Nai'a, Bligh Waters, Fiji: Undercurrent 11/2024

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Dear Fellow Diver,

Mantas! After a rough overnight transit from Vatu-i-ra, I was ready for the 7:00 a.m. dive in the Wakaya area on day four, west of the main island Viti Levu. Cruise director Bel's passion spilled over to us divers as she enthusiastically described and showed pictures of the mantas the previous day. She and Mike, her partner, study the mantas and have even named them. The rules: do not chase them and do not remove the camera she places at the pinnacle for recording their behavior.

MY. Nai'a Once underwater, I enjoyed the abundance of creatures -- scorpion fish, turtles, green morays, reef sharks, large groupers, a leopard shark, even a hammerhead -- and after 15 minutes, the mantas slowly arrived, swooping by close enough to see their details. During this first dive, I saw three mantas, with Danny Pegleg courting Shirley while M467 just hung out. Overwhelming in their grace, these 30-foot ocean mantas were beautiful. Over three dives, there were 14; on my 2010 Fiji trip, I saw only a couple.

Returning to dive the Bligh Waters between Fiji's two major islands with the Nai'a crew this September, I expected stunning sites and moderate currents on most dives. However, the currents were unreliable on the first day due to Bogi Walu, Fiji's eightnight trade-wind-driven surge, which brought choppy seas and stronger currents, exacerbated by a new moon. Bel suggested we take sea sickness drugs to stave off mal-de-mer and help us sleep during the rough overnight transit. And rough it was, forcing me at times to hold on to my bed and hope I didn't have to get up to pee. The first thing I did the next morning, with the help of Captain Angus, was sync my Nautilus Lifeline (marine rescue GPS and radio) with the Nai'a.

When I arrived in Nadi, I overnighted at the Gateway Hotel. The next day, around 1:00 p.m., a bus picked up divers for the hour trip to the Nai'a at Lautoka port. Before our afternoon checkout, the only one that day, we were shown to our cabins, unpacked, set up gear, and had a snack. I was still jet-lagged and groggy. The day felt rushed and met with some grumbling, but nothing could be done but to follow our marching orders. The Nai'a had somehow obtained and verified our C-cards online before we boarded -- except for my dive buddy, who was YMCA-certified 60 years ago. They also vetted for nitrox certification, as we all would use it....

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