Tuesday, 11 June 2019 Dive off Tower 15 looking for the Little Coral Knoll

Martha and I left the apartment at 6:45 am and drove Federal Highway to Sunrise to A1A to get to Tower 15 by 6:55 am. Leo had advised us that the Little Coral Knoll was 130 degrees from the large rock to the NE of the buoy off Tower 15. We got in the water, swam out to the buoy, located the rock and descended at 7:27 am. A 130 degree bearing seemed about right so we headed out. As we headed out, a school of about 20 Tarpon swam by. It was majestic.

Not long after the Tarpon left, I spotted a Giant Anemone and took some pictures that included shots of some cleaner shrimp.  A while later, I was getting some pictures of Spotfin Butterflyfish when Martha came to me and wanted to show me something. I knew that if I followed her, I would never get back on the bearing, but I went anyway.





She pointed to a small shell in a nook of a rock. I reached for the shell, but it would not come out. Instead, an octopus tentacle wrapped itself around the shell. I continued to pull and the Octopus did as well. I was hoping to pull him out of the rock, but he let go to avoid that.







I gave him back the shell. Took some pictures, but this was a small octopus in a dark hole and I had no strobe. We continued on.









Got some pictures of a Long-Spine Urchin, a Queen Angelfish and a few other critters when I spotted a Green Sea Turtle who was apparently just waking up. He swam out of the way but did not seem to mind if I followed him. He just did not want me getting in front of him.








We swam into another turtle and the first one raced off so I followed the second turtle. There is really something very calming about swimming. with a turtle.









We next ran into a Scrawled Filefish (Aluterus scriptus) who was floating head down and pretending to be a floating branch. I got very close to him and took a picture. He did not move until I touched him. Then he bolted.









My last shot was of a Red Grouper (Epinephelus morio) who had been patiently watching me with the Filefish.

The Dive was 134 minutes, maximum depth of 21.8 feet and a bottom temperature of 80.6 degrees. My SAC was 14.26 psi/minute and the RMV was 0.37 cubic feet per minute. 

Sunday, 9 June 2019, Martha and I Dive on the Fish Camp Rocks

 Martha and I left the apartment at 6:30 am. We got to Tower 17 about 15 minutes later and got my favorite parking spot. We geared up and got in the water at 7:20 am, swam out near the blocks and descended at 7:43 am.






There was no current this morning. The wind was less than 3 mph and SSW. We swam to the Gray Mid-way Rock and then East to the Fish Camp Rocks.









We found the usual Bluestripe, Smallmouth, Spanish, French and Caesar gunts as well as some Yellowtail and Gray Snappers.

 A Gray Snapper near one of the several Fish Camp Rocks.

 A shy Squirrelfish (Hollocentrus adscensionis) heading into one of the several Green Coral heads that make up the Fish Camp Rocks.

 A Yellowhead Wrasse (Halichoeres gamoti) cruising through the Rocks.

A picture of the invasive Red Lionfish (Pterois volitans) perched on one of the Fish Camp Rocks.

A calm Hogfish (Lachnolaimus maximus) on the rocks.











 The same Hogfish (Lachnolaimus maximus) but now showing that it is involved











Several Tarpon (Megalops atlanticus) in a small school.

Bottom time for the dive was 122 minutes; maximum depth was 19.6 feet; my SAC was 14.21 psi/minute on an 80 Cubic foot tank and an RVM of 0.37 cubic feet/minute.

Saturday, 8 June 2019, Dive on the Yankee Clipper Jacks with Leo and Luis.

Martha and I left the apartment at 6:45 am and got to the beach early. Leo and Luis got to the beach at 7:30 am, just as they had promised. We got geared up and in the water by 8:03 am. We swam to the Three-tiered Reef in 20 minutes. I spotted two single Jacks and one group of two or three.

We descended at 8:29 am and I spotted the West end of the Jacks just moments after getting to the bottom. We split up: Leo and Luis went down the Northside of the Jacks while Martha and I went down the Southside of the Jacks.



There were many of the usual reef fish: Bluestriped, Smallmouth, Spanish and Caesar Grunts as well as the pair of French Grunts to the left settling some dispute.

There was no current to push you on or off the Jacks and lots of fish to look at and photograph. We saw small schools of smaller/younger Bar Jacks (right) and a number of older Yellow Jacks (below).

