Soleil 2 live report

[diveUAE]

We’ve (husband, sister in law and me) just started our LOB onboard Soleil 2. We arrived yesterday to rain and clouds after 4 h flight from sunny UAE.
Transfer to the boat was quick, just short walk to the dhoni and then 10 min sail.
We put our gear in boxes under the tanks, and made sure we had everything.

Onboard the mothership we filled out the paperwork and was shown to our huge master cabin (for husband and me) SIL is sharing a nice balcony cabin with a lady from Spain. I think our bathroom is bigger than some of the rooms we’ve had on previous LOB’s.

With “conception” and “Suzanna” in mind, I’m happy we’re not below deck, and based on suggestions from SB we now have a “go bag” hanging on the door handle with passport, wallets and a waterproof torch. We also brought our travel smoke detector (no problem bringing it on the plane in our hand luggage).

Boat briefing was at 8 pm, and all safety procedures were shown - hatches, fire alarms and a 24 h watch schedule is in place (I heard the guy at 3 am, so pretty sure they check the boat throughout the night).

We’re allowed to charge “small items” in the cabins, but bigger stuff should be charged in the main lounge in a dedicated charging station (no towels allowed there)

Dinner was ok, but we’ve definitely had better food on other LOB’s.

The boat can take 30 divers, but we’re “only” 26: 3 Danes (us), 2 Germans (only 1 dive), 2 Chinese, 5 Japanese and a big group from Spain. The cool thing is the both the group from Japan and from Spain have their own guides, so our group is only us and the German guy - very nice

 

[diveUAE]

First briefing this morning was 6.30 am, turned out, that was for the Spanish group, so English was 6.45.

Briefing was good, but nothing about loosing your buddy or other underwater emergencies. Well I guess the standard procedure is well known.

After this we went to the dhoni to set up equipment and weights- small problem here, as they ran out of 4 pound weights and SIL needs 14 pounds, so that’s a lot of 2 pound weights to fit on 1 belt - luckily they found 2 extra 4 pounds for her.

Dive site was “Lanka” in front of Paradise Island. 20 min sail and with dolphins following us Dive briefing had Manta cleaning stations on them, so hopes were high.

At the dive site 4-5 other boats were also getting dives in the water, so after the Spanish and Japanese groups had jumped our guide decided we should move a bit to not have too many divers (great thinking).

We jumped in and about 2 min after another group of 7-8 divers kind of joined us (I have no idea why it would have been easy to keep 50-100 m apart).

There was not much colour on the corals, felt like most of it was dead, but plenty of fish to see. Our dive guide found a couple of small crabs, my husband spotted an octopus and we saw a small white tip reef shark. Later a big turtle showed up. 30 min into the dive we could see many divers in from of us, most were trying to stay still/hold on to the corals, so I assumed it must be near the cleaning station, but no mantas.

SIL was running low on air, so dive guide signalled to go up, and for us to show we could launch the SMB, SIL was fighting with hers, and while husband and I were trying to help her, I heard banging on tanks, looked down, and there was a big Manta! Got SIL to be still and watched in awe as the Manta glided past us, then made a u-turn and came back really close to us - pure magic <3.

So 3 min stop, deploy our SMB and back to the boat. As our German guy was handing over his finns I noticed his GoPro dropping and starting to descend. I gave my SMB to another diver, and tried to reach the camera, but had ear problems, so could not get down. Another group of divers were on the bottom and one of them saw the camera, I signaled it belonged to me, and that I had ear problems and could not go down. In the end the dive guide went down to get the camera, as the other diver did not understand (or was not willing to get 5 m up to me). Well anyway: German friend was happy

So were we. What a great first dive

 

[chillyinCanada]

First briefing this morning was 6.30 am, turned out, that was for the Spanish group, so English was 6.45.

Briefing was good, but nothing about loosing your buddy or other underwater emergencies. Well I guess the standard procedure is well known.

