A splendid view

Ma & me inside the submarine

The other tourist passengers inside

Blue Safari Submarine – An Underwater Voyage In Mauritius


I always had a fascination for Mauritius. I remember how the country with its quaintness appealed to me when I saw glimpses of it in the TV serial, Sea Hawk, on air during my college days. Since childhood, seas & oceans, their vastness, the roaring of their waves and the softness of the sands in the beaches have been my fascination. I still remember the beautiful evenings that I & my family used to spend, sitting, playing & walking on the sandy beaches of the Atlantic during my school days in Sierra Leone and The Gambia in West Africa.

Well, towards the fag end of the year 2008 in the month Of November, Ma & I visited this beautiful island of Mauritius and we devoured its beauty galore to the brim of our souls. It was a magnificent place with many wonderful sights and sceneries. However, today I would like to narrate a very novel experience that we had during our stay in Mauritius. It was our underwater voyage to the depth of the Indian Ocean.

Wow, marvelous as it sounds, it was indeed a journey to marvel at, observing the
aquatic ballet of colourful fish, the grandeur of marine life and the beauty of the coral reef. It was indeed an unforgettable and splendid journey for us onboard the Blue Safari Submarine. For me and ma, it was our first experience to dive deep in to the ocean onboard a submarine.

We gathered in the office of Blue Safari Submarine at around 9 am, situated in Royal Road, Grand Bay. Grand Bay is in Northern Mauritius and the office of Blue Safari Submarine was only 15 mins walk from our Hotel in Trou Aux Biches. We already had our tickets with us and on our arrival at the reception we were taken to the lobby of the office. Some more tourist passengers were also sitting there. We were then briefed about the submarine tour and we were given to fill out certain forms. They even explained about the health & safety procedures. After that they escorted us to a speed-boat which took us towards the middle of the ocean where we all landed on to the surface vessel called 'Betty of the Mascareignes' . Our guide till this portion was Caurine, a Negro lady, who was very cordial & informative. She let us know about the service of Blue Safari Submarine. It had started its activities in September 1998 and is the only operator of real submarines based in the Indian Ocean. The fleet of Blue Safari Submarine consists of two submarines, the BS 600 & BS 1100 (BS is abbreviation for Blue Safari). The passenger capacity for BS 600 was 5 + pilot & BS 1100 had a capacity for 10 + pilot. That day we were 7 passengers in our group and therefore, we were to travel by the bigger submarine, the BS 1100.

Standing on 'Betty of the Mascareignes', the surface vessel, we could catch a glimpse of the submarine which was submerged in the water. It seemed as if it was a whale whose back was leveled with the surface of the ocean. The other submarine, BS 600 was kept on board the surface vessel. Caurine briefed us about the size and technical specialties of the submarines. BS 600 was 6.5m in length, 3.4m in width & 4.2m in height whereas BS 1100 was 10.05m in length, 2.8m in width & 3.5m in height. The maximum depth & weight of BS 600 & BS 1100 were 50m & 12 tonnes and 80m & 27 tonnes respectively. The speed limit for BS 600 was 2 knots whereas BS 1100 had a speed limit of 3 knots. We were also told that the submarines were well-equipped with oxygen regulators, air regulators, oxygen analysers, ultrasonic telephones etc. The surface vessel "Betty of the Mascareignes” had two ultrasound phones with which the ground staff were communicating with the people on board the submarine.

We were then introduced to the pilot of the submarine, a white gentleman, who very cordially invited us onboard the submarine. One by one, we all moved towards the entrance of the vessel. There was a round opening at the top of the vessel and as we entered one by one, we were asked to sit a while and pose for photographs. By then I actually had borne a nerve-wrecking feeling inside my heart and as I was there posing for a snap, an evil feeling crept in to my mind, “Are they clicking us fearing some probable future peril so that those would remain as our last photographs while living?” God, what a terrible feeling but it was already too late to retreat. The fair was paid and the journey was half taken. So shedding off all those unwanted thoughts it was wise and brave to proceed adventurously.

Soon afterwards we were seated in our comfortable cushy seats onboard the submarine. We were already beneath the surface level and we could see through the windows the water level over us. I remembered the famous lines by Samuel Taylor Coleridge in, "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner",

"Water, water, everywhere,
and all the boards did shrink;
Water, water, everywhere,
Nor any drop to drink."

