Dive 373 – Cenderawasih Bay, Kwatisore Bagan

By pfuller

Oct

8

Dive Number: 373 08/10/12 Cenderawasih Bay, Kwatisore Bagan

Conditions: Good

Visibilty: 15m

Water Temp: ??c

Bottom Time: 80minutes

Max Depth: 8m

Details: These bagans, (or fishing platforms) are used by indonesian fisherman to camp out on and fish during the night by enticing fish up to thier lights, drawing them into the middle of the bagan, and then closing the nets in around them. The local whalesharks have a field day picking off any stray fish, and now with the interest of the dive community, the bagan operators are feeding them during the day. Up to around 7 whalesharks can be at the bagans at one time, but most days 2-3 hung out for a feed and to swim with the snap happy tourists.

Camera Details: Tokina 10-17mm, 2 X YS-D1 Strobes

Photos:


























Dive 372 – Cenderawasih Bay, Kwatisore Bagan

By pfuller

Oct

7

Dive Number: 372 07/10/12 Cenderawasih Bay, Kwatisore Bagan

Conditions: Good

Visibilty: 15m

Water Temp: ??c

Bottom Time: 80minutes

Max Depth: 8m

Details: These bagans, (or fishing platforms) are used by indonesian fisherman to camp out on and fish during the night by enticing fish up to thier lights, drawing them into the middle of the bagan, and then closing the nets in around them. The local whalesharks have a field day picking off any stray fish, and now with the interest of the dive community, the bagan operators are feeding them during the day. Up to around 7 whalesharks can be at the bagans at one time, but most days 2-3 hung out for a feed and to swim with the snap happy tourists.

Camera Details: Tokina 10-17mm, 2 X YS-D1 Strobes

Photos:

















Dive 371 – Cenderawasih Bay, Kwatisore Bagan

By pfuller

Oct

7

Dive Number: 371 07/10/12 Cenderawasih Bay, Kwatisore Bagan

Conditions: Good

Visibilty: 15m

Water Temp: ??c

Bottom Time: 80minutes

Max Depth: 8m

Details: These bagans, (or fishing platforms) are used by indonesian fisherman to camp out on and fish during the night by enticing fish up to thier lights, drawing them into the middle of the bagan, and then closing the nets in around them. The local whalesharks have a field day picking off any stray fish, and now with the interest of the dive community, the bagan operators are feeding them during the day. Up to around 7 whalesharks can be at the bagans at one time, but most days 2-3 hung out for a feed and to swim with the snap happy tourists.

Camera Details: Tokina 10-17mm, 2 X YS-D1 Strobes

Photos:































Dive 370 -Cenderawasih Bay – Kwatisore Bagan

By pfuller

Oct

7

Dive Number: 370 07/10/12 Cenderawasih Bay, Kwatisore Bagan

Conditions: Good

Visibilty: 15m

Water Temp: ??c

Bottom Time: 80minutes

Max Depth: 8m

Details: These bagans, (or fishing platforms) are used by indonesian fisherman to camp out on and fish during the night by enticing fish up to thier lights, drawing them into the middle of the bagan, and then closing the nets in around them. The local whalesharks have a field day picking off any stray fish, and now with the interest of the dive community, the bagan operators are feeding them during the day. Up to around 7 whalesharks can be at the bagans at one time, but most days 2-3 hung out for a feed and to swim with the snap happy tourists.

Camera Details: Tokina 10-17mm, 2 X YS-D1 Strobes

Photos:



























Dive 369 – Cenderawasih Bay, Kwatisore Bagan

By pfuller

Oct

6

Dive Number: 369 06/10/12 Cenderawasih Bay, Kwatisore Bagan

Conditions: Good

Visibilty: 15m

Water Temp: ??c

Bottom Time: 80minutes

Max Depth: 8m

Details: After two days sailing and a lot of anticipation we finally made it to the famous Cenderawasih Bay bagans. These bagans, (or fishing platforms) are used by indonesian fisherman to camp out on and fish during the night by enticing fish up to thier lights, drawing them into the middle of the bagan, and then closing the nets in around them. The local whalesharks have a field day picking off any stray fish, and now with the interest of the dive community, the bagan operators are feeding them during the day. Up to around 7 whalesharks can be at the bagans at one time, but most days 2-3 hung out for a feed and to swim with the snap happy tourists.

Camera Details: Tokina 10-17mm, 2 X YS-D1 Strobes

Photos:

























Dive 368 – Cenderawasih Bay, Kwatisore Bagan

By pfuller

Oct

6

Dive Number: 368 06/10/12 Cenderawasih Bay, Kwatisore Bagan

Conditions: Good

Visibilty: 15m

Water Temp: ??c

Bottom Time: 80minutes

Max Depth: 8m

Details: After two days sailing and a lot of anticipation we finally made it to the famous Cenderawasih Bay bagans. These bagans, (or fishing platforms) are used by indonesian fisherman to camp out on and fish during the night by enticing fish up to thier lights, drawing them into the middle of the bagan, and then closing the nets in around them. The local whalesharks have a field day picking off any stray fish, and now with the interest of the dive community, the bagan operators are feeding them during the day. Up to around 7 whalesharks can be at the bagans at one time, but most days 2-3 hung out for a feed and to swim with the snap happy tourists.

