On September 10, 2009 my buddy Rob and I went for a night dive to watch the coral spawning. The coral spawning takes place twice a year a certain number of days after the first full moon in September and a second time the same number of days after the full moon in October. Depending on the species the number of days after full moon varies. It was expected that the peek of the coral spawning would be this night.

After a morning dive at Watamula I went diving in the afternoon with Rob, Jaap and Natasha at Fisherman's Wharf. That is a nice dive site opposite the water desalination plant. There is a small harbor and a tiny sandy beach where you can easily enter and exit the water. The dive site is not known to most local and tourist divers but the site is definitely worth a visit. You can dive here to the left and to the right depending on the direction of the current. This time we went to the left. The last few dives we experienced strong currents at several locations; also here, looking at how strongly bent the soft coral was, there was obviously a strong current beneath 10 meters so we decided to stay shallower.

Today Rob and I went diving at Baya. Mainly to check out if the algae were gone. That appeared not to be the case although most of them look as if they are dying or dead. They are mostly black and cover the reef till a bit more than 20 meters deep. Not a pretty sight.

For this Sunday a dive at Playa Canoa (Northern side of the island) was planned by Trunkdivers, but unfortunately there was far too much wind to continue that plan. As an alternative we went diving at Bachelor's bay. This dive site is the last one before you reach the oil terminal at Bullenbaai. It was my third time at this dive site this year and I have to say that it gets easier each time. With easier I don't mean the dive itself. The dive is easy; the challenge is the steep cliff that you have to climb down before the dive and up again after the dive. It is an almost 7 meter (23 feet) high rock wall with a rudimentary path down. At three places it is difficult either because the step is a bit too high or because it is not easy to get a firm grip on the wall itself or a combination of both. What probably also helps is that I took a smaller tank than the first time so the weight on my back is reduced. And what certainly helps is a group that is cooperating to get everyone safely down and up.

It is quite some time ago that I went diving at this location. That is because a hotel project has started here and that changed the infrastructure. But, as today proved, this site can still be reached although it takes a bit more effort than in the past.

The best place to park your car is near the "Miramar". From there you have to walk along the beach till the end; there you enter the water and swim to the other side of the channel where you can leave the water at another small beach. From there you have to walk till almost the end; look for a place where it is easiest to enter the water (there are a lot of rocks in the water so be careful). If there are waves you better go two by two into the water holding each other at the straps of the BCD. In this way you are more stable.