Summer flew by in the blink of an eye, and before I knew it, the wind had been blowing from the north the whole time.

But the air and water temperatures are still high!

That’s Okinawa for you, but today we’re taking it easy in the Kerama Islands!

And off to the Kerama Islands for a manta shift at Old Drift!

We split up and headed out.

First up, the laid-back Kerama team

Air Temp: 32°C Water Temp: 28°C Visibility: 20–25 m

① Karama No. 2 ② Dragon Lady ③ Aligar South

Looking at the dive sites, you can really feel the season steadily advancing…

Since these are spots suited for north winds, once you reach the dive site, you’re greeted by a peaceful expanse of ocean.

We played with sea turtles and had a blast with Nemo and Dory’s little ones.

That’s the quintessential Okinawan ocean experience right there.

Meanwhile, the drift team was in for “Manta Month.”

Air Temp: 32°C Water Temp: 28°C Visibility: 25 m

① Shimo-Sone ② Uchizan Reef ③ rippyou

First, we went to Shimo-Sone to hunt for a giant manta ray… but the one we were waiting for never showed up.

With no signs of them and the current picking up, we played it safe and moved to Uchizan Reef—only to have a southern manta ray unexpectedly appear at Shimozone...

However, we spotted a southern manta ray at our final stop, Tachishiro, and even spotted another individual off the south coast of Kuroshima!

I’m glad we managed to make up for it in the end...

Tomorrow, we’re heading out on an expedition to Emmons.