After this we went to the dhoni to set up equipment and weights- small problem here, as they ran out of 4 pound weights and SIL needs 14 pounds, so that’s a lot of 2 pound weights to fit on 1 belt - luckily they found 2 extra 4 pounds for her.

Dive site was “Lanka” in front of Paradise Island. 20 min sail and with dolphins following us Dive briefing had Manta cleaning stations on them, so hopes were high.

At the dive site 4-5 other boats were also getting dives in the water, so after the Spanish and Japanese groups had jumped our guide decided we should move a bit to not have too many divers (great thinking).

We jumped in and about 2 min after another group of 7-8 divers kind of joined us (I have no idea why it would have been easy to keep 50-100 m apart).

There was not much colour on the corals, felt like most of it was dead, but plenty of fish to see. Our dive guide found a couple of small crabs, my husband spotted an octopus and we saw a small white tip reef shark. Later a big turtle showed up. 30 min into the dive we could see many divers in from of us, most were trying to stay still/hold on to the corals, so I assumed it must be near the cleaning station, but no mantas.

SIL was running low on air, so dive guide signalled to go up, and for us to show we could launch the SMB, SIL was fighting with hers, and while husband and I were trying to help her, I heard banging on tanks, looked down, and there was a big Manta! Got SIL to be still and watched in awe as the Manta glided past us, then made a u-turn and came back really close to us - pure magic <3.

So 3 min stop, deploy our SMB and back to the boat. As our German guy was handing over his finns I noticed his GoPro dropping and starting to descend. I gave my SMB to another diver, and tried to reach the camera, but had ear problems, so could not get down. Another group of divers were on the bottom and one of them saw the camera, I signaled it belonged to me, and that I had ear problems and could not go down. In the end the dive guide went down to get the camera, as the other diver did not understand (or was not willing to get 5 m up to me). Well anyway: German friend was happy

So were we. What a great first dive

You had me worried thete for a moment! So glad the manta showed up to save the dive.

A friend of mine lost her go pro on a dive. It was a pinnacle, we all just dove around and around, still it was a very nice dive. On my next trip on that boat, not too long afterwards, one of the guides had a 'new to him' go pro. I couldn't help but wonder.

 

[diveUAE]

Dive briefing for second dive was 11:45 or .... that was the 5 min Japanese briefing, followed by a 30! Min Spanish one:-/ Ours took 7 min.
(And the Spanish group talked very loud during the first 5 - I find them very rude)

Everyone off to the dhoni to start analysing the nitrox- 26 dives and .... wait for it ..... 1 analyser. Took forever.

Dive site was Kandooma Thila.
Our dive guide offered to take less experienced SIL to another spot with less current, and she was very happy to not have to “fight” the current.

Husband and I together with our German friend teamed up with the 2 Chinese divers (on air, we had nitrox) and did negative entry. Down to 30 m in 3 min and just go with the flow.

Viz was not the best, but soon we saw eagle rays and shortly after 4 grey reef sharks. New guide even found 2 nudies and some small crabs. More eagle rays came along - a whole school, but viz was still bad, so I did not get any videos.

25 min into the dive I noticed one of the Chinese swam away from the reef and started to rapidly ascend, I was too far away to stop him, so my only choice was to alert the dive guide. We waited 1 min to see if he came back, but then the dive guide made the right decision: end the dive.

We started ascending and on 8 m we found our missing diver buddy breathing with another. So dive guide took over and had the guy buddy breathe with him and we did the safety stop.

The Chinese diver looked in a bad shape, when we came up and had a headache. But did not want oxygen and cleared up after a while.

 

[diveUAE]

Last dive briefing was 4.30 pm and this time they split it up into Japanese/English and the Spanish version somewhere else. Much better.

Analysing also seemed to be quicker, and soon we were ready to jump in at Alimatha house reef.

What a dive<3 Nurse sharks all over. Husband, SIL and I were the first ones in and soon we saw the first ones.

