Tag Archives: marine

Kona, Uncategorized

Have you seen Manta’s at night?

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Not long ago, I had a chance to do two night dives with the potential of seeking manta rays off the Kona coast. The first night I was all geared up and we were swimming to the site. Just before we reached the site I looked up and a manta buzzed right over my head. My initial thought was: wow, this could be good. The manta made two passes and I took a couple of shots that were ok, but I was hoping there would be a few more passes so I could hone my timing in on the manta’s pace. I was actually quite surprised at how fast he blew by me. Yeah, I know I am slower that a turtle, but that manta was fast. Well, as happens with many opportunities to watch for animals, you can wait and you can wait. The manta made one more pass about 35 minutes later and that was the end of it.

Well I could not complain. I had seen a manta. I had gotten off a few snaps and I wasn’t even that cold in my 2mm shorty. But my hopes were that on Thursday night we would see more than one manta and they would make more than a few cursory passes.

Well we were lucky. We saw at least 10 mantas and they were pretty active for our 70 minute dive. Now the environment at the second site was totally different. Night one was just a few divers and one manta. Night two there were 20 dive boats, at least 60 divers a lot of snorkelers and 10 mantas making a variety of passes. There did come a break in the action early on where the mantas seemed to stop making passes through the site. It’s about that time I got into it with a photographer who decided she was better than the rest of us. All of the divers but one were circled around the lights that were on the bottom of the ocean and they were facing inward. Not her, she put herself inside the circle and faced outward shining her lights in any diver’s eyes that were close to her. I was within three feet of her and I was not happy. After one of the local instructors chewed on her she still wasn’t moving. It is rather hard to cuss some one out through a regulator, but it is a helpful talent I have developed. I’m guessing she got my message because after I finished telling her what I thought of her behaviour, she flipped me off, and she moved away from me. Now, it might have had something to do with my shining my 4000 lumen video light in her face, but she moved off not long after I was done “talking to her”. Nevertheless, inspite of the challenges, I shot over 200 images and a little bit of video during the dive. Some of the images were very good, and some were interesting. The whole scene had a rock concert feel to it. At about 50 minutes most of the divers had cleared out. The last 20 minutes were awesome. So here is the link to the video from the show.

Bahamas, wide angle

Do divers have an obligation to help conserve the environment?

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A 200 plus pound Black Grouper at Shark Junction
A 200 plus pound Black Grouper at Shark Junction in the Bahamas

I used to think of the ocean as endless and its fish life as unaffected by people.  I was wrong on both counts.  Yes, over 70% of the earth is covered in water.  Yes, if you were to take the average depth of the ocean and take out the lows and the highs the average depth would be over 4,000 feet deep, or at least so I have read.

But, the ocean that can be explored by recreational divers is only 130 feet deep.  And, within that depth in many places, fisherman have and are over fishing many species. Many variety of grouper, such as black grouper are becoming much rarer to see in large part because they do taste good.  For the most part I have stopped eating grouper because of the pressure on them.  Other species of fish are also being fished to extinction.

Isn’t it odd, that lion fish, an invasive species in the Caribbean are thriving and doing so at the expense of native fish such as the parrot fish who is necessary to reefs in order to keep algae at bay.

Are you the scourge of the Caribbean?
Are you the scourge of the Caribbean?

So I will continue to eat lion fish, in hopes that someone will figure out how to eradicate them from the Caribbean, and avoid grouper in hopes that they will make a recovery.  And, I will continue to bring up trash when I see it in the ocean in hopes that by removing it some small part of the wild life that remains in the sea will be there the next time I return.  Its an enormous task in reality.  I hope you will join me in my small little effort to save the sea.

Bahamas, Belize, Mexico, wide angle

Do you ever grow tired of seeing turtles underwater? nah

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I am not sure what it is about turtles that always fascinates me when I am diving. Sometimes it strikes me that turtles remind me of grumpy old men swimming under water. I guess I can relate to that. Other times I am amazed at just how quickly they can swim and leave me in the dust, even when I am wearing fins.

