Not long ago I asked a relatively new diver whether she was going to do a night dive that was part of a trip. Her response was: I’ve never done one will I see anything? My response was probably a bit snappy: yes assuming you turn on your torch and keep your eyes open. I went on to explain that since we were diving in the ocean and on a reef she would normally see the “night shift” of critters. Many of them would be hunting for their dinner while the creatures she had seen on the reef during the day might be hanging out in holes in the reef and trying to sleep all in hopes of not being eaten.

She asked who were the critters that we might see that we’re hunting for their dinner. I said if we were lucky we might find some octopus feeding.

She asked what else might she see. I said well we might see a nudibranch or two.

She asked will we see anything weird? I said well it depends on what you mean by weird but since we were in Southeast Asia I said well we might see a bobbit worm.

On that night dive we did see a bobbit worm which the dive guide would periodically push a morsel of food to. Our newer diver was startled the first time the jaws of the bobbit worm snapped shut and the worm pulled his prey into his hole in the sand.

When we eventually returned to the surface our newer diver said can we do that again? My response was well perhaps tomorrow. Will the boat need to save a space for you? The answer was: Of course…..