Solo Dive to the Big Coral Knoll

I got to the beach just a few minutes before 9:00 am.  I geared up and got in, then swam out to the blocks.  Didn't seem like much of a current, but I saw nothing I recognized after the blocks until I got to Irish Thighs,

where I shot this picture of a Seaweed Blenny. Then I got lost again until I found the Gray Mid-way Rock.

Shot this picture of a Juvenile Highhat at the Gray Mid-way Rock.

Shot these two pictures of the same Hogfish just past the Swept Rock.  In the picture to the left, the fish has mottled coloring, which it often assumes when rooting on the bottom.  In the picture below, the fish displays the white coloring it usually assumes when swimming above the reef.

This picture of a Spotted Goatfish using its two barbels to search for food.

This is a Bluestriped Grunt.

And this is a picture of a Juvenile Stoplight Parrotfish.



My air usage was okay until 45 minutes into the dive and I went from .35 to .45 ft3.  By 72 minutes I was shivering uncontrollably and my RVM was .55 to .6 ft3.  Tough Dive.

Solo Diving on the Ledge of Turtles

The sky was overcast and threatened rain, but I geared up and got in, swam to the reef and spotted the Rock Pile.  I descended and headed out at 120 degrees.  After swimming slowly for about 400 psi, I looked to the NE and spotted the three small corals next to the Sea Plume about 20 feet away, and swam over.  I stopped at the Turtle Rock and the Mid-way Rock, then headed to the Ledge, where I hung out with the fish.  Only spotted one Grunt fight and wasn't able to get a picture.

Got some good shots of the Red Hind I have been seeing for the past couple of weeks, including this one of the Hind being cleaned by a couple of Neon Gobys.

Got this picture of a Squirrelfish

and this picture of a Yellowhead Wrasse.

I got lots of pictures of various Yellowtail Damselfish, but really like this picture of a Golden Variation Yellowtail Damselfish looking head-on.

This Spanish Grunt was hanging around the top of the larger of the two Coral Heads on the East edge of the Ledge.

Check out this picture of a Redband Parrotfish chewing the reef.

This Scrawled Filefish hung around with me for a while.

This little Purplemouth Moray Eel was not coming out from under the coral head.





 My air usage was good at the beginning of the dive, but after 30 minutes I started getting cold, then began shivering and I just could not salvage a 2 hour dive out of what should have been a 130 minute dive.

Leo and I dive with Lennon on the Big Coral Knoll

Captain Robb Shannon elected to run errands rather than dive with us on this dive. I took my camera set up for wide-angle shooting. I was hoping to get a picture of Lennon swimming beside a Green or maybe a Hawksbill Sea Turtle.

Leo, Shannon and I got in the water and swam out to where the concrete blocks should have been, but we never found them.




We did, however, find a small Green Sea Turtle.  I tried to get a picture of Lennon with the turtle, but Lennon didn't quite understand what I wanted from him.

For a time, I swam along on one side of the turtle and encouraged Lennon to swim on the other so I could get his picture, but Leo started shooting the turtle and herded it into me.  Just wasn't meant to be. I gave up and went looking for the Knoll.

The first landmark I recognized was the helmut head formation SW of the Knoll. Then I saw the Swept Rock and got this shot of Lennon coming around the Rock.

Then we were on the Knoll.  I didn't see any more turtles, however.

After touring the Knoll and the English Garden to the North, we swam over to the Perpendicular Rocks, where I got this picture of Lennon hovering.

From the Perpendicular Rocks, we headed SE and found the Fish Camp Rocks.

Then we swam over to the Columnar Coral

I got this shot of Lennon coming around the Coral.











From the Columnar Coral, we swam back to the Fish Camp Rocks and I got this shot of the SE most Rocks. The shot below is similar, but is three separate shots stitched together into a composite photo. The advantage to the composite is that it has more detail and can be blown up larger without losing clarity.  Problem was the haze in the water.  

From the Fish Camp Rocks, we headed just slightly North of West to get to the beach.  By then, I was shivering really badly. Leo urged us to swim at about 13 ft, where it was warmer.  I did for a while, but I felt exposed being that far above the bottom.  When we came off the reef, I went back down near the sand where the boats couldn't get me. We ended the dive just short of an hour and a half.

Luis and I Dive the Eastern Ledge off Tower 17

When I woke up this morning, rain was pouring down.  Leo decided not to come and sent me an email to that effect.  I called Luis, and he was eager to dive, so I loaded up and headed for the beach.  By the time I got there, the wind was out of the SE and building. There was about a 3 ft surf breaking erratically.  The ocean was choppy and there were white caps even past the breakers.

Luis and I decided to go to the Eastern Ledge, but to leave our cameras behind where they would be safe.  It's a hazard getting in and out of rough surf with a camera, but as it turned out, the ocean was much calmer at depth. Even so, there were not a lot of good shots that presented themselves during the dive. We got set to the North as we swam out, but ended up at the Fish Camp Rocks, where Luis found a little black crab with white pinchers that could have been a great shot, but, as I think about it, might have needed a diopter to get that shot. From the Fish Camp Rocks, we headed East to the Ledge, then North along the Ledge.  We turned and headed Northwest and came out just North of the Tower.

Getting out was a chore, as it often is.  We decided not to make a second dive.    

