Black Pearl liveaboard sets sail, commencing a new week of diving adventures in the Maldives!

Black Pearl live aboard performed its last dive of the week to Maaya Thila, North Ari Atoll. Once the dive was finished, the Black Pearl started heading back to Hulhumale’ of the North Male’ Atoll.

Maaya Thila Dive Site

The Maaya Thila dive was one of the best dives last week with regards to Maldives marine life. Although the visibility was below average, there was an abundance of fish life, where highlights included grey reef sharks, dogtooth tuna and white tip reef sharks.

Grey Reef Shark at Maaya Thila

Visiting Male’,  Capital City of the Maldives

It took about 3 and a half hours to cross Alihuras Kandu, the channel that separates Ari Atoll and Male’ Atoll. During the crossing, the sea remained calm, allowing for an extremely pleasant and enjoyable cruise back to Male’. The clear Maldivian weather was an added bonus. After reaching Hulhumale’, the anchoring process began. Once fully anchored, the guests took off for their visit to Male’, the capital of the Maldives.

Guests Departure and Arrival

Black Pearl‘s guests from the UK departed on the morning of the 23rd, the same day the new diving group arrived, which was a total of 12 divers from Switzerland. The orientation dive began after lunch.

Farukholhu Fushi Beyru Faru, aka Faru Beyru, Dive

Mobula Rays in the Maldives

The orientation dive at Farukholhu Fushi Beyru Faru (also called Faru Beyru) turned out to be a very exciting check dive for everyone. We saw 10 mobula rays…Absolutely unbelievable! The orientation dive to Farukholhu Fushi Beyru Faru, aka Faru Beyru, was a great start to the week! Mobula is a genus of ray in the family Myliobatidae (eagle rays). Their appearance is similar to that of manta rays, which are in the same family. The devil fish can attain a disc width of up to 5.2 meters (17 feet) and probably can weigh over a ton, second only to the manta ray in size. Despite their size, there is little known about this genus. Black Pearl recently spotted a mobula, also called devil fish, at Kandooma Thila dive site.

The Black Pearl liveaboard explores the underwater marine life around the Maldivian North and South Male Atolls…

Fortunately, the weather in the Maldives brightened up, allowing the Black Pearl to perform three spectacular dives. Check out special offers for the Black Pearl liveaboard here!

Black Pearl Liveaboard Dives Miyaru Faru

The Black Pearl‘s first dive was to Miyaru Faru, meaning Shark’s Reef. North of Black Pearl is a channel dive, where divers can take advantage of the island’s best currents, which generally bring lots of fish feeding on plankton. The current was not as fast as usual, though there remained an abundance of Maldivian fish life. Divers saw white tip sharks and napoleon wrasse during their dive at Miyaru Faru.

Black Pearl Liveaboard Dives Kuda Giri Wreck

Kuda Giri, in the South Male Atoll, possesses two dive sites: the giri, or pinnacle, and the small, 10-year-old wreck, which sits upright on the sea floor. The wreck can be explored from its bow at 18 meters all the way down to its stern at 30 meters.

Kuda Giri Night Dive

The Black Pearl dove the giri, or pinnacle, at night, discovering a large variety of noctural fish life, such as the nocturnal squirrel fish.

Kuda Giri Wreck Dive

The Kuda Giri wreck is a small fishing trawler, which was scuttled (or sunk deliberatively) at the south western side. The 25 meter long fishing trawler is home to many species, including beautiful sponges, seasonal school of glass fish, shrimps, nudibranches and many more.

Black Pearl Liveaboard Dives Kandooma Thila

Shaped like a teardrop, Kandooma Thila is one of the most spectacular dives in the South Male Atoll, for scenery as well as for prolific fish life.

During The Black Pearl‘s dive at Kandooma Thila, there was little current, though divers spotted a couple of white tip reef sharks.