Blue Corner and German Channel

On Sunday, LB, Ryan, Christy, and I went for our first diving trip as certified divers. The big dive site we did not do during certification was Blue Corner. We had done Blue Holes, which is adjacent but this time we wanted to do the corner. After getting our gear together and loading up the boat we headed off on the 45 minute journey through the islands. Along with us was three Americans and one of the CAT team guys. Once outside the protection of the islands the water was still very calm, a big change from a few weeks ago when the waves were rolling. We suited up and dove in, heading down to the edge of the reef at around 50-60 feet. The current was mild so we slowly moved along the edge of the reef observing the various coral and fish.

Blue Corner is famous for its abundance of sharks and it did not disappoint. During the dive we saw dozens of sharks, mostly reef, grey-tip, white-tip and black-tip. Many were large and some were bigger than me. At one point in my field of vision I counted seven sharks. I did not get too close to them, but the sharks are well fed and I was not worried about them attacking me. They are fascinating creatures as they glide through the water. At one point we saw a few of the smaller sharks go after a wounded fish. In addition to the sharks we saw plenty of other fish, including some really big Napoleon Wrasses. We swam away from the edge and across the reef, observing more sharks swimming by and a few white-ips laying on the reef. As we neared the end of the dive, we found a large turtle sitting on the reef feeding. Christy finally got to see a turtle and it was a magnificent sight as it rose up and swam away just as the sun came out from behind a cloud. Our dive lasted a hour before we returned to the surface. For lunch, we headed back into the islands and found a small cove to tie up the dive boat and relax.

After lunch our next dive site was German Channel. The Germans were the first European presence here and to allow their ships to enter the inner lagoon they blasted a channel through the reef. It created an interesting dive site. We all descended to around 50 feet and began swimming along the side of the channel. There was plenty of interesting fish and coral. Eventually, we came upon a clearing and discovered a Pan tail stingray. It was a large stingray that we first saw swimming along before it came to rest on the sand. The first thought that entered my mind was "Crikey, that stingray is gorgeous." Everyone was thinking similar Steve Irwin thoughts because no one went anywhere close to the stingray. Dozens of sharks didn't faze anyone but one stingray and everyone takes a wide berth. However, after seeing a large stingray and looking at its stinger I understand how it can do some serious damage. We continued along and at the end of the dive we found another turtle sitting on the reef feeding at about 20 feet depth. We all stopped and hung around watching the turtle. Ryan consumes air faster than the rest of us and is always the first to run low on air. He ran low again, this time he actually ran out of air, but was prepared and surfaced without a problem. LB was helping him, but surfaced too quickly earning herself a reverse block and a sinus headache for the ride home. The rest of us continued to watch the turtle until it was time to surface. After loading back onto the boat we headed for home, but that was an adventure all to itself.

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