Friday, 21 June 2019 Martha and I return to the Yankee Clipper Jack

Martha and I left the apartment at 6:40 am and got to the beach by 6:05 am.  We geared up and got in the water at 7:20 am then swam to the Three Tiered Reef. I spotted a single Jack to the North but that was the only Jack I saw. We descended at 7:45 am but did not see any other Jacks. We had been on our 100-degree
bearing holding the parking lot lamp just South of the red Chimney on the Fire Station on the other side of A1A. We swam South but found rubbled reef not the Jacks, so we turned and swam North. This time we found the two single Jacks that Martha had found on an earlier dive and then we found the Jacks.








Early in the dive I found a Gaudy Nautica and Martha found a very large Cowry shell. We saw a lot of the usual Grunts and Snappers on the Jacks, but Martha also spotted a baby flounder (below) and a Spotted Cyphoma (left).

























We each swam with schools of Palometa (Trachinotus goodei).

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We also saw a Green Maray Eel (Gymnothorax funebris).


The water temperature was 80.6 degrees but there were currents that were much colder. Still managed to make a 121-minute dive to a maximum of 25.3 feet. My SAC was 15.31 psi/minute and my RMV was 0.39 cubic foot per minute.

Thursday, 13 June 2019, Martha and I dive the Swiss Cheese Reef

Martha and I headed for the beach early to dive the Swiss Cheese Reef off Tower 4. We geared up and got in the water about 7:20 am, swam to the buoy and descended at 7:36 am. Just as we got on the bottom, I spotted a large, dark cowry shell. Showed it to Martha as we swam towards the Wrap Around Ledge. She got it and carried it throughout the dive. 

 I took a number of pictures of the fish along the ledge, including the shot of the Sharpnose Puffer (Canthigaster rostrata) (above) and the Highhat (Pareques acuminatus) (left).

From the Wrap-Around Ledge we headed East to the Rock Line and went North to the tire, then we headed East again to the Crescent Moon Rock. On the rubble after the Crescent Moon Rock, I got this shot of a Scamp (Mycteroperca phenax).

From the rubble, we swam ENE to the Giant Sponges and the Staghorn Coral, where we saw lots of small Grunts and a couple of Bluespotted Coronetfish (Fistularia tabacana) (left). Went up to the Sectioned Rock and turned North to follow the reef. Went past the coral head on the ledge and the larger coral head, Continued North then made a sweeping counterclockwise turn and headed South.



Went past the coral head on the ledge and the larger coral head, Continued North then made a sweeping counterclockwise turn and headed South. Found a Gaudy Nautica and a flat sea biscuit. On the second pass by the Sectioned Rock, I got this photo of some Bluestriped Grunts (Haemulon sciurus) at the edge of the staghorn coral.

 We ended the dive by swimming due West to the beach. Took the photo on the right on our second pass by the staghorn coral.


Dive time was 131 minutes, maximum depth was 23.7 feet and the temperature was 82.4 degrees. My SAC was 14.74 psi/minute and the RMV as 0.38 cubic ft/minute by my calculation and 0.34 cu ft per my computer.