Best of the Maldives: OBLU Helengeli – Female Diving

OBLU Helengeli - women diving

Not only has the Maldives grown as a destination over the years, but the role of women at the destination continues to grow as well. OBLU Helengeli set a milestone in one of the areas most synonymous with the Maldives – diving –

  • “OBLU NATURE Helengeli by SENTIDO, a resort managed by Atmosphere Core, and its dive partner, TGI Maldives, have been recognized for their exceptional dedication to female divers. The prestigious PADI® ‘Outstanding Contribution to Female Diving’ award marks a global milestone, being the first of its kind ever presented.”

Best of the Maldives: Tiger Shark Diving – Pelagic Dive Centre

Diving with the Tiger Sharks at Fuvahmulah is a truly bucket list dive experience and several dive companies operate from the harbor right where the sharks visit. After my characteristic research, we chose Pelagic Divers and we weren’t disappointed. Our case for choosing them was…

  • Hamna Recommendation – I started by getting in touch with Hamna Ali who is one the subject of one of the most iconic tiger shark diving images and she recommended Pelagic as the operator who trained her.
  • Owned, Run and Fully Staffed by Maldivians – One of the charms of Fuvahmulah overall is to escape the contrived playgrounds of the resort islands and explore the world of modern day Maldives, so this all-Maldivian enterprise, with the special connection to the island and these creatures, fits the vibe completely.
  • Tiger Shark PADI Certification – Pelagic is so committed to the tiger sharks that they have developed a special Tiger Shark Diving Certification which has been recognized by PADI.

The 8 Ds of a Great House Reef

Diving reef Maldives

World Oceans Day today celebrates the many wonders of the aquatic wonderland that defines the Maldives. But what defines a great destination for a house reef snorkel or exceptional dive site. One of the most frequently asked questions on the TripAdvisor Maldives Forum is which resort has the best house reef. But the obvious first question is “best in what way?” There are so many different qualities to a great reef. The best reef for you depends on how you weight each of these characteristics and how strong the reef is in each of them.

This is why my “House Reef Rating” on the Resort Profiles is so basic. It is hard to boil all of these considerations down into a single assessment.

I’ve been diving and snorkelling in the Maldives for two decades and have visited over 120 different islands (staying at over 116 different resorts), as well as other diving and snorkeling spots across the globe (Caribbean, Mediterranean, Red Sea, Galapagos, Indonesia).

To help break down the evaluation, I’ve come up with the 8 D’s of a great house reef…

  1. DensityAre the fish and coral just packed in like a Tokyo metro or scattered more widely?  The best spots are like a grandma’s attic packed the brim with colourful and curious sights.
  2. DiversityIs there a wide portfolio of sea life or is it a one-hit wonder?  Maybe a spot presents a once-in-a-lifetime chance to swim with a manatee or see a whale migration, but are there side shows as well?  The best spots are a veritable 3-ring circus of multiformity.
  3. DazzleIs there a ‘wow’ factor?  The place to start here is the ‘Snorkel Safari Big 5’ (ie.  Shark, Turtle, Ray, Moray, Lion Fish). Some resident creature, topological feature or other underwater sight that would make your jaw drop if your regulator or snorkel wasn’t in it.
  4. DistanceIs it easy to just jump in and you are on the reef in minutes?  Easy accessibility is especially a part of the carefree, unencumbered, relaxed and spontaneous ethos of snorkeling culture, but access is a consideration for divers too.
  5. DegreesHow’s the water?  Some amazing underwater sights are situated in less temperate areas.  As a result, a wet suit is a advised and sometimes even a dry suit is needed.  Whatever the underwater allure, chilly water is can be a distraction.  Especially snorkeling, the ideal conditions are enjoying the sun on your back and nothing more to fuss with than a t-shirt.
  6. DecipherabilityHow far can you see?  This is a big D word for ‘water clarity’.  Clarity can vary due to currents, sea bed constitution, and ecosystem.
  7. DependabilityHow reliable is the great experience?  Are some excursions delights and other duds?  A number of sites will have renowned ‘events’, eg. migrations, seasonal activity, feeding, but are only there certain times.  The less predictable the less appealing.
  8. Drop-offWhat is the shape of the underwater landscape?  A reef ‘drop-off’ is ideal combining the inner reef lagoon shallows (where one can meander horizontally and even stand on sand – never coral! – and see fish in brightly lit sunlight) with a dramatic vertical dimension with deep water schools and marine animals.  Pure deep water and pure shallows are never as good as a drop-off combo.

The TripAdvisor Maldives Forum itself also features a robust discussion of the subject og “What Do We Mean By A Great Reef”.

  

Best of the Maldives: Disabled Diving – Amilla Maldives

Amilla - accessible diving

One of my other websites provides information on the sport of rowing for people with disabilities, so it is a delight to see Amilla Maldives offering our favourite Maldives “sport” of diving to disabled guests (something I first proposed in my 2017 “Haven’t Seen Yet” post):

  • Dive Butler International has experience teaching wheelchair users how to dive. The dive centre itself is accessible, and a chat with our instructors can be arranged even before arrival.”

