Votes that you casted during the BOOT 2012 show helped us pick a winner! It’s been tight, but among Top 5 that we suggested (Caves, Anemone Thila, Express, Orimas Thila, Shipyard), the flattering title ‘Best rated dive site’ goes to – Kuredu Express!

Our Facebook friends casted a total of 155 votes, amongst which Express got the highest ratings! We totally agree with your choice and we’re looking forward to taking you there again and again! It’s one of those places where adventure awaits. Sharks, big schools of jack fish and snappers, napoleon wrasses, moray eels, turtles and rays can be admired as you drift along the reef. To make a long story short: mindblowing!

We’re heading for a ride on Kuredu Express again tomorrow, on the last day of the BOOT 2012 show.

Among all those of you who have helped us with  ‘Rate the Dive Site’ on Facebook, the lucky winner who gets a free dive is our 5 time repeater guest Carsten Kapst. He has already logged  156 dives on Kuredu, and 10 on Kuredu Express!  Congratulations!

XP by Carsten Kapst

A Special PD@BOOT 2012 DVD with all the movies filmed by our videographer this week goes to Bernhard Bradac. Since he pays us a visit quite regularly, he’s more than welcome to claim his prize personally on Kuredu. If he still hasn’t made up his mind when he’s coming back, we’ll send the DVD via post.

Thanks for your help & we wish you many action-packed dives at XP!

Where humans fail – nature creates! What worries the sailor, cheers the heart of divers and snorkelers!

Shipwrecks build artificial reefs and in time algae, corals and sponges attach to the hard surface, which provide food and shelter for plenty of fish.

The lure of exploring the wreck on the house reef and at The Shipyard is intoxicating!

Great moments from today’s dive were captured by the camera! Enjoy the movie and don’t forget to rate our Top Sites on Facebook!

PD Productions proudly present… Orimas Thila!

While Staffan, Ray, Darren and Rosa are freezing away in Germany, we are taking the opportunity to hit the dive sites and try and showcase them as much as possible through our videographer Dave.

With movies from Kuredu Caves and Anemone Thila already online, prepare yourself for the next!

We originally wanted to keep this dive site for the end of the week, but the weather at the moment is absolutely fantastic and it would be rude not too take advantage of it!

Mike and Dave headed out to Orimas Thila, and the action packed dive can be seen below:

Don’t forget to take part in rating our dive sites.  If youre lucky enough to be on Kuredu at the moment, you have the chance of winning a free dive to whichever site receives the most ratings. If you’re at home rating via Facebook, you can win a special Boot Show DVD pack, which will include all the movies features this week.

Everyone wants to experience the thrill of diving with sharks. Over 15 species of sharks have been sighted in our atoll, 6 of which are regularly seen by divers.

The abundance of these incredible creatures makes chances quite high and few divers leave disappointed.

Be it shark action on our trips to the Noon Atoll, a ride on Kuredu Express or coming across one when you expect it least, it’s undoubtedly an opportunity not to be missed by any avid scuba enthusiast.

We’ve included both dive sites in our Top 5 list – don’t  forget to rate them and read follow-ups on our Blog and Facebook to see what our ’shark dives’ had to offer this week!  Till then – enjoy the ‘A Day with Sharks’!

The topography of the Lhaviyani Atoll results in an astounding quantity of fish life.

If you’d like to take it easy, the reefs offer stunning hard and soft coral growth and an abundance of fish life. For many divers the thrill of spotting and identifying a new fish is one of the reasons they love to dive.

Although it might be difficult to pick one, we’re certain that you’ll find your favourite one.

The sheer beauty of the underwater world stays with you long after your tan has faded! Check back soon to see what our Kuredu team filmed for you at Anemone Thila!

We sent Dave, our videographer, to film this morning’s dive to Kuredu Caves.

Check out what the ‘Turtle Airport’ had in store and see on Facebook what impressions the guests have been left with.  Dont forget that you can rate Kuredu Caves this week and have the chance of winning some great prizes!

Carsten, Karin, Martin, Kenneth, Michael, Arno, Barbara and Yaafish, who was guiding the dive, said it was an impressive one, filled with massive turtles up-close, schools of butterfly fish, leaf fish, humphead parrot fish and great atmosphere on the boat!

Every day this week, we are planning to introduce you to some of the incredible things that you could hope to see while diving or snorkeling with us.  The first installment of this series features an incredible survivor of the natural world.

There are not too many things as cute as a turtle, and the Lhaviyani Atoll is one of the few places in the world where you have the unique chance to observe a green sea turtle community in action.

