Kangean Diving
Exploratory Dives on Island North of Bali

Below: A swarm of purple queens, Pseudanthias tuka,
hovers over a very healthy section of Indonesian reef.

We left the port of Benoa, in Bali, at 2 o'clock in the afternoon, aftera long wait for port clearance. We had chartered a boat and were bound for the Kangean archipelago, a cluster of small islands that lies 130 kilometers due north of Bali. These were to be exploratory dives, as there is no organized diving in the Kangean group. Our air would be provided by an on-board compressor. Beneath the Kangean islands are huge reservoirs of natural gas that are expected to supply the energy needs of Surabaya, Indonesia's second-largest city. Although north of Bali, the islands are part of the province of Madura, Java. Construction on the 130-kilometer pipeline has started, but the Kangean islands are still undeveloped, and as such, an idyllic destination for a small group of divers. Leaving from eastern Bali, our course took us through the Lombok Strait, a particularly fickle stretch of water. We knew the strait was subject to strong currents, but we weren't prepared for the persistent-monster our craft had to battle the first night-at sunrise, we were still within sight of Bali. Soon, however, our speed improved, and in another few hours we could see the islands ahead.

Arriving at Sepankur
Three waving men, balancing on what looked from our still distant position like a log, welcomed us to Sepankur island, right in the middle of the group.  As they paddled closer, we realized they were in a small canoe. The men were hunting sea turtles, and one of the divers still wore his goggles.
These were homemade: disk of glass cut from the bottom of soda pitch into sections of bamboo. The strap came from an old inner-tube. We dropped anchor in a sheltered bay on the north of Sepankur. There were holding nets here filled with thousands of live sea bass, awaiting their fortnightly shipment to Hongkong. This was an unexpected bonus, as dinner was only a matter of swimming over to the nets, and choosing a fish from the keeper. This was only one of many beautiful anchorages we discovered in the next four days as we sailed from island to island in this shallow sea.The dozens of small islands are inhabited by Muslim fishermen and their families, and in the evenings we would invite them aboard for conversation.

The first night we found out about the crocodiles.
Apparently, a fellow villager who was poaching teak logs from the nearby Kangean Reserve had recently been attacked by a very large saltwater crocodile and severely mauled, dying of blood loss before proper medical attention could be found. We were also told that during the rainy season the crocodiles have been known to swim across to Sepankur and enter the holding nets, helping themselves to the Hongkong delicacies. (Back in Bali a few months later, we heard that the crocodiles had been particularly active since our visit-there were reports of 10 deaths.)

Diving Sepankur
Our first dive at the southwest Point of Sepankur was understandably a nervous one. Unfortunately, however, it was disappointingly uneventful. The greater part of the sea here is shallow, no deeper than 25 meters. On our first dive we explored a shallow (8.5 meter) sandy bottom with coral outcrops around which we found bluespotted stingrays, angelfish, goatfish and butterflyfish. On our way back to the boat on the Zodiac, we met a fishing boat with more divers. These men were rigged in hookah outfits, with the air delivered by a hand pump on deck. They had had a successful day fishing for trepang and lobster, which they would sell on Kangean, the largest island of the group.
After this uninspiring beginning to our diving trip, we decided to snorkel any potential diving spots first. We headed for Saebus,  a green, palm-fringed island surrounded by white sand beaches and inhabited by more friendly fishermen.
We took the Zodiac to the southwest "corner" of this elongated island and jumped in to snorkel the sandy slopes only 20-30 meters off the shore, immediately coming face to face with a group of four bumphead parrotfish, and a turtle.

We rushed back to the Zodiac, geared up, and descended. As we entered the channel between Saebus and Saur, the sandy bottom gave way to a fine white clay which, owing to the half-knot current, produced poor visibility-at times only five meters.Huge coral knolls, each with dozens of different types of corals, and terraces of table corals were abundant. Again we saw many rays, angelfish, butterflyfish, parrotfish and wrasse. We gently drifted through the canyons made by the coral bomies. Our maximum depth was 20 meters and the gentle current made for an effortless drift back to the yacht.  

Diving a Submerged Reef
We dived early the next day before the swell picked up and disturbed the sediment. We had gone back to the submerged reef we had navigated around the day before, on our way to Saebus, between Sepankur and Saur. This bank reef was approximately 140 meters by 40 meters, and the local fishermen called it a "taka." At low tide it was only a meter below the surface, and extended down to a sandy bottom, ten meters below. Coral cover was quite good, although we saw some evidence of bombing by the fishermen. As we descended, we frightened away a reef whitetip shark, and saw a large school of snappers. The variety and numbers of fish were amazing-
butterflyfish, angelfish, surgeonfish and more.

Pangerang Island
On our navigational maps, the north coast of Pangerang Island was the next spot that had
looked like potential diving. The visibility was great-25-30 meters. A sandy bottom at 18 meters rose to coral slopes alive with fish: firefish, blackspot snapper, ftisiliers, bream, humphead
bannerfish, six-banded angelfish and emperor angelfish. We swam close to a school of large
bumphead parrotfish, came across numerous blue-spotted rays nestled under the edges of
coral outcrops, and found a medium-sized turtle.

Sakala Island
Our time was running out, but we had just enough left to dive off the island of Sakala, the most easterly of the Kangean group.

Here we were on the edge of the Sunda shelf, and our dive site was once again on a bank, but much deeper than the others. Its
top was at 16 meters, and its sandy slopes descended out of sight. This dive was quite different from our previous dives.
Visibility was 20 meters or more, and we saw many pelagic
fish, particularly sharks-at least a dozen reef whitetip sharks, reef black-tips, and even a couple of gray whalers. Schools of macker. el and trevally patrolled the area.
The reef was flat with few pinnacles, and very little live coral, other than a few gorgonians. We surmised that it was unprotected, and swept clean by currents. Coming back from Sakala we hugged the coast of Sepanjang, hoping for another quick (live but we could only manage an exploratory snorkel as the water was too rough to take the loaded Zodiac out. We discovered a, sight not unlike our first dives, only much deeper, perhaps 201 meters. The bottom formation was a flat sand terrace gently sloping out of sight, interspersed with low coral knolls at intervals of 20-30 meters. The knolls were alive with myriad reef fish, and we sighted an enormous spotted eagle ray, and two reef whitetip sharks. Ale visibility here was
very good-25 to 30 meters.

A Wild Storm
We left the Kangean islands and headed back to Bali. Our trip was smooth and uneventful until sunset, when we sighted Bali. Then, a strong wind blew up. We didn't reach land until dawn  the following morning, 20 kilometers off course and drenched through by the waves that continually swamped our decks. It wasn't until we were well and truly out of the rough water that Eric, our captain, admitted it was the worst storm he had ever experienced, in the Lombok Strait.

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