The Hai Siang is a 49-metre former Taiwanese fishing boat that was voluntarily sunk off the coast of Cap Homard (Reunion Island) in 1983. The name means 'wild pig' in Chinese. It lies on a sandy bottom at 55 metres deep and, if you are appropriately qualified, it makes for good diving as you can see from the photos below. We saw lots of snappers, unicorn fish, trumpetfish and clown triggerfish. Unlike the Antonio Lorenzo it rests upright.
Hai Siang looking at the bow
Hai Siang mast
Hai Siang stern
school of snappers
me with snappers
deck, looking aft
on the seabed, off to starboard side.
mast
looking down at the deck to the entrance to the holds
To finish with, a professional photo of the Hai Siang by Gaby Barathieu:
Ever heard of a Flyboard? A type of jetpack supplies propulsion to drive a 'board' through and above water to perform a sport known as flyboarding. It was invented in 2012 by a French water-craft rider, Franky Zapata.
pre-activity briefing with Jean-Luc Gilquin
A Flyboard rider stands on a board connected by a long hose to a watercraft. Water is forced under pressure to a pair of boots with jet nozzles underneath which provide thrust for the rider to fly up to 15 m in the air.
The design allows the device to climb out of the water and be more or less stable in the air using underfoot propulsion and hand stabilisation.
The Flyboard is buoyant for safety, which also allows the rider to rest in the water between rides.
In Reunion the activity is run by Jean-Luc Gilquin at the Colosse Park in Saint André, where there's one of the island's few inland bodies of water suitable for this type of activity. (It can't be done over the sea due to the water sports ban currently in place in Reunion due to the shark situation).
you can see the hose clearly in this photo
In the photos you can see my husband, with the results after about 15-20 minutes of getting used to the device.
Fronted by Gilbert Pounia, Ziskakan are one of Reunion's best known groups. They formed in 1979 and their style is maloya, to which they add modern techniques as well as some Indian instruments. They have toured abroad extensively: USA, UK, Belgium, India, Mauritius, Seychelles, as well as mainland France.
Here they are yesterday playing one of their most famous songs: Bato Fou.
I did my second dive on the Antonio Lorenzo yesterday; the first was in October 2013.
The Antonio Lorenzo is a 53-metre Chilean longliner which lies at a depth of 38 metres in the bay of Saint-Leu.
On 1st September 1998 it was caught by a French patrol boat illegally fishing in French territorial waters 120 nautical miles from the Kerguelen islands in the southern Indian Ocean. Its holds contained 100 tonnes of Patagonian tooth fish. It was brought back to Reunion, where arrived on 14th September. On 16th December 1999 six holes were drilled into its hull, and it was sunk as an artificial reef at Pointe des Chateaux.
It lies on its port side, which explains why the mast sticks out a 45° angle. I'm afraid I'm not much good with technical language for vessel elements, so I can't label what different parts are called.
this almost looks like a coral reef but is part of the vessel
a last, somewhat ghostly, shot as we started ascending
Entitled Reunion Island: Love at first sight I discuss my love for Reunion's lifestyle, natural landscapes, and its ethnic, cultural, and religious diversity.
So if you want to know (amongst other things) what brought me to Reunion Island, a useful tip for soon-to-be expatriates on the island, and how easy it is for an expat to live here, read the interview here!
