Diving the Big Coral Knoll on New Years plus 1

      Early on the morning of December 31st, Ms. Gillian kicked me to the curb.  A few hours later the condo manager called to tell me that he would tow my truck if he ever saw it in her parking lot again.  It all had something to do with lickin' and pokin', which were things I understood made her happy before that morning, but which apparently on that morning were not very good things at all.  I didn't dive on that last day of 2013.  Neither did I feel like diving on the first day of 2014.  By the second day of the new year, however, I was ready.

      At Tower 17, the wind was out of the Northeast at about 10 mph.  The NOAA forecast was for 6 to 7 foot waves, but we had 2-3 foot waves on the beach.  I had no problem at all getting out, even with the camera.  Once past the breakers, it was hard work to swim in the chop, but just hard, not difficult and certainly not dangerous.  I swam out past the swim buoy and descended close to the blocks.  I couldn't see them until I got to the bottom, but spotted them nearby.  Swam up the gunsight and to the Cigar Rock , but missed the Gray mid-way rock.  Spotted the big rocks North of the cut-out coral head and turned North towards the Perpendicular Rocks and the Knoll.  I was having a hard time staying calm.  Lot of surge.  Lot of current. I focused on my breathing and controlling my buoyancy.  I had some trouble breathing down.  I kept wanting to fill my lungs with every breath.  Still not a bad dive.  Eight minutes shy of two hours.  Got some pictures. No turtles.

 Found this Smooth Trunkfish just before the Perpendicular Rocks.  Just below and behind his eye you can see where a spear has entered him.  I couldn't get a shot of the other side, but there was a big chunk out of him.  I can't imagine why anyone but a budding serial killer might try to spear one of these guys.

 Found this juvenile French Angelfish just past the Rocks.  He was intrigued by my strobe.

 As I came up to the Swept Rock, this small school of Porkfish swam past me.

 Just as I got onto the Knoll, I spotted this Orange Spotted Filefish.  These guys are normally very shy, but this fellow just raised his spike and gave me the evil eye.

 This Sand diver opened his mouth quite wide, as if he were yawning.  I got this picture as he was shutting it.

I was hoping to find some of these Dusky Jawfish incubating eggs.  The males hold the eggs in their mouths and will frequently come out into a bit of current to aerate them.  No luck this dive.

 Lifted a rock and found this Reticulated Brittle Star underneath.  

Spotted this Juvenile Yellowhead Wrasse as I was leaving the Knoll.

Luis and I dive the Big Coral Knoll

     When I pull up the NOAA coastal forecast on the internet, I tend to forget that the forecast is aimed at big ships and that "coastal" is up to 3 miles out.  The predictions are usually much worse than the weather off our little stretch of beach, and they have been particularly discouraging lately.  I have been spending a lot of time with Ms. Gillian, so I have not been inclined to dash off to the beach for almost a week.  Luis wants to get in the water, however, and I oblige.

       We meet at Tower 17 and take our time gearing up.  The surf is not inviting.  We get in easily enough, however, even with cameras, and swim out towards the blocks.  the water is extremely choppy, so before we even get to the swim buoy, we decide to descend.  Unfortunately, visibility over the sand is terrible and I am lost most of the way out.  Twenty minutes into the dive, I recognize the Green Mountainous Coral just SW of the Perpendicular Rocks, and  finally know where I am.  We head for the Perpendicular Rocks and then to the Knoll.

I get this shot of a Spotted Goatfish just before spotting the Green Mountainous Coral.

 There was a small school of Sergeant Majors on the South edge of the Knoll and I got this shot of one of those fellows.

 Not long after, I came upon this Foureye Butterflyfish.

As we were rounding the SE corner of the Knoll, I got this shot of a Redband Parrotfish.  It sort of looks like he is smiling for the camera.

There are numerous patches of this Brown Encrusting Octopus Sponge around the Knoll and this one looked especially tangled up to me, so I got a shot.

This is the first Red-lipped Blenny I have seen.  Took me a while to identify it, but I'm pretty certain now that it is a Red-lipped Blenny.

 I got this shot of a Sand Diver just as we left the Knoll heading out to the English Garden area.

 Spotted this Scrawled Filefish on the North side of the Knoll as we returned from the English Garden.