There were numerous Yellowtail and Gray Snappers










and several Juvenile Schoolmasters. (right).










We also spotted and I photographed a small school of Palometa (Trachinotus goodei). I have seen these fish before but had not had an opportunity to photograph them. These fish seemed quite at home on the Jacks and I got several shots.








Martha likes to hunt for shells and is often over the sand. This morning she found a very small Flounder in the sand about 20 feet South of the Jacks. She came and got me and my camera, but had some trouble locating the animal. We spent several minutes looking and she was successful in finding this 3 x 4 x 1/4 inch fish lying near the Eastern end of the Jacks. I took some pictures and we switched sides with Leo and Luis to swim back. 




On the way back, we spent 5 minutes swimming with a larger school of Midnight Parrotfish (Scarus coelestinus).

We also spotted a lone Nurse Shark (Ginglymostoma cirratum) (below).

Our bottom time was 120 minutes; the maximum depth was 24.3 feet; my SAC was 15.77 psi/minute and my RMV was 0.41 ft3/minute.

Tuesday, 4 June 2019 Martha and I dive the Yankee Clipper Jacks

Banded Butterflyfish (Chaetodon striatus)

Martha and I left the apartment at 6:45 am. We got to the beach by 7:00 and were in the water by 7:32 am. There was a moderate to strong North current, but Martha and I decided to dive the Clipper Jacks anyway. We deliberately entered the water to the South of our mark.

Schoolmaster (Lutjanus apodus)

The parking lot lamppost was in line with the North side of the chimney on the fire station West of A1A when I entered the water. After swimming against the North current for 15 minutes, the lamppost was right on the South end of the chimney. By the time we got to the reef some 15 minutes later, the lamppost was in line with the South end of the building. We decided to descend because it would be easier to swim North on the bottom. We were right.

Midnight Parrotfish (Scarus coelestinus)

I swam up the first tier of the three-tiered reef and spotted two lone jacks. I swam up the second tier and found a second group of four jacks.  Finally, I saw the West end of the Jacks on the third tier.

Hawksbill Sea Turtle (Eretmochelys imbricata) with a
Nurse Shark  (Ginglymostoma cirratum) in the background

 Martha stayed on the North side of the Jacks and I got on the Southside. We swam to the ENE.

Hawksbill Sea Turtle (Eretmochelys imbricata)

I spotted a Nurse Shark swimming SSE on Martha's side of the Jacks, then watched him cross over and start swimming towards me. I went down to his depth and waited for him, hoping to get a good shot of him straight on, but he turned and crossed back to the other side of the Jacks.







 I followed the Nurse Shark across the Jacks and encountered a Hawksbill turtle, who swam with me for a few minutes then turned away so I turned back and followed the Nurse Shark.

Nurse Shark  (Ginglymostoma cirratum)

I picked up the Nurse Shark again as it went to the bottom and turned North. I cut across the Jacks and managed to get ahead of it so that it turned South and headed across the Jacks one more time.

Nurse Shark  (Ginglymostoma cirratum)

I followed as best I could, but I could not keep up. I watch as the Nurse Shark swam off to the south and I got this last picture of it (right).

Queen Angelfish (Holacanthus ciliaris)

I stayed on the Southside of the Jacks and got pictures of a Queen Angelfish (left)  I also got several shots of a Porcupinefish (below)

Porcupinefish (Diodon hystrix)

   Got a good shot of an Initial Phase Blue Parrotfish (below)

Initial Phase Blue Parrotfish (Scarus coeruteus)

 

This is a good shot of Martha (right) and one of the many shells she found on this dive. While we thought it was a Horse Conch, it now appears that the shell is a True Tulip shell.

Dive time was 125 minutes, maximum depth was 25.4 feet and bottom temperature was 80.6 degrees. My SAC was 15.99 psi/minute and my RMV was 0.41 cubic feet per minute.

All of my dive picture on this dive are available for review at the following link:  4 June 2019_Yankee Clipper Jacks

Sunday 2 June 2019

Andreina's Second Open Water Dive




Martha, Andreina and I floated on the surface for 10 minutes debriefing her first dive. I expressed my concerns that Andreina could be overweighted at 10 pounds or as a new diver she might just be having trouble controlling her buoyancy with her breathing. I suggested that she pay more attention to her trim and try to stay horizontal in the water.






