We are a very happy boat load of people today – we’ve reached our destination of Raoul, the boat has stopped moving (except for a very gentle roll), and we have begun work! First up, after a hearty breakfast of fried eggs, bacon and sausages, the crew got two of the inflatable boats off the top deck and into the water. Peter and Warren were then ferried ashore onto the Meyer Islands (Raoul’s two largest satellite islands are the North Island and South Island of Meyer Islands) to go looking for plants and bugs.
There’s a small safe boat harbour, so they could get ashore with dry feet today. Nevertheless they packed their equipment and some emergency overnight gear (just in case) in waterproof bags to be sure it got ashore dry.
Be prepared: Peter and Warren all packed up with emergency supplies for their trip to the Meyer Islands
Back on boat it was all hands to the back deck to get all of the diving and collecting gear out of the hold, where it had been stowed for the trip up here. We have enough scuba tanks for every diver to have two, so we can do two dives each day before the tanks need to be refilled.
All hands on deck to prepare the dive gear
Everyone now has their dive gear ready to go, and the first two divers are in the water. Clinton is going to swim along an underwater transect line, which just means he’ll swim in one direction at the same depth at a steady speed for about 20 minutes. As he swims he’ll take notes of any black spotted grouper he sees as well as any Galapagos sharks. These are the biggest fish and top predators out here, and generally if they are in good numbers then all the smaller fish that they eat must also be in good numbers.
Richie the photographer is accompanying Clinton to take photos. That’s them (below) in the boat heading out to the start of their dive – that is Raoul Island behind them, and if you look carefully you can see the Navy patrol boat Otago. Matt the skipper has just taken one of the inflatable boats from the Braveheart over to help them ferry their passengers ashore. In the meantime the rest of us are waiting for Clinton to finish his dive and then it’s our turn – we can’t wait.
Ready to dive: Clinton and photographer Richie head out for their first plunge into Kermadec waters
