Solo on the Fish Camp Rocks

I got to the beach a little before 7:00 am.  The fellow I had met in the Shop who so badly wanted to dive, was no where to be found.  I suited up and got in.  The surf was a little rough but manageable.

  I descended just past the swim buoy.  I had a +10 diopter on the 100 mm macro lens, so it was a supermacro dive.   

There was a lot of surge, however, and holding and focusing the camera was very difficult.  Spent the whole dive swimming out to the Fish Camp Rocks,  Got some good shots, but lots of backscatter.

Took off the +10 diopter for the second dive.  Just too hard to shoot.  Couldn't hold the camera steady in the surge.

  Swam out to the reef before descending and swam out to the Fish Camp Rocks, again.  Finished by swimming over to the Big Coral Knoll and then heading back to the beach.

Spotted this Smooth Trunkfish on the sand on the way back in.  Not a bad shot, but could have been better. 

Dianne Completes the Rescue Exercises and We Dive the Big Coral Knoll

Dianne and I got to the beach and Ray Lawson pulled up behind me.  I got him a tank and he made the dive with us.  Dianne wanted to complete the rescue exercises. 

She started with the missing diver exercise.  Ray took the flag and stayed with her.  She watched me go under, but came out too far East to find me.  By the time she found me, I would have flat lined. 

We then swam back closer to the swim buoy and I was her victim for the rescue scenario.  She found me on the bottom, determined I was unresponsive and brought me to the surface. 

She then blew up my BCD to make be buoyant, but she had to do so manually and it was a problem.  She checked for breathing, looked for assistance then administered 2 slow rescue breaths and towed me in while providing one breath every 5 seconds. 

Ray wanted to make the second dive with us, so we returned to the water and headed to the Fish Camp Rocks.  We descended on the reef at the concrete blocks and headed out at 90 degrees.  I took my camer and was shooting with the 100 mm macro lens. 

 We got set to the North and ended up on the Big Coral Knoll, where I shot many of these pictures. 

Ray left for the Dania Swap Meet and Dianne and I made one last dive.  We were both a little cold and certainly tired. 

We got out quickly and swam to the reef where we descended near the concrete blocks.  That was about the last thing I recognized.

I was shooting macro and looking for the Fish Camp Rocks, but never saw them.  I apparently drifted North as we came up well North of where I thought we were. 

 

 It was an interesting dive and I got some nice pictures, including the following two pictures of a flounder, which Dianne had not seen before.  

Rescue Class on the Beach

We went through the Missing Diver exercise.  Todd had problems and did not complete the exercise.  I was the victim for Leo and he found me at 9:38:27, not quite flat lined, but close.  Dianne confused the signals and did not complete the exercise.  

After the exercise, we worked through the in-water resusitation procedures with Leo and Dianne.  We also practiced exits. 

Then we went through the rescue scenario.  Dianne was the unresponsive victim on the bottom and Leo found her, brought her up and began administering rescue breaths.

 We were out past the swim buoy and he had to swim her back to the sand bar all the while simulating a rescue breath every 5 seconds.  It was tiring, but he did it. 

 The he played the victim for Dianne, but it did not go so well. 

 She found him and held his regulator in place as she arranged to bring him to the surface. 

She started up and was doing fine, but then got a cramp in her leg.  

I got a picture of her after she dropped Leo and grabbed her own cramping leg.  I went to help her and got her to the surface, then had to find Leo and let him know that the drill was over. 

Another Morning on the Big Coral Knoll

Excited by the shots I got with the +10 diopter, I tried a +2 and +4 together.  This allowed me better control of the camera and picture composition in the surge and current. 

It seemed also to have reduced the backscatter, though that may simply have been a functions of better visibility and my own decision to delete those pictures of which I could not be proud. 

 Could also be strobe placement.  Unfortunately, it is difficult to isolate the reason that these photos have so little backscatter. 

 I shot a number of shots of Knobby Sea Rods.  This one was the best. 

 I also shot a number of shots of Flamingo Tongues.  Can't seem to capture the animal, just the shell.

 This picture of a Sailfin Blenny came out so much better than the ones I took yesterday.  There is hardly any backscatter in the picture. 

 I like the texture of these Smooth Flower Corals.

I was getting more and more chilled and began shivering after an hour, so I went back to the beach.  The Lifeguards were coming soon, so I had a short surface interval and got back in. 

I was cold almost immediately upon getting in for my second dive, and shivering after half an hour. 

 I'm not sure how this Sea Pearl got embedded in the coral, but I like it. 

 This Saddled Blenny looks sad to me, but the picture is clear and tight.  Shortly after taking the shot, I went back to the beach.  I was just too cold. 

Solo Diving on the Big Coral Knoll

 Still windy, but the seas calmed down some.  I decided to shoot supermacro and loaded a +10 diopter on the 100 mm macro lens. 

 Got some nice shots of a Sailfin Blenny, but couldn't get him fully unfurled and had way too much backscatter in the picture.

 Did better with a Neon Goby on some Great Star Coral.  Problem here was holding the camera in the surge.

 The picture of the Amphipod was only partly the lens and diopter.  I also cropped the picture.  A lot.

I took the diopter off for the second dive.  It was just too hard to hold and focus the shot in the surge.    

Got some shots of a litttle green turtle on the Big Coral Knoll and a Hawskbill came by about 20 minutes later. 

 Found a Goldentail Moray Eel amoung the coral and got some nice shots of a Yellow Fanworm, but could have used the diopter on those shots. 

 Got a nice close up of some Great Star Coral.

 Also got a few shots of a Yellowtail Damselfish, but those shots are hardly closeups.  Headed West, back to the beach. 

Alone on the Big Coral Knoll

Yesterday was rough and I was tired, but today was just as rough.  East wind gusting to 25 knots.  Large breakers on the sand bar and poor visibility even out on the reef.

  I got some nice shots of a Seaweed Blenny

a Juvenile French Grunt

and Mat Zoanthid.  

I spent time tracking a Smooth Trunkfish, but just got some regular shots, no face-on shots.  

Found a group of Sergeant Majors and a Bluehead.

I was cold at the end of the dive, however, and decided against making a second dive.