by Paci | April 21
The weird looking fish which inspired a PADI Mola Specialty course
How many underwater encounters with marine creatures can give rise to statements like:
“I’ve not felt this emotional since the birth of my daughter.”
“That was the best experience of my life with my clothes on!”
Every diver has a bucket list of things to see underwater and top spot is normally a manta, a whaleshark or a hammerhead. I was no different, but my ‘must see’ happened to be a sunfish. Stories of these ocean giants coming up from the depths in far flung places like the Galapagos had me captivated, but I had no idea where else in the world sunfish hung out…
It was on an adventure to Bali and the Gili islands, searching out teaching opportunities in my new role as a PADI Instructor back in 2011, that I came across the Nusa Islands (Lembongan, Ceningan and Penida), just 30 mins from Bali. Here I found, was a chance to see the elusive ‘mola mola’. I soon realised that the mola mola was otherwise known as the ocean sunfish and I quickly signed up for the dive trip. As a seasoned diver, I guessed my chances of actually seeing a sunfish were pretty low, but to my joy and excitement, I was lucky enough to catch a glimpse of a mola swimming in the blue at Crystal Bay!
Before I knew it, I was teaching scuba diving in the small island of Nusa Lembongan and having regular encounters with my new favourite fish. But it didn’t take me long to understand that not a lot was known about this mysterious behemoth..
I had plenty of questions for the local dive guides who had been diving with molas for years:
Me: “Why do we see more molas when the water is cold?”
Guide: “Ah, because molas like cold water!”
Me: “Then why do we see them at the surface, warming from the sun’s rays?”
Me: “When’s the best time to see molas?”
Guide: “Four days after full moon.”
Me: “Why’s that, because we last saw a couple three days before full moon?”
It was obvious I would have to do a bit of research in order to understand more about this strange fish. After watching a TED talk by mola expert Tierney Thys, I started gaining a greater insight as to why we saw molas around Nusa Penida, when we saw them and how they behaved. From my time spent teaching diving in the UK, I knew it was possible to write your own PADI Specialty, so thought why not share my newly found knowledge of this awesome creature with other divers? After contacting Tierney, I spent the next few months collecting data and learning new fascinating facts about molas. The next step was to put it into a format which met the requirements of a PADI Specialty. Before long, I was off to the publishers to have shiny new manuals printed!
Mola at Crystal Bay, Nusa Penida
Since 2012 I have taught dozens of Mola Mola Awareness Specialty courses and had some fantastic encounters to share with my dive buddies. A couple stand out:
Marc was a diver from Amsterdam, who like me, had sunfish at the top of his bucket list. Upon surfacing after seeing 4 molas at Blue Corner, straight-faced and with a deadpan expression, it was Marc who stated “That was the best experience of my life with my clothes on!”
Mario had travelled to Bali from Italy, specifically to see a sunfish (no pressure there then!). He thought that taking the Mola Mola Specialty would give him the best chance, as he would be diving 1-1 with his instructor. Mario was experienced at diving in currents, which enabled us to get to the drop off wall at Crystal Bay, when the conditions were let’s say, ‘not ideal’. After hooking on to the rocky slop at the top of the drop off, for a good 15 mins and with deco approaching, we were rewarded with a mola swimming slowly past, no more than 3 meters away. It was the first time I’ve seen a diver cry with joy underwater before, but I was still surprised to hear “I’ve not felt this emotional since the birth of my daughter.”
We are lucky enough to see some amazing marine life around the Nusa Islands, which occupy many a diver’s bucket list. But even after numerous encounters, nothing quite beats the magic of a mola coming up from the depths…
Want to learn more about the biggest bony fish in the ocean?
Check out the PADI Mola Mola Awareness Course – exclusive to Tamarind Divers!