Maldives in early December

[quinp]

Greetings From Sunny Mumbai

Greetings all !

Want to wish everyone a warm hello from sunny Mumbai. I've just joined deeperblue as a means of learning more about the diving conditions in the Maldives in early December. I'm finding though there's much more to this site than that. So I look forward to hearing from you all.

If anyone out there does have any insight on diving Maldives in early Decemebr I would love to hear from you.

Best Regards, and happy diving!

Quin Pasquariello
quinp@inmail24.com

 

[bdurrett]

Re: Greetings From Sunny Mumbai

Greetings all !

Want to wish everyone a warm hello from sunny Mumbai. I've just joined deeperblue as a means of learning more about the diving conditions in the Maldives in early December. I'm finding though there's much more to this site than that. So I look forward to hearing from you all.

If anyone out there does have any insight on diving Maldives in early Decemebr I would love to hear from you.

Best Regards, and happy diving!

Quin Pasquariello
quinp@inmail24.com

Hi Quin,

I was there last year in early/mid-December at Summer Island (a smallish 3-star All-Included resort in the same atoll as Male but in the farthest northwestern corner near Eriydoo). What do you want to know? Nearly every dive was a drift dive because there was always a current, albeit mostly light. Sight was about 7-10 meters. You will want to make sure that you wash your ears after every dive because, if you don't, the plankton will give you an infection that wyou REALLY do not want to have.... I dove in a 3 mm full and was occasionally too warm. Others dove in 5mm and were fine. The DMs wore 3mm full or 3 mm shorties..... We got some pretty wicked rain storms at night on a couple of nights but there were only a couple of days that were cloudy and even those were not cloudy the whole day.....

I have posted a bunch of photos from the trip in my gallery here....

Have fun!
Bret

 

[quinp]

Bret,

Thanks for your reply. I am considering staying either at a land-based resort in South Ari, or doing a week-long live-a-board safari. Based on sea conditions at that time.

How did you find the seas, rough? I'd hate to spend a week on a rocking boat.

Interesting, you mentioned the vis was only 10 meters. I'll keep that in mind. And the plankton in the ears too! I once had an ear nfection as a result of diving, not pleasant.

Anyway, I'm gonna take a look at you photos....

Regards,

Quin

 

[bdurrett]

Bret,

Thanks for your reply. I am considering staying either at a land-based resort in South Ari, or doing a week-long live-a-board safari. Based on sea conditions at that time.

How did you find the seas, rough? I'd hate to spend a week on a rocking boat.

Interesting, you mentioned the vis was only 10 meters. I'll keep that in mind. And the plankton in the ears too! I once had an ear nfection as a result of diving, not pleasant.

Anyway, I'm gonna take a look at you photos....

Regards,

Quin

The seas were relatively calm but not the "Glass puddle" that the Maldives are famous for in other times of the year. I would estimate the swell at about 1 - 2 feet so not much at all. It was enough to notice a bit when getting back into the baot after a dive.

The vis is really deceptive. Because the reduced vis is caused by plankton rather than sediment, it can vary drastically and rapidly in a single dive. There were days where it was 20+ meters and days where it was 5-7 meters. Even on days when the vis was not great, it was never "dark" underwater if you know what I mean. It wasn't like diving through a layer of suspended crud and needing a light to see underneath.

If you see the photo of the White Tip shark, you can see what I was talking about. The shark was about 6 meters from us when I took the photo..... I also have a 30 second video where a Manta just "materializes" out of the soup and vanishes back into it... VERY cool but also a little eerie.....

 

[Freediver81]

One of our members and Moderators, Island Sands, worked as a dive instructor for a while on the Maldives! Where are you Sara?


Said

 

[Monkey Matt]

Well maybe I can help seeing as Ihave worked on and off for the last 4 years in the Maldives running a Liveaboard. The Maldives have most things for most divers but the seasons do make a big difference to the conditions. Early December should be settled into the NE monsoon season which does not mean rain. We call the seasons NE and SW monsoons and this refers mainly to the wind direction. The NE monsoon is generally flatter and calmer but you are in the middle of the Indian Ocean so anything could happen at any time. The seasons change in May and November and those months a the most unsettled.
The viz is never brilliant in the Maldives because of all the nutrients in the water. These nutrients and the currents are what makes the area a magnet for fish.
If you are staying on an Island you will find better viz on the NE side of the atolls at this time of year and mantas etc on the plankton filled SW side. A liveaboard is the best solution if you are going for the diving as it can give you the best of both worlds. The boats moor up overnight and you normally will only get one or two rough inter atoll crossings and that's if you are unlucky. It's all about winds and tides so the nearer you get to a full or new moon the moor extreme water conditions you can get.
As mentioned by someone else most of the dives are drifts and a reef hook is a really useful piece of dive kit but should be used very carefully. If you have not booked already you may find it hard to get a place on a boat.
If you give some more specific ideas about what you want I can maybe point you in the right direction.

 

[quinp]

Monkey Matt,

Thanks for the info. I'm currently working in India and will finish-up sometime between Nov 23-28. I will spend a few days in Mumbai and then travel to Maldives for a week stay; either 28 Nov-5 Dec, or 5-12 Dec, 2005. I haven't made any booking confirmations yet as the work end date is not final yet.

I'm finding it difficult for hotels and live-a-boards to communicate to me via e-mail. So far I've gotten good responses from White Sands in south Ari and the live-a-board MY Stingray. I've tried contacting Adventurer 1, but they haven't responded yet.

I haven't been to Maldives before and so I'm not sure where the best diving locations are. If I had to make a choice, based on best diving, where would you suggest would be the best atoll / land-based resort to stay?

If the sea conditions aren't all that bad, I'd prefer to do a live-a-board trip. Any suggestions?

As for the diving, I'd like to do a little of "all of the above"... reef diving, large fish, and even a wreck dive would be nice (Victory).

Any insight would be appreciated.

Thanks,

Quin

 

[Monkey Matt]

You are right to prefer a live-a-board if you are going for the diving. Islands boat dive twice a day and live-a-boards 3 times a day. It's not just the quantity though as the mobility of a live-a-board lets you cover more area and get both sides of the atolls. That said White Sands which is on the tip of S Ari atoll is the best spot for whale sharks and they do run day boats to the manta cleaning station on the other side of the Atoll. There is also a large wreck sunk by another resort nearby. The channel south of Dangethi, the biggest local island, has some great dive sites as well.
Stingray is a fairly good boat and the crew know their stuff so I am sure that they will get you to all the right spots.
I am not back out there until the 16th of December and I am pretty sure the other boats in our fleet are full. PM me if you want the company web site but you will need confirmed travel dates and I am unsure of the flight connections on our departure dates.

 

[Maldives Diving Adventure]

Any time is a great time to go to Maldives as diving is possible year-round! And, from December through April brings about bluer skies, and calmer seas. The water temperature is quite consistent during these months at an average of 28 °C.