Capture that postcard moment at Kuredu Caves or in the lagoon right on your doorstep and keep your fingers crossed to come across baby turtles crawling out of their nest and help them head for the sea. The world’s toughest survivors can be admired by both divers and snorkellers alike, so make sure you pay them a visit during your stay.

Tomorrow, we are sending Dave, our videographer out to Kuredu Caves to see what the dive site throws up on a daily basis.

Check back later on this afternoon and help us to rate Kuredu Caves as a dive site!

You think you’ve seen it all. And then you come across masters of camouflage that amaze you with their colours, patterns and un-fish-like behaviour.

Anyone being fortunate enough to spot a frogfish will surely stop and ponder its spectacular and bizarre appearance. They are bottom dwellers, using their tiny fins to clumsily move around, and if the need arises to swim, they suck in water through their massive mouth and eject it from their gill holes behind their head, jet-propelling themselves across the bottom. Attracted to the tasty looking lure on their head, the prey is rapidly swallowed whole as the frogfish literally stretches its mouth to the same size as its body. How creepy is that?

Ornate ghostpipefish, with their incredible ability to mimic their surroundings, are a rear find too. They are normally found living around crinoids, featherstars, gorgonian fans and branching black coral bushes. Here they live very well camouflaged by their complex colour patterns and body shape, especially their skin flaps. Another sighting divers practically drool over!

Disguised, yet not impossible to spot. Antonio was lucky to find both at Ali Thila. We’re keeping our fingers crossed for more photo opportunities like this!

Always on the lookout for new dive sites, we thought it was about time we checked out the south eastern side of the Atoll.

We have been running full day trips to this untouched corner of the Atoll for the past few weeks, but last weeks trip threw up some great treats.  As Jutta and Julia headed out with their group to Fathima Kandu for their first dive, anticipation levels were rising as to what the day would bring. Calm waters and great weather kicked the day off to a good start. Check out the incredible video highlights of the day in the latest installment of ‘The Last 7 Days…On Kuredu’.

Fathima Kandu offered a gentle current and good visibility and the divers were smiling with sightings of  eagle rays, napoleons, a sting ray and even a nurse shark!

The second dive checked out a new dive site – Faadhoo Giri.  A beautiful mix of all kind of corals and lot of fish. The top reef was covered with scorpion fish in all kind of sizes and a stone fish was also spotted. The dive was topped off with a turtle cruising along the reef.

Before the group went in for the third and last dive of the day, they were having a little break on the boat next to MuDa Thila and listening to the dive site briefing.  Jutta was suddenly interrupted by some dolphins surrounding the boat and of course focus switched to them!

15 minutes later and the dolphins were still playing around the boat, prompting the divers to slip into the water and try to get a glimpse of them.  12 of the dolphins were just as curious as the divers staying around and circling the divers for around 15 minutes before swimming away into the blue.…!

Excited about the encounter the divers couldn’t wait to get into the water for their last dive and enjoy the colourful scenery that MuDa Thila has on offer. During their dive the divers especially enjoyed the leather corals and brain corals that were surrounded by schooling fish such as sweetlips, fusiliers, snappers, glass fish and so much more…

No wonder that everybody from this trip was coming back with a big smile and still dreaming of swimming with dolphins!

Check out the last 2 installments in  “Last 7 Days…” section if you are curious about how MuDa Thila in the “Untouched East” looks and experience the encounter with the dolphins!

In light of the forthcoming Shark Week, aimed at rising awareness about sharks and the importance of their conservation, we are pleased to report the sighting of a very heavily pregnant grey reef shark on Kuredu Express!

Divers, guided by Tuuli and Jutta, were excited about the sharks’ natural curiosity, as all six of the big grey reefs lingered around the divers for a long time.  Even more amazing was the size of the sharks, and as they came closer, it soon became clear that one of them was pregnant!

The prospect of shark offspring is fantastic news! The effects of removing sharks from the ecosystem for commercial purposes are highly damaging. Contrary to common belief that sharks are ferocious beasts, the fact is these creatures, who serve as top predators at the pinnacle of the marine food pyramid, play a critical role in our ocean by regulating its natural balance. Tens of millions of sharks and closely related rays are killed each year by fisheries, either intentionally or as bycatch; too often their populations are being fished faster than they can reproduce.

We’re hoping that our Shark Week will contribute to a better understanding of these creatures and we’re keeping our fingers crossed for more encounters like this!

Barbara, our staff member, is certain that she’ll remember the magnificent dive and the encouraging sighting long after the sharks have forgotten her!