We started the weekend a bit early and went scuba diving on the island of Rab in Croatia. It was my first time there but I only heard good things about it. To get there you have to take a short ride on a ferry.
As nothing is perfect, we had strong wind for two days so we didn’t do as many dives as I had hoped. But we still managed to do four in extremely beautiful locations. Scuba diving is done from a boat which means many locations to choose from. I think I will need to visit several times to visit all of the major ones.
Visibility was great, the water temperature was just right at 20°C on the surface and we had a great time. We visited a location with beautiful red gorgonians. You can just float and watch them and it is quite easy to forget about the time and air.
I was lucky enough that someone else was leading the dives. This meant I was free to take a lot of pictures. While I don’t have a problem leading dives, I must confess, I rather avoid it in such beautiful locations, especially when it is my first time there.
2.11.
After we arrived and unpacked we had plenty of time for a dive. The location we visited is challenging for inexperienced divers. The sea floor starts at about 20m so you need to take this into account when turning back. Normally we are used to slowly ascending along a reef/wall to a shallow depth which isn’t possible there. Once you ascend back to the top of the reef you are still at 20m. It is easy to accumulate a lot of decompression this way.
We saw a lot of red gorgonians, countless nudibranchs, and schools of fish.
I am extremely proud of this picture. I think it is one of the best macro photos I took. For reference, the nudibranch was about 4cm long. Is is a Nemesignis banyulensis nudibranch.
I think I need to get a good book to help me identify all of the small organisms I see.
3.11.
The second day we went scuba diving to a location a bit farther away but it was definitely worth the hour-and-a-half boat ride. To describe both locations in one sentence: fields of beautiful red gorgonians.
We also saw two rather large octopuses but they were a bit shy so they stayed in their holes. I assume they were large from the size of their visible tentacle.
Sea lilies and feather stars were available in all colours.
A fish I found interesting is the forkbeard.
And countless other organisms.
6.11.
Due to the wind we, unfortunately, had to skip two days. This was the last day of our scuba diving trip but we managed to do one dive in the morning.
We saw a huge variety of corals but not as many fish.
It’s quite difficult to get the lighting right for some of the corals but I think I managed well enough. I think a dual strobe system would go a long way here so I have illumination from both sides.
Currently, I am using a torch to illuminate the other side, where my strobe doesn’t reach. It takes some effort to get the camera, strobe, and torch in the correct position. But when everything lines up you get a picture like the first one in this post.
Conclusion
Rab certainly didn’t disappoint. Even with some bad weather, I had a great time. Beautiful locations and lots to see. I certainly plan to visit again, probably several times, as soon as possible.