I also advised her that we would be making a 5-Point descent and that she should descend slowly and equalize often on the way down. I signaled to descend by holding my arm up with my thumb pointing down. Both Martha and Andreina acknowledged the signal and responded similarly. We let the air out of our BCDs and exhaled then slowly sank to the sand.






Once everyone was down and ready to go, we swam South along the reef. Before we got to the Sectioned Rock, though, we moved onto a sand flat and Andreina tried to hover again but was unable to make herself buoyant enough to lift off the bottom.








She did satisfactorily demonstrate taking her gear off and putting it back on. She kept the BCD with its integrated weights over her center of gravity but did have a little trouble getting in the shoulder straps.







She indicated that she was down to 1000 psi, so I turned the dive and we continued South to the Sectioned Rock. At the Sectioned Rock, I had her take and use my alternate air source. She held onto the back of my BCD and kept clear of my legs so I could kick against the current without kicking her and vice versa.


Notice, too, how much better her trim is on this second dive.




We traveled West past the staghorn coral, Southwest over the rubble, West over the sand flat to the Rock Line, then to the large Coral Head, where I signaled that she should finish the dive breathing from her tank using her primary regulator.





We surfaced just at the buoy line and then swam in on the surface as required by the municipal code. Evan met us at the shoreline and helped us over the step and onto the beach which was very much appreciated.

The Dive time was 46 minutes, maximum depth was 21.5 feet and the bottom temperature was 80.6 degrees. My SAC was 23.59 psi/minute and the RMV was 0.61 cubic feet per minute, though she did share my tank for approximately 1000 psi.

Martha's pictures of this second dive and our first dive can be found at the following link: 2 June 2019 OW Dive

Sunday, 2 June 2019


Open Water Dives with Andreina on the Swiss  Cheese Reef



Martha and I arrived at the beach at 6:55 am  Evan and Andreina were 10 minutes behind us. We geared up and headed to the water at about 7:40 am but went from 4 pounds to 8 pounds and then to 10 pounds before Andreina was solid on the bottom. Poor Evan had to run back to the truck to get two 5-pound weights when the two 4-pound weights were not enough.






We walked out into neck-deep water and descended. About the first thing I saw was an 8-foot long Manatee cruising nearby. I pointed and waved my arms, but Martha, who was carrying the camera, was busy untangling the flag-line. Andreina saw the Manatee but froze in place thinking it was a shark. By the time we got everything sorted out, the Manatee was long gone.







We headed out to the buoy following the slope of the sandy bottom. Andriena did fine equalizing due in part to her comfort staying close to the bottom. She breathed naturally and in a relaxed manner. Her ears cleared themselves.

But she also swam at about a 45-degree angle, suggesting that she was over-weighted.



When the sand flattened out and we got to the reef I could see that we were North of the buoy. The current had set us well North and we had to swim South. I got lucky and spotted the blocks, so we just started our dive from there and headed East to the Wrap Around Ledge.

Martha got a picture of a Nurse Shark swimming on the Ledge.




Went along the ledge looking at all the fish, then swam to the large Coral Head to the South. Looked for an octopus who often hangs out there, but did not find him this morning. swam back onto the rubble and onto the sand flat where











Andriena dropped one of her two weight packets. Martha handed me the weight packet and I inserted it into her BCD. I checked the other weight and it was slid into the pocket but not into the plastic holder for the locking device.









We headed North to the tire and East to the
Crescent Moon Rock. Went onto the rubble and turned WNW to find the Barrel Sponges and the staghorn coral. Andreina was often well above me and with an upward component to her trim.

Yellow Sand Ray (Urolophus jamaicensis)

Swam over the coral with all of the smaller Jacks swarming on top. Swam up to the Sectioned Rock then turned North and drifted with the current along the reef. Went on the closest sand flat West of the reef and went through the skills.









Andreina was excellent in removing and replacing her mask. Slowly.  Deliberately. Calmly. She was unable to hover, indicating again that she was too heavy. We surfaced to end the dive.

Dive time was 38 minutes, maximum depth was
20.2 ft and the bottom temperature was 80.6 degrees. My SAC was 18.47 and my Residual Minute Volume was 0.48 cubic feet per minute.

Martha's picture of this and our second dive can be found at the following link: 2 June 2019 OW Dive