Tuesday, 7 May 2019

Martha and I find and recover the plow anchor from yesterday


Martha and I left the apartment 10 minutes early only to get trapped on the Causeway Bridge, which allegedly blew a fuse trying to close. We got off the bridge at 7:25 and were in the water by 8:00 am.

Swam up one buoy North along the buoy line. We descended at 8:15 am and swam 120 degrees from that buoy, but did not spot the chain or the anchor. Went North and then West and got back to the buoy from which we started. Tried again on a 150 degree bearing from the buoy, but ended up on a large sand flat. We headed East onto some rubble and then South and I spotted the anchor chain. Turns out that was the easy part.

I put the 50-pound lift bag on the anchor and it was enough to float the anchor but not the chain. I inflated my BCD and held the chain in my arms and we swam more or less West at a depth of 10 feet. I had to drop the chain and catch my breath a few times on the way in, but we eventually swam in just a little North of the buoy off Tower 4. Got into 5 ft of water and gave Martha my fins and had her go put her gear away while I dragged the chain and then the anchor towards the beach.

I was just getting out of the water as she got back. Together we carried the anchor and chain up to the showers to clean off the sand. Then we put the anchor and chain into the truck. Surfaced at 9:15 but we didn't leave the parking lot until 10:30 am.

Dive time was 60 minutes, maximum depth was 17.7 feet and the bottom temperature was 77 degrees. My SAC was 25.57 psi/minute and my RMV was 0.66 cubic feet per minute. I was working hard.

 Monday, 6 May 2019

Martha and I photograph some kids dragging their anchor across the coral


Martha and I left the apartment shortly before 7:00 am and got to the beach about 7:20 am.  Bob Simac was just leaving and we spent a few moments catching up before we geared up.

The beach had been recently graded.  The slope to the water was steep and the sand was loose. I felt my bad leg sink in the sand as I pulled the camera out of the way and I fell. How embarrassing. I drug my gear to the water where I got back into it.  Marth and I swam out to the buoy and descended at 7:59 am

Nurse Shark (Ginglymostoma cirratum)

I got some pictures of the small reef community that has formed on the submerged portion of the buoy (above) and then Martha and I headed East to the blocks and the Wrap Around Ledge. As Martha spotted a Nurse Shark under the coral on the South West side of the Ledge, I spotted another swimming West and then turning North. I got a few good shots of that shark (on the right) but could not get a good shot of the Nurse Shark under the coral


We went across the rubble to the Rock Line and East at the Tire Rock to the Crescent Moon Rock. Headed NE and found the Staghorn Coral and got some good shots of the French Grunts and a Graysby. Went to the Sectioned Rock and headed North along the reef until we ran into a poorly set Danforth anchor being drug across the reef by two teenage boys in a small fishing boat. I surfaced to help them properly set their anchor somewhere other than in the coral, but they flipped me off. Got some shots of the anchor and the boat with its registration numbers.



Martha had told me she had 3135 psi when we geared up and now showed me that her computer registered only 1700 psi while mine showed 2600 psi. I didn't see any air leaking from her, so we cautiously continued the dive.

Flamefish (Apogon maculatus)

Martha and I continued North along the Swiss Cheese Reef to the Coral Head on top of the reef ledge. There we turned West and swam along the sand hoping to find the weight packet Mitch had dropped during his checkout dives. We didn't find it. I did find and photograph a Flamefish. (left). Martha found a 50-pound plow anchor with 41 feet of chain rhode attached.

White Grunt (Haemulon plumierii) seeking a
cleaning from a young Porkfish (Anisotremus virginicus

I spent some time trying to move the anchor and chain, but they were just too heavy. I finally decided to leave them on the reef. I surfaced and measured the bearing to the nearest buoy at 120 degrees. That was the buoy just North of the buoy off Tower 4. I hoped we could come back tomorrow with a lift bag and recover the anchor and the chain.

Also spotted a Bluestriped Grunt seeking help from a Juvenile Porkfish regarding a mouth cleaning.

White Grunt (Haemulon plumierii) seeking help
from a Juvenile French Angelfish (Pomacanthus paru)

 We found the Wrap Around Ledge and I got a shot of a White Grunt seeking a mouth cleaning from an Intermediate French Angelfish.











Martha's computer still showed her with 1000 psi. We swam past the buoy-line and surfaced with 400 psi still in her tank. Climbed out of the water very near to where I fell when we got in, but both of us managed to climb out without incident. RMV was .42 cu ft per minute on my computer and .49 cu ft per minute by my calculation. Dive was 89 minutes.

