CIRCLING DIEGO GARCIA (sort of)

Our trip takes us into the Indian Ocean, an ocean renowned for it’s wide window span to the southerly swells of the Southern ocean. A quick look at WaveWatch.com and I see we have some mid-sized groundswell on tap for around May 19.

Martin Daly’s “Indies Trader” is the vehicle for this SURFERmag.com, quasi-real time, photo gallery from the Indian Ocean. A boatload of surfers including O’Neill’s Nathan Carroll, Pat Gadauskas, Alek Parker as well as North San Diego Counties Andrew LoGreco and Austin Ware will all be put to the editorial litmus test as I take photos and videos and upload them (fingers crossed) to this SURFERmag.com photo gallery along the journey. Legendary lensman Jeff Divine is with us to shoot images for SURFER magazine. Special thanks to our hosts: Captain Martin Daly and Anthony Marcotti of IndiesTrader.com.

Stay tuned to SURFERmag.com to view the images and read the captions as I send them both via satellite (technology and good karma willing) to the hard working staff at SURFER. FYI: Probably shooting to upload 10 images to SURFERmag.com on an every-other-day basis.

DIEGO GARCIA INFO COURTESY of US NAVY:
Diego Garcia, British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT) is located at 7 Degrees South Latitude, off the tip of India. Diego Garcia is exclusively a military reservation located on a small host country atoll in the Chagos Archipelago. The heavily vegetated island has an area of 6,720 acres. The average elevation is four feet above sea level. The maximum elevation is 22 feet. This island is horseshoe shaped with a perimeter of approximately 40 miles.

Diego Garcia is a living coral atoll, the coral reefs and island are made up of trillions of living organisms. Once an ancient volcano, all that is left is the atoll surrounding a central lagoon. Thanks to its tropical location and heavy rainfall (about 100 inches per year), the island is heavily vegetated with coconut palm and ironwood trees.

From the air, Diego Garcia takes on the rough outline of a footprint on the ocean surface -- thus its nickname "Footprint of Freedom". The island stretches 15 miles, north to south, and about 35 miles from tip to tip of its horseshoe shape. The interior lagoon is 13 miles in length and 6.5 miles at its widest point. The island has an area of 6,720 acres (roughly 10.5 square miles) with an average natural elevation of four feet above sea level. Lagoon depths vary from 60 to 100 feet with coral heads in all areas.

Shallow reefs surround the island on the ocean side and are scattered inside the lagoon. As you might suspect, the waters surrounding Diego Garcia are home to a vast variety of sea life (over 700 species have been recorded so far). Some of the world's finest fishing is at our doorstep.

Wildlife on the island consists mainly of coconut, land, and warrior crabs; small lizards and geckos; a variety of tropical birds and many insects.

We also share the island with a large number of feral chickens. There is also a substantial number of feral donkeys in the restricted part of the island. Our British hosts and those Americans who have come before you have made every effort to maintain the ecological integrity of Diego Garcia. As a result -- other than swimming fish -- all life forms, including live shell fish, are protected by British law.

Entry into Diego Garcia is restricted, requiring area clearance by CO Navy Support Facility, Diego Garcia for all military and civilian personnel.