20200819_Eastern Ledge off Tower 19

 Martha and I got up at 6:00 am and drove down to Tower 19 on the Fort Lauderdale beach. No on else was coming, so we geared up and swam out to the buoy line. We began our dive by descending at 7:31 am, swimming under the Vessel Exclusion Buoy and swimming East towards the ledge. 

We then swam East over some rubble and small rocks. About 24 minutes into the dive I found two Caribbean Reef Squid (Sepioteuthis sepiodea). They swam with us for several minutes. I followed and photographed them.

Shortly after the squids left, a large Gray Angelfish (Pomacanthus arcuatus) began to follow me. 

She was curious and I got the shot below of her about to bite one of my bubbles. 

We came to small patches of staghorn coral, but nothing like I remember from years ago when Nova University managed a project to grow staghorn corals to replant at other places on the beach. We came to the end of the reef about 45 minutes into the dive.

We swam down a 10 foot drop off to 32 feet and Martha quickly spotted a large Eyed Flounder (Bothus ocellatus). I took some pictures and we moved North along the bottom of the ledge. The Flounder remained still even when I got quite close. 

 At 55 minutes, we came back up on the top of the reef and headed West to the beach. We separated as we swam: Martha going North looking for shells and me holding a 270 degree bearing. 

We swam this way calmly for 34 minutes  when Martha suddenly grabbed me and pointed to a Spotted Eagle Ray (Aetobatus narinari) who was to the North of us but traveling East. I swam and took several pictures, though only three of them are useful. 

It took a while to settle down after chasing the ray, then I photographed the Smooth Trunkfish (Lactophrys triqueter) below. 

We surfaced inside the buoy line six minutes later and in 6 feet of water  Our Dive Time was 112 minutes at a maximum depth of 32.2 feet. My Actual Consumption was 25.05 psi/minute; my Surface Air Consumption was 15.90 psi/minute and the Residual Minute Volume was .41 cubic feet per minute. 

20200817_Ledge at Tower 18

Martha and I drove to the beach at 7:30 am to meet with Chris, who came about 7:45 am. We first changed the o-ring in his tank, which reminded me that I need to replace the o-rings in several of my tanks. We talked about the dive yesterday and the importance of good buoyancy control. I got face to face with him and tried to get him to take a breath and rise in the water column, but he couldn't. 

We swam back to the beach and exchanged the 3 lb weights Chris carried for 2 lb weights which helped him control his buoyancy. We swam back out past the buoy line and descended at 8:02 am.

I then had him swim out to the Eastern Ledge on a 90 degree bearing and we swam with him, though I had to get him to slow down and focus on his buoyancy. He held the bearing well, but there were moments when his focus wandered.

Along the way, we swam with a small Green Sea Turtle (Chelonia mydas) who swam with us for 5 or 10 minutes. 

We also encountered several Spotted Goatfish (Pseudupeneus maculatus).

I got a shot of this  Ocean Surgeonfish (Acanthurus bahianus)

and this  Blue Angelfish (Holacanthus bermudensis). We were now 35 minutes into the dive and we went over the ledge and down to 34 feet. We swam North along the Ledge for a few minutes. Martha and I had short fill tanks, and were getting down to 1500 psi, so we used our buoyancy control to rise up onto the reef and head West towards the beach.

As we left the bottom I got this shot of a Bar Jack (Caranx ruber) who swam by just to see what we were doing.  

Above us in the water column was a small school of Ballyhoo (Hemiramphus brasiliensis). I took several shots, but I was shooting into the sun and most of the shots did not turn out well. 

We swam West and got inside the buoy line as we surfaced at 9:27 am and swam to the beach. 

Dive time was 85 minutes at a maximum depth of 34 feet. My Actual Consumption rate was 25.16 psi/minute; my Surface Air Consumption rate was 16.28 and the Residual Minute Volume was .42 cubic feet per minute. 

20200816_Yankee Clipper Jacks

I called Chris at 6:00 am, but got his voice mail. I left a message that we would be parked in the big lot and diving Tower 4. When we arrived at 7:00 am, the water was smooth and glassy so we parked behind Tower 2 and dove the Yankee Clipper Jacks. I got no response from Chris, so Martha and I got in the water about 7:20 am and began our swim to the Jacks. 

As we got to the Three-Tiered Reef, Martha saw a Manta Ray (with "horns") come out of the water and splash back down. This was about 7:45 am and we descended at 7:55 am. I discovered that I had forgotten to turn my air on, so Martha came over and helped me out. I could tilt my tank and reach the knob, but I was not able to open the valve. She did.

