Okinawa Coral Reef
As the summer season draws to a close the best dive season of the year kicks off in Okinawa. The warm waters of the summer will still be around until the end of the year and the crowds of tourists will be back in Tokyo. As the typhoon season passes, the calm seas and great visibility of the late fall months take hold on Okinawa and in the Keramas. If you have not got your dive certification yet now is the perfect time to schedule a class at Reef Encounters. If you are already certified getting more experience with an advanced class or drift dive class to prepare you for the winter dives with whales and hammerhead sharks that will be visiting the Ryuku archipalego in just a few short months is the perfect plan.
As the cooler weather takes hold in Okinawa we will start to see more large marine life around the dive spots in Okinawa- this will include manta rays, sharks including whale sharks and some of the larger tuna and other game fish. The largest critters will be arriving in January with the arrival of the humpback whales in the Keramas and the hammerhead sharks in Yonaguni. We will be offering hammerhead tours in Febuary and March again this year at Reef Encounters so make you plans now for a week of amazing diving on the ruins and reefs of Yonaguni.
As the waters start to cool off remember that as divers we will chill much more rapidly than swimmers on the surface or surfers. It may be time to dig that 5mm suit out of the closet or add that hood or cheater vest to your diving wardrobe. Remember that when adding neoprene you need to adjust your weights accordingly. You should have enough weight to stay neutral at your safety stop at 15 ft(5 meters) with only 500psi (40bar) of air left in your tank and little to no air in your BC. Proper weighting will greatly benefit your air consumption as will proper thermal protection. Hope to see you all under water.