Some dives are just magical

Over the years, I have seen hawksbill turtles, green sea turtles, Ridley’s turtles and even a leather back turtle.  I was amazed when we were sailing to see an enormous leather back turtle surface directly in front of our catamaran.  I had no idea that a turtle that probably weighed half a ton could immediately dive down with seemingly very little effort and at a speed that took it out of the center of our catamaran.

 

I especially like to see sunlight reflected off the shells of green sea turtles because their shells reflect so many colors. So here is to the turtle, I tip my hat so to speak.

Grenadines, Uncategorized, wide angle

The biggest hermit crab I’ve ever seen?

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The Grenadines are known for having nearly countless small underwater creatures to see under the sea. Arrow crabs, banded shrimp and other small creatures are plentiful to see if you are scuba diving.

A banded shrimp hanging upside down waiting for fish to be cleaned
A banded shrimp hanging upside down waiting for fish to be cleaned

We had seen a number of small hermit crabs during our trip to the Grenadines. There were quite a few to be seen, but for the most part they were in shells that were not much bigger than a silver dollar. Most species of hermit crab have long, spirally curved abdomens, which are soft, unlike the hard, calcified abdomens seen in related crustaceans. The vulnerable abdomen is protected from predators by a salvaged empty seashell carried by the hermit crab. The shell is ususally large enough so the crabs entire body can retract inside the shell. Hermit crabs often use the shells of sea snails (although the shells of bivalves and scaphopods and even hollow pieces of wood and stone are used by some species). The tip of the hermit crab’s abdomen is adapted to clasp strongly onto the columella of the snail shell. Most hermit crabs are nocturnal.

So I was not expecting to swim around a part of the reef only to come face to face with a hermit crab whose home shell was as big as my head.

The biggest hermit crab I've ever seen
The biggest hermit crab I’ve ever seen

Even assuming the crab did not fill the shell entirely, he was enormous, and obviously quite strong because he did not seem to have any problem trying to carry about such a large shell.

Cayman Islands, Grenadines, Roatan, wide angle

So why dive?

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Goliath Grouper silhouette
Goliath Grouper silhouette

For about as long as I can remember I have always liked being in the water. If there was a puddle near where I lived as a kid, I was in it looking to see what might be living in the puddle. I was the swim team kid who was always in the water. I earned some of my early pay checks being a life guard at a local pool. Later I would manage a pool while I was in college.

When I first started diving it was something I hoped I could do with my family.  It took a while and a fair amount of convincing, but to a large extent diving has become an adventure we can do together.  Diving seemed like a great way to turn off the phone, fax, text, and email stream of communications that had invaded my life. Unfortunately, what I have found is that it only delays the delivery for a while, but even that is a help.  To an extent, diving has been a great way to tune out the communication noise that otherwise buries me during the day.

But, diving also allows me to explore parts of the world that I otherwise would not see. Whether it is 12 feet down looking at southern rays at Sting Ray city off the coast of Grand Cayman, or hundred feet down looking at bull sharks off the coast of Playa del Carmen, or some depth in between looking at a hermit crab or other creatures, there is almost always something to see and learn about.

The shell of this fellow was easily a foot across
Channel clinging crab

So for me, what keeps me coming back is not just the opportunity to have some peace and quiet, but also to feed my curiosity about what exists in the other 70% of the world.

A spotted moray eel in the Grenadines
Grenadines, Uncategorized, wide angle

Have you ever seen an electric ray?

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This fellow reminded me of sleeping on a hammock
This fellow reminded me of sleeping on a hammock

I have been diving for quite some time and have done hundreds of dives in blue water.  And yet, it was only recently that I came across an electric ray.  Not an electric eel, but an electric ray.  According to my fish book they are uncommon to rare in the northern part of Caribbean such as in the Bahamas and Florida.  They are more common in the southern Caribbean.  They tend to be unconcerned and won’t move when approached by divers, but if touched can produce a mild electric shock of between 14 and 37 volts.