My pictures from this dive are posted at the following link:  6 May 2019_Swiss Cheese Reef

Saturday, 27 April 2019

Martha and I dive the Swiss Cheese Reef

Coral Community on the bottom of the Buoy 

Martha and I left the apartment at 7:05 am and arrived at the beach at 7:15 am. We geared up and walked into the water at 7:35 and swam to the buoy just East of Tower 4. We descended at 7:45 am and I took several pictures of the life on the submerged part of the buoy.

Bighead Searobbin (Prionotus tribulus)

Then we found the blocks and headed East to the Wrap Around Ledge. I went South to the larger coral head then headed North to the Ledge and went East again from there. Got on the sand flat and swam out to the Rock Line, Martha spotted a Bighead SeaRobin and I got some pictures. The fins are curled and the fish walks on them.

Spotted Goatfish (Pseudupeneus maculatus)

We headed North to the tire. Swam East across the sand flat to the Crescent Moon Rock where I spotted and photographed a Spotted Goatfish. Wish I could have navigated as well last Saturday with Mitch and Nicole.

Guitarfish (Rhinobatos lentiginosus)

Got up on the Rubble and headed NE to the Barrel Sponges and the Staghorn Coral. Somewhere along the line I spotted an Atlantic Guitarfish covered in sand. Got some pictures of him.

Giant Anemone (Condylactis gigantea

Got lots of pictures. We went from the staghorn coral to the Sectioned Rock. I got this shot of a Giant Anemone on the backside of the Sectioned Rock.

Blue Tang (Acanthurus coeruleus)

At the Sectioned Rock we turned and swam North along the Reef, which seemed smaller than I remembered.

Got a nice shot of a Blue Tang (left),

Yellowtail Snapper (Ocyurus chrysurus)

a Yellowtail Snapper (right),

Balloonfish (Diodon holocanthus)

a Balloonfish (left)

Threespot Damselfish (Stegastes planifrons)

and a Threespot Damselfish (right).

Sailor's Choice (Haemulon parra)

We swam to the Coral Head on the ledge of the reef and then turned West .

Got this shot of a Sailor's Choice,

Squirrelfish (Hollocentrus adscensionis)

a shy Squirrelfish,

Bluespotted Cornetfish (Fistulana tabacaria)

and a Bluespotted Cornetfish, which we seldom see anymore.

Scrawled Cowfish (Acanthostracion quadricomis) missing a tail

We turned South and swam to the Wrap Around Ledge where I got this shot of a Scrawled Cowfish. From there we went West and surfaced on the sand just past the buoy-line.  We swam in on the surface and exited the water without incident.

My pictures from this dive are posted at the following link:   27 April 2019_Swiss Cheese Reef

Saturday, 25 April 2019

Martha and I dive on the Sand Flats off Tower 4

Juvenile Cocoa Damselfish (Stegastes variabilis)

Martha and I got up early. I was late making coffee but we still got to the beach by 7:20 am. We geared up, swam to the buoy off Tower 4 and descended at 8:00 am.





Visibility was not too bad. I got a nice shot of this Juvenile Cocoa Damselfish on the right.

Hogfish (Lachnolaimus maximus)

I did get a good shot of this Hogfish on the left

Juvenile Queen Angelfish (Holacanthus ciliaris)

and this Juvenile Queen Angelfish below.

Cero (Scomberomorus regalis)

Got lucky when I glanced above us and spotted this Cero and three of his buddies cruising by.

Guitarfish (Rhinobatos lentiginosus)

While we did not find the weight packet Mitch lost, Martha did find this Guitarfish well hidden in the sand.

She also found a two-piece anchor weighing approximately 20-pounds that I carried back to the beach.  Martha held the anchor while I exited the water and dropped my fins and camera. I then went back and got the anchor from her and she exited the water with her fins and the flag.
     

My pictures from this dive are posted at the following link:25 April 2019_Sand Flats off Tower 4

Sunday, 21 April 2019

Final dive for Mitch and Nicole


Beach parking was scarce along A1A. Martha and I parked behind some handicapped vehicle that took up several feet of our space. Mitch and Nicole managed to get my usual spot by the shower at Tower 17. We geared up and got in the water.

Because we are making the ascents this morning, I wanted to swim on the surface for 20-30 minutes necessary to get to the Eastern Ledge. That way, when we made the ascents no one would have a nitrogen load great enough to create a problem.

