At mid tide it was possible to take the dinghy over the walls and into the lagoon, which is also filled with lovely coral. More good snorkelling. Then there is the perfect sand cay to land on and share with resting sea birds. What a place! The water around the cay was the palest green, like Sauvignon Blanc wine.

It is critical to leave the cay and get the dinghy back over the outer walls of the reef before the tide falls too far, otherwise you will become trapped. While motoring back to Masala we discovered the other trap – the current was running so strongly we could barely make headway against it. If the motor had stopped we would have been swept away into the open ocean and probably never seen again. A real wake-up call.

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TO THE REEF...continued

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However, the tide that was flowing was obstructed by the vast bulk of Wistari Reef. The huge volume of water bearing down on the reef was being forced to flow around it, accelerating the current in the vicinity of the reef to alarming proportions.

Above: Leanne exploring Wistari Reef sand cay.

Below: Seagulls resting on the cay.

For a while I couldn’t figure out why the current was so strong. Then I realised what was happening. We were in Spring Tides (the highest range in the monthly cycle) so you might expect a strong current, except that we were 35 miles offshore, where the current is less than that flowing along the coastline.

As the sun went down and the tide went up the reef and its cay slowly disappeared, until there was nothing left to see. Just Masala, floating all on her lonesome. It was an eerie thing, as now we seemed to be anchored in the open ocean. Which of course we were. Except that below the waters the coral still existed, cutting down the swell coming over the reef to a manageable level.

We had two magical days and nights at Wistari Reef. The wind never blew over 10 knots and the sea remained comfortable most of the time. And the wildlife had to be seen to be believed. We had a Manta Ray close to the dinghy inside the lagoon and another two feeding and frolicking close to Masala. A third leaped two metres out of the water and sailed through the air like the USS Enterprise. We were visited by two different species of dolphins. But probably the best encounter was swimming with a pair of huge mating turtles.