Remembrance of these lines was not at all soothing to my heart and it rather sent a chill down my spine. The pilot briefed us about the journey & told us that we would be diving 35 m deep and it would be a journey of approximately 40 mins. There was a very different kind of feeling inside the submarine. So far I had only read of submarines in books and papers, in science fictions or war stories and then I was inside a live submarine in person for real. It was very beautiful inside, small individual round windows all around and a big and wide frontal window. The outside view was meticulously clear.

Finally our journey towards the depth of the Indian Ocean started. It was water all around us and as we dived deeper the sunrays became gradually dimmer. The lights in and out of the submarine were then switched off as it would frighten the marine lives. As we were descending we could see the colour of the water changing as the infra red rays of the light were filtered out by the water. The transformation of the light was a mesmerizing and spectacular sight. At around 20m depth, red became brown and then violet and yellow and when it was around 30m deep yellow turned to green, then blue. Blue was the dominant colour at the deepest part of the ocean. At last our submarine touched the bottom of the ocean with a jolt. There were multi coloured fish swimming all around. We started taking photographs. It was magnificent and a marvelous picturesque story to each of the onlookers, such a unique and exhilarating experience amidst the island's underwater fauna and flora, the majestic reefs and the sprawling exotic corals and the spreading blues all around. It was so awe-inspiring to know that there was such an aesthetic world beneath the waters. Some of the fishes were swimming, some were poking there snouts into the corals as if were searching for some hidden treasure; some were still and meditative as if planning out something for the day. Oh! How wonderful it was, a world grand and opulent by itself. Suddenly we came across a strange creature. Yes, it was an octopus that was spreading out its tentacles. After remaining in that particular spot for sometime, our submarine geared ahead on its onward move. It was then that we saw the wreckage of a huge ship through our window. The pilot announced that it was the wreck of a ship, “Star Hope”, a Japanese ship that met an accident some 10 years ago. A very strange feeling crossed my mind. Unknowingly I felt sad for all those who must have lost their lives in that mid-ocean disaster. A myriad of colourful fishes were swimming in & out of that wreck, may be they have made it their home.

Finally our ascending journey started after spending more than half an hour beneath the seas. I bid the lovely fish and the other marine creatures a silent farewell. Leaving them in their colourful & jolly world, it was time for our retreat. Once again floating with the different colours of the ocean water we gradually came up. After around 20 mins, we were on the surface. One by one we disembarked from the submarine and came and sat on the surface vessel. We were offered cold drinks and also our diving certificates signed by the pilot. The photographs that were taken when we were entering the submarine were there on exhibition and also for sale for those who wanted to buy. Ma and I bought the two snaps of ours (Rs 450 each) as a memento of the life-time experience.

Apart from the two submarines, Blue Safari also runs the two-seater Sub scooters, a very unique & adventurous activity. They were officially launched on the 15th November 2005 and they hold the invention and patent rights of them. The scooters are driven by the passengers themselves using a steering wheel and accelerator pedal. Well, that doesn’t mean, however, the rider has to be a virtuoso diver or navigator to drive the sub scooter. The passengers have to seat one behind the other, the way we pillion ride on a scooter on land, and then can breathe in the natural way in a broad transparent and panoramic cupola. A guide diver accompanies during the half an hour of the underwater cruise. Each sub-scooter is attached to a life buoy on the surface for identification of location. It gives the unique experience of steering and navigating your own underwater sub scooter up to 3 meters of depth at a maximum speed of 4 knots. This two person sub scooter has a steering wheel and an accelerator pedal and as the divers dive deep in the crystal lagoon, the fish of varied colours come to eat the food right from the rider’s palms. I didn’t have a first hand experience of being on a sub scooter but I could very well feel the live thrill of being surrounded by fish all round and feeling their soft touch as they would come to nibble at the morsels from the palm of the hand. Though I felt a penchant for diving in to the oceans steering my own sub scooter I chose to board the submarine instead as Ma would not have really found it a comfortable ride. The Blue Safari staff also recommended the submarine rather than the sub scooter for someone of Ma’s age.

So that was our magical adventure in to an exotic world underneath the Indian Ocean. The picture of the fish and their spectacular jubilant world would ever remain in my mind and so will remain afresh the journey on board the Blue Safari Submarine. It was indeed a million buck’s moment that my heart would cherish ever till its last breath.