At one point my husband and I had 5-6 nurse sharks circling around us. It was one of the best dives ever! I did not want it to end. Some whip tail rays joined the party and rays and sharks seemed to have a “dare you” going on about who could get closest to the divers.

If you’ve done the dive you would know, if you haven’t: just go ...

All in all: one of the best dive days ever

 

[diveUAE]

Day 2:
OH what a beautiful morning!

Dive briefing at 6.30 and they seemed to have the briefings down: Spanish group away from the others, so quickly we’re on the way to Miyaru Kandu.

Dive Guide checked the current, and tells us to wait first 5 min, then 10 more. Still there’s no current, so they decided we should jump and make the dive anyway. I thought that was going to be a boring dive, but no:

First thing Dive Guide find us some Purple fire goby”s very shy, but I still got a video.

Then we spotted some white tips circling the plateau and they came pretty close. We see more sharks and schools of fish. Suddenly a manta stops by to surprise everyone and during our slow ascent we spot both an octopus and a small hawksbill turtle. So all in all a very nice dive.

2nd Dive was done same place. Current is still weak, but we were still find a place to hook up and the show starts: grey reef sharks and white tips all sizes. I gave up counting straight away - the viz is not the best, but still we can see at least 20 sharks and new ones come along as well. Another great dive. Back in the dhoni and on the way back to the boat crew sees 2 mantas, so we stop and people go snorkeling

3rd Dive was Fussaru Kandu. First negative entry of the trip, good current for about 5 min, then it stopped and the dive was pretty meh... Oh well. Still a good day of diving

We return to Soleil and they have put out a flood light to try to attract plankton and Whale sharks, I waited until 1.15 am, but no luck on the whale shark.

 

[Trailboss123]

Thanks for the live report- enjoying it.

 

[Tippytoes12]

Oh great report, so glad that you are seeing mantas. The mantas in the Maldives seem to be super relaxed and friendly.

Thanks so much for posting this report.

 

[diveUAE]

Day 3:

Hallelujah.

They raised the anchor just before 5 am to sail to South Ari Atol - it might be the only downside to having the master cabin that the noise from that is really, really loud. I fell asleep again, when we started to sail.

The call for briefing was 7.30 - all calls for briefing and breakfast/lunch/dinner is done via speakers - feels a bit like being back in school.

I was surprised there was no breakfast before diving, since it was going to be a late morning dive - not even a pre dive cold breakfast, just sugary snacks and fruit. I had a crunchy oatmeal bar in my bag, so decided to eat that, while diabetic SIL took 2 dry crackers and a banana.

My dive computer tells me we dropped in the water 8.18 am. Negative entry, but not much current. I immediately had ear problems, tried to go up and equalise, but no matter how hard I tried it was not possible. Signal dive guide I’m having problems and try to get attention from hubby- with no luck, dive guide still descending with SIL:-/

Finally husband looks for me and I signal to abort the dive due to ear problems and starts ascending, while following the bubbles, as he goes down to tell dive guide we’re going to end the dive - 10 min total dive time:-/

SIL later tells there were some beautiful corals, but that was about it.

9.35 we’re on the way back to the boat, now very hungry and SIL needs food soon, she says. But captain apparently spots some small boats dumping snorklers not far away, so he decides to investigate if we might be lucky enough to see whale sharks already (they just passed Soleil, without telling us or giving us a chance to stop and go aboard).

Arriving to the boats, they signal mantas, and I make the call to remind our dive guide we have a diabetic on the boat and that they did not offer her any breakfast, so we need to return to the boat (yes, she has “sugar drops” in her BCD, but frankly I’m annoyed about them not even offering anything to eat before a late morning dive. ALL other LOB’s we’ve done has had: cold breakfast, 1st dive, warm breakfast 2nd dive, lunch 3rd dive, snack (4th dive) and dinner - here both cold breakfast and snack is missing, not to mention the hot chocolate after night dive)

Back on the boat I took some panadol cold and flu + antihistamine, get some breakfast and sleep.

