Fakarava/Rangiroa for non-beginner, non-advanced divers

[amw5g]

Lots of good reading about these places, the diving, operators and accommodations on these boards. Thank you all for that. The collective reports paint an absolutely stunning scene.

The missus and I are not quite beginners, at about 100 dives each and AOW certified, but certainly wouldn't considered ourselves experienced. Our latest adventures have been a return trip to Bonaire, and a week-long last year to the Maldives. Most of our diving has been shore and drift, focusing on the 40'-70' range (that's where the most life & color are for our typical dive spots). We're self-sufficient, solid buoyancy in the conditions we dive, and good & regular underwater communication.

We know CMAS will limit our depth already, and even if it didn't, I would need several local dives in the location before I'd attempt beyond 100'. Oh, and my better half doesn't handle long boat rides in rough seas very well. Question is, should we expect to be overwhelmed by diving in Fakarava/Rangiroa? Should we expect that we're not going to make good use of their unique advantages? We're adventurous, but wise enough not to push our limits.

Many thanks for the advice,
Amw 5G

 

[supergaijin]

How were your experiences in the Maldivian currents? Rangiroa has much stronger currents than those normally found here according to an experienced friend who worked in both areas.

 

[jfcl01]

The currents in Fakarava made it the most advanced diving I've ever done. Comparing it to Bonaire would be like comparing a tricycle ride to a nascar race. I wouldn't have been ready for it after 100 dives, unless all 100 dives were done on the fast northern reefs in Cozumel, on exceptionally fast current days.

 

[Wingy]

I like currents a lot, i love drift diving and actively seek out big currents and drifts.......but.......i waited a long time for Rangiroa. Are you comfortable with blue water drop offs and diving out of RHIBS in what ive seen referred to here as big seas (of course its big, its the giant bloody endless ocean!) although i have heard of divers who had a very slight current running and did not get a fast dive. When I dived the pass I had a guy with 20 dives who got into problems and ended up in the clinic (panic/cramp situation), his wife had around 50 and handled the diving extremely well. We had really big currents averaging around 8 knots through the pass which was exactly what I was after but I noticed other people from other dive ops sitting it out so they must have felt the current too strong. Its not just the current, are you comfy with your boyancy? one of the highlights for me at Rangiroa was diving under a breaking wave, something ive never done anywhere else in the world. Its pretty spectacular. If your screwed in on your boyancy and not deterred by a current (apparently the sustained 8 knots we had were on the high end of the scale) then as long as you pick a reputable outfit not a cattleboat you will be looked after. I cannot speak for Fakarava as my flights were screwed up so..next time.
Watch the turtle Diving Rangiroa - YouTube

 

[amw5g]

For us, the Maldives were not terribly current-y. Certainly some, and it occasionally switched on us. The bigger problem was the swells on the dives in Mamagili Beyru pushing us up/down 4'.

From the other replies, sounds like a great scene for a different type of diver, but not our bag. That's fair, appreciate the thoughts as it's helping us narrow down our options.
Best!

 

[TSandM]

Wow -- we had a very different experience in Rangiroa. The dives we did on the outer reef had no current to speak of at all, and those reefs were stunning. The Tiputa Pass dive had significant current, but we didn't care -- we were in midwater and not near anything you could bump into, and since we were all in the same current, there were no issues with staying together.

The one thing I would say is that we spent a fair amount of time in blue water, looking for sharks and other predator fish (and finding them!) so you ought to be very comfortable with buoyancy control with no visual reference.

 

[Mike]

I don't think the currents are going to be the killer to you on these dives. I think what's important is how dialed in are you and how comfortable are you with your diving. If you're not 100 percent comfortable and dialed in, then I'd recommend skipping for now. If you're really comfortable with diving without any issues or worries and dialed in on your bouyancy and equipment, then I think you'd be fine and adapt very quickly. While the boat rides may be a bit rough, they are relatively short distances. You need to be dialed in on your equipment and comfortable because once you clear the point and enter the pass and go outside to the splash in point, conditions will likely get sporty (invision wind, 10-20 foot rolling waves) and there is no point in that part of the ride to be messing about with equipment and dilly dallying around, basically once you enter the pass, you're going to be expected to be geared up and hanging onto your self on the side of the RIB waiting to splash over and in. Think navy seals on a RIB on a mission and you're on the right track.

Once you're in the water, you're in the blue so it's just another dive. Once in the pass you'll experience current and surge, so stay off the bottom or be ready for some blood. Exits back onto the boat and the ride home are realatively easy.

But one thing for sure, the best diving there revolves around diving deep. 40-50 meters. You can dive shallower, and still have a great dive trip, but the true signature dives there are deeper. But staying in your comfort depth won't stop you from seeing sharks, tons of sea life, turtles, mantas and dolphins. In the shallows you will be face with dealing with surge and lots of it, so that's something to be comfortable with. You will be pushed forward and then pulled back, taken up, taken down, in a big oval path in the column.

 

[peppolalli]

But one thing for sure, the best diving there revolves around diving deep. 40-50 meters. You can dive shallower, and still have a great dive trip, but the true signature dives there are deeper. But staying in your comfort depth won't stop you from seeing sharks, tons of sea life, turtles, mantas and dolphins. In the shallows you will be face with dealing with surge and lots of it, so that's something to be comfortable with. You will be pushed forward and then pulled back, taken up, taken down, in a big oval path in the column.

I totally agree.

Also consider that AOW c/card will not allow you to dive the "real" spots in Rangiroa, at least this is The Six Passenger policy for divers certification.

 

[mbs]

We were in Rangiroa in 2006. I got my AOW in 2005, OW in 04 so I probably had less than 100 dives at the time. I agree with the others, if you are comfortable in the water and reasonably fit you should be ok. BUT it certainly can be challenging! So you get out thru the pass, the dm yells go and everyone backrolls off negative and swims down as fast as possible to a ledge at 90 feet. If you don't do it that way you will be blown by the entry point and will miss out on a lot of the cool stuff. The first time when I got down to 90' I was huffing trying to catch my breath. After resting for a few moments looking over the ledge at the parade of sharks I checked my air and was pleased to see that I had not sucked the tank dry Then we headed out into the blue to the point they wanted us to go thru the pass (tiputa btw). We were using Topdive as the op and I don't recall being limited having Padi AOW. Has this changed? Heck, one day the French divers were going to do a bounce to 200' on a single AL80. We could have gone, but passed and dove with the 14 year old who was not old enough I guess I'm thinking back more on it now and it's pretty advanced diving! Would I do it again? In a heartbeat!! But I think I would take my own advice and get into better shape first. Here's a seriously fixed up shot I snapped as we headed off into the blue at 90ish feet. Layer upon layer of sharks down to the sandy bottom at about 200'!

 

[amw5g]

Thanks again for the continuing thoughts. Still sounds like not our cup of tea, and beyond our capabilities. E.g., we can't do negative entries. I'm sure there are other places in the world to explore that will meet our needs.
Happy diving