Jack, Leo and I dive the Ledge of Turtles

Although DOT has shut down most of the parking spots North of Sunrise, there are 5 spots still available behind Tower 20. Jack and I got to the beach and there was only 1 car parked near the beach entrance.  We parked behind them.  I texted Leo regarding to let him know where we were. We started to gear up and get in the water.  Between the darkness and the poor visibility, I could not see the bottom from the surface.  We descended where I thought the Rock Pile would be, but it wasn't and we didn't find it swimming North.  I went up and saw that we were way North, and we went back down and swam South.  This time, we found the Rock Pile.  From there, we headed up the reef at 120 degrees.  I spotted the large round coral head that sits SW of Turtle Rock, and we headed up to the Large Rock and the Turtle Rock, then to the coral head and then to the Ledge.  No turtles.  Lots of fish.

Jack and I hung out on the Ledge with the fish and I took pictures.  Got this shot of a Flamefish.

 This French Grunt

 This Redband Parrotfish,

This Rock Hind

This shot of four Shortfin Sweepers

 and this shot of a Spanish Grunt.






Jack did well on his air usage, considering this was his 5th dive.  Dive time was 122 minutes; my SAC rate was 14.35 psi/minute; and my RMV was 0.37 ft3/minute.

Leo was on the beach to meet us as we got out.  He was eager to make a dive.  I would have been happy to stop at one, but Jack seemed interested, too, so we geared up and made a second dive.  I did much better at finding the Rock Pile this time and headed up the reef to the Large Rock and the Turtle Rock.  Then to the Ledge.  Leo and I spent some time taking photos, then we headed over to Shark's Rock and Shark's Rocks East where we got a few pictures, including this Grouper looking fish I can't otherwise identify.

 Also got this shot of a Yellowhead Wrasse,

and this shot of a Yellowline Arrow Crab.









Then we headed back to the Ledge.



 I went South from the Ledge and found some Caribbean Reef Squid and got some pictures, including this shot.

Then I looked up and Leo and Jack were gone.  I had the flag, so I wasn't sure how I could find them, but I headed for the Large Rock and they were there.  We went down the reef together.  Nice dive and I did a little better on air.

Dive time was 130 minutes;  my SAC rate was 13.83 psi/minute; my RMV was 0.36 ft3/minute.