Photo by Rantje Allen
Photo by William Tan
Photo by Rantje Allen
Photo by William Tan
Photo by Rantje Allen
Sulawesi waters teem with life of all sizes, including cetaceans. Last week a pod of 18 whales beached near the border of Gorontalo and North Sulawesi provinces, only a few hours east of diving sites. Miguel’s Diving staff confirmed with fishermen friends that these were Short-finned pilot whales (Globicephala macrorhynchus). For some reason the pod entered a small cove… Continue Reading
Right before sunset on February 29th, more than ten Shortfin devil rays (Mobula kuhlii) were jumping in the small bay where the Sentinels dive site is located. Large schools of tiny fish also filled these waters. In fact, local fishermen had just netted many bucketfuls for sale in the local market. Not only were the devil rays jumping,… Continue Reading
Perhaps for Leap Day (February 29th) a meter-long Devil ray (probably Mobula kuhlii) leapt on the tranquil waters of Tomini Bay to the delight of the boat crew. Its booming splash was heard underwater. These rays are smaller than the giant Manta ray (Manta birostris) but have the distinctive ?horns? and no noticeable tail. One of Miguel?s Diving… Continue Reading
Michael Bode?s web page on diving in Southeast Asia now includes information on Gorontalo diving in German linked to his Sulawesi diving page. The text is also available in English. It gives practical information plus simple descriptions of dive sites and includes a few pictures from Gorontalo. Danke sch?Michael!
Cuvier�s Beaked Whales (Ziphius cavirostris) have been sighted five days in a row off the point where Miguel�s Diving takes guests for diving. Our staff and local fishermen report seeing one, three, and over five whales at a time. These whales appear when schools of yellowfin tuna run along this section of the vast Tomini Bay. Fishermen say that… Continue Reading
Miguel’s Diving has been drafted into the Indonesia Oceanic Cetacean Program. Program Director and cetacean expert Benjamin Kahn notes that Indonesia is located uniquely in the Indian/Pacific Ocean access for migratory whales. The program is run by APEX Environmental with its main goal to fill in the gaps in knowledge of Indonesia’s whales and assist with marine mammal… Continue Reading
Because of its coral walls and deep oceans, North Sulawesi and the Togian (Togean) Islands are not known for wreck diving. This is even truer of Gorontalo?s southern coastline where depths fall almost immediately to several hundred meters. However, we found an excellent wreck while diving this morning. On December 26, 1993 a dredging barge was towed… Continue Reading
On October 11th when President Megawati Soekarnoputri visited the waters off Gorontalo, she viewed underwater photographs. Miguel’s Diving staff felt honored to be invited by Fadel Muhammad, Governor of Gorontalo Province, to display two frames of photographs aboard the Indonesian navy vessel Tanjung Dalpere. Photos from Friends Several months ago, Paola Bearzi had eleven amazing… Continue Reading
Salvador Dali sponge is our name for the strikingly beautiful sponge found in Gorontalo. However, we now know its proper scientific name, Petrosia lignosa. Initial Discovery In May 2003, Miguel’s Diving flew Massimo Boyer to Gorontalo to take underwater photographs. These photographs would begin our archives of local marine life. As a marine biologist based… Continue Reading
The Flying After Diving Guidelines Workshop held in North Carolina, USA in May 2002 produced the following recommendations.These flying after diving guidelines apply to flights at altitudes between 600 meters (2,000 feet) and 2,400 meters (8,000 feet) and for divers without symptoms of decompression sickness. Following these recommendations does not guarantee that a diver will avoid DCS.… Continue Reading
