Rainbow Reef

 Stardate October 2, 2023.

At last!  The wind abated and I called Marina at the Dive Academy at seven am to see if she had a snorkeling guide available.  She did and said they would pick us up at eight thirty.  Sure enough, the launch with two divers and three staff showed up, Nick and I signed the liability waiver and off we went.  Through swells that launched the launch (see what I did there?) into orbit on a regular basis.  Dave's back was taking it not so well, but we made it out the pass to the Great White Wall.  Over we went - the divers went to a different part of the reef.  And I was so prepared to be wowed.

What a disappointment.  The part of the reef we were on was all new coral, the previous growth having been destroyed by a cyclone six years previously.  On top of that, we were in 4-5 m of water so we couldn't get close to anything.  And - the swells kicked up enough detritus that visibility was impaired at the surface. 

Still we gamely followed Leona, our guide who swam with us along the reef.  Finally I got tired of the poor show and fighting the waves that kept, breaking over my snorkel and caught Leona and tugged on his trailing float.  I motioned for the boat which got called over and I went up.  Nick stayed a while longer and did get to see the Great White Wall from the top.  He didn't seem impressed when he boated.

So back to shore we went where there was hot tea and cake for the divers (and us poor snorkelers).  We had to listen to all the tales of the great corals and fish they saw for the better part of an hour.  Then back in the launch for another trip out to the Cabbage Patch.  One of the divers let me have her seat in the middle of the launch and the ride was much better.  

So over the side on the CP reef.  Now this was more like it!  Not only were the swells and waves considerably diminished, the coral was easily reached from the surface.  Took a lot of video but forgot that transfer of large files from the Brave 7le is an impossibility without a card reader, which of course I don't have.  So you'll have to take my word for it that this reef was impressive.  Leona had a ball trying to call trevally fish by snapping his fingers.  Lots of very impressive coral that I had never seen before.

And then we snorkeled over the world-famous Cabbage Patch.  Down there.  Nine meters down.  It looked more like a bunch of cow pies from my in-law's farm.  But I guess 'World Famous Cow Pie Patch' doesn't have the same allure.  It supposedly is the largest single coral of its kind in the world.  About fifty feet square.  Color me unimpressed.

Back to the boat and another happy hour on shore.  BTW, the two dive trips cost us $130 FJD each.  I think if you're a diver using their tanks it's a bit more.  And probably worth it; the divers saw sharks the second trip.  I'll stick to snorkeling around behind the boat on calm days.