Sail Fish

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Two days at Mermaid is enough. One knows that only if they’ve been to Klerke Atoll before. A short and smooth midday cruise (with pilot whales and bottlenose dolphins) to the neighboring reef takes us up another narrow channel into the prettiest lagoon by far. Klerke is slightly smaller than Mermaid. It has a permanent sand cay in it where Red-tailed Tropic birds nest. It’s a magical place for the guests to get off the boat, stretch their legs, and get the feel for being the last human on earth.

Exploring the West Bank was our first deep dive at Klerke. At around a hundred feet, the wall is so encrusted with invertebrate life it was difficult to turn around and appreciate the passing barracuda, tuna, sharks, and occasional mantas. We worked our way up toward thirty feet to decompress slowly, found ourselves in a wasteland of staghorn coral laced with funnelweed over acres of space. A blurry spot of yellow slowly morphed into a meandering string of Gold-lined Sea Bream. Each had an electric orange spot near its tail that looked like it emitted light. They kept coming by the thousands, until we were engulfed in a dense, sparkling river of fish.

After getting caught in a manmade sandstorm following one of Greg’s famous shark feeds, I let my gaze drop to the little bommy on my right. What did I just see? Was that a bit of seaweed? The juvenile Harlequin Sweetlips rested head down and curled over like a bit of organic debris. Fantastic. I hunkered down to see better only to come eye-to-eye with not one, but an entire nursery of juvenile Clown Coris’. They vanished into their little bit of rubble. A Humphead bannerfish frowned at me, gobies and their shrimp threw sand in my direction, Fire Dartfish flattened their sails and fled. Nobody wanted me there. This place in the middle of the ocean is one gigantic fish oasis and my size spells ‘predator’.

Those of you with Life Fish Lists - don’t bother with the deep dives - just do the safety stops at Rowley Shoals. The tops of the reefs are awash with species. Butterfly fish top the ridiculous-list with: Dusky Beak, Margined Coralfish, Pyramid, Goldbanded, Ornate, Ovalspot, Meyer’s Teardrop, Saddleback, Threadfin, Lined, Eyepatch, Raccoon, Citron Spot, Banded, Pinstripe, Chevroned, and Long Nose, to mention a few. There are Basslets, Bannerfish, Angels, and Batfish. Hawkfish, Anemonefish, Damsels, and Unicorns. The wrasse are prolific. I found a handful - Six-line, Three Spot, Checkerboard, Dusky, Diamond, Speckled, Red Spot, Gaimard, Birdnose, Two-toned, Six Bar, Yellow Moon, and the little Blue Streak Cleaner. Try to tell your buddy that you saw the Extra Longnose Unicorn Fish when he’s convinced it was just the Longnose one. Did someone bring a ruler?

"Try to tell your buddy that you saw the Extra Longnose Unicorn Fish when he’s convinced it was just the Longnose one. Did someone bring a ruler?"

Resting in about fifteen feet of water, I look over my shoulder because I think I hear a stampede. It’s pearler Mick, making cattle noises, as he herds five or six hundred Yellow Striped Snapper toward his sweetie Lani, and my camera lens.

With diving comes great hunger. Besides quick and limitless air fills on your tank, most divers want good food and heaps of it. When I first met Ryan, the cook for True North, I thought they had a California surfer stowaway on board. Blonde and cherubic, he looks much too young to know how to cook. Heck he can barely be old enough to dress himself. Of course, I have to eat my words. Yes, he is young, and yes, he can barely dress himself - but the young man can cook. He produced homemade soups, cakes, and stews laid out buffet style with endless creative salads, pastas, rice, and vegetarian dishes. We ate meat, fish, and fowl in a multitude of permutations including Thai, Mexican, Indian, and Chinese all served with copious fresh veggies (and vegemite). He served three squares a day plus endless snacks and chockies. Nice touch is a self-serve coffee/tea set up on the dive deck. I must give credit to Tammy who did the lion’s share of prep work in the galley while Ryan was out skurfing between meals.

Skurfing is when an Australian talks you into trying to stand on a surfboard while being pulled at high speed behind a tinnie (in the middle of the ocean). I think the term comes from the sound they make through their noses when you fall. They can skurf effortlessly. They can launch from the dive deck and not even get wet. This is a ruse to get you to try it. Forewarned is forearmed.

By the evening of day three, we had all racked up twelve dives and were contemplating a night dive. Only six of us were even awake. One responsible soul recommended we snorkel the “Aquarium” instead of diving, to allow a little gassing off. That way the next twelve dives could be longer. The silence was short lived, then a unanimous “Yeah!”

The Aquarium is a shallow labyrinth of coral, just inside the atoll. It is an invertebrate stronghold where shells rule. Giant clams, trumpets, cones, jacks, helmets , oysters, and cowries all within a twenty by twenty meter area. Colorful juvenile fish, eels, urchins, and octopi are interwoven in this sun-dappled marina. The snorkel-at-night idea was intriguing.