The engines are on at 3am for the long sail to the next dive. With the waves splashing against the bow (where our room is) we don't get much sleep. Into the usual routine of a dive before breakfast. We have learnt that we get 14 dives but there aren't any on a Saturday so we have to pick our days with an extra dive. In addition we're going to do a night dive so we have to schedule things [carefully].
The first dive today is a drift drive in a strong current. To do this we have to fin down rather than sink, we'll get washed past the reef if we don't decend quickly enough. This is good in principle except Helen doesn't have enough weight for the first 5m so sticks to the top as though she can't break the surface tension. Our instructor has to get on top of her and push her down. At the reef we have to grab hold of the reef whereon I promptly cut my fingers open on the coral. The current is quite strong so the water's a bit murky [with lots of silt and stuff floating in it]. There are a few fish about, though.
In between dives we're on whale shark alert. The Japanese contingent are mad for them (several making their second or third trip on the boat to see the largest fish in the sea). The procedure is to have fins and mask on the main boat [rather than on the attendant dive dhoni]. When the cry goes up twelve of us squeeze into the [main boat's] dingy and head off. On another shout we all collapse into the water to see the whale shark [c.f. dolphin chasing in the Zanzibar]. The first time was good, the shark meandered slowly amongst us before swimming deeper and out of reach. One of the instructots and one of the Japanese (with camera -- all the Japanese have waterproof cases for their [digital] cameras and camcorders, clearly too much money!) managed to stay down at 5 or 6m with the shark for maybe a minute which was equally impressive. The shark was 5.5m long, btw -- they grow up to 12m. 
We get another couple of shark before before the next dive which is to see whale shark whilst diving -- go to 15-20m and sit there 'til your air runs out, is the basic instruction. Alas no whale shark but I do manage to float amongst a couple of schools of fish, which was quite nice.
Yoji Otake said: Toshiyuki Otake took the appended photograph.
The front left, jun Aoyama, FITE .
the second left
Yoji Otake, ayuko Aoki, nagisa Suzuki, and Naoko Hosokawa .
the third left Helen, FATU, and Tadahiro Iwashita .
The fourth left Ian, TUMA, Toshiyuki Otake
En route to the next dive site a manta does pass the boat. [At the next dive site] we try snorkelling but the water was deeper than we thought, murkier and the current quite strong. On the way back, Helen started [on about] how she wasn't going to make it, her legs had given up, etc.. Before clambouring aboard with too much trouble.
As I write the black horizon is lit up by a nice rainbow. November is a funny month, the dry monsoon (wind) comes bringing plenty of cloud and rain -- no storms so far --but on the other hand, during snorkelling an hour ago, I managed to burn myself again.
We get to go to a local village -- in principle only by invitation -- but it turns out that Dhangeti is set up to receive tourists from the nearby resort islands. The "high street" is lined with souvenir shops -- not a supermarket (read: food shop) in sight! There was a good sunset, though.
Back on the boat one of the Japanese digs out his camcorder-TV cable and we see some entertaining footage from the last couple of days -- particularly the whale shark. He was filming the coastline when the shout came and forgot to turn off record so there's five minutes of camera swinging and people's crotches. We stay the night in the harbour.
Blue Shark Two, anchored at N3.60775
E72.95130 Elev. 12m. 
[yeah, right!] 
Copyright 2002 Ian Fitchet. All rights reserved.