Father-daughter dive in the darkness of the night with majestic Manta Rays

Scuba diving visuals normally evoke awe and amazement. People are intrigued by the mysteries and beauty of the underwater world when they see these visuals and admire the tenacity and courage of scuba divers.

However, scuba diving in the darkness of the night is something that most people cannot imagine. Diving in the sea enveloped by darkness all around you, evokes a perception of danger. Fear of the unknown or the potential presence of nocturnal marine life enhances this perception of danger.

However Dubai based Odia father-daughter advanced scuba diving duo Priyadarshee Panigrahi and his 13-year-old daughter Tisya have provided us with another memorable moment.
Priyadarshee and Tisya dived into the house reef of Sun Siyam Olhuveli resort in Maldives in the darkness of the night and dived with the majestic Reef Manta Rays earlier this month.

Sun Siyam Olhuveli resort is world famous for diving with Reef Manta Rays. The Reef Manta Rays come near the resort’s reefs in the night and feed on plankton. Reef manta rays are huge fishes with a wingspan that can reach 16 to 18 feet.

These majestic fish appear like they are flying under the water and are known for their acrobatic behavior, often seen leaping or somersaulting out of the water. Reef manta rays are also filter feeders, primarily consuming plankton and small fish. They use their fins, located on either side of their mouths, to funnel food into their mouths.

Tisya said that this was one of the best dives of her life. She said ‘Diving with such gentle giants was a unique and magical experience. It was my first night dive and diving in the darkness with torches in our hand was certainly very a different, exhilarating and adventurous outing’.

According to Priyadarshee, Manta Rays swimming in the sea were so graceful that the only line that can describe the scene was ‘poetry in motion’. He said that it was a thrilling dive and one can’t help but thank Mother Nature for creating such magnificent creatures like Manta Rays which are certainly very uniquely crafted and extremely graceful.

The dive was made possible because of the deft guidance and instructions given by Sun Siyam diving’s Dive Instructor and Maldivian national Athau Rasheed. Athau accompanied both father and daughter in this night dive. Special instructions are needed for night diving and Athau gave a detailed briefing before the dive.

Also Read: Unique Achievement For Dubai Based Father-Daughter Odia Scuba Diver Duo!