Easter Sunday on the Yankee Clipper Reef

 Luis borrowed one of my aluminum 80's to make the dive.  We swam on the surface a ways out, but did not get past the algae before Luis wanted to go down.  So we did.  Visibility wasn't too bad:  maybe 10 ft.  Got a  shot of a Planehead Filefish.  Then we got to the limestone shelf and visibility went to hell.  We could barely see one another.

Found a bell anchor and chain that didn't go anywhere but was quite large.   Found this little Rosy Blenny in one of the holes.

 Luis found this Lionfish, which stayed where he was while Luis got me and we both swam back. 

 Lots of Flamingo Tongues, though this was not a very good shot.

 Ran into a small Purplemouth Moray, who was very surprised to see us and didn't act as if he knew what to do.  He stopped dead still for a moment, then backed up, then came right back at me. 

 Found this little Yellow Sand Ray hiding in the sand.  As soon as I took this shot, he took off.

 This is a Florida Regal Sea Goddess.  Used to see a lot more of these than I do now. 

As we left the rocky limestone area, I spotted this Spotted Moran under a rock and got this shot.

It was a cold dive, but not impossible.  Not as cold as yesterday, but I was glad to get out of the water.  Luis ran out of air just minutes from the beach, and swam in using my alternate air source.  

Another Cold Cold day diving the Big Coral Knoll

I arranged with Katie to meet her at the beach at 10:30 am on Saturday morning for her last two dives.  In particular, we needed to make a 400 yard surface swim to the Western edge of the First Reefline.  A surface swim to avoid any excess nitrogen buildup and to the Western edge to find 35-40 feet of water so she could make her ascents.  Saturday was supposed to be a warm day, so Luis and I arranged to meet at 8:00 am to make a dive before meeting Katie.

As agreed I met Luis at 8:00 am on the beach.  We geared up and got in, but even if the surface temperature was warmer, the water was not.  In fact, the water was as cold as I have ever seen it:  64 degrees.  

 After 10 minutes in the water, the time it took to go from the swim buoy to the reefline, I was cold.  I was shivering.  Luis was having camera problems, so I asked if he wanted to go back.  He did not.  I then gave Luis the flag and I went back to call Katie and tell her not to bother.  Luis stayed in the water.

 I had set up to shot supermacro, with the 100 mm macro lens and a +10 diopter.  Got some okay shots.  I like the shot of the Neon Goby, but wasn't as excited about the Flamingo Tongue.  The Freckled Seahare to the right reminds me of some of the wilder parites from the early 70's.  Can't tell which body part is which and what its doing. 

We headed back shortly after I photographed the seahare.  I was shivering and so was Luis.  It took well over an hour to warm up and try a second dive. 

When we got in, the water temperature had risen to 66 degrees, which is still not warm, but was warmer that our first dive.

I think the guy above is a Molly Miller.  Handsome lad.  Found him on the edge of the reefline just past the sand. 

The Arrow Crab was a good shot except for the stray gray line on the left.  

 This is another shot of the Molly Miller from above. 

 This is a picture a 3 Freckled Seahares stacked together. 

 Saw lots of these White Encrusting Zoanthids, at least that's what I think they are. 

Finally found this little White Speckled Hermit Crab inhabiting a Conch Shell that was really too big for him.  He could barely carry it. 

This second dive was definitely warmer.  I didn't start shivering until after an hour and warmed up pretty quickly once we got out. 

Diving off the Yankee Clipper

Spoke to Lifeguard Bill last Sunday, who suggested that we dive off the Yankee Clipper using the South Beach parking lot.  I pointed out that the sign off Tower 19 relegated "non-motorized watersports" to the area between Towers 15 and 20.  He told me not to worry about it so long as there were two of us and we had a dive flag.  So Luis and I agreed to meet at the south beach lot.

 I think the "cells" above are White Encrusting Zoanthids, except that they are not white.

Also found and photographed a small White Speckled Hermit Crab in a medum sized Conch shell.  He didn't look big enough to move the shell, but he did just fine.  Got a shot of the little Seaweed Blenny below.




The parking lot was virtually empty when We geared up and got in.  There were no signs prohibiting diving.  We walked out quite a ways, but there was no discernable sand bar, just sand and deeper water.  We descended into algae and sand in 14 feet of water.  Since we were exploring, I was using a diopter, though I was still using the 100 mm macro lens.



Found a Bearded Fireworm in the algae and spent some time taking photos.  Difficult to get a good shot of him with all the algae around.  Hard to see all of him, something was usually in the sand.

   
Just East of the algae was a patch of sand that looked like the end of the reef.  We kept going, however and found some limestone ledges not unlike the area just East of the concrete blocks off Tower 17.    Photographed some Fire Coral on the ledge






 and a Balloonfish  in one of the holes. 






 





 Spotted a rather large Spotted Scorpionfish still on the algae, but right on the edge of the sand between the algae and the limestone shelves. 

Found a number of lobster under several large flat rocks on top of the limestone.  Five or six under each rock.

Also found a Spotted Cyphoma, a relative of the Flamingo Tongue, like the Fingerprint Cyphoma.  Haven't seen many of these this year.

