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.