Fishy Business, M/V Solomon Sea, Solomon Islands

Waterlogged Date: 4/24/97

I'm really not a fish lover. My interest is in crabs, shrimp, corals, anemones, nudibranchs and any critter that doesn't move so fast. This fish photography is a fishy business! However, the variety of fish in the Solomon Islands changed my attitude and I soon began seaching out special fish to photograph. The M/V Solomon Sea departed Honiara with only 7 passengers out of a possible 10 in its 5 cabins and only two photographers. DeeAnne Edwards and myself burdened ourselves with the equipment and busied ourselves changing film, charging batteries and running the Jobo E-6 processor while the others napped or read novels between dives. I remember the first dive vividly. In fact I still regret not having a wide angle lens at White Beach in the Russell Islands. In 10 to 15 feet of water, I found my first interesting fishes. Between the rusting hulk of a discarded WWII barge and the tree roots on shore were a school of obicular cardinalfish with their spots, stripes, big eyes, perky fins and dazed look along with a strange black and white striped, flat topped fish with a big eye and yellow trim. They looked like nothing I had ever seen before and I couldn't find them in any of the ID books on board. Brian Bailey, our diving guide who occasionally escorts trips for Fred Douglas, said these fish are archerfish. Archerfish cruise along the surface and spit at bugs to knock them out of the air so they can be gulped down from the water's surface! Cool! A real purpose for spitting in the Solomon Islands that has nothing to do with betel nut. Overnight we cruised to Mary Island, right out in the middle of nowhere, between Guadalcanal and more than halfway to New Georgia. This is a also a place to see fish and not a place to be in bad weather. Visibility on the morning dives must have been 150' and I swam among and alongside swirling, circling schools of big-eye trevally, chevron barracuda and snappers as they slowly cruised along the hills and valleys. The schools were quite shallow and I was often between 30 feet and the surface on my first two dives there. Most of the shallow areas are storm damaged with few intact corals, but lots of fish, including the colorful, but elusive (#@$%#*&#@!) orange flame angelfish. As I descended to over 100 feet with Brian in the lead, I saw gigantic gorgonian fans, probably 15 feet across and at the base of the largest at 155 feet, Brian pointed out a striking beautiful blue-faced tilefish as well as decora and fire gobies. Sharks occasionally cruised by us just out of range. Later, Brian promised to find the gobies and tilefish for me in the Russell Islands so that I could carry a 105mm to photograph them, a promise he kept the next day. Dramatic structures created some interesting dives in the Russell Islands. but many of the big corals were demolished by a storm last year. The Slit was a long swim through a 50 foot deep crack straight into the island. We swam single file over the white sand bottom to the end, then up to the surface to peer out into the jungle surrounding the crack. Photography in The Slit requires a model for scale and I had none. I ended up sitting on a rock just outside and refusing to leave until someone came to be in my photos. Kendo, (Eddie) a Fijian who has worked on the boat since it started operation in the Solomons was volunteered. 10 minutes later I had my shots and as we were exiting the Slit, suddenly I had a dozen models! The Bilikiki had stopped to do the same dive and was unloading two dingy loads of divers right in front of us! The MV Solomon Sea is a sleek 80 foot yacht with 5 spacious air-conditioned cabins each with ensuite bath. AC is individually controlled in each cabin so there were no fights over the thermostat. Each cabin (except mine, my choice ... I went for the floor space for my equipment case) has a large lower berth, twin upper bunk and plenty of drawer storage. The lounge is cozy, paneled with mahogany and equipped with a camera table with small storage bins each with 110V and an adapter plug for US appliances. The standard plug used here has 3 flat prongs. There are two camera tables outside, but no storage for camera gear. The dive deck on the same level is nicely laid out and all divers can easily gear up at the same time, walk down the 4 large steps to the dive deck and jump in. Most diving is done from the dive deck with an aluminum chase boat used when necessary. There are two lounge areas on the upper deck, one shaded and one for sunbathing. The Florida Islands, just north of Guadalcanal, had a more diverse selection of marine life. Nudibranchs, a vast wall of blue tunicates, turtles, a turquoise scorpionfish, a variety of anemonefish and starfish were a nice change after all those fast moving subjects to the west. However, the dive at Twin Tunnels was amazing. Once again, fish swarmed around me. Streaming schools of fusiliers streaked between my lens and a bommie only 4 feet away. Large sweetlips, grouper, snapper and pufferfish were being cleaned all around me. They barely noticed the divers, only following me with their eyes as I swam near. Several reef sharks came in for a look and then vanished into the blue. When the current is right, this place is chaotic with fish as far as you can see. The swim through one of the two tunnels that run from a hole on the slope at 45 feet to an opening in the side of the wall at 100 feet was anti-climactic. Several wreck dives were offered on the cruise. With only 10 divers it is possible to cater to the guests and usually offer a nearby reef dive for those not interested in wrecks (like me). The final new fish I photographed were the resident blue-ring angelfish (Pomacanthus annularis) on the wreck of the USS John Penn, but some of the most amazing creatures of the trip were the jellyfish, salps and siphonophores which drifted by as we hung on the mooring line above the wreck. I plan to make another dive on the John Penn and hang a second camera under the boat for those creatures. I managed 28 dives in 6 days. Blue Lagoon Cruises (S.I.) Ltd, owned by Fred and Corina Douglas, operates the MV Solomon Sea for charters, scheduled departures and both reef and wreck diving. It is available for special tec diving charters. Reach them at solomonsea@seahorsetales.com. Report by Deb Fugitt

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