 I first spotted this eel in the Perpendicular Rocks as we located the Knoll.  He had been tucked into the rocks, however and I couldn't get a good shot.  On the way back to the beach, we went by the Perpendicular Rocks again and he was out.  I think he is a Goldentail Moray Eel, but I am used to seeing Goldentails with much finer spots.  Humann and DeLoach show a picture of a Goldentail from Dominica, however, that looks very much like this little fellow.  

     Luis and I made it back to the beach and managed to walk up the soft sand without falling on our cameras.  The dive was a full two hours and while the water is getting cooler, it is not miserable yet.  

Solo Dive on the Big Coral Knoll

Very little wind on the beach this morning and no surf to speak of.  I got in about 7:45 am and swam out to the blocks.  I could easily see the bottom and descended right on the blocks.  Spotted this little Blue Goby as I got onto the reef heading up the gun sight to the Cigar Rock.

I spent some time at the Cigar Rock looking for smaller life to photograph.  I spotted a juvenile Queen Angelfish but he stayed in the rock and I could not get a good shot.  I swam up to the Gray Mid-way Rock and turned North towards the Perpendicular Rocks, where I got this shot of a Bluestriped Grunt.

 I got this shot of a Blue Tang just past the Swept Rock as I was heading onto the Knoll.

Found a Hawksbill Sea Turtle on the North side of the Knoll and swam with him for several minutes.

Found this not so little crab in the rocks just South of the Knoll.  Tried to coax him out for a better shot, but this was as good as I could get.

This little Sharpnose Puffer was also just South of the Knoll in some rocks.  I like the eyeliner she wears.  Whenever I see a woman with made up eyes and smile and think of these little puffers.







This Rock Hind has taken up residence on the South East corner of the Knoll.  She's very shy, but we are getting to know one another some.








On the way back down the reef and almost to the blocks, I spotted a pair of these Round Scad.

Nice dive.  Little over two hours in water still in the mid to high 70's, but you can tell that winter is coming.

Me and the Mk ii dive the Big Coral Knoll

Windy with rough surf, but not bad on the reef.  Visibility was poor with lots of particles in the water, but I took my Mk ii and got some shots.  Swam out to the blocks to descend.  Couldn't see the bottom, but found the blocks once I got there.  Then missed all the other landmarks in the bad visibility.


Ended up at the Perpendicular Rocks, where I got a shot of a juvenile Queen Angelfish.

Found this red-tipped Bearded Fire Worm. Couldn't figure out at first where it began and where it ended. Looks a bit like it was eating itself.  

Like how crisp the focus is on this Sergeant Major. The red sponge background was a bonus, as well.

 Most of the time these juvenile Blueheads bounce around so erratically that I can't get a picture, but this little guy just hung in the water and let me take his portrait.

This White Grunt was surprised to see anyone in the water, I think.  He just watched me.  

  This little French Grunt spiked himself up, but stayed in place while I got my shot.

After a couple of turns around the Knoll, I headed SW to the beach, where I fought my way through the surf and undertow to get on solid sand without wrecking my camera.  Made it.

Jamie McOwen's second Open Water dive

     Jamie and Fine did come diving today.  They met me at the apartment and we drove to the beach, geared up and got in.  There was a strong wind out of the SE and moderate surf, but not much current.  The tide was coming in, so I did not try to find the blocks.  Instead, we headed out slightly North of East and ran into the Big Coral Knoll at the 20 minute mark.

     Fine was better weighted for this dive.  Hard to know if she would have been light once she breathed out the bulk of her tank, but she was fine for the hour we were under.

     We spotted a small Green Turtle on the Southern edge of the Knoll, but I misunderstood Fine's signal regarding her air and we turned around with 2000 psi in her and Jamie's tanks.  We headed South to the Fish Camp Rocks, then West to the beach.  I saw a large crab in the sand, but could not get anyone's attention.  Not a bad dive, but not a great dive, either.

     I tried to get Jamie to make a second dive today so we could get the skills out of the way, but Fine was cold and wasn't going to make another dive.  That was that.

Cameraless Solo Dive on the Big Coral Knoll

     Tried to get Jamie and Fine to come out, but they were beat after yesterday.  Cold, too.  Bottom temperature was 70 degrees yesterday, but only 69 today.  

     There was no current and good visibility.  I worked on my air, but a SAC of .44 ft3/minute was the best I could do.  I went through the gunsight and up to the Gray Mid-way Rock, then over to the Big Coral Knoll, to the English Garden, then back to the Knoll and finally back to the beach.  Nice dive.  No camera.  Bad breathing.  I was light and carrying a rock to stay down.

