It turns out that upon close inspection of the sea floor, that clump of algae has legs and is moving; the trash is,
in fact, marine life; and the pile of sand is actually a frogfish in disguise. Boyle claims the variety of marine life
at this site is startling – an underwater photographer’s wish list. And if you think the marine encounters
are fascinating by day…just slip on a wetsuit at night and prepare to be amazed! Boyle does a great job
describing how an otherwise throw-away-dive-site can be among the best on earth. If you want to learn more about Hairball Too, I found a pretty nice interactive map of the area, and a really great photo precisely
demonstrating what Boyle means when he says it looks as though the sea floor is simply littered with
garbage…but isn’t! To learn more about Lembeh Strait,
generally, check out our previous posts on the area -- Aggressor Fleet Expands
into Indonesia and Diving Indonesia’s Lembeh
Strait -- or this well-written (albeit commercial) Lembeh Strait trip report by Bruce Moore.
I’ve been following John Boyle’s writings about his three favorite dive sites, and
I was pleased to see his final installment has been posted. As someone who’s interested in underwater video,
Boyle’s other favorite spots – Krakafat and Astove Wall – are
literally brimming with marine life. Consequently, it should come as no surprise that his third favorite dive spot
– the rather un-gloriously named Hairball Too in Lembeh Strait, North Sulawesi, Indonesia – is also replete
with an “incredible array of creatures” (for proof, be sure to
check out those two amazing video streams!). According to Boyle, Hairball Too is, upon first sight, “the most disappointing place you have ever dived.” It’s flat; the
sea floor is a “semi-liquid, fine, black volcanic sand”
covered with algae; garbage litters the site. Moreover, Boyle claims that you will see nothing swimming in the water
column at Hairball Too, and the viz is only a few feet. So why would this be among this underwater filmmaker’s
favorite dive spots on the planet?
What Are Your Three Favorite Dive Sites, Part III
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1. I am also very interested in the UW Film Willy, and for me John is a legend. I can't imagine the hours he must spend in the water to get the shots he does.
We have a new venture being launched this week with John and UW film, with the first release of his Critters work via video streaming.
Posted at 4:17AM on Mar 2nd 2006 by Alan