10 days with Chip

Chip Scarlett was on our vessel Tonga Tango for the past 10 days. Chip has been an underwater photographer for many years, spanning thousands of dives and ocean encounters. Chip also works hard to preserve and protect the ocean environment, he is on the board of Shark Savers and has recently published a great book on sharks called "Loving Sharks".
Chip was joined on this trip by his wife Susan and Niki and Martin, 2 of the worlds top free divers. Niki and Martin amazed us with their ability to go to 30m without fins on, Sione our staff member learnt heaps of valuable information on better free diving technique.
This was one of Chip's first whale trips, the weather started off on the trip as blowy and blustery, however the swims were short but managed to capture a few pictures. The weather for the second week was much better and allowed us to see many different behaviours both above and below the surface.

Singers were a favourite for the group as this allowed for the best and most consistent swims. Being able to feel, hear and see the singer is an encounter no one should pass up. So for the crew we were looking for singers all over the place. One day we spent some time with a wonderful mother and calf, who became quite settled and allowed some fantastic swims, though they preferred the sun to be behind them which makes capturing the image that much harder.

It was a great trip with wonderful, talented and inspiring guests. Here are a selection of the photos that Chip took.