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You are visitor number:
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03/03/10: It has almost been a year since we discovered this jewel deep within the ocean. For the first time this year we return to it with great anticipation. We are not disappointed. Amidst dead calm seas and clear blue water we revel in the pristine natural beauty of this undersea oasis. Hoards of Lionfish, big lush forests of Black Coral filled with dainty Cardinalfish, Red Rock Cods and multitude of other colorful reef fish greet us in this early morning dive! Welcome to the Battery Barge! |
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26/02/10: Somethings you cannot express in words. Heaven on Earth is one such thing. In the pristine off shore blue waters of the far outer reefs of Colombo, welcome to the Taprobane East Wreck, a brand new discovery for recreational diving in Sri Lanka. |
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The beautiful soft corals and Moray Eels of Serendib Reef |
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The massive propeller of the Cargo Wreck is a macro paradise |
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13/02/10: Finally it seems the seas have settled. On a surface of a calm and flat sea we gazed at the distant city of Colombo and its inhabitants with great pity. They did not know what they were missing. As we plunged into the clear blue waters a huge shoal of Neon Fusiliers engulfed us. We were at the Cargo Wreck. One of the most beautiful wreck dives in Sri Lanka. Our second dive, hours later, was at the Serendib Reef. Always a place for surprises and rife with the possibility seeing game fish and big schools of fish; it did not disappoint us. A large Wahoo circled us with great curiosity just before we were engulfed with a school of Surgeonfish and Neon Fusiliers. Amidst the sporadic coral domes we saw Moray Eels, colorful soft corals and cleaning stations. |
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The masts of the Cargo Wreck |
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The sea scape with sporadic Coral domes at Serendib Reef |
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Formosa Reef and its flamboyant Lionfish! |
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Look carefully and the reef is crawling with Nudibranchs |
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04/02/10 - 06/02/10: We have fallen in love with Formosa Reef. Increasingly we realize that this is a jewel of a site. Just 800 Meters from the shores of Colombo we find a long rocky reef, just 14 meters in depth yet full of vibrant and colorful life! The shallow depths mean that we can spend hours looking for small critters in the countless nooks and crannies of this reef. Two thumbs up for Formosa Reef! |
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Being a shallow site - a great place for Open Water dive training |
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One of the best wreck dives in Sri Lanka - the Cargo Wreck |
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29/01/10-31/10/10: January ended with a long weekend! And we were out in the sea diving, diving and diving.
We dived the (Colombo) Cargo Wreck ; undoubtedly one of the best wreck dive experiences in Sri Lanka; and also the Barracuda Reef . On Friday the seas were turbulent with a strong southern wind. By Saturday the conditions were better and the wind had reduced. On Sunday it was even better wish relatively calm surface conditions and absolutely fantastic visibility from 15meters onwards. Great for some wide angle photography! We think the sea is finally settling in. |
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The multicolored Barracuda Reef |
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23/01/10: We return to the newly discovered Gorgonian Gardens at the Gale Reef south and conduct a photography survey (above). Just 8 KM (20 minutes away from shore) we do a rapid descent and find hundreds of Gorgonian fans in pristine condition! What a wonderful place!
On our return we dive the Barracuda Reef (below). |
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10/01/10: An afternoon of surveys off Colombo reveal two new exciting dive sites! At what's now called Guruvam Rock we discover a huge rocky reef engulfed with shoals of fusiliers. Soon after, some kilometers away, we discover Gale Reef South. Here at 35.7 meters we find a seabed covered with Gorgonian Coral Fans of all sizes! Never in Sri Lanka have we encountered such a vast community of healthy Gorgonian's thriving at depth. This is a dive for the experienced requiring rapid insertion with negative buoyancy amidst stiff open ocean currents. A detailed survey and report of this site will be published soon! |
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09/01/10: We were out again Saturday. This time we revisited East Approach and also after a long time the shallower Formosa Reef! The surface conditions were perfect, almost as if the sea had turned into a giant mirror. At East Approach we encountered colorful nudibranchs and at Formosa reef loads of small Groupers, Lionfish and little shrimp. |
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05/01/10: In the inaugural dives for January 2010 we explore four potential sites off the coast of Colombo and certify them as fantastic dive sites. First we explore the Pandora Reef at 15M-18M of depth. A large area with sporadic rocky outcrops just off Panadura we saw schools of Fusiliers, Snappers and Trevally.
