This week we had the pleasure of diving with dolphins in Lembongan… During a dive at Blue Corner, our divers’ efforts of swimming against the current, were rewarded with the sighting of 20 playful dolphins under the water. The current wasn’t overly strong and they had already seen the dolphins at the surface as they were jumping in, so once under the water they headed in the direction of the dolphins. 

While the divers were pulling on their wetsuits and instructor Bryce was running through the dive site briefing, the calm surface water was broken by a pod of dolphins, playing at the surface, not far from the boat and in the area that the group would be diving. Bryce had the captain move the boat a little bit ahead of the dolphins so that the divers were not descending right on top of them, as this could scare the pod away.

Once in the water the group of divers made their way under the water, along the reef shelf, heading in the direction of the drop off and where everyone hoped the dolphins were still playing. The current had turned a little bit and the first part of the dive was swam into the current, it was a mild current so the swim was not a strenuous one. The silence of being underwater was broken by sounds of dolphins calling, heard first by Bryce, he singled to the others, who then could also hear. Bryce knew that they were close. As they edged closer to the drop off, the calls started getting louder, the group of divers were rewarded by a pod of 20 dolphins playing in the current. The divers softly kicked against the current to spend as much time as they could with the dolphins before the games were over and they swam away into the blue.

Seeing dolphins under the water is a career highlight for most divers, and for almost everyone in the group it was their first time seeing it. The divers continued the dive along the drop off wall, keeping an eye in the blue to see if any other big creatures would come and say hi. While looking towards the surface, dive guide Faldo (Who was also helping on the dive) spotted a majestic eagle ray gliding along with the current above the divers. This was one of two eagle rays that they saw on that dive.

After sometime swimming into the current, Bryce decided to turn the group, so that the last half of the dive was an easy drift with the current. As they worked their way back up the reef wall, heading shallower, the calls of the dolphins were once again heard. This time the dolphins were not so close, off the reef and swimming in the blue, but still, the divers once again, got a good look at the pod of dolphins.

Blue Corner can sometimes be a very hard dive site with unpredictable currents. Here at Two Fish, we watch the tides and waves closely to choose the best and safest conditions to dive this site. But it is these strong currents that bring out the larger creatures from the blue that play or feed in the current. Sometimes this site can produce amazing dives with guests seeing; dolphins, sharks, large rays and molas and other times it can be a fight with the current, with little to see.