Jamie McOwen's first Open Water dive

     Jamie is an athletic young guy who lives with family just up the road from my apartment.  Paul Albert met him at some bar and got my number to give to him.  We have been going over the classroom material and suffered through a couple of pool sessions last week.  His German girlfriend, Fine, is in town and has asked to make this dive with us.

     The ocean was flat, but there was a strong South surface current and an even stronger South current on the bottom.  We struggled, especially Fine, who was underweighted.  Jamie, in contrast, seemed heavy.

     We descended just past the sand bar and then stayed on the bottom as we slowly made our way to the beginning of the reef, where we turned back.  Jamie was at 1500 psi when we turned, but Fine must have been well under that.  She came up well before the beach with 700 psi. I sucked down air way too fast, as well, fighting the current, but I still had almost 2000 psi when we got to the truck.

     We did see a turtle, but no camera means no pictures.  Boo.    

Luis and I miss the Jacks off the Yankee Clipper

     Still no camera, but I probably would not have taken it on this dive anyway.  Too rough and tumble.

     The current was strong and the water was rough.  Luis and I swam out from the rocks for 15 minutes then went down.  We headed due East to the sand past the shale reef, and then tried swimming South to find the Jacks.  We swam for several minutes with no luck, so we turned and went North.  I think now that we either were not far enough East to find the Jacks or we did not go far enough South.  In any event, we swam North for quite a wile.  I surfaced to see where we were and we were past the catamarans.  We swam East a bit before heading back to the beach.  We found some trenches and holes, but never did see the Jacks.  

Two Solo Dives on the Yankee Clipper Jacks

     I had filled tanks on Sunday and gotten some very good fills.  I was surprised then on Wednesday when I had geared up to see a psi of 2868.  I was expecting about 3200.  Undaunted, I swam out on the surface for 20 minutes from the rocks and descended.  I headed South for several minutes and then spotted the Jacks. I swam along the length of the Jacks and then back, continuing West to the beach.  Despite the short fill, I logged a two hour and three minute dive.  Warm water.  Okay visibility.  Nice dive time, considering, but just not the same without a camera.

     On Thursday, I slept in and did not get to the beach until about 8:30 am.  I raced to get gear on and get in the water.  I was afraid that the lifeguards might take the towers a little earlier at South Beach, but they didn't.  I had plenty of time and swam on the surface for about 20 minutes before I descended.

     I could not see the Jacks from the surface, but decided I was probably too far North.  I descended and searched and, as I suspected, I found them to the South.  I followed the Jacks East, then heard a boat close by.  I disconnected the flag line and stayed low.  This boat was close.  The noise stopped, so I forgot about it, then swam right under the boat, which had anchored to the North of the Jacks, but was just to the South of them when I encountered it.

     No Nurse Sharks today.  Water seemed colder, though calmer.  Killed time getting off the reef, but forgot about the algae section and barely had enough air to get to the beach.  The dive was two hours and thirty-one minutes.

Diving the Yankee Clipper with Luis and still without a camera

I met Luis in the South Beach parking lot.  We geared up and hiked across the sand to the beach.  We walked in a bit North of the Life Guard Tower, but well South of the volley ball court.

We descended shortly after getting in, and we swam due East over algae.  for quite a while.  I was watching a school of Porkfish and then saw a small octopus fly by me.  The algae eventually gave way to sand and then some shale and reef.  We kept heading East. but I think we drifted North, too.  Along the way I picked up a small shark sucker who spooked me when he tried to fasten onto my neck.

We found a couple of Euro Jacks by themselves on the shale reef.  Then we found a few more.  Then we found a small pile.  Just as we came to the pile, I came face to face with a small Nurse Shark who came through a Sea Plume just as I approached.  I went down and the nurse shark went over me, but I think both of us were quite startled by the encounter.

Luis and I kept swimming East and found a long stretch of Euro Jacks about 10 feet high.   We swam until we were low on air, but we never did find the end of this wall of Jacks.  I went up and decided we were due East of the fire house, so maybe we can find this again.

Would have been really nice to have a camera.  Lots of nurse sharks.  Lots of fish.  Visibility was not great, but there were pictures there, and I didn't get them.