Diving the pass at Kauehi
simple panga, a piece of plywood covering the collapsed fiberglass foredeck
a couple of stops to for the finicky gas outboard, a rag so the fuel cap can be left open to vent
the churning pass looks so much better in 10 rather than 26 knots of wind
as when we entered, pitching over the standing waves
the usual nervousness, gear, getting it all on
Gary says make the drop quickly to get out of the current
Visibility that transcends imagination,
a long sloping garden of coral, the vividness of the ocean outside
white-tip sharks cruising the edge above
out in the unreal blue
fish like butterflies along the reef’s edge, healthy and alive
we regroup and then descend to 27 meters
it doesn’t feel deep, the water is so clear and light
we float along the coral to the beginning of the pass
a narrow canyon, its like flying, whisked along with the current,
sharks passing so near overhead swimming against the inflow
slick rock and only a little coral, still teeming with fish
parrotfish, triggerfish, dark fish with crazy horns
unnameable tropical fish that will become a part of our dreams
how little aware we were, floating above this galaxy of wildlife beneath our keel
a single tuna shines like it is made of polished stainless steel
we drop into a small depression, caves on one side
the bowl is filled with grouper who have gathered before the full moon in July to mate
they battle mouth to mouth for breeding rights,
allow us to face off, too, with their glowering jaws
the sharks swim by, poised for something,
an unexpected moment to seize upon,
How many fish does it take to keep all these predators fed?
We wait and marvel
then up again over the shallowest rim of the reef
and down into the cirque below, our French dive-master calls the circus
an amphitheater, another dimension
like a poster of the marvelous underwater world that you cannot believe
gray sharks now circle at our level, perched above the silvery cirque
we breath our sparkling air and watch as they come to peer with dark eyes
they demand our attention because they are the biggest,
but there are so many fish everywhere still by the thousands
we are privileged witnesses to a dream
breathing deep underwater with this bounteous cornucopia of sea-life
dazzles the mind and eyes
like Robert Louis Stevenson’s jeweled pass a century and a half ago
Its hard to imagine this has diminished even a little since then.
~MS
