Excitement and anticipation are high aboard the Hi’ialakai tonight as we are expecting our first day of dive operations at Jarvis Island to begin in less than 12 hours. Our day will begin with a 6 am breakfast, 7:30 daily operations meeting followed by launching the small boats at 7:45. And then it begins!
We’ve spent today checking and re-checking gear in preparation for what is supposed to be the best diving that our program gets to do. You may ask, what constitutes ‘best’? My understanding is that this island has a higher number of fish and greater coral cover than any of the other islands we survey. There is also the possibility of seeing manta rays, multiple sea turtles and possibly dolphins while diving. It has been described by others that have already been there, as diving in a Wyland painting! So we are keeping our fingers crossed for clear skies and light winds.
We were greeted this morning by a blue sky that was quickly replaced by a horizon of storm clouds. It was such an impressive sight that it warranted a trip to the bridge to watch as about 180 degrees of the horizon turned dark, rain began pelting the windshields and the rest of the sky remained a beautiful blue. Seas have been a bit higher today after passing through that short squall, but we are still hoping for some calm weather tomorrow. Either way this should be an amazing experience. Wish us luck!
Take care and best wishes.
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