PAPUA ABOARD THE GOLDEN DAWN

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PAPUA ABOARD THE

GOLDEN DAWN

This trip was to deliver the Golden Dawn to her winter berth in the Port Moresby yacht club. We had a good time diving, eating and talking. Only three days to dive, but it felt like plenty.

Craig, the captain, had lots of good stories. Owning the largest personal yacht in Port Moresby, he is often asked to aid in rescuing boats and boaters who run into trouble. He has been attacked by a shark twice. These are terrifying tales. He is concerned about diving safety and is helping to get a new hyperbaric chamber for Port Moresby. He is a great skipper and his boat is well designed as a dive boat, but due to government restrictions it isn’t profitable for him to run dive charters so now he hires out as a captain for yachts that want to explore the area.

I was telling him about the German videographer, Lina Riefenstahl, who worked for Hitler during the war and was banned from the film industry after the war. I had read about her recently, because she had put her considerable photographic talent into diving and dived until she was in her nineties, and surprise! She was on the Golden Dawn at least twice. Craig said she was a good diver and he enjoyed talking with her. Her diving career encouraged me to imagine a bit longer dive future.

Kevin, Craig’s brother-in-law and I discussed books, his current read, The Miraculous Fever Tree: Malaria, Medicine and the Cure that Changed the World by Fiammetta Rocco, and mine, The Botany of Desire by Michael Pollan. Both books are non-fiction.

We did two more days of diving before reaching Port Moresby. Both nights I managed to get to my bunk before falling asleep. I used to think diving was not a strenuous sport, but now I realize the amount of energy it takes to suit up, dive, and put up away the diving gear after the dive. Three and four dives a day require a lot of stamina, for me anyway.

On Saturday we did an early morning dive at Ganubala Island, hoping to see Mantas. We saw only two. Both times our skipper was checking his camera when they went overhead. After a big breakfast we dove the Island again. This time I took over a hundred photos. The mantas, at least three, circled us time and time again. They stayed with us for 45 minutes and often were less than three feet from me. What an incredible experience. This is probably my longest dive, at 81 minutes, average depth 60 feet. I thought 70 minute dives last year in Indonesia were amazing. The usual is 60 minutes, if all goes well. The third dive was a muck dive where we focused on the small stuff; some new nudibranchs, a mantis shrimp and some new crabs. The last dive of the day was a night dive. Just after entering the water I saw the two words a diver never wants to see on a camera screen…CHARGE BATTERY. Can you believe it? How could I forget to change the battery between dives? I got only eight photos, but at least two were keepers. Good odds.

Sunday we dove the Maritime Hibiscus, a freighter that went down carrying an illegal cargo of hardwood logs. There was a heavy current and it took me forever to get down. Almost immediately it was time to ascend. At 100 feet there is not much time on the bottom. The second dive was much shallower, on a nice reef with colorful, healthy corals. The last dive of the trip was a night dive on a wall. I struggled trying to get photos using my dive light as a focus light. Sometimes Craig came to my assistance aiming his light at the subject so my camera could focus and the strobes would fire. It was another long dive, trying to eke out the last bit of adventure on our last dive.

Nora and Brad were up at dawn Monday morning and able to get to work on time. Craig said I could stay aboard my last night, which was such a gift for me. I didn’t have to find a hotel, and he said he would drive me to the airport Tuesday a.m. in time for me to catch my plane to the Solomon Islands. I had a devil of a time getting enough money to pay Craig for the trip, since the ATM didn’t want to work. Thank goodness for my cash reserve. Between trips to the ATM I got the chance to meet Kevin’s wife and son, and their little Shiatzu/poodle, who “sings”. He acts like he belongs to Craig when Craig is around. They have an amazing bond.

Once again I am going into a new country without a hotel. Internet is so spotty in the Pacific…tiny islands separated by vast amounts of water. And getting money from the ATM continued to be a problem. Thank goodness most hotels take credit cards.

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Photos

AND THE MANTAS CAME IN
How excited we were when the mantas arrived.

PHOTOGRAPHS
The mantas came so close we could have touched them.

MARITIME HIBISCUS WRECK
This ship was hauling illegal cargo of hard woods. Efforts were made to salvage but depth and current made it impossible.

PHOTOGRAPHER
Depth makes this dive short. It isn't possible to get a really good shot of the ship; just bits and pieces of coral covered structure.

SWEET LIPS
One of my favorite fish. There were many hiding within the holds.

IDENTIFICATION
Someday I am going to check and see if I have photos of the same manta in different locales.

CLEANING STATION
The mantas come to the coral heads to be cleaned by small wrasses. Each type of fish cleans a particular area on the manta.

CORAL ENCRUSTED SHIP
The Hibiscus becomes an artificial reef with time. Home to myriad fish and other sea life.

Comments

[D MJ Binkley]

Fantastic, fantastic, fantastic
This is the trip of a lifetime. Thanks for sharing.

[Never too old]

Papua Aboard the Golden Dawn
It is truly amazing how magic happens while we travel. This quick trip tailored to my time table was such a gift.