On a leverboard in the middle of the Banda Sea,
we are on our way in one of the least explored regions of the world.
Ahead of us are 700 nautical miles of open sea depths of more than 6,000 meters and tiny
islands which are nothing else but the summits of gigantic underwater mountains.
We save our world to Banda and continue our trip in westerly direction towards the islands
I and Run.
On our way we are sailing through a heavy shower but soon afterwards the sun is back
again at noon we will reach Run.
Unbelievable, this tiny island run played a major role in history when in the 17th century
the former colonial powers Holland and England struggled to control the nut back production,
the English succeeded in getting hold of I and Run for the Dutch went control of the
rest of the Banda Island.
After years of fighting against each other both powers agreed in the peace treaty of
Radar in 1667 to exchange Run for a small Dutch-owned settlement in Hudson Bay which the local Indians
called Manahatta, today's Manhattan, in retrospect not a bad deal for the English.
However in the 17th century people saw things different.
The Treaty of Radar was for a long time the quintessence of a great national humiliation
of the English against the Dutch compatriots.
We continue our journey to the west, below us is 4000 meters nothing but water, with
exception of a few tiny spots of land which are nothing else but the summits of gigantic
volcanoes reaching the surface.
These very remote and uninhabited Penyur and Lujipara islands are our next destination.
These flat islands are nothing else but the remains of giant volcanoes.
Here in the vast Banda Sea life gathers because nutrient rich waters from the deep flow up
the flanks of the underwater mountains and nourish millions of plankton feeding fish
and also the big predators.
At least this is a theory.
In reality even here in this very remote part of Indonesia the looting of the oceans is
evident.
In theory we should have seen many different species of sharks and tunas during our dives.
The fact is that we only see very few of them and always too far away for a decent picture.
So we only admire steep walls beautifully covered with huge barrel sponges and fins.
They are huge schools of small baitfish and a visibility of more than 30 meters, a once
in a life tunas pure.
The
Our next stop on our voyage across the Banda Sea is Gunung Api.
Gunung Api is the Indonesian word for fire mountain Wulkan.
We drop anchor in the shelter of the island and are immediately greeted by thousands of
birds which nest on the slope of the volcanic island.
They join us in a short exploratory tour around the island in our speedboat.
Gunung Api is uninhabited and the overall impression is a bit eerie and unapproachable.
There are several spots where we notice Wulkan.
Underwater, the eerie atmosphere is even more compelling.
Gunung Api is home of thousands of ultra-poisonous sea snakes.
The poison is far deadlier than the bite of any land snake.
This is definitely not a die for people with fear of snakes.
The one and a half meter long animals are quite curious and come very close.
The one and a half meter long animals are quite curious and come very close.
The one and a half meter long animals are quite curious and come very close.
The one and a half meter long animals are quite curious and come very close.
The
sea snakes search for prey in small crevices in the rock and the corals.
The small fish they are hunting are immediately dead.
The snakes would never be able to find that prey with the small fish still be able to
swim away.
The snake's super-poison gets things settled clearly.
The one and a half meter long animals are quite curious and come very close.
The one and a half meter long animals are quite curious and come very close.