2nd briefing is 11am: search for whale sharks and dive, if we do not spot any. I equalise without problems now, so join the search - anyway snorkeling would not be a problem. Dive guide tells us to bring some food, as it might take a while.

I sleep on the dhoni during the search- after 1,5 hour with no luck, we prepare for diving. Only a slight current, so I agree with husband and dive guide I’ll give it a go, but if I’m having any problems I’ll return alone, so they can continue.

No ear problems at all we go down to 15 m and just flows gently along. All divers are together, but soon our dive guide decides to speed our group up a bit and we’re now in the front and can only see some bubbles behind us. Above us are 3 snorkelers from the boat. Viz is about 10-15 m.

We see some eagle rays, including a group of 5. 20 min into the dive I’m getting concerned and after 30 min guide starts pointing out all the other fish in the sea: including a pufferfish!!?? And 2 small moray ells:-/ He even bangs his tank so we can see a turtle and a small black tip (he told us he would only bang for whale sharks). At 37 min he bangs and points up. I see the group of eagle rays, and decide to ascend a bit for good videos, guide now banging frantically I check I’m not ascending too fast and FINALLY see the WHALE SHARK following the eagle rays. At 7 m I stop and start filming, soon after everyone else arrives and descends so close to the whale shark it starts to swim away. Well I was lucky I got a video without any divers in. Happy and smiling we end the dive and are back at mother ship around 2.30 for lunch.

Last briefing is 4.15 pm and most of the Spanish group decides not to dive, but go to the local island to shop?!

We set off to spot the nearest reef for mantas, but they can’t see any from the boat, so decision is made to dive “Five rocks”. Beautiful corals and a new (to us) nudie.

 

[diveUAE]

Dive day 4:

They’ve apparently given up on splitting the briefing in two different locations on the boat, so we’re back to waiting for the lengthy Spanish and short Japanese, before the one in English. No problem, except the Spanish group talk so loud during our briefings we can hardly hear the guide - asking them to be a bit quiet only helps a bit. Please: if you’re diving with a big group, try to be considerate towards other groups and their briefing!
We keep reminding ourselves, that since both the Spanish and Japanese group brought their own guides we have a guide for the 3 of us (our German friend caught an ear or sinus infection and is no longer diving) Our dive guide (Faya) is very good and patient, he also bring SIL up, when she’s down to 50 bars, giving husband and me 10-15 min more dive time. He takes really good care of her, make sure she ok in the current, pulling her along if necessary. Faya also quickly figured out how to keep her calm during safety stop: she’s now happily holding the line for the SMB and stay perfectly at 5 m. Simple, but effective. SIL is 61 and only started diving 4 years ago, before coming here she had 48 dives and sometimes had bouyancy problems, but have improved so much during the trip, due to Faya’s help.

Morning dive at Vilamendhoo Thila, nice dive site with good fish life and ok corals. We see white tips and an eagle ray pass close to us. Also see a big bumphead napoleon and large scorpion fish.
It’s also the first place here in Maldives we see rubbish floating in the sea. Plastic plates and cutlery along with ice cream wraps and plastic bags. We collect some of it and bring to the boat.

2nd Dive at Omadhoo Thila - we were supposed to dive on the south one which should have some nice soft corals, but we never make it that far (not sure why). Ok dive.

3rd Dive at Fish Head. We do a shallow dive (my max depth was 18,6 m), still see lots and lots of schooling fish and a sleeping white tip, that is very patient, while we take photos/videos from 3 different angles getting closer and closer to it. We also see grey reef sharks, 2 octopuses and 2 turtles. Very nice dive site

There was supposed to be a beach BBQ tonight, but it looks like it’s going to rain, so they set up on the covered top deck instead, nice change and “entertainment” with drumming, singing and dance.