The limestone shelves had numerous holes and some small swim-throughs with lots of larger fish, including some Rainbow Parrotfish like the guy to the left. 

It was an interesting dive and certainly worth exploring some more.  There is a lot of life here.

Chasing the Flag and Katie's second Open Water Dive

Luis and Katie were going to meet me on the beach at 9:00 am, early enough to get a parking spot, but later than yesterday so it might be warmer.  I got there early to make a dive shooting supermacro.

The weather was better:  bottom temperature at 70 degrees and surface temperature at about 74 degrees.  The wind was up and surf was rough, but not outrageous.  I got in and got some okay shots then felt a very strong jerk on the flag line.

 I was busy shooting so I didn't think much about it, then I reached for the reel and it wasn't there.  I surfaced, but could not see the flag anywhere, so I swam back to the beach hoping to locate it.  Luis was there and I explained my problem.  He spotted the flag and took my camera while I chased after it.  I walked along the beach until I spotted it then swam out, but the surface current was strong and I ended up chasing the flag almost to the Pelican. 

I finally caught it and swam back to the beach where Luis was watching.  We then walked back to the truck to meet with Katie.  By the time I got there, though, I was beat.  We didn't get in the water until almost 11:00 am.

We swam on the surface out to the swim buoy and then descended.  Katie had some trouble clearing her ears, but eventually made it down.

We went through the various skills and she did fine, even clearing her mask without incident. 

Saturday Morning Dive with Luis and a mid-morning dive with Katie Simcock, a new Open Water student

 The whole week has been cold.  Nonetheless, Luis and I agree to meet on the beach to make a photography dive before my Open Water student arrives.  This might not have been the smartest idea we've ever had.  It was 69 degrees in the water and only about 67 degrees on the surface. 









I found a small shell on a rock and thought I noticed it move.  It did. I investigated and found a tiny hermit crab.  I rolled the shell over and got a picture. 

 Shooting the 100 mm macro lens with a +10 diopter.  Got this nice shot of some little Blenny. 

 As you might guess, I am fascinated by the 8-armed stars of the Knobby Sea Rods. 

 I think the little guy above is a Secretary Blenny, though I am not all that confidant.  He doesn't look it here, but he is very tiny. 


Of course, the fellow to the left is a Neon Goby.

 To the right is a Christmas Tree Worm.

And this is a Freckled Seahare.











This is Katie, who got to the beach right on time for her first open water dive.  I weighted her a couple of pounds heavy at 10 pounds, but she still managed to float near the surface for much of the dive.  One dive was enough, however. 

Too Cold to Dive This Morning

Took the dog for a walk at 5:30 am.  The air temperature was 58 degrees.  By 8:00 am it had climbed to 62, but that wasn't nearly enough.  The water temperature was 69 degrees yesterday and I was shivering for the last 80 minutes of the 112 minute dive.  With the workmen still driving supports into the beach, most of the sea life has moved on.  I decided to stay home. 

Solo on the Big Coral Knoll

 This being Wednesday, I need to get in the water by 9:30 to avoid the girl guard who is such a pain in the ass about solo diving.   I get to the beach a little after 8:00 am and then read until 9:00 am, when I set up my gear and get into  I swim out past the swim buoy and try to line up on the tunnel cover.  I descend, but I am West of the blocks.  I find them and head up the reef.  Should have set up for supermacro.

 Have to try several settings to get a good exposure of the Green Razorfish.  He gets bored and leaves, so I have to chase after him.  Takes too long and while the shot is nice, there isn't much contrast and it's difficult to see the fish.

I like these little Sharpnose Puffers.  Its the painted on eyelashes that appeal to me. 

 The Gray Mid-way Rock had a number of Neon Gobys on it.  I think I like this shot the most. 

I get to the Mid-way Rock at 30 minutes.  The water temperature is 69 degrees and I start shivering at the Rock.  My breathing is erratic, as well.  Its been 11 days since I was last in the water.  I begin breathing very slowly and counting during the exercise.  I get some control.




There were a number a French, Smallmouth and White Grunts on the Perpendicular rocks, but this little Sergeant Major is the only fish who posed for me.  The rest took off.

 Found this Star Horseshoe Worm just as I got to the Knoll.  Got several shots.  This was the best. 

 Its difficult to see in this picture, but this Jawfish is holding eggs in its mouth. 

 This Blue Tang came to me for this shot. 

 Found this little Goldentail Moray Eel on the knoll and got some good shots, but the eel would not come out of the reef much more than he is in this shot. 

 This Mat Zoanthid came out nicely.

 As did this Christmas Tree Worm.  I like the placement of the strobes on this picture.










 The Yellow Fanworm in this picture was well hidden in a crack in the coral head.  It was quite a trick to get the strobe to light it.







  

What is impressive about this shot of a Flamingo Tongue is how stripped the sea rod is after the snail has grazed it. 

Once I got off the reef and over the sand on the way to the beach, several Black Sea Bass came to greet me.  One of them was biting my bubbles, but got hold of my lip.  No teeth, so he didn't draw blood, but it definitely hurt.

Dive time was 112 minutes.