20200909_Yankee Clipper Jacks

Martha and I walked the dog, packed the Jeep and left for the beach at 6:35 am. I forgot to get a new mask strap last night so I used my spare mask, which is clear. I had some trouble framing and focusing photographs, but I worked through it. The sun did not rise until 7:04 am and there were plenty of clouds to block the sun during the dive, so I kept the ISO at 800 - 1000 for most of the dive. 

We got our gear on and locked up the Jeep at about 7:00 am and walked into the calm and quiet water  to swim out to the Jacks. It took a few minutes to notice that there was a strong North current. I kicked as hard as I could and thought I should have made progress to the South but I would look over at the lamp and chimney and see that I had not. We would have been better off starting off at Tower 2, but we didn't. Once we got over the sand we descended at 7:47 am. Spotted a Gray Angelfish (Pomacanthus arcuatus) as soon as we got on the bottom.

I recognized our position from earlier dives but we never got on the three tiered reef. I remember only that we went East from that point quite a ways before turning South to get to the Jacks. So we headed off to the South and Martha spotted  some single Jacks. We soon spotted the Jacks. We were at the NE end of the Jacks and there was a large area of excavation that I had not seen before. 

So we headed South to see if these were new Jacks or not. They were not.

The Cave/Canyon the Nurse Sharks often sleep in was familiar to both of us. Looks like somebody drove their ship into the side of the reef. Maybe spend some more time exploring that later. The sun was up, so I backed off the ISO to 250; shutter speed at 400 and aperture at 2.8. 

Got a shot of a  Sergeant Major (Abudefduf saxatilis) where the Jacks started.

 

Got a nice shot of a Yellowfin Mojarra (Gerres cinereus) 

a shot of a Bar Jack (Caranx ruber) 

 

a shot of a Striped Parrotfish (Scarus iserti)

a good shot of a  Hogfish (Lachnolaimus maximus)

 

a Spotted Goatfish (Pseudupeneus maculatus) 

a Yellow Goatfish (Mulloidichthys martinicus)

Saw some smaller and maybe younger Black Margates(Anisotremus surinamensis) as well as a Black Margate with his spines extended. 

a shot of an  Atlantic Spadefish (Chaetodipterus faber) 

got a shot of a single Rock Beauty (Holacanthus tricolor) in the Jacks

We left the Jacks at 8:54 am and headed West to the beach. I didn't see much to photograph until about 9:21 am when I spotted a Lesser Electric Ray (Narcine brasiliensis)   on the rubble. I got 3 quick shots then looked for Martha. When I turned back, the Ray was gone. I searched for a bit, but never say him again.

I took some final pictures of a Juvenile Blue Tang (Acanthurus coeruleus)

and what I think is a Mutton Snapper (Lutjanus analis) .

I then secured the camera as we headed over the sand to the beach. We surfaced inside the buoy line at 9:57 am in about 5 feet of water. The first thing 

I heard was thunder. A dark black cloud was coming up from the South so we hurried to get across the beach and up to the parking lot. Timing was perfect if it seemed to close at the time.

Out dive time was 130 minutes at a maximum depth of 23.8 feet. My Actual Consumption was 22.18 psi/minute; my Surface Consumption Rate was 14.94 psi/minute and my Residual Minute Volume was .39 cubic feet per minute. 

  

 

  

20200908_Swiss Cheese Reef

The local weather forecast predicted thunderstorms at 10:00 am, so Martha and I were on the way to the beach by 6:30 am. We geared up and got in the water then swam out just past the buoy line and descended at 7:23 am while it was too dark to be taking photographs without a strobe. About 3 minutes after we descended, Martha spotted a Sharptail Eel (Myrichthys breviceps). I took several shots at various shutter speeds and ISO settings.    

I had the camera set for a shutter speed of 1/160, ISO of 250 and an aperture of 2.8. The picture looked dark, so I moved the ISO to 400 and tried a second shot, a third shot at ISO of 500; and a fourth shot at ISO of 1000 and the exposure at 1/400. After editing, the shots look the same. Still, they were different.

Martha and I got back on track, swimming into the Wrap Around Ledge and up and over the rubble then off to the Rock Line, North to the tire and East to the Crescent Moon Rock. Took this shot of a Spotted Goatfish (Pseudupeneus maculatus) as we swam NE past the Giant Barrell Sponges to the Staghorn Coral. 

I got some very nice shots of some  Graysbys (Cephalopholis cruentatus) on the Staghorn coral

and this shot of a Yellowtail Snapper (Ocyurus chrysurus). 

From the Staghorn Coral we swam East to the Sectioned Rock and then went North along the edge of the Swiss Cheese Reef.  

I took this shot of a Gray Snapper (Lutjanus griseus)  as we swam North along the Reef. 

This feisty Threespot Damselfish (Stegastes planifrons) attacked me when I approached him. 

My last shots were of an Ocean Surgeonfish (Acanthurus bahianus) on which some Cymothoid Isopods had attached.

We swam West from the Wrap Around Ledge. Our Dive Time was 145 minutes at a maximum depth of 19.4 feet. My Actual Consumption was 19.26 psi/minute; my Surface Air Consumption was 13.24 psi/minute and the Residual Minute Volume was .34 cubic feet per Minute. 

When we surfaced I took a wave squarely in the face. My contacts popped out but Martha spotted and saved -12.0 contact for my left eye. She held my contact while I climbed out on the beach. I put my camera, weights and the tank down and went back to take Martha's fins and the flag. Should have taken her weights, too, but I didn't think  of it. Finally, I went back in the water and helped Martha climb out with her tank still on. I washed my contact out and got it back in my eye, so we loaded the Jeep and I drove us home.