point below the lantern if we take the scenic route.

We take the latter. Slowly we swim, and stop, and look, and swim,and stop, and wait, and look…and we are not disappointed.Its just so spectacular to see millions of small fish, moving together forming one massive mirror catching the sun as they get out of a predators way.

We are zipped a few time by hunting Little thunny, and the occasional Baracuda. A large school of Crevale Jacks swims out of the blue looking mean. Looking like they are hungry.

The small fish has literlly disappeared.

All the time the Fried Egg Jelly Fish making for a surreal backdrop.

A movement on the edge of the reef catches my eye and I investicate to find a large moray, in what I imagine is very hard not to bite and chew on the cleaner shrimp busy in its mouth.

Its time to get to the exit and try and gas off as much as possible.

Our computers are clear but we know that my buddies Sunnto Computer will give him a 3Mins at 3Ms.

Believing in belts and braces we stay another 10mins at 3M looking for all those beautiful small creatures divers tend to miss.

We surface. Both of us still underwater while our brains playback many of the sights we just shared in our 70mins dive.

We do not say a word. Each lost in his own memories and experiences of the dive.

I Love this post dive silence, the mile stare, caught between two worlds, for me always signs of a great dive.

Thank you Cirkewwa.

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