20200622_North along Rock Line off Tower 4

I got up at 5:00 am and packed up the camera and housing then took Mia for a neighborhood walk. Martha was ready at 7:00 am and and we left the apartment at 7:09 am. We set up our gear and walked to the beach by 7:25 am and swam out to the buoy line. We descend at 7:48 am and swam East to the Rock Line, where I photographed this Gray Angelfish (Pomacanthus arcuatus).   

I also got this photograph of a Juvenile French Angelfish (Pomacanthus paru) at the large rock at the head of the Rock Line where we usually turn North.  

This morning we turned North but kept going past the tire where we usually turn East to get to the Crescent Moon Rock. We were off into uncharted territory. 

Martha wanted to explore new territory and spend more time searching for shells. Most of what we swam over was just rubble. One area, where I photographed these Spotted Goatfish (Pseudupeneus maculatus)  had some interesting rock structures and a lot of fish, but it was only a minor portion of the area we covered.  

I did very well on air for the first 1000 psi which is when I took this photo of a Giant Barrel Sponge. I went up at 53 minutes to find that we were well North of the Hotel Maren and probably 500 yards from Tower 4. Martha was down to 1,600 psi so I turned the dive and began to fight what seemed like a mild North current as we were swimming North but which now seemed quite significant. 

I resurfaced at 83 minutes to find that we were across from the basketball courts and very close to Tower 4. I was down to about 1,100 psi. As I dropped back to the bottom I spotted a Juvenile Green Cushion Sea Star (Oreaster reticulatus)  which I showed to Martha. 

Martha had about 500 psi, so I gave her my alternate air source and I took the flag from her. We swam in to shallow water and surfaced at 9:40 am. I came up with 178 psi in my tank. 

Our dive time was 113 minutes at a maximum depth of 23.9 feet. My actual consumption rate was 25.76 psi/minute; my SAC was 16.67 psi/minute and my residual minute volume was 0.43 cubic feet per minute.