Camera Details: Tokina 10-17mm, 2 X YS-D1 Strobes

Photos:














































Dive 367 – Cenderawasih Bay, Kwatisore Bagan

By pfuller

Oct

6

Dive Number: 367 06/10/12 Cenderawasih Bay, Kwatisore Bagan

Conditions: Good

Visibilty: 15m

Water Temp: ??c

Bottom Time: 80minutes

Max Depth: 8m

Details: After two days sailing and a lot of anticipation we finally made it to the famous Cenderawasih Bay bagans. These bagans, (or fishing platforms) are used by indonesian fisherman to camp out on and fish during the night by enticing fish up to thier lights, drawing them into the middle of the bagan, and then closing the nets in around them. The local whalesharks have a field day picking off any stray fish, and now with the interest of the dive community, the bagan operators are feeding them during the day. Up to around 7 whalesharks can be at the bagans at one time, but most days 2-3 hung out for a feed and to swim with the snap happy tourists.

Camera Details: Tokina 10-17mm, 2 X YS-D1 Strobes

Photos:













Dive 366 – Cenderawasih Bay -Little Rocks Night Dive

By pfuller

Oct

5

Dive Number: 366 05/10/12 Cenderawasih Bay, Little Rocks Night Dive

Conditions: Good

Visibilty: Night Dive

Water Temp: ??c

Bottom Time: 70minutes

Max Depth: 16m

Details: Another exciting night dive without a torch..this time with the wide-angle and some backlighting assistance from Duncan. Night Diving in strong current is fun!

Camera Details: Tokina 10-17mm, 2 X YS-D1 Strobes

Photos:





Dive 365 – Cenderawasih Bay -Little Rocks

By pfuller

Oct

5

Dive Number: 365 05/10/12 Cenderawasih Bay, Little Rocks

Conditions: Good

Visibilty: 15m

Water Temp: ??c

Bottom Time: 60minutes

Max Depth: 30m

Details:

Camera Details: Tokina 10-17mm, 2 X YS-D1 Strobes

Photos: Rather than on the cliff edges of the island like the first two dives, this was on the dropoff on the island ‘base’. A deeper wall-like dive loaded with soft and whip corals.














Dive 364 – Cenderawasih Bay – Little Rocks

By pfuller

Oct

5

Dive Number: 364 05/10/12 Cenderawasih Bay, Little Rocks

Conditions: Good

Visibilty: 15m

Water Temp: ??c

Bottom Time: 70minutes

Max Depth: 20m

Details: I switched to the 60mm on this dive to get some of the fishlife and other critters of the site

Camera Details: Canon 20mm, 2 X YS-D1 Strobes

Photos:



















Dive 363 – Cenderawasih Bay – Little Rocks

By pfuller

Oct

5

Dive Number: 363 05/10/12 Cenderawasih Bay, Little Rocks

Conditions: Good

Visibilty: 15m

Water Temp: ??c

Bottom Time: 70minutes

Max Depth: 20m

Details: This was an epic dive site..the best reef dive of the trip. A small island dropped off sharply into the water and swimming along the underwater cliffs produced pinnacles covered in soft corals. Massive barrell sponges, hard corals and anemones provided great colour and textures along the bottom. Between two of the smaller islands a large temple-like structure stood in the distance and had a magnetic attraction to it.. the current was much stronger than its magnetism so it remains mysterious…

Camera Details: Tokina 10-17mm, 2 X YS-D1 Strobes

Photos:


















Dive 362 – Cenderawasih Bay – Busurua Night Dive

By pfuller

Oct

4

Dive Number: 362 04/10/12 Cenderawasih Bay – Busurua Night Dive

Conditions: Good

Visibilty: 15m

Water Temp: ??c

Bottom Time: ?0minutes

Max Depth: 14m

Details: I found out early in the trip that i’d forgotten a crucial part of my dive torch setup which made focussing on night dive difficult. Thanks to Duncan for doing some spot lighting for me on some of these critters. The highlight of this dive was a very strange centipede-like critter and watching a polyceate worm getting eaten by a shelled mollusc as it spiralled past mid-water.

Camera Details: Tokina 10-17mm, 2 X YS-D1 Strobes

Photos:








Dive 361 – Cenderawasih Bay – Silver Lining Reef

By pfuller

Oct

4

Dive Number: 361 04/10/12 Cenderawasih Bay – Silver Lining Reef

Conditions: Good

Visibilty: 15m

Water Temp: ??c

Bottom Time: 60minutes

Max Depth: 24m

Details:

Camera Details: Tokina 10-17mm, 2 X YS-D1 Strobes

Photos:









Dive 360 – Cenderawasih Bay – Zero WW2 Plane

By pfuller

Oct

4

Dive Number: 360 04/10/12 Cenderawasih Bay – Zero WW2 Plane

Conditions: Good

Visibilty: 15m

Water Temp: ??c

Bottom Time: 80minutes

Max Depth: 20m

Details: West Papua is littered with remanants from world war 2, with a heavy japanese presence in the area. This was on a mostly intact Zero war plane – japans version of the Spitfire.

Camera Details: Tokina 10-17mm, 2 X YS-D1 Strobes

Photos:



















Dive 359 – Pulua Auri Reef, Cenderawasih Bay, West Papua

By pfuller

Oct

4

Dive Number: 359 04/10/12 Pulua Auri Reef, Cenderawasih Bay

Conditions: Good

Visibilty: 15m

Water Temp: ??c

Bottom Time: 60minutes

Max Depth: 25m

Details:

Camera Details: Tokina 10-17mm, 2 X YS-D1 Strobes

Photos: In October i joined a liveaboard to Cenderawasih Bay in West Papau to dive with the Whaleshark. The trip departed from Manokwari and skirted the western edge of the bay, visiting a few island reefs on route to the Bagans (indonedian fishing platforms) where the Whalesharks come into feed. This was the first dive after a full days travelling south from Manokwari.