I want to pass this information on, just so divers are aware of the risks on the back side of Bunakan Island in Manado Indonesia.
It is not my story. Rather one I heard from a middle-aged family man on a dive boat in Bunakan last summer. He had plenty of dive experience but was still visibly shaken from the occurrence he experienced the day before(I'll call him Tom):
To make a long story short:
The steep sided coral walls on the back side of Bunakan Island in Manado Indonesia are prone to radical swirling down-currents.
My orientation for this post is from the perspective of facing the island & resort strip while coming from the mainland of Manado.
We dove Satchicka (sp?) (back right side) which was beautiful, had a sloping bottom and seemed fine. As far as I know, the risk is on the back left side and tides play a major role.
"Tom" reported:
He was diving next to a wall
the water suddenly seemed unusual
fish quickly disappeared
the DM insistently pointed into the coral
the divers barely clung with all their strength to the coral, down currents ripped at their mask/regs & almost dislodging both
Eventual the currents subsided and they were able to surface without major incident.
Other rumored (but not confirmed) reports were of divers clinging to the wall & crawling along the coral to escape the currents and worse yet (and much vaguer authenticity - lost 5 divers & a DM a few years back-the story quickly covered up)
The message: Bunakan is a beautiful place to dive. Just be careful and ask around @ the reputable resorts before you head to the back left side of the Island or to other more remote dive sites off of small islands in the area.
It is not my story. Rather one I heard from a middle-aged family man on a dive boat in Bunakan last summer. He had plenty of dive experience but was still visibly shaken from the occurrence he experienced the day before(I'll call him Tom):
To make a long story short:
The steep sided coral walls on the back side of Bunakan Island in Manado Indonesia are prone to radical swirling down-currents.
My orientation for this post is from the perspective of facing the island & resort strip while coming from the mainland of Manado.
We dove Satchicka (sp?) (back right side) which was beautiful, had a sloping bottom and seemed fine. As far as I know, the risk is on the back left side and tides play a major role.
"Tom" reported:
He was diving next to a wall
the water suddenly seemed unusual
fish quickly disappeared
the DM insistently pointed into the coral
the divers barely clung with all their strength to the coral, down currents ripped at their mask/regs & almost dislodging both
Eventual the currents subsided and they were able to surface without major incident.
Other rumored (but not confirmed) reports were of divers clinging to the wall & crawling along the coral to escape the currents and worse yet (and much vaguer authenticity - lost 5 divers & a DM a few years back-the story quickly covered up)
The message: Bunakan is a beautiful place to dive. Just be careful and ask around @ the reputable resorts before you head to the back left side of the Island or to other more remote dive sites off of small islands in the area.
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