Solo Diving on the Ledge of Turtles

It was a little chilly when I got to the beach.  I read the Kindle for as long as I could, then geared up and got in before the Lifeguards took to their Towers and protected me from myself based on their arrogance and their civil service experience.  I descended early and swam to the reef underwater to look for the Rock Pile.  I had to surface to see that I'd been set way North.  I headed out at 120 degrees after allowing for the current.

Despite how calm and quiet the ocean was, visibility was poor.  The water was milky and  you couldn't see more than 15 ft clearly.  The current set me a bit North of the Turtle Rock, but I was close enough to spot it when I went by.  Went to the Ledge and hung out with the fish, taking pictures as unobtrusively as I could.

Found this Red Hind on the flat just South of the Ledge. He let me follow him around and get several pictures.

This Initial Phase Princess Parrotfish was much more timid and would race away as soon as I took the first picture.

This Striped Parrotfish was also camera shy.

I saw a lot of the French Grunts fighting, or at least I think it is combative behavior.  It's hard to tell with fish. No punches thrown just a shoving match.  Neither participant looks worse off at the finish, either.

Lots of Squirrelfish and I saw them chase one another but I never saw them go mouth to mouth like the French Grunts.










This guy just looks like he is ready for a fight.



As before, I headed to the beach at 1000 psi.  I stayed on the reef until I got to 350 psi and then headed across the sand.  I took a lot of pictures, maybe too many considering I did a second dive.  I surfaced after 126 minutes.  I was cold, but it was warm in the sun.

Solo Dive off the Pelican Grand

After an hour on the surface, I had warmed up considerably and decided to make a second dive. I was afraid I would be instantly cold and that the dive would be much less than 2 hours.  I am so glad I decided to try despite my rather low expectations.  The water was one degree warmer according to the computer and that single degree to 75 degrees made a lot of difference.  I was warm the whole dive.

I swam out past the swim buoy in front of the Pelican and then went down and headed ENE.  While this wasn't exactly uncharted territory, it has been at least 2 years since I have dived here and nothing looked familiar.

Early in the dive I spotted and photographed this Slippery Dick.

Pretty sure this little fella is a Blenny, but otherwise I cannot identify it.

This Townsend Angelfish is a hybrid:  the offspring of a Blue Angelfish and a Queen Angelfish.  It has the blue crown of the Queen Angelfish but the body of a Blue Angelfish.

This is a Yellowline Arrow Crab.  If you look closely, you can spot its two eyes on either side of the central stalk and the mouth lower and more centered.

This Giant Anemone had peculiarly large bulbs at the tips of its tentacles and was also hosting two Spotted Cleaner Shrimp.

We frequently see Flamingo Tongues on the first reef, but there are two other close relatives present there as well.  This is the Fingerprint Cyphoma.  The other is a Spotted Cyphoma.

This is a Sheepshead Porgy and is often found along the edge of the reef on the sand.

This, of course, is a Green Sea Turtle, which can be found often along the reef.






I ended up just South of Tower 20, but the current helped me swim to the entrance.  Total dive time was 2 hours and 13 minutes.  Not bad for a second dive.

Solo Diving on the Ledge of Turtles

Got to the beach and had two separate individuals approach me to talk about diving.  One fellow cannot dive for medical reasons, but wanted to know a bit about it.  The other would like to dive but is afraid of sharks.  I spoke with each at length and gave them a business card.  Maybe something will come of it.

I geared up and got in the water about 9:20.  I swam over to the reef and found the Rock Pile.  I descended and headed out at 120 degrees, but ended up North and East of my mark.  I did not recognize anything specifically, but knew I was off and went SSW to the Ledge.

Lots of fighting among the French Grunts, but I had a hard time shooting it.

They spooked when I headed for them and it seemed like I was always on the wrong end of the Ledge for the best shot.

As I hovered over the coral, I noticed a single tentacle reaching out from underneath and searching for something.  I got a couple of shots, but I do not recognize the tentacle and never got a look at the animal.

I also got a shot of this Giant Anemone and you can see the animals mouth puckered up.

I like this shot of a Spanish Grunt,

this Scrawled Filefish, and

this Hogfish.









When I first got to the Ledge, I thought I might get to 2 hours, but I was cold and burned more gas at the end of the dive than at the beginning. I surfaced at 113 minutes.  Still, its better than yesterday.

Solo Dive to the Fish Camp Rocks

This morning was much nicer than yesterday, but it was still cool.  I geared up, including wearing the Lavacore suit, and got in.  The water felt warmer, but my computer says it was not.  I swam out to the concrete blocks and descended.  Went up the gunsight to the Mid-Way Rock and then continued East to the Fish Camp Rocks.  Lots of fish.

Just West of Irish Thighs I spotted this Warty Sea Rod.

Also found this Red-Tipped Fireworm.












This Spotted Goatfish swam to me, apparently looking for a place to sleep.

This Black Margate swam under one of the Mountainous Coral.

This Atlantic Spadefish and two others swam over the Rocks.

Check out the coloring on this Sharpnose Puffer.

Lots of Midnight Parrotfish at the Rocks.

I did better on my air usage getting a RMV rate of .45 ft3/ min.  Total time was 111 minutes.  Yesterday was .48 ft3/min and 97 minutes.  Like yesterday, I dropped on the blocks and headed up the gunsight to the cigar rock and then the Gray Mid-way rock.  This time, though, I continued heading East up to the Fish Camp Rocks.