We arrived at the Ledge and I descended at 8:25 am. I took the flag line down and tied it off to a rock, then signaled for the others to come down. Mitch got to the bottom first and we performed an alternate air source ascent. I tried to get him to use his breathing to control his buoyancy, but we were going nowhere. I signaled that he should swim up, though, and he did.  Nicole did just fine and seemed to have much better control of her buoyancy.

I suggested that Nicole come down slowly while I more quickly descended to Mitch. He and I then made a CESA to the surface in about 30-35 seconds.  Nicole and I took longer to get up according to the computer graphic.

Once each diver had successfully performed the respective ascent, I untied the flag and we swam back to the beach underwater. Visibility was good and we saw several smaller schools of French and Gray Angelfish.

Dive time was 46 minutes, maximum depth was 33.6 feet and the bottom temperature was 77 degrees. My SAC was 20.71 psi/minute and the RMV was 0.53 cubic feet per minute.

Saturday 20 April 2019

Mitch and Nicole's third and fourth dives


Mitch lost one of his weight packets on our previous dive. Martha offered to sit on the beach and let Mitch borrow her weight packet to make this dive. We worked on breathing, controlling buoyancy with breathing and maintaining good horizontal trim.

We swam to the buoy off Tower 4  to descend and this time I spotted the blocks. I turned to the East and swam out to the Wrap-Around Ledge. Headed East across the rubble to a short sand-flat but missed the Rock line. I could not find the Staghorn Coral and did not see the Sectioned Rock or anything that looked like the Swiss Cheese Reef. We did swim next to a wooden object that might have been a small rowboat or a wooden pallet, I could not tell which.

Mitch got down to 1500 psi so I turned the dive. We headed WSW to the beach. surfaced just before the buoy line and swam in on the surface, Mitch was down to 400 psi and Nicole was at 800 psi. Makes me think, again, that Mitch was overweighted and still burning too much air.

The dive time was 69 minutes, maximum depth was 24.5 feet and the bottom temperature was 77 degrees. My SAC was 19.55 psi/minute and my RMV was 0.50 cubic feet per minute. 

Saturday, 20 April 2019

Mitch and Nicoles second and third dives


On the surface, I had suggested to Nicole that she treat the mask removal and replacement skill as 3 separate and smaller skills:  1. removing the mask,   2. creating positive air pressure to keep water out of her nose and re-seating the mask, and 3. clearing the mask and securing the mask band.  We talked about it and she went through the skill in her mind. then we descended. On the bottom, she removed her mask, breathed through the regulator, then replaced her mask and cleared it. She paused and then adjusted her mask strap.

Once they each demonstrated mastery of the mask removal and replacement skill we moved on through the other skills, including removing a weight and replacing it underwater and removing the BCD and replacing it underwater. They each performed the various skills but Mitch apparently lost one of his weight packets not too long after performing that skill. Oddly, he did not notice that he had suddenly lost 6 pounds, suggesting that he might be a little heavy at 12 pounds. It was not until he was putting his gear away that he discovered he had lost one of the weight packets.

Dive time was 31 minutes, maximum depth was 23.8 feet and the bottom temperature was 77 degrees.  My SAC was 21.71 psi/minute and the RMV was a more respectable 0.46 cubic feet per minute.

Saturday, 20 April 2019

Mitch and Nicole make his first and her second dive off Tower 4


Martha and I left the house at 7:00 am and got to the beach at about 7:15 am. Mitch and Nicole arrived not long after. We geared up and entered the water. We walked through the surf and tried to properly weight them.  Added 2 pounds to Nicole's 14 pounds of weight and set Mitch up with 12 pounds. They each were weighted enough to sit on the bottom with a full tank. 

We walked over the sand bar to fin up in deeper water. We inflated our BCD orally and swam on the surface out to the buoy off Tower 4. We descended, but visibility was so bad I did not find the blocks or any of the other landmarks. I think we got set to the South. We came across a sandy area, though, and began the skills demonstrations. Removed and replaced the regulators and practiced stationary alternate air source breathing.

Nicole was nervous about taking her mask off and was unable to even attempt it on her first try. We swam along to the NE and then she tried again. She was unable to replace the mask on her face and signaled that she wanted to surface. We went up slowly to discuss the skill and her efforts. I suggested that she treat the skill as 3 smaller tasks:  remove the mask, replace and clear the mask and then set the mask strap. Unfortunately, we were on the surface for over 5 minutes, so my computer ended the first dive and treated our descent minutes later as a new dive.

