September 29-30, 2011

Thursday: We hoisted the anchor at 6:00 am and left the beautiful lagoon at Ouvea Island for the 46 mile trip east to Lifou Island, also in the Loyalty Island group. How odd to be heading east after two years of always to the west. We had blue skies, flat seas and almost no wind most of the way. Seven hours later we arrived at Santal Bay, Lifou Island, where we anchored in aqua blue waters at 1:00 pm near the area called Easo where we had read there was a dive shop. We went ashore leaving our dinghy at the Easo Pier, a very solid long pier. We met Tawake, the owner of Lagoon Safaris dive center and booked a two-tank dive for tomorrow morning. We walked to the nearby village of Xepehene, 2 miles away, getting a ride for ½ mile from a local who drove us to the grocery store where we bought baguettes. We walked back stopping along the way to inquire about a rental car for tomorrow and to view a local Catholic church that was built in 1898. The locals were all friendly waving as they went by or saying “Bonjour” as they passed.

Friday: We met Tawake and Divemaster Jeff at 8:00 am, tried on wetsuits and gear, filled out their medical questionaire, and discussed dive sites. We sped off in their large inflatable with 175 hp engine, waving to Jeff's friend way up on the cliff overlooking the bay where the Chapelle Notre Dame de Lourdes overlooks the bay. The bay with its aqua blue water, backed by low cliffs covered in lush palms and other greenery with a fringing white powder sand beach is beautiful. At the Shoji Reef dive site, north of Santal Bay, Divemaster Jeff, Steve and Portia suited up and back rolled simultaneously into the water and immediately descended, kicking hard to go up current to the end of the reef where we were to hang on the edge to view large fish. We kicked hard a ways and then grab onto some coral for a rest and then continued on, making 3 stops. By the second stop, Portia was breathing heavily sucking in lots of air because of the exertion. She was greatly relieved to make it to the last stop where we held on, caught our breaths and watched large sharks and other fish swim by. Getting there we passed large coral fans (gorgonias) in bright yellows, oranges and reds, and colorful hard corals. It was beautiful but hard to appreciate while having to kick so hard. Portia looked at her air pressure and was stunned to see that she was more than ½ empty. She showed Divemaster Jeff who calmly acknowledged it. We watched the large fish for a few more minutes and then headed back toward the dive boat. For the next 15 minutes, Portia swam with Jeff toward the dive boat, breathing from his emergency regulator after which she went back to her own regulator. Out of the currrent, we looked around the reef for a few minutes, did our safety stop and then ascended without problem. During the waiting interval on board the dive boat, about 60 minutes, we enjoyed hot tea and cookies, and rested. The depth of the previous dive and the time at depth determines how much time is necessary to elapse for the nitrogen to leave our bodies before we can make another dive.

At the Gorgones Reef dive site, there are three bommies (reef outcroppings) just off the shoreline with no current. We followed Jeff under arches and swim throughs covered in gorgonias (fan corals) in bright yellows, oranges, reds and even green. Some were as large as 6 feet across. Brightly colored hard coral and soft corals covered the bommies. There were zillions of small neon blue fish, clouds of other small fish, and numerous bright tropical fish everywhere. It was an incredible color feast for the eyes all lit by the sparkling sunlight through the pristine clear water! On the top of one of the bommies was a 10 feet wide area covered in sea anenomes in which numerous clownfish hid their bright tomato orange bodies amongst the stinging cells of the host sea anenomes. A few giant clams showed their dark blue mantles or “lips”. A glass shrimp clung to the carpet -like sea anenome which retracted when touched. This was the best and most incredible dive we have ever experienced.

We rented a car in the afternoon and drove to the west side of the island to explore the village of We. The most interesting sights there were the small marina, large white powder sand beach, a few churches and some women and children cleaning large floor mats in the surf. We had hoped to meet our friends on SV Wetnose for lunch in We but because it took 2 hours to secure the rental car we ended up passing them on the way to We, going in the opposite direction. Upon our return to the Easo area, we drove and then walked up to the Chapelle Notre Dame de Lourdes on the cliff overlooking the bay just in time to see the sunset. It was a lovely end to a fabulous day.