From doing a little research it appears there are over 60 species of rays world wide, but far fewer are electric. The electric ray I found was what is known as a lesser electric ray.  I looked, but the could not find a “greater electric ray”;  who says naming protocols are logical?

The better known electric ray is the Torpedo fish. The really odd part is that the ancient Greeks used electric rays to numb the pain of childbirth and operations. In his dialogue Meno, Plato has the character Meno accuse Socrates of “stunning” people with his puzzling questions, in a manner similar to the way the torpedo fish stuns with electricity. Scribonius Largus, a Roman physician, recorded the use of torpedo fish for treatment of headaches and gout in his Compositiones Medicae of 46 AD.

I think I’m glad I can quite happily stop by the local pharmacy and find my choice of aspirin or other pain relievers.  Which brings me to my next rumination?  Is there such a thing as finding too many interesting creatures under the sea?  That is, is there a point where there is too much of a good thing?  I think it is kind of like asking can you take too many vacations?  Not  a chance….

Grenadines, Macro, Uncategorized, wide angle

Where are the turtles? Tobago Caye of course

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In the Grenadines, the government has created a marine park in and around Tobago Cayes.  Although the park is not particularly large, it is well placed.  The marine park is bounded by several small islands and the depth of the water in much of the park is relatively shallow.  With  shallow water and a white sand bottom, this creates some amazingly pretty turquoises water.

Sailing in to Tobago Cayes with just a hint of the turquoises water that we will see
Sailing in to Tobago Cayes with just a hint of the turquoises water that we will see

We had barely had time to anchor and we spotted several green sea turtles surfacing for air, only to return to the bottom to feed on turtle grass. We arrived in the afternoon and after lunch we were picked up by a local dive shot to go diving.

I did two dives with a macro set up.  The first dive was horseshoe reef.  With alot of newby divers we had some challenges, particularly since the current changed twice in about a half an hour.  I did manage to get a few interesting critter shots.

This banded shrimp almost reminded me of an old west gun fighter with her guns drawn; I guess you could call her "Two guns". I say her, because I think if you look closely you can see eggs.
This banded shrimp almost reminded me of an old west gun fighter with her guns drawn; I guess you could call her “Two guns”. I say her, because I think if you look closely you can see eggs.

After the second dive I switched the camera to a wide angle set up for the next morning when we would go to the marine park looking for green sea turtles.

If you have to anchor somewhere, Tobago Cayes is pretty spectacular
If you have to anchor somewhere, Tobago Cayes is pretty spectacular

Unfortunately, no diving was allowed near the island where the turtles were, but on snorkel we were successful in finding sea turtles with which to swim.  Below is a video from our swimming with green sea turtles at Tobago Cayes.

Bahamas, swim throughs

Have you been to Littlehails Laird?

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Grunts under elk horn coral
Grunts under elk horn coral

As a dive site, Littlehails laird has an abundance of marine life.  There were quite  few grunts of various species.  But while it is know for a variety of grunts we were fortunate to see a turtle swim through the site within minutes of getting to the bottom.  Like most hawksbill turtles he reminded me of a grumpy old man.  In my mind I could hear him saying:  ‘oh bother another diver trying to follow me, quick I will show him I can out swim him in a matter of moments.”  And, of course he was right, but not before I shot about a thirty second video climp of him swimming over the reef.

Moments later, a gray reef shark swam by as if to say welcome to the reef.  I did not manage to get the video light on before he had disappeared over the reef.  It must be nice to go up in down in the water column without worrying if you have exceeded a maximum ascent rate.  In something under 10 seconds he had gone up and back down 30 feet in the water column.  It must be nice to be able to do that.  Divers are limited to 30 feet up in a minute.  So there is no way of safely trying to follow a shark, we can just wait for them to make another pass.   Sometimes they do, sometimes they don’t, but the anticipation is what makