Maldives breaks scuba diving record
Tuesday, 04 Apr 2006 09:58
The Maldives is becoming a top scuba destination
The Maldives is the place to be for scuba diving enthusiasts, after the islands played host to the world record-breaking mass scuba dive.
Earlier this year, 979 divers gathered together at Sunlight Thila in North Male, to break the world record for the most people simultaneously diving in one site.
The half hour dive beat the previous record of 722 by 257, and participants included tourists, locals, children and people as old as 73.
The successful event was overseen by the president of the Maldives, Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, and afterwards a big beach party was held to celebrate.
Divers and spectators were treated to displays of traditional Maldivian dances and bodu beru, and a photo session with all the record-breakers recorded the event for posterity.
The Maldives is a cluster of around 1,200 islands, of which only 200 are inhabited, while 88 have facilities for tourists.
Its growing popularity as a diving holiday destination is borne out of its plentiful facilities, as almost all resorts have a diving school and there is a wealth of marine life to admire while under water, including manta rays, angels, stingrays, dolphins and even sharks.
The Maldives are most popular with divers between November and May, when temperatures level at around 28-30 degrees centigrade, while the Indian Ocean is between 25 and 30 degrees centigrade.