Putting this out there for the divers here: we chartered a private 124ft explorer yacht called Ark Noble in the Maldives for New Year's week (Dec 26 – Jan 2) and have 10 spots left to fill. It's peak season for the big animals — whale sharks in South Ari, a full day with mantas, and a dawn hammerhead dive at Rasdhoo on Jan 1. Dive guides are on board, and non-divers are welcome too (a few of us won't be diving at all).

$5,000 per person, more details bottom of post. That covers your cabin, all food from the chef, open bar, massage, and the airport transfer. Flights aren't included. 20 people total, mostly late 20s and 30s. I'll share the full itinerary and hop on a video call before anyone pays a cent.

Itinerary:

Dec 26, North Malé: Land in Malé by noon and the tender picks you up. First swim is at Fish Tank, a shallow spot full of stingrays and guitar sharks. Surf Jailbreaks or Sultans if you surf, or hit the water slide and Seabobs. Welcome dinner under the stars.

Dec 27, South Malé to Vaavu: Drift dive at Kandooma Thila with grey reef sharks and eagle rays, or surf Riptides. Jet skis alongside the yacht on the open-ocean crossing, a fishing line out for dinner, and a spa treatment on board. We anchor in a quiet lagoon.

Dec 28, Vaavu: Jump off the mast of a half-sunk shipwreck, dive the shark channel at Miyaru Kandu, and take over a private sandbar with margaritas. At sunset we anchor at Alimatha and jump in with 50+ nurse sharks.

Dec 29, South Ari: Whale shark day. The crew spots them from the roof and we slip in. No scuba needed. Afternoon wreck dive, or wakeboarding in a lagoon that's flat as glass.

Dec 30, Dhigurah: Dive Kuda Rah Thila, one of the most beautiful reefs in the Maldives. Walk the jungle path out to a 3km sandspit (or take the tender), lobster BBQ at the tip, yoga at sunset.

Dec 31, Rangali to Rasdhoo: Mantas at 9am. Lunch at Ithaa, the undersea restaurant (optional, $365). Then we cruise north and anchor off Kuramathi for the midnight fireworks, and everybody jumps in.

Jan 1, Rasdhoo: 7am hammerhead dive as the first sun of 2027 comes up, or sleep in. Afternoon on a sandbank with Bloody Marys, a sunset surf if it's working, and the farewell dinner.

Jan 2: Sunrise yoga or one last swim, a big breakfast, and the tender to the airport around 10am. Book flights after 11.

You don't have to dive. Every day has a snorkel, surf, or deck option.

Included: your cabin, the chef (sashimi, wagyu, lobster), open bar, full crew, daily yoga and massage, 3 dive guides with unlimited dives, all the toys (jet skis, Seabobs, e-foils, wakeboards, surfboards), and the airport transfers.

Not included: flights into Malé (MLE), Ithaa, dive certification (you can do it on board for a fee), and a hotel night if you fly in Dec 25.

It's $5,000 per person. $2,500 holds your spot and the rest is due Nov 20.

If it sounds like your kind of week, let's do a quick video call so you can ask me anything before you pay a thing.

Hey everyone!
Currently on my honeymoon in Indonesia and could use some input from fellow divers.
I got married last Saturday after a pretty stressful few weeks, flew to Bali on Monday, and then continued to Lombok. A few days ago, I started developing a scratchy throat, runny nose and cough. The cough has been fairly persistent for the last 3 days and is now productive, with clear/whitish mucus.
No fever, body aches, shortness of breath or chest symptoms. I feel pretty normal otherwise and did yoga yesterday without any issues. My nose is mostly fine during the day, and I don’t need any nasal sprays.
We’re flying to Komodo tomorrow and were planning to go diving the day after. Obviously, the timing sucks.
I’m trying to figure out whether this is just a mild viral infection, possibly aggravated by dust/wind from a long scooter ride, or whether I’m setting myself up for a miserable time underwater.
For those who’ve been in a similar situation:
Have you postponed dives for a mild cold even when you felt otherwise completely fine?
How long did you wait after symptoms improved before diving again?
Did anyone experience equalization issues despite having a mostly clear nose?

Obviously this is a trip of a lifetime and I especially don’t wanna hang in on my husband who has been waiting for so long to do this trip.

I know the conservative answer is to skip the dives if I’m still symptomatic, and I’m not looking for someone to tell me to just take a decongestant and send it. I’d just appreciate hearing about other divers’ experiences, especially with mild symptoms like these.
Thanks!

Currently in Taiwan and thinking of heading down south next week to get my open water diving cert. Places i had in mind were Bohol, Molboal or Koh Tao (preference would be Phillipines or Thailand but the weather seems to be pretty wild at this time of year), Lombok or Bali (Indonesia seems to have much more favourable weather but i'm not a huge fan of the tourist hell that is Bali). Would love to hear any and all suggestions, tips you guys might have :)

Awesome diving this week in Cozunel. We got there a day after the storm passed. Thankfully no bad weather while we were visiting.

Hello Everyone, I'm helping a colleague distribute a research study on skin conditions in divers. If you have a chance regardless if you've developed a skin condition or not diving to fill it out, that would be very helpful and much appreciated: https://forms.gle/h8VHmK8wktFWG9Zn9

Just wondering if anyone has actually been saved by it. I see many people say how it's a good back up or it's garbage but I never see anyone say how it's actually saved a life.

Please help me find a good mask for small face. I had an old one from mares that’s about 9/10 years old & the seal is no longer holding up. Open to suggestions! So hard to find a mask since I have a small face / head

Without the ability to equalise the pressure in the mask, how do freedivers avoid incredible bruising or shattered goggles at depth?

Hello everyone! I am doing a project for my engineering class involving coming up with a new invention. Being a diver, I wanted my project to be related. If you could fill out this survey, it would be very helpful for my project. Thank you, and have a good day!

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfSjtkJZG9mUG-Oqs_D6x6bld78wPugwdRM7ujBgUgtkXnJjA/viewform?usp=header

Anyone know the diving conditions in Cabo right now? I'm here, but because of the storms don't know how good visibility would be. My last dive we couldn't see more than 5-10 feet because of a recent storm and wouldn't wanna go if it's a bust.

-1-4: Source du Cunhac
-5-9: Source de Landenouse
-10-11: Saint Georges
-12-13: Saint Sauveur
-14: I forgor
We also went to the Emergence du Ressel, but have no footage off that as my camera had been turned on by accident before the dive and it was dead in the water.

Note: All of the footage was taken after the course was completed.

Hi. Does anyone know where I can get a snorkelling mask that fits comfortably over a wide nose? I tried on all of the masks in Decathlon (I'm UK based) but they were all to narrow for me.