Just near Pandora Reef we explored the Panadura Wreck for the first time. Lying shallow at a maximum depth of 10 Meters the ship was badly damaged and scattered over a large area. This is a great dive site for beginners as well as for experienced divers as it provides ample opportunity to search around the debris for interesting marine life.
Next we headed north towards Colombo and dived the Temple Rock off Ratmalana. We were surprised to find extremely large and flat boulders in a reef that extended north and south both ways. This site was amazingly large! As we ascended a large school of Yellow Tail Barracuda suddenly appeared!
Finally we traveled further north and explored the end of the already known Barracuda Reef. Here, in a site we named East Approach (planes landing at Ratmalana Airport face east and land over the dive site!) we discovered a similar terrain to the Barracuda Reef. All in all a great way to start a new year!
Await detailed reports and pictures soon! |
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In 2009 we discovered two exciting ship deep wrecks
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and also encountered a Whale Shark in Colombo! |
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Another year has passed leaving nothing but only great memories and a sense of achievement. A lot happened for Sri Lanka during 2009.
After 30 years a war that had been a cancer on the country was finally over. As tourists started pouring in diving took a new form of frenzy!
In February and March we discovered two amazing ship wrecks. One the Battery Barge off Colombo and a massive unidentified ship at 65 Meters off Beruwala. It was an amazing experience! Then in March we also encountered Whale Shark while diving off Colombo. What more can one ask for?
During the East Coast season we dived the Hermes with renewed vigor. The fish life was amazing! Access to Batticaloa was now easier than ever with security checkpoints no longer in existence.
Finally in late December a new dive center was opened in Colombo for the very first time providing the opportunity for anyone to dive off Colombo
Read all about it in our 2009 Report!
 Blog about diving in Sri Lanka!
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(C) www.DiveSriLanka.com. All rights reserved. Unauthorized reproduction of any material from this site is strictly prohibited. |
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Welcome to Sri Lanka! The best location in the Indian Ocean to Scuba Dive in the warm tropical seas and wonderful beaches. Sri Lanka offers some great Wreck Diving experiences such as the H.M.S Hermes, SS Rangoon, H.M.S Conch, The Earl Of Shaftsbury, H.M.S Diomede, and some Surat Silver Coin wrecks at the Great Basses & Little Basses Lighthouses off Kirinda and Yala. Sri Lanka offers many courses such as PADI Open Water, Advanced, Rescue, Dive Master but yet to offer NAUI, PSAI, TDI, SDI, Nitrox, Trimix, Heliox, Solo Diving Technical Dive Courses or Liveaboard Diving. Shore diving is a possibility. Sri Lanka also is famous for whale migration, dolphin watching and very occasionally for sightings of Tiger Shark, Black Tip Reef Shark, White Tip Reef Shark, Manta Rays. Reef fish such as Moray Eels, Puffer Fish (Fugu), giant turtle, Lionfish, Snappers, Sweetlips, Trevally, Barracuda, Fusiliers, Anemonefish are very very common. Some dive sites are better than Maldives, The H.M.S Hermes is a fantastic and exciting dive in Batticaloa. The H.M.S Vampire which accompanied the H.M.S Hermes is yet to be found. Surat Silver Coin treasure was found by Sir Arthur C. Clarke and Mike Wilson at the Great Basses Ridge. The coins were minted by Aurenzeb, the son of Shah Jehan who built the Mumtas Mahal (Taj Mahal). There are also wrecks of Japanese Zeros in the China Bay and Marble Beach area. The statue of lord ganesh can be seen at the Swami Rock dive in Trincomalee. pigeon Island in Trincomalee is also famous for great diving and snorkeling. This site features original photos and stock photography of the ocean and the under sea. |
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