Fushi Kandu

The channel cuts the north-eastern rim of Laamu Atoll between the uninhabited island of Fushi and the island of Maabaidhoo. Laamu has only a few channels breaking its outer reef, and the tide through them can be intense, so this is a drift dive in which the tide window matters more than the route. Reef and channel diving across Laamu runs from about 5 m to beyond 30 m, and a resort operator on the atoll set a limit of 30 m and 60 minutes in 2015; the exact depth is set by the guide's briefing on the day.

The draw is the front of the channel on the incoming current, when ocean water flows in through the gap. Grey reef sharks, whitetip reef sharks and eagle rays gather there in extra large numbers, and barracuda, schools of jacks, tuna and Napoleon wrasse work the same water. On the outgoing tide that picture is not described.

Ask the guide for the tide window before you go in, since the incoming flow is what the dive depends on. Advanced Open Water is our call for this dive: the current is strong and the atoll's depths reach 30 m and beyond, and more experienced divers are the ones pointed to Laamu's northern channels for drift diving. Bring your own surface marker buoy for a drift through the channel, and stay with the group on the line the guide sets.