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The Crossing leg in
Brazil was truly a wonderful and
memorable experience. The Indies arrived
to the Archipelago of Fernando de
Noronha straight from Cabo Verde, while
we, from Reef Check Brazil, surfers and
TV crew, joined them by plane, after a
one-hour flight over the Atlantic Ocean.
It was so beautiful to see her from the
air, swaying gently in the harbour's
waters, so colourful amongst the white
sails, a pink sunset just beginning. It
was just like you imagine the opening of
a great adventure. Captain Jock and his
crew did not measure efforts to make us
feel welcome and we all really felt at
home aboard the Indies. We all felt
extremely safe and comfortable at all
times (even too much, as I had to drag
Sergio "Bili" Resende, our
surfer and oceanographer, out of the
boat, otherwise he would have helped to
sail the Indies to Central America). Our
trip mates, the surfers James and Jihad,
the TV crew and Tony, the surf
photographer, were just the best company
you could get. I knew all about the
participation of the surfers in the reef
check surveys but was really touching to
watch the boys spontaneous statements
about the importance of the reefs for
all, for humanity, for life, and finally
for surf, in Brazil's most popular
sports channel.
The sites and reef check
Our story had two settings: an
island that is a popular tourist
destination and a forbidden Atoll, so
unique and fragile that even surfing is
considered a threat. Our first stop, a
group of islands of volcanic origin,
where the calmness of crystalline waters
is only disturbed by the giant swell
that comes at the same period every year…of
course there are also the tourists, and
the divers, from very experienced to
first timers, all seeking clear, calm
waters, and excellent diving structure.
Atlantis Divers, a local operator, gave
us all the support for the dives, big
thank to you guys. Tourists get around
the island driving small
"buggies", adapted vehicles
that can be a challenge until you get
used to them. Fabiana Cava and Tâmara
D'Amico, of our reef check team, were
experts in driving up and down the hills
that circle the main island. In the
island it is all about diving until the
swell arrives, then, the only thing to
do is to sit and watch the surfers. Big,
powerful waves crashing in the sandy
beaches. Oh, there are the dolphins, of
course. Every morning, hundreds of
spinner dolphins came from the open sea
to rest inside the bay of the dolphins
until the afternoon. |
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And then there are the corals, the reef
fishes, the colourful sponges, the rays
and sharks, and lots of turtles, which
feed and nest in the area. We found in
some locations, one of the highest coral
cover in Brazil. Between depths of 10 to
20 meters, we estimated an average 30 to
35% coral cover, good result for our
reefs in Brazil. These results will now
be incorporated to island management
plans, in order to protect these spots
from land sedimentation and other
impacts. For reef check, we dived in
some areas where recreational diving is
not allowed, places where fish are
casual about human beings. Abundance of
large groupers, however, was very low,
indicating that in spite of the fish
ban, these populations did not recover,
or perhaps, impact outside of the
protected area is too high to be
counteracted. And we were joined
underwater by the dolphins! Diving with
dolphins is also not allowed in the
Park, but this restriction applies only
for the human side of the encounter, as
there is no rule for whom the dolphins
can dive with. And they picked us.
Needless to say we all went berserk,
dropped our transects and slates and
went spinning too. From Noronha we
sailed to an Atoll, a strict no-take
area, where only research is allowed.
The managers were irreducible, no
surfing, no public use of any kind. Even
under this condition we went, to reef
check the area for the first time and to
see the forbidden waves, breaking around
the ring. We arrived at night, and at
the sunrise the Atoll was there, waiting
for us, a perfect ring of white sand and
coral surrounded by clear, oceanic
water. We entered the ring in the
dinghy, and when we jumped in the water
we could not believe in our eyes.…proving
that reef check has picked the right
indicators, in the most pristine reef
site in Brazil. We saw within a few
meters a giant grouper, ten to twelve
big snappers, two huge rays lying in the
bottom, an eagle ray swimming by, and a
few lobsters sticking their antennae out
of their crevices. Unfortunately we
could not start reef checking straight
away as the tide current was so strong
that we had to hang to ropes dangling
from the back of the dinghy. And there
we stayed, for quite a while, no words,
just wonder. Later, as the tide stopped,
we were able to survey this and other
areas in the Atoll.
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For Reef Check Brazil it was an
excellent opportunity to complement the
surveys done on the tourist island, and
to do a first preliminary assessment of
the work conditions in this Atoll. Due
to time and budget restrictions we were
not going to include the Atoll in our
preliminary surveys. The importance of
surveying this Atoll on a permanent
basis is now undisputable, as we were
able to include the results in the
report of our pilot study, which
included a plan for permanent monitoring
of Brazilian reefs.
Though moments, good lessons
At this Atoll, park ranger's attitude
went beyond the natural, overzealous
behaviour you can expect in such a
unique special place. We were not
allowed to walk in the sand cay
unaccompanied, and even under vigilance,
had to stick together as a group of
convicts.
I guess it is always hard to explain new
ideas, like the idea to surf to protect
the reefs, and that even without
surfing, just to see the waves can be
enough, and that reef check was not,
after all, just an excuse. Anyway, in
the end it was very educational for all
of us. The story on Fluir magazine
(major surfing magazine in Brazil) about
the Atoll and the quest to save the
coral reefs was perfect, we all had
wonderful moments and results. I am sure
that The Crossing and its spirit helped
to start changing a few views and can do
even more from now on. |
Best moments, good memories
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Nature was gentle. The weather was the
perfect mixture of big swell and good
surf (some of the bigger waves in the
season) and flat spells when we did a
lot of dives. The spinner dolphins came
to jump around the boat often and even
came and dived with us while we were
doing Reef Check. The kids from the
local school visited the boat. The
school received a surfboard that
belonged to Tom Carroll that was given
to the kid who wrote the best essay
about the Crossing. At the Atoll it was
flat in the first day and the swell came
in the last afternoon, just to show
where the waves break there. We got
water so clear it was invisible. Some of
Brazil's best reef scientists, Mauro
Maida, Clovis Castro and Debora Pires
left their busy schedules and joined us
for part of the trip. On the last day in
Rocas, it was Debora´s, birthday, and
after a day full of strong emotions,
(with captain Jock elected the hero of
the season) we finished with a "feijoada",
a typical Brazilian meal to celebrate
good moments and long lasting
friendships. James Santos and Tony
Fleury, did their dive checkout in Rocas,
with our dive master Leo Francini, while
surveying for reef check in waters with
over 50 meters visibility. James said
that now he knows what to do when there
are no waves to surf.
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We sailed back still dreaming about the
ring of bright water.
I have only to thank Quiksilver for the
opportunity, on behalf of all our reef
check team, we had a great time, we got
good data, we both teached and learned
all together. Thank you.
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