elbuzo

I live in DR and have been to Silver Banks several times .  Don't have been to Tonga , vis is suppose to be better there but i think at Silver Banks the amount of whales is bigger.

I can recommend you 2 operations :  aquaticadventures.com  and  consciousbreathadventures.com   . They have the best dinghies and guides . The vessels they use are similar in terms of comfort and size.

I was there last week of march this year and had a blast 

To be in the water with the whales is a magical experience .  If you need further info. about Silver Banks let me know

JA

Felicidades David !

Are the winning images available to see them ?

JA

Not in Simonstown but maybe Steve can assist you 

http://animalocean.co.za/contact/

Good luck

I ended buying the Cressi Sub Gara Professional  and it makes a difference .  So sorry to disregard with the ones that said the contrary above !  .  A fins which gives you a powerful propulsion can make possible to make a photo sometimes.

My experience was that the baitballs spent most of the times at about 10-15 ft deep  so most of the action was not at the surface and they were moving a lot . The long fins allowed me to go up and down very fast , with another type of fins i wouldn't be able to do it .

I agree that those fins are not suitable for everyone and also it takes some time to find the best kick technique but they work .

The thing i don't like is that they are so long that they don't fit in most of the dive bags and the blades can't be detached.

After the sailfish i went to Silver Banks to photograph the humpbacks and was able to photograph them closer to the bottom ( for a different perspective ) thanks to this fins.

Thanks for your report David

I was out there last wednesday also and was shocked of the great amount of mantas feeding on the surface  . I never though that was possible to see that many in the Caribbean , really an amazing spectacle . Our boat didn't have bridge so we don't have that perspective but they were everywhere. Also millions of sardines and lots of dolphins.

I regret not having spent more time with the mantas, since was our first day out and we spent the whole day looking for the sailfishes  without luck ( we only saw one pass by ). Thursday we have some moving baitballs and spend some time with the sailfish but water was not really clear ; after that a north front came and only today is the sea conditions starting to get better .

Here is a pic of 2 mantas feeding from that day 

Regards