A great activity especially for the mobility impaired as underwater you don’t need your legs (as Ariel has sung about).

Best of the Maldives: Diving AI – Sun Siyam Iru Veli

Sun Siyam Iru Veli - diving

All-inclusive is becoming very de rigeur in the Maldives these days. But not the “AI” with cheap, constrain your budget, drink off-brand booze to your heart’s content stereotype, but “luxury AI” where the quality of the property and the “inclusions” are high. And in the luxury destination of the Maldives, the 5-star properties are regularly including everything under the sunshine to make the package even more appealing. Sun Siyam Iru Veli has gone beyond just “everything under the sun” to include under the water too with 3 dives included in its AI offering:

  • Within the premium all-inclusive package offered by Sun Siyam Iru Veli, up to three dives per person per week are included for certified divers as an alternative to spa credit. Guests must present a valid diving license and medical record if applicable. Boat charges and equipment hire fees do apply.”

Best of the Maldives: Scuba Girls Ambassador – Nova

Nova - scube girls ambassador

International Women’s Day today is an occasion to celebrate women doing great things and the great things that women do.  Nova resort is marking the occasion by hosting “Girls That Scuba” Ambassador Hamna Ali:

  • The bright new star resort Nova in the Maldives is celebrating International Women’s Day and marking 8th March 2023 in style. The soulful island has crafted an array of special activities for women to recognise and honour their incredible achievements and immense contribution to the world.  A special event awaits all guests as they will be able to join a snorkelling journey with Hamna Ali. Maldivian lady, a free scuba diver and ambassador of Girls that Scuba, the world’s largest female dive community, will lead all Nova guests to explore the wonders of the Indian Ocean and to snorkel into a world of breathtaking marine life.”

I caught up with Hamna in an exclusive Maldives Complete interview.  She was especially positive about the website’s profiles on Maldivians doing intriguing work in their paradise of a country.  She remarked, “In my experience, a lot of people don’t know the local side of the Maldives…such article It bring life into the other side of Maldives.”  I checked out her website and I recognized her tiger shark photo (see directly below) which has gone a bit viral on Instagram.

Here is her contribution to a fascinating peek of that other side…

  • What atoll are you from?
    Fuvahmulah.  It is unique in the Maldives for being the “One Island Atoll.”
  • What are your earliest memories of being in the water?
    I’m someone who got in the water fairly late in life.  We don’t have lagoons in Fuvahmulah where it is easy to go and learn to swim safety.  We have open water and so parents ask us to not go in the water.  However, near our house, during low tide, there is this huge patch of sea grass.  It would be covered with shells.  I remember being so fascinating. 
  • When did you get introduced to scuba diving?
    I wanted to learn how to swim and snorkel, but when I was about 12, one of my friends passed away swimming.  After that I stayed away from the water into my teens.  I was about to finish school and I started seeing friends going surfing.  I noticed that there were no other girls going surfing.  I would ask people to take people but no one would take me.  I chose as my job being a gym instructor but my interesting ocean activities continued on.  When Covid came, I went back to my island Fuvahmulah.  I had nothing to do so I decided to just go for it.  I starting swimming then surfing then snorkeling.  Even then, I didn’t know what diving was at that time.  One of my cousins owned a dive center and he reached out to me.  He told me that at the island there are lots of opportunities but there are no girls doing it.  He thought that I would be able to do it because I was going surfing with the guys and with waves crashing over me.  I told him that I would think about it.  I stayed at Fuvahmulah for 9 months.  I was going in the water every day to surf and to snorkel and I was falling in love with the water.  When COVID ended, I went back to my job and I realized that I wasn’t getting the joy that I had in the water.  So, I left my job and moved back to Fuvahmulah and decided to take up diving.  One day, one of my friends told me to get ready to go out in the water.  They took me to the ocean and when I got there, I saw a bunch of guys with diving equipment.  We all boarded a little fishing boat.  People came up to me saying “Your life is about to change. You are about to do your first dive.”  My cousin told me that we would jump in, but I saw everyone doing the roll-back into the water and I thought that was great so I did it to on my first entry.  Out of the harbour, we saw the tiger sharks come out.  Until that point in my life, I had never seen a shark.  Not even a reef shark.  It was an amazing experience.
  • What are some of the challenges that women face in the scuba diving world?
    I think representation is the place to start.  In my experience, I was the only women in this field so I didn’t even know about it being a possibility for me.  Also, I initially expected a lot of support from people in the industry, but it was quite the opposite.  People were not used to seeing women do things that men were used to doing like docking the boats.  Many men made little comments to me doubting my ability.  Sometimes they don’t like to believe the same things you can do.  There is lot of ego involved with shark diving.  Kind of power thing facing these powerful creatures.
  • How did you overcome some of those obstacles?
    I just continued what I’m doing because actions speak louder than words. I stayed precisely because there were so few women. And some people are very supportive.  And those that are sceptical at first, turned positive when they really saw what I was doing every day and how I was fitting in.  If they see what I am doing, they have no choice but to accept that I can do these things. 
  • What sort of questions do you get from women about scuba diving?
    A number of people got confused about how you can dive with sharks during your “time of month”.  It sounds funny, but people need to talk about these things to know how to these things as they are very easily addressed.
  • What is the most memorable creature you saw diving?
    So many things!  My first thresher shark.  My first big school of hammerheads (100-200 passing by).  But the most amazing was the oceanic white tip shark.  Known to be one of the most aggressive sharks.  They roam the high seas and go months and months without eating.  We had just finished a dive and saw a group of melon headed whales and were snorkeling with them.  Oceanic white tips often follow these pods of whales, but we were not expecting to see one because they are so rare.  They were the top of my bucket list because they are the most elusive.  It was one of my dreams to see them.  If you don’t know how to read them, they can be a little bit dangerous.  And in fact, i had one charge at me and I got to redirect the shark.  That is amazing. [see Instagram photo below]
  • What is your favourite creature to see?
    Sharks aside, I would definitely say the Ghost Pipefish.  Also, nudibranchs.
  • What does your role as “Girls That Scuba Ambassador” entail?
    “Girls That Scuba” is the biggest female diving community in the world.  Every year they choose 10 girls in the world to represent this community.  These ambassadors reach out to people so people can see all different kinds of women from all over the world in the diving scene.
  • Where is your bucket list destination outside the Maldives?
    Raja Ampat, Indonesia known as a “Lost Paradise”.  The coral life and marine life is something out of your imagination.  One of best places for coral in the world.  Also Baha, California for whales especially blue whales.
  • What is your latest project?
    We have started an NGO called “
    Miyaru” whose purpose is to research the sharks of the Maldives, and our first project is researching the tiger sharks in Fuvamulah.  No local NGO doing research on these sharks and Fuvahmulah has the biggest tiger shark population in the world.  It is our effort to give back to the sharks.  Also, I am working with a UK NGO with the objective to empower women in ocean science, and women in Fuvamulah.  We will be bringing more opportunities to women in the field by training local women in different types of research like data analysis, data collection, diving, etc.

You can follow Hamna’s underwater adventures on her Instagram account and her webpage.

Nova - scuba girls ambassador 3

Nova - scuba girls ambasador 2

  xxx

Best of the Maldives: Cousteau Tradition – Ritz-Carlton Maldives

Ritz-Carlton Maldives - Jean-Michael Cousteau

Jean-Michael Cousteau is the David Attenborough of the subaquatic world. A generation of sea lovers, like myself who watched it diligently as a child, were inspired by his prime time “The Undersea World of Jacques Cousteau” (a sample episode of sharks is featured below). He never shot an episode from the Maldives, though in 1997 the ubiquitously marine Maldives honoured him with a postage stamp (see bottom). But Ritz Carlton Maldives has brought his enduring legacy to the Maldives with their “Ocean Futures Society” collaboration with Jean-Michael Cousteau (Jacques’ son) which is carrying on the family mission to inspire people around the world with not just appreciate the aquatic world, but to take care of it.

The centre has sponsored six projects at the Ritz Maldives. One is exploring the concept of coral reefs as “underwater cities”. The notion described in Richard Murphy’s “Coral Reefs: Cities Under the Sea” postulates that all coral reefs have species who do different “jobs” (such as janitor, policeman, builder, farmer, etc. Curiously. which species do which roles varies from coral reef to coral reef.

     

Jacques Cousteau stamp

Best of the Maldives Online: Shipwreck Guide – “Shipwrecks of the Maldives”

shipwrecks of the maldives

The Maldives’ shallow atolls might make for spectacular lagoons and particularly accessible snorkelling, but they were nightmarish obstacle courses for the seafaring trading ships of plying the East-West trade centuries ago. While the wooden vessels have long since rotted away, more modern ones have hit these lurking reefs plenty of times in recent years. In fact, enough to fill a book, “Shipwrecks of the Maldives” by Peter Collings. Not only is it full of dozens of wrecks that I wasn’t aware of (despite having nearly 2000 site in the Dive Site database), but most of them are meticulously researched about their history and background.

I was fortunate to catch up with author Peter Collings who provided a bit more background on his work for Maldives Complete:

  • What got you into wreck diving?During the early expeditions in southern Egypt (1995), I brought together divers from all agencies-with a common goal to explore new locations looking for shipwrecks and unearthing their stories. Endorsed by the Red Sea Association, it soon became an international club which included divers from all walks of life with very useful skill sets, and non divers within the archival services of the world. It became the leading body of wreck research, and still is, in Egypt. To date the team have located, identified and surveyed 34 of the wrecks dived in Egyptian waters.
  • When did you first visit the Maldives?1995.
  • How long did the book take to write?Three weeks.
  • Are there any aspects of wrecks in the Maldives that are a bit different to wrecks in other parts of the world?Most wrecks there are deliberately sunk for tourists.

The book is available as an ebook PDF here.

Maldives shipwreck