Diving the Fish Camp Rocks with Dianne

The lovely Dianne wanted to go diving this afternoon. We decided to wait until after the lifeguards quit for the day and maybe a few of the tourists had taken their cars to their hotel so we could find a place to park. Weekends are difficult. When we come up from our dives, cars are already circling and people are asking "Are you leaving?"

We went to the shop to fill tanks and Billy advised me that my Zuma Pro was in. So I dive it this afternoon. It seems a little flimsy at the truck when I am getting my shoulder through the straps and lifting it onto my back. In the water, though, it is light and effortless, so light that I had to add 2 pounds of weight. There is no back plate, but the straps cinch down tightly and the tank does not move. I liked this BCD aat the start of the dive and even more by the end. Get one.

After fawning over the Zuma Pro, Dianne and I entered in front of the Tower and swam out at 100 degrees, but we descended before reaching the reef and we got set by a North running current. I saw none of my landmarks on the way out. Still, I headed East, but we ended up at the Big Coral Knoll. I found a Hawksbill Turtle and got some shots. There was a lot of sand and material in the water, so I got a lot of backscatter. I was shooting wide-angle: the 28-135mm lens set on 70mm. I usually shoot the 100 mm macro lens. I'm usually close enough to my subject with that lens that I don't have a backscatter problem. But I miss the big picture shots and I have really been wanting a good shot of the Fish Camp Rocks.

From the Knoll, we swam South to the Fish Camp Rocks. I found and photographed a Clinging Crab, but it's just not the same in wide-angle. I also tried another video of a hermit crab pulling its shell onto its back. Still way to bouncy. Need a tripod.

We then swam to the Furry Rock. I tried to come back to the Fish Camp Rocks, but ended up East of the Big Coral Knoll. Just happened to recognize the area as we swam by. Swam back to the Fish Camp Rocks, then West to the beach. Fun dive as the sun was setting and the water was getting darker.