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![]() SAILING AMONG BURMA'S ISLANDSIn the waters of Myanmar there is an archipelago that only now starts to open up to limited tourism: Mergui, ancient port of pirates and adventurers, is the name of the archipelago formed by approximately eight hundred islands, islets, rocks, green forests with white coral beaches. The sea is particularly rich and it has emerald green colors Text and photographs by Luca Sonnino Sorisio Nautica Magazine 433, Maggio 1998 |
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![]() MERGUI, GREEN ARCHIPELAGO![]() A quick search on the World Wide Web and the web page of the agency appears on the screen (www.seadivers.com), with detailed information on the islands, the cruises and the boats.
The Archipelago is formed by eight hundred islands, isles and rocks disseminated on a surface of 11 square miles. Most of the islands are covered with thick forests and white coral beaches and are deserted. The only dwellers are the Moken tribes, the wanderers of the Andaman Sea who live most of the year on their boats but are not fishermen: during the rainy season they live on land and live on subsistence crops. They collect mollusks, sea urchins and the fish that are trapped in the coral reef during the low tide. They dry seaweed and sell them to Chinese in exchange for merchandise and opium, which they smoke mixed with dry banana leaves with a water pipe that they pass to each other.
Nautica chose the first boat. Below is the description of a cruise on board the "Crescent" as reported in the logbook. 1st day
While the agency's representatives carry out the customs formalities, we anxiously go on board waiting to start sailing toward our first destination, the Island of St. Matthews. After twenty-three miles, we arrive in the middle of the night and we drop the anchor. From here we will sail the other 17 miles to reach Western Rocky Island. 2nd day
3rd day
4th day
We dive near the highest rock and swim around it. The sea is more transparent than usual and a dozen of squids swim over our heads. On the seabed there are several stingrays. Gauguin gorgonias (Melithaea Squamata) lushly grow on the rocks. Horrible sight: few days ago, poachers threw a bomb in a small trench and now a layer of dead fish, including several barracuda, covers the seabed. Human foolishness has no limits: a massacre is perpetrated in order to easily collect a handful of fish when they come afloat or when diving with a mask. This absurd type of fishing that destroys whatever there is in the surroundings without differentiating between the fish species cannot be justified in any way. It is too easy to explain this behavior by saying that fishermen have to feed their children. In this way the future is not guaranteed. Sad and embittered we swim towards the end of the canyon where there is a cave with gray sharks that instantly disappear. The cave becomes smaller and I swim through the passage and across the rock, but when I find cloudier water on the other side I return to where I came from. Back in the canyon, schools of different fish and of barracuda surround me and move continuously: they open up in a circle, close down and change direction or mix with others and then divide again as if they were playing an endless game. These past days the water has been both cloudy and clear, both cold and warm: it is very strange for it is not the normal trend of the water in this area. Even in the Similan Islands that are further away, the water current does not have the usual pattern. Everyone blames El Niño for all abnormal occurrences on the planet. In this case an "up-welling" might have occurred, that is, deep ocean water, cold and rich in nutrients, has come to the surface generating and exceptional growth of phytoplankton and of filamentary algae like the ones that sometimes invade the Red Sea and after which it is named. Today we found the reddish stripes that I had seen in Sudan and that are caused by great concentrations of these algae. What might have caused the rising of deep seawater? Is it an unusual or a common phenomenon? Is it linked to El Niño? For now, all these theories and questions have no answer. A fishing boat is moored near the "Crescent". There are four fishermen on the 20-foot boat; it took them one week to sail from Kawthoung to here. During their five-day stay they fish with fishing nets and traps. In the holds there are groupers and other typical coral reef fish. They feed on the dry filets of ray and of shark that are hanging all over the boat and which they also sell at the Kawthoung market. In the late afternoon, we head towards Black Rock on a sea full of transparent and violet jellyfish with long tentacles. We should sail all night except for a few hours, when we will rest in a bay of Clara Island. 5th day
