On Easter Sunday morning, 14 divers met at the airport in Malé and were welcomed by the host Jörg Aebi. Still a little tired from the flight and struggling with the heat, we boarded the diving boat (Maldivian: dhoni) "Schmutzli" and set off in the direction of Mariana. On the Mariana we were warmly welcomed by Rattana and the rest of the crew and served coconut water straight from the coconut. After checking into our rooms, we had a delicious lunch and then it was time for our first dive.
In the following 9 days, the liveaboard took us through Male, Rashdoo, North, South, Vaavu and South Male Atolls back to Malé. Already on the first dives we discovered numerous highlights such as grey reef sharks, white and black tip reef sharks, manta rays, eagle rays, stingrays, turtles, moray eels, bat fish, clown fish, octopodes, cuttlefish, box fish,... etc. as well as huge schools of yellow stripe snappers and once even a wreck. Diving through all the thilas and channels with sometimes quite strong currents presented some challenges, so that the current hook bought specially beforehand at Tauchsport K. (name known to the editors) often came into use. Even launching the current buoy needs to be practised. But with such an experienced travel group (during this week various divers reached anniversaries like 300th, 400th or even 2000th dive) this was no problem at all and the very competent crew of the "Schmutzlis" collected all divers again and again. We managed the navigation at the individual dive sites very well after the always very competent high-tech briefing by Jörg on the screen. Admittedly, there was no agreement as to which side of the screen was brighter. Partly the briefing was also done by guest moderators. But over time, Jörg also only said: "You know, it's Thila, when the current comes from that direction, etc… let’s go and pee and then go!".
My three most impressive experiences in the water were the night dive with the mantas under the boat. The plankton attracted by the spotlight was a rich feast for the mantas, so that they did wild loops while feeding and sometimes "flew" into a diver's head or stirred up so much sand that the visibility became almost like in the local Swiss waters. And then they always say that we divers stir up dirt, well... Another " Hailight" was the whale shark. Some people already called it "Godot", because it kept the divers waiting for a long time. At the same time, the snorkellers, who were abstinent from diving for health reasons, were more fortunate. They could already marvel at the majestic animal and splash around with it. On the second day, shortly before we planned to leave the South Ari Atoll, it finally worked out and we were able to follow the whale shark while snorkelling. Such a beautiful animal... Later we did a sunset dive where we could admire numerous nurse sharks and stingrays, it was amazing. The nurse sharks knew no shyness and if you weren't careful, it was quite possible to collide with a nurse shark when turning your head, ouch... Feels like sandpaper, by the way.
We didn't have to worry about anything the whole day, as soon as the bell rang and pulled us out of a deep sleep at any time, we just had to think about whether we were going to eat or whether it was time for the next dive, according to the motto eat, sleep, dive. Some participants (name known to the editors) had a little trouble hearing the bell, so sometimes the bell was rung especially for them. Particularly worth mentioning is the always extremely delicious food, mostly Thai, but there was also a Zürigschnätzlets with Röschti or an evening with Maldivian delicacies. The beach barbecue on an uninhabited island was particularly great, where our crew not only came up with extremely delicious barbecues and salads, but we were also welcomed by a whale shark, manta ray, eagle ray and a miniature version of the Mariana, all made from sand. It was unbelievable what our crew managed to do in just one afternoon. We can only say, wow... There were no major problems, except for a few pressure equalisation problems or a scalded leg, which has more or less healed in the meantime. Those who wanted to, could take a trip to Malé on the last day and enjoy a refreshing ice cream and some big city flair.
Die ganze Tauchsafari war einfach der Hammer. Wir wurden rundum verwöhnt von unserer Crew. Alles war stets mit Liebe gemacht. Ich möchte im Namen der ganzen Teilnehmenden der ganzen Crew unter Jörg, Rattana, Hussein, Captain Schmutzli und allen anderen recht herzlich danken. Danken möchte ich auch unserer Reiseleitung Dänu und Daniela. Kurzum kann ich nur sagen „super gsy“. Und was bedeutet jetzt nochmal „Riff rechts“?The whole liveaboard trip was just amazing. We were spoiled all around by our crew. Everything was always done with love. On behalf of all the participants, I would like to thank the whole crew under Jörg, Rattana, Hussein, Captain Schmutzli and all the others. I would also like to thank our tour guide Dänu and Daniela. In short, I can only say „it was fantastic". And what does "reef right" mean again?
Text: Sandra Gutmann, 12.05.2019
Video: Daniela Cornacchia
Photos: Daniel Schmid