Diving with Mantas in August - Where to?

[Centrals]

Last time I was on LOB to Komodo we didn't experience any current whatsoever except on "Shotgun".

Bring personal safety equipment ie. whistle, smb, light etc etc. are MUST.

 

[Centrals]

Hmmm, are these sights boring? How far do you think I was from them? How bad was the visibility do you think? Notice the date stamp on the pictures? That means I don't zoom in the pictures to make them look closer than the actual case. I could touch them if I want to, of course I didn't. Those scenes were in Manta Allay

We all have different experiences in life.
We also didn't see any dragons during our surface interval.
My next visit, soon, might turn out differently.

 

[Cali_diver]

Last time I was on LOB to Komodo we didn't experience any current whatsoever except on "Shotgun".

Bring personal safety equipment ie. whistle, smb, light etc etc. are MUST.

Personally I think that would be a huge bummer!! Current = fish (especially Mantas)! Were you with an inexperienced group? So much of Komodo is amazing because of it's currents. I hope the next visit is better...

 

[Dan]

We all have different experiences in life.
We also didn't see any dragons during our surface interval.
My next visit, soon, might turn out differently.

The law of averages indicates that you are due for better trip than the last one. Hopefully you'll see tons of mantas like @Cali_diver did in not much current. Good luck!

 

[Centrals]

Personally I think that would be a huge bummer!! Current = fish (especially Mantas)! Were you with an inexperienced group? So much of Komodo is amazing because of it's currents. I hope the next visit is better...

We did see the mantas from a distance.
There were not any current at Castle rock or any other supposed to be top sites!
We all live in hope.
Cheers.

 

[Adelaar Cruises]

Filmed in August, 2016 - Manta Alley, Komodo.

 

[Dan]

Filmed in August, 2016 - Manta Alley, Komodo.

That's cool! Thanks for sharing!

 

[tholden1]

The more I read about Komodo, the more worried I get. I read about down currents -- pretty scary stuff. And, I tend to use a lot of air even if there are no currents. I can't imagine what I would do if I were fighting a current like that and trying to swim perpendicular to it to get out of it. Beyond that though, fighting any decent current is going to cause me to use a lot of air and start to get winded. I just finished some diving in Cozumel and Roatan and I was fine, but they didn't have current (other than some drift diving). What I have read about Komodo though worries me.

 

[Dan]

I haven't experienced any down current in Komodo. The only one down current I experienced was in Crystal Bay, Nusa Penida, Bali. We stayed closed to the rocks, where the current is at minimum. Keep your mask strapped tight on your face & face straight on to the incoming stream. Get ready to hold on to rocks if necessary, rather than trying to swim a cross current. The current was not long lasted.

The current in Komodo that I experienced like in shotgun, Is a shallow channel (strait) during tide change, not a down current kind. If you are not convertible with it, just skip it. I haven't seen any manta there anyway.

 

[tholden1]

That's good to hear. The stuff I read about down currents was scary stuff.

I read one guy's post where he said he put his mask straps under a hood in strong current. So, he put on the mask, then the hood on top. I might grab a hood to take with me in case there are strong currents and try that. I have also ordered a back-up prescription mask.

I'm still concerned about my air consumption and not being in shape to fight current. They LOB rep said that they go down and survey the site to check for currents and such, before anyone dives. They said that they then relay the conditions in the dive briefing. If there are a lot of currents there, I may skip it. And, hopefully that doesn't mean that I'll be sitting on the boat a lot, not diving.

It will be a last-quarter-moon / new-moon phase, so maybe that will mean that the currents won't be bad.

I haven't experienced any down current in Komodo. The only one down current I experienced was in Crystal Bay, Nusa Penida, Bali. We stayed closed to the rocks, where the current is at minimum. Keep your mask strapped tight on your face & face straight on to the incoming stream. Get ready to hold on to rocks if necessary, rather than trying to swim a cross current. The current was not long lasted.

The current in Komodo that I experienced like in shotgun, Is a shallow channel (strait) during tide change, not a down current kind. If you are not convertible with it, just skip it. I haven't seen any manta there anyway.