A Beautiful Morning at Plage Ouakam

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Definition of a perfect day: long morning dive, followed by an afternoon at home without obligations.

I went out for about four hours yesterday, long enough to get thoroughly exhausted and dehydrated. The water was calm, with a slight surge beneath the Mamelles cliffs, visibility good enough, varying from location to location, to perhaps 30 ft. The plankton and jellyfish were locally dense, and a heavy rain on Friday morning had debris drifting in areas.

There were many more folks hand-lining from shore, drawn, I suppose, by the ideal conditions. Two guys in wetsuits, snorkeling gear, spears and collection bags were poking around the base of the cliffs looking for something, abalone perhaps. A fisherman in a single-person piroque lay his net down in a wide arc. (A video clip shows this.)

I'm gradually becoming familiar with the area. The water along a south-facing cliff is rich with plants. The bluffs immediately below Phare de Mamelles (the lighthouse) drop steeply to about five meters, then gradually to maybe ten meters. The fish stocks there are abundant. Judging from the number of anchors left behind there, others recognize it as a rich area, too.

Enjoy the following video clips filmed during this dive:

clip1, clip2, clip3, clip4, clip5, clip6, clip7, clip8