Located in this tiny archipelago is where my story starts.

It was in the very early eighties that I took myself off to visit Kuramathi in a slow moving Dhoni ( local boat). I was based then on Ihuru. Once we had left North Male Atoll the open seas threw us around. I really enjoyed this as I threw out a fishing line and wrapped it round my big toe while reading a book. Now and then I would feel a tug on the line and the boat boys would help me pull up various catches, all was well with the world!

Coming into the Rasdhoo Atoll, which apart from Kuramathi only had one other resort. Rasdhoo island is small with a school, a shop and simple homes.The island is very long and thin with small trails lined with palm tree’s towering above. Simple accommodation, no air condition just fans. Fantastic diving, the home of the Hammerhead Sharks! 

An early morning dive about 6am. Rainer Huth was the Dive master supreme. He had been in the islands for many years, travelling from the top to the bottom, almost 500 miles.  He understood the local people very well and had a very high standing with Universal Enterprises their Chairman Mr M. U. Maniku  who opened  the very first Resort in the Maldives in 1972.
Suffice to say over the years Rainer and I became very close friends. When I took the Maldives into the World Travel Mart in London he would come over annually for this event and give me a hand.  There was no dive question he could not answer!  I was already diving
Kuramathi's simple thatched bar and sandy floor had a special permit on the wall.

Special Permit

To have any of the drinks you first had to qualify! See them close by! My time was short in early days but I never stopped moving from island to island...Mantas came first, not a deep dive and very graceful, plenty of them. Hammerhead quite another matter!  An early dive, deep and to be honest I was terrified! The visibility was not brilliant and this great ugly flat face appeared out of the gloom which sent me flying up a.s.a.p.

© F. Jack Jackson

Never but never to be repeated! However as far as I can now remember, BOTH Cocktails were well worth the dives. Sadly I had to move on with my travels. In all my many years diving I seen many turtles, and have even caught a Barracuda.

As I said, this was all a very very long time ago.
Rainer sadly has passed away. His input in the early days of the Maldive Tourism was incredible.

Rainer Huth