This area is renowned for its sharks and abundant fish. Unfortunately its fame stroke a fatal blow to its fauna: few days ago, this area too was bombarded with dynamite. The sight is chilling and gloomy: dead fish cover the seabed. After three dives we plunge into sadness. This sight reminds me of the scene of the movie "Dances with wolves" when, during their migrations, the Sioux find dozens of dead skinned buffaloes left to rot in the prairie. What a waste! What a massacre for just a few fish! Maybe the main preys were the sharks for we have not seen any and yet there is ample food for them. Notwithstanding the bombs, the rocks and the walls are full of gorgonias, of other sea flora and there are still many fish. We found cuttlefish, two octopuses in love, schools of barracuda, colored nudibranchiates, several moray eels and a rare mantis shrimp. We head toward Little Torres, where we will spend the night at anchor. At sunset, the dolphins approach the boat and start playing under the bow, thus creating marvelous light effects due to the bioluminescence, the wonderful light that some types of plankton produce when stimulated. I had seen the same effect at the Galapagos Islands but whenever I see this incredible and surreal scene it strikes me: the profile of the cetaceans flowing together with the boat shines in the dark and they produce a shining wake. They play by crossing each other's trail in a joyful zigzag. They look like ghosts.it is unforgettable. 6th day
In the forests of the archipelago there are several animals. Elephants often swim from one island to the other. Years ago, someone saw an elephant going from Lampi island to the coast, by swimming two sections of five miles. They do not do it spontaneously, they are forced by their owners who take them to work on moving cut down trees. Even a Sumatra rhino (Didemocerus sumatrensis), found in some islands, was seen swimming for twenty miles, up to High Island. The tigers are found in the islands nearer to the coast because they walk on muddy shores during the low tide. In the afternoon, we explore an area that surrounds some rocks in the northern part of the island. The visibility is quite bad but the place is interesting. There are enormous granite rocks that form a jungle of caves and small gorges full of life. There are many shells and nudibranchiates: I find a perfectly camouflaged cowrie (Phenacovolva rosea) on an orange gorgonia and a rare white nudibranchiate (Phyllodesmium magnum) under a rock, displaying strange outgrowths that move with the current. Inside a cave, a scorpion fish lays on a fan-like coral and it is camouflaged with the same colors of its temporary hammock. After our dive, we return to the bay where we rest before heading southward. This is the northernmost spot of our tour: instead of going toward Mergui port as scheduled, where we should have flown to Kawthoung, we return to our point of departure due to the cancellation of our flight. In the calm waters of the bay, we see some rays flying out of the water and spinning under our bow. Now it is easier for me to believe in the mysterious and rare flying jumps of the manta ray. 7th day
8th day We hoist the sails and head toward McCarthy Island and Stewart Island, where we dive in the two southern tips. The seabed is multicolored. In a cave we find a shark that is over 13 feet long. We anchor in a bay of Mc Carthy for the last time, before starting our last night crossing toward Kawthoung. On the rocks, in front of the beach, three long white flags, left by some fishermen, flutter in the wind. Maybe they were put to reserve a fishing area, or maybe for religious reasons. who knows. USEFUL INFORMATION![]() The trip The fastest and most practical way to reach Phuket is by flying with Thai airline, the Thai national airline. The bus for Ranong, on the border, leaves from the diving center of South East Asia Liveaboards. Arrival in Kawthoung, Myanmar, is scheduled five hours later. Here, depending on the type of cruise, you may board either on the "Crescent" or on the "Gaea". For weekly cruises on the "Crescent" between Kawthoung and Mergui, there is a flight departing from Mergui every two weeks. The "Crescent" cruise includes three dives per day along the most exposed area of the Archipelago, touching South and North Twin Island, Black Rock, Little and Great Western Torres Island, Fletcher Island, Hayes Island, West and East Islet, Mackenzie Island, Sergeant Island, Elfinstone Island, Blundell e Tenasserim Island, Cabusa Island. The boats
The Visa The agency requires the entry visa for Burma. It is advisable to send a photocopy of the passport to the agency before departure so that the necessary documents may be prepared. Take along four photographs and two photocopies of the passport. The cost of the visa is approximately USD 120. The climate
What to wear and what to bring Light clothing is advisable. It is important to know the water temperature before travelling. Depending on the year (as this year for example) wetsuit thickness should be 5/8". Electrical accessories such as flashes may be recharged on board with 110V current.
South East Asia Liveaboards |