Real Time Blue Manta Review: Banda Sea 9 – 19 Sept 2019

[billt4sf]

I'd go back, sure! For me, the absolute highlight was having a few HHs look me in the eye. I don't think that would have happened without murky water.

I would want to take the White Manta which has a higher loading platform though.

- Bill

 

[billt4sf]

Loving the live reports (both good and bad)

I’m wondering: when you dive “in the blue” for the hammerheads- is there anything else to see? Or if you don’t see them the dive is (more or less) “wasted”.

How many dives a day? And are most blue water dives or mixed with reefs/pinnacle as well?

Four dives a day, most days. I usually did three, sometimes fewer (NOT "less" ).

All dives you drop to a reef or pinnacle. Sometimes you look out or swim out into the blue but come back to the reef. For the most hammerheady of the dives, which was just one day really, we did not explore the reefs much, so if you didn't see HHs, you could say "that dive was wasted". Or, you could say, "you take your chances and take what the ocean gives you".

- Bill

 

[Luko]

... If I want to see hammerheads in clear blue water, I’ll go back to Cocos, .....

Or in Alor, for a fraction of the price you pay on a liveaboard...

I’m wondering: when you dive “in the blue” for the hammerheads- is there anything else to see? Or if you don’t see them the dive is (more or less) “wasted”.

... that's precisely where I'd prefer to spot them on coral reefs, walls or ledges, such as the ones in Alor.
But if the HH they spotted are around the not-so-secret remotest island of Banda sea where some of the liveaboards are going now, they can be seen on the top of the reef. Depending on the presents you gave and the "benediction" of the chief of the island, as mystic tells.

 

[Dan]

We saw some other pelagic in the blue such as dogtooth tunas, bumphead parrotfish, schooling jacks, barracudas, etc. No waste diving in the blue, just the murkiness pissed me off.

 

[Dan]

This evening sunset dive right off the Banda Naira pier was fantastic. I have never seen so much mandarinfish mating in my life. After we finished taking pictures of them, we went for night dive in the harbor’s black sand spotting the usual suspects (stonefish, scorpionfish, shrimps, crabs, nudis, peacock mantis-shrimp, etc.)

 

[chillyinCanada]

One of my deepest dive regrets was a dive at Sipidan, Malaysia and we came across 3 hammerhead right on the reef, they looked us over but I foolishly screamed into my reg.

Well, you know what happened then. Off they went like a bolt as sharks can do.

A few minutes later, we saw an absolute river of hammerhead flow beneath us. Unfortunately, they were quite far beneath us.

I'll never forget that day or those sights! Nor will I ever forgive myself for screaming into my reg.

 

[billt4sf]

One of my deepest dive regrets was a dive at Sipidan, Malaysia and we came across 3 hammerhead right on the reef, they looked us over but I foolishly screamed into my reg.

Well, you know what happened then. Off they went like a bolt as sharks can do.

A few minutes later, we saw an absolute river of hammerhead flow beneath us. Unfortunately, they were quite far beneath us.

I'll never forget that day or those sights! Nor will I ever forgive myself for screaming into my reg.

Having Hammerheads "look you over" is special experience, I an attest to that!

 

[Christian]

This one looked me in the eye:

This one took a sniff on my wifes fin ...

 

[dirtfarmer]

Having Hammerheads "look you over" is special experience, I an attest to that!

Hammerhead in Banda Sea are quite an experience. I prefer my experience diving with Great Hammerhead at Tiger Beach. It was really epic, and truly a top diving experience. You get lots of "looking you over" and my heart really raced after one decided to ram my camera instead of going over or around me.

 

[Dan]

This one looked me in the eye:

View attachment 540604
This one took a sniff on my wifes fin ...

View attachment 540605

Lucky you.

The only time I saw a scalloped hammerhead checking me out was when I was in Cocos. They were like in a parade swimming back and forth, from left to right, from right to left, while I sit on a rock, enjoying the show.