Our dive time was 32 minutes, the maximum depth was 21.3 feet and the bottom temperature was 77 degrees. My SAC was 23.29 psi/minute and my RMV was 0.60 cubic feet per minute which is an all-time high. No one took pictures during this dive.

Monday, 15 April 2019

Nicole's first dive to the Eastern Ledge off Tower 17


Walked Mia and made coffee for the thermos. Martha and I then loaded the truck and headed to the beach at 7:00 am. The guy in my favorite space moved as we arrived and I got my spot. Nicole arrived right at 7:30 am. We geared up and got in the water. We walked into the surf to weight Nicole. Put 14 lbs on her and she sat on the bottom. Martha joined us and we descended in 6 ft of water and headed East along the sloping sand.

About 10 minutes into the dive we spotted a young Green Sea Turtle, who swam South across our path. I followed the turtle and Nicole and Martha followed me, but we soon lost the turtle in the poor visibility so near the beach.

We continued swimming East and found several small groups of French then Grey Angelfish. Martha spotted a young Nurse Shark under a small coral head and came and got Nicole and me to see him.  Nicole was less than thrilled. We continued to the Eastern Ledge and dropped down to 33 ft. She seemed to have no trouble equalizing her ears and was not having trouble staying down.

She was down to 1500 psi, however, so I turned the dive and we headed West to the beach.  As we swam up the ledge from 33 feet to 23 feet, Nicole became a little too light. I handed her a rock, but she did not understand that I wanted her to carry the rock and correct her positive buoyancy. Once I convinced her to carry the rock, Nicole maintained good trim and buoyancy.

We spotted a Purple-mouth Moray Eel and a Smooth Trunkfish along the way to the beach. We surfaced just past the buoy line and South of the Tower, but a surface current sent us to the North. We all exited without incident.

Our dive time was 76 minutes, our maximum depth was 32.8 feet and the bottom temperature was 77 degrees. My Surface Air Consumption rate was 18.99 psi/minute and the Residual Minute Volume was0.49 cubic feet per minute. No one took pictures.

Wednesday, 10 April 2019

Martha and I dive the Big Coral Knoll

Green Sea Turtle (Chelonia mydas) 

Martha and I left the house about 7:35 am for Tower 17 and a dive on the Big Coral Knoll and the Fish Camp Rocks without students. I took my camera. We got a good parking spot behind Tower 17 and geared up. We got in the water a little after 8:00 am swam out past the buoy line to descend at 8:35 am.

Juvenile Blackear Wrasse (Halichoeres poeyi)

Visibility was good: at least 20 ft. I had some problems with the switch on the strobe battery. The Ready Light would be on but the strobe would not fire. I think it was just a bad connection in the battery switch because I played with it and it settled down after about 20 minutes.

Juvenile Queen Angelfish (Holacanthus ciliaris)

Missed the blocks, in part because the buoy immediately to our North has been missing. Without it, I can't know where to descend. We swim due East and usually run into some landmark I recognize. This time, it was the
coral head with a head, which leads to some larger rocks and ultimately the Perpendicular Rocks. From there we sent North to the Swept Rock and were on the Knoll.

Green Sea Turtle (Chelonia mydas)

Early in the dive I spotted a young Green Turtle. Martha was on the other side of the Knoll and I couldn't get her attention without losing the turtle so I went up hoping she would see me following the turtle, but she didn't.

Striped Burrfish (Chilomycterus schoepfi)

Shot a lot of pictures and got some good shots. including these two shots of a Striped Burrfish.


Water was 77 degrees according to my computer, but I was cold. We turned the dive at 1000 psi and swam back to the beach.

Striped Burrfish (Chilomycterus schoepfi)

Dive time was 100 minutes, maximum depth was 21 feet and bottom temperature was 77 degrees. My SAC was 18.04 psi /minute and my RMV was 0.47 cubic feet per minute.

My pictures from this time are posted at the following link:  10 April 2019_Big Coral Knoll

Tuesday, 2 April 2019

Martha and I dive the Swiss Cheese Reef

Add White Grunt (Haemulon plumierii)caption

Martha and I woke up about 6:00 am. I took Mia for her walk then set up the camera. I forgot to shim the mount where the arm attaches to the strobe, so it continued to shake in the water. I also forgot to remove the lens cover when I set the camera in the housing. I discovered and fixed that problem on the beach.

Two Porkfish (Anisotremus virginicus)

Workers have closed half of the big parking lot South of Bahia Mar, but we got a great parking space just at the Northern most entrance to the lot. Workers also set up a flat plastic roadway across the beach, apparently for the Tortuga Festival coming on 12 April.

