My Reef

Overview

My Reef is a submerged reef that La Galigo Liveaboard places at the south-east tip of Penemu Island in the Fam Islands of western Raja Ampat. Bird's Head Seascape lists My Reef on its Fam-Penemu dive map with the GPS position S 00 36.374 E 130 17.357, which is the point used here. La Galigo says the site is known for a resident population of tasselled wobbegong sharks, which it describes as endemic to Raja Ampat, hiding under the ledges and in crevices in the coral and rocks.

How the site is dived

La Galigo gives the topography as a submerged sloping reef with a maximum depth of 30 metres. Its dive drops in at the deepest part, on the south-east edge, and heads north with the reef on the left past three coral bommies on the bottom between 30 and 25 metres. If the current is mild enough the group circles the whole reef, rising gradually over the reef top, which La Galigo puts at 16 to 8 metres, before a safety stop at 5 metres.

Marine life

La Galigo lists schooling bigeye trevally, great barracuda, hunting whitetip reef sharks, patrolling blacktip reef sharks, wobbegong sharks lying in the corals, napoleon wrasse, bumphead parrotfish, blue ribbon eels, mushroom coral pipefish, turtles and the odd manta ray. Bird's Head Seascape marks the site for both wide-angle and macro photography.

Conditions and level

La Galigo gives the typical current as moderate, describes visibility as good at 20 metres and the currents as not too bad, and calls the site suitable for intermediate as well as more advanced divers. These are one operator's statements, not measurements. The sources give no water temperature, season, minimum certification or entry type for the site.