I did get this picture of a Bluestriped Grunt (Haemulon sciurus). 

Martha also spotted a large Cowry shell and zipped by me to pick it up just as I reached for it. Later, she told me she spotted the shell as I was taking pictures and that she held back until she would not interfere with the pictures.

We stayed on the North side of the Jacks and swam along the Jacks to the NE end. Martha searched for shells and took pictures like this Blue Angelfish (Holacanthus bermudensis). 

 

like this Nurse Shark (Ginglymostoma cirratum)' 

like this Cero (Scomberomorus regalis), 

Like this Porcupinefish (Diodon hystrix),

like these Atlantic Spadefish (Chaetodipterus faber) 

Like these Caesar Grunts (Haemulon carbonarium) 

Like these two French Grunt (Haemulon flavolineatum) working out their disagreement

and like this  Schoolmaster (Lutjanus apodus). 

                      took the photograph below as we looked back at I took the photograph below as                                             we looked back at the beach on our swim out to the Three-Tiered Reef.

                                

I took the photograph below as we looked back at the beach on our swim out to the Three-Tiered Reef.

 Lots of fish. Lots of pictures. Even a few free divers. We headed back to the beach at 1300 psi and surfaced inside the buoy line with 229 psi each.  

20200812_Swiss Cheese Reef

 Martha and I left the apartment at 6:35 am and got to the beach by 6:45 am. We geared up and were in the water at 7:00 am swimming to the buoy line and descending at 7:19 am just North of the buoy pin. We headed East to the Wrap Around Ledge then East to the Rock Line where we turned North to the tire. From the Tire we went East to the Crescent Moon Rock and then up on the rubble swimming North to the Staghorn Coral. We swam along with a small group of Porkfish (Anisotremus virginicus).

We found some staghorn coral, but not the patch we wanted. I did get this nice picture of a Bluestriped Grunt (Hamulon sciurus).  

The current likely took us farther North than we needed to go. I started swimming more East than North. The area was interesting, but not what we were looking for. After another ten minutes I went to the surface and we were well North of the Mayan Hotel. 

Found some bigger coral heads and this Queen Angelfish (Holacanthus ciliaris) but they were probably North of the Swiss Cheese Reef. 

We decided to head South and finally ran into some familiar territory.  We were East of the Swiss Cheese Reef and almost to its Southern end. Indeed, we swam to the West and found the Sectioned Rock. 

We continued West and found the Staghorn Coral and this  Spotfin Butterflyfish (Chaetodon ocellatus). Then we headed SW and got to the sand flat and found the Crescent Moon Rock. From there it was an easy swim in to the beach. 

Got this picture of a Spotted Goatfish (Pseudupeneus maculatus) on the sand.

We surfaced in 8 feet of water and heard thunder from a dark cloud bank to the North. We hurried to  make our way to the Jeep. 

Our dive time was 107 minutes at a maximum depth of 18.6 feet. My AC was 23.07 psi/minute; my SAC was 15.86 psi/minute and my RMV was 

.41 cubic feet per minute. 

20200811_SE of buoy pin off Tower 4

Woke up early and loaded the hoops and other dive gear into the jeep. Martha got up soon after and we headed for the beach in time for sunrise. Chris got to the beach a little later. We all geared up and swam to the buoy pin to descend at 7:40 am. 

 Chris carried the hoops into the water and out to a sand flat SW of the buoy's pin. We swam North across the sand flat and found a place to set up the hoops. I use hula hoops tied together with a zip tie so that one hoop is on top of the other.

Chris tries to move slowly through the top hoop of the first pair using his breathing to control his buoyancy. Once he clears that hoop, he swims to a second pair of hoops where he comes to a complete stop level with the higher of the two hoops. He then lowers himself to the level of the lower hoop by changing his buoyancy and then gently swims slowly through that hoop. From there he swims to the first pair of hoops, stops at the lower level and floats up using his buoyancy and then begins again. 

The goal is for the student to relax and lie flat so he does not push excessive water in front of him. He should hold his hands still and use only a gentle kick to propel himself horizontally. He should use only his breathing to move himself vertically in the water column. Like most students Chris initially has trouble going slowly. He wants to build speed and coast through the hoop. We want Chris to learn to hover and maintain his position in the water column so he does not stir up silt or disturb the bottom. After 30 minutes he gets the idea, but will need more practice to master the skill.