Red Grouper (Epinephelus morio) and
a Blue Tang (Acanthurus coeruleus)

Martha and I geared up and made our way across the obstacles and down to the beach about an hour after high tide. The water was cold. 75 degrees. We swam out the buoy off Tower 4and I got some pictures of small Sergeant Majors in the coral community growing on the bottom of the buoy.

Juvenile Highhat (Pareques acuminatus)

We swam East to the Wrap Around Ledge and I got some shots of the usual grunts, porkfish and surgeonfish, including the Red Grouper and Blue Tang (above).









We continued East to the Rockline and headed North to the tire. There we changed our heading to due East to the Cresent Moon Rock, which is now about buried in sand. Got on the rubble still heading East and found the Barrel Sponges so we adjusted our heading to ENE. Unfortunately, we did not spot the staghorn coral.

Bandtail Puffer (Sphoeroides spengleri)

I was having some trouble with the aperture setting, so I decided to try shooting a video. I turned the button, but I could not get the live view to appear so I could focus or compose my shots. I tried to switch back to still pictures but was unable to do so. I closed the camera up and just enjoyed the dive.
                                                                                       

Sand Diver (Synodus intermedius)

We floated across the Staghorn Coral and among the juvenile grunts, and snappers up to the sectioned rock where we turned North and followed the edge of the reef. Good visibility and could have gotten some good shots if the camera were working.

Gray Angelfish (Pomacanthus arcuatus)

We turned the dive at 1500 psi. Surfaced just past the buoy line at 99 minutes, maximum depth was 20.3 feet, bottom temperature was 75.2 degrees.  Might have made 2 hours, but I was cold and annoyed that I could not take pictures. My Surface Air Consumption rate was 17.36 psi per minute and the RMV was 0.45 cubic feet per minute.

My pictures of this dive are available at the following link: 2 April 2019_Swiss Cheese Reef

Sunday, 31 March 2019 Fish Camp Rocks

Martha and I dive the Fish Camp Rocks with Evan Lozada



Evan Lozada is Martha's favorite yoga instructor at LA Fitness. He is going on a trip to Cartagena Columbia and may spend two days diving there. He says that he is certified, but it was 10 years ago so he would like a brushup dive before he goes. We fit him for gear yesterday and invited him to come along this morning.

French Grunt (Haemulon flavolineatum)

He met us at the apartment this morning. We loaded the truck and drove to Tower 17. My favorite parking spot was taken, but that car left as we were gearing up so I moved back into the spot I wanted. We finished gearing up and headed for the water.

Spotted Trunkfish (Lactophrys bicaudalis)

We waded out to the sandbar and finned up. Evan's alternate air source began free flow and he lost a few hundred psi before I got it stopped.

Then we swam past the buoy line to descend. Evan had a little trouble descending but finally managed to get down.








At first, Evan swam with his head up, but he got more horizontal as we went along. Also waved his arms a bit, but made an effort to stop that and rely on his breathing to establish and control his buoyancy..

Bluestriped Grunt (Haemulon sciurus)

We headed East, but got set to the North by the current. I didn't recognize anything until we got to the Perpendicular Rocks, but from there we turned North and swam past the Swept Rock to the Big Coral Knoll. We continued North to the top of the Knoll, turned East to the edge of the Knoll then headed South along the coral.

Midnight Parrotfish (Scarus coelestinus)

There were very few fish, so we continued heading South to the Fish Camp Rocks, where we found a number of Grunts, Snappers and a single Midnight Parrotfish. (to the left). I got lots of pictures, but no rare species and no Turtles.

Two fighting White Grunts (Haemulon plumierii)

Did get one shot of two White Grunts fighting, but the strobe broke it up (on the right).

Spanish Grunt (Haemulon macrostomum)

Evan was cold, wearing only a 2 mm shorty wet suit. He did well on his air consumption. We turned the dive when he got to 1500 psi and we were at the Fish Camp Rocks.  We headed up to the Gray Mid-way Rock and then down the gun sight. We surfaced just West of the buoy line when he was down to 400 psi.

Juvenile Queen Angelfish (Holacanthus ciliaris)

Being cold, he raced into the beach. Martha and I swam more slowly and Evan was easily 10 minutes ahead of us when we finally exited the water. 

The dive time was 75 minutes, maximum depth was 19.8 feet, and bottom temperature was 75.2 degrees.  My SAC was 21.14 psi/minute and the RMV was 0.55 cubic feet per minute.

My pictures of the dive are available at the following link:  31 March 2019_Fish Camp Rocks