Having refilled the boat
with water and spending a few nice days algae and critter diving,
it was time to head north to the beautiful and tranquil archipelago
of Sangihe-Talaud. Leaving the giant silhouette of Mount Klabat and
the exuberant verdant rain forests and virgin beaches of North Sulawesi
behind, we head to Bangka Island, only a few hours journey from Bitung
by boat. The dive sites here are equally superb and considered the
best in the locality. Here we made two exceptional dives. We sighted
some of the region's most beautiful soft corals, not to mention the
abundance of pelagic fish who frequent the place. The dives were made,
and before we realized it we were back on deck heading for the neighbouring
islands of Biaro and Ruang.
Sangihe-Talaud Islands
It would take approximately
another 4 hours to get to Biaro, so we had sufficient time to out-gas
our bodies ridding them of the residual nitrogen. There was also time
to enjoy a few cold after-dive Bintangs.The Sangihe-Talaud Islands
spread down from Mindanao, south of the Philippines to the North Sulawesi
peninsula with the Sulawesi Sea to the west and Maluku Sea east of
the archipelago. They cover an area of 44.000 square kilometres of
sea and 2.263 square kilometres of land. Hundreds of thousands of
years ago, we can posit that these islands were a landmass connecting
the Philippines and Indonesia together. Due to the proximity to deep
seas both east and west of the islands, the currents emerging out
of the deep bring plenty of plankton and nutrient rich water to the
shallows, allowing the entire region to be blessed with a prolific
and intricate pristine underwater habitat. The underwater landscapes
vary from steep drop-offs with crevices and caves to sandy slopes
with sporadic coral overgrown rocks and pinnacles, to slopes of volcanic
rock originating from former lava flows off the islands. They are
usually lined with an ensemble of huge gorgonian fans, vase sponges,
sea whips, and most impressive stag-horn, lettuce, table and mushroom
corals. Now and again temporary moderate to strong currents, altered
our dive profile into a drift dive, surprised us. The dive modification
however can be quite some fun and very rewarding. Stronger currents
attract big pelagic fish such as barracuda, jacks, sharks, eagle rays
and other celestial species. If you have a lucky day, you may encounter
whalesharks and humpback whales that roam the waters of Sangihe-Talaud
and adjacent islands.
During the cruise, dolphins
merrily displaying their acrobatic abilities along the bow joined
the voyage.For no apparent reason they would all of a sudden completely
descend into the deep crystal clear sea, leaving us with only appreciation
and a few moments of gratifying memories. We cruised, dived, explored,
filmed, interviewed and discovered new cruise routes, exceptional
dive sites, beautiful islands and a tremendously helpful crowd of
indigenous Sangiherese. Our Trailblazer route took us from Bangka
Island to Biaro, Ruang, Tagulandang, Siau, Mahangetang, and Kahakitang
and finally to Sangihe Besar, the main island.