I have Chris lead us on a 45 degree bearing up to the Staghorn Coral, where we take a break and swim with the various fish there: White Grunts (Haemulon plumierii), French Grunts (Haemulon flavolineatum), Smallmouth Grunt (Haemulon chrysargyreum), and  Bluestriped Grunt (Haemulon sciurus). He does not hold the bearing well and needs to correct our bearing as we see the coral to our East. 

We also found a  Red Lionfish (Pterois volitans). These fish are new to the reef and have no local predators to keep them in check. Divers are encouraged to kill these fish to protect the other populations already settled on the reef. 

Chris was low on air so we headed for the beach. We surfaced inside of the vessel exclusion buoy line and swam in on the surface. 

Our dive time was 70 minutes at a maximum depth of 18.1 feet. My A/C was 31.89 psi/minute; SAC was 22.87 psi/minute and the Residual Minute Volume was .59 cubic feet per minute. I was burning through air. 

20200810_Swiss Cheese Reef

Martha and I got up a little later this morning. We got to the parking lot behind Tower 4 about 7:20 am, geared up and got in the water about 7:40 and swam to the buoy line to descend at 7:50 am.

Martha spotted a little Nurse Shark (Ginglymostoma cirratum)  under the ledge near the blocks and I got some pictures. 
  

I also found a Juvenile Highhat (Pareques acuminatus) in the tire on the Rock Line. 

Made a pleasant and slow swim through the Wrap Around Ledge and over the rubble past the Giant Barrel Sponges to the Staghorn Coral. Saw lots of Grunts and some Jacks on the way by,  below.

including this White Grunt (Haemulon plumierii).

From the Staghorn Coral, we swam East to the Sectioned Rock and then turned north to follow the Swiss Cheese Reef. 

 Got this shot of a Striped Parrotfish (Scarus iserti). 

and this picture of a Lane Snapper (Lutjanus synagris)

We went East past the end of the reef, then headed South along a sandy pathway just East of the Reef. Turned West a little early, but found the Sectioned Rock and the Staghorn Coral

I got this shot of a Cero (Scomberomorus regalis). 

and this shsot of a Yellow Jack (Caranx bartholomaei).

 Also spotted a Red Lionfish in the rumble on the way to the Rock Line sand flat.  

Killed some time at the Wrap Around Ledge but then swam West and surfaced inside the buoy line.

Dive Time was 125 minutes at a maximum depth of 18.7 feet. My A/C was 21.44 psi/minute; my SAC was 14.74 psi/minute and the RMV was .38 cubic feet per minute. 

 

20200808_East Ledge off Tower 17

Martha and I got to the beach at 6:48 am. Luis was right behind us at 7:03 am. We geared up and swam out past the buoy line to the blocks, where we descended at 7:30 am. We swam on a 90 degree bearing. Came to the gunsight but apparently got set well to the North as we ended up at the single green coral head near the Perpendicular Rocks. We went to the Swept Rock and then the Big Coral Knoll. 

We just crossed the Knoll but did not circle it. Instead we headed South to the Fish Camp Rocks where I got this shot of a Spotted Goatfish (Pseudupeneus maculatus). We spent about 15 minutes exploring the Rocks then headed East to the Eastern Ledge. We got to the Ledge about 50 minutes into the dive at 8:24 am. 

There is a 35 foot drop off at the Eastern Ledge    and for 30 minutes we swam North over the sand and as we swam along parallel to the ledge, I got this shot of a Butter Hamlet (Hypoplectrus unicolor). It was 80 minutes into the dive and I had only 1100 psi in my tank. I turned the dive and we headed West.  

Martha and I swam up the dropoff and got into 20 feet of water. Martha swam to me and I followed her back towards the Ledge where she had spotted a Sharptail Eel (Myrichthys breviceps). 

I also got a shot of these three Atlantic Spadefish (Chaetodipterus faber) below.  Martha and I swam West for approximately 10 minutes and came to the Southern most of the Fish Camp Rocks. I had about 800 psi left at that time, which was plenty of air to make it to the beach.

We swam on the surface to the beach and easily exited the water. Luis swam underwater and towed the flag in.

Our dive time was 112 minutes at a maximum depth of 35.2 feet. My A/C was 23.89 psi/minute; my SAC was 14.60 psi/minute and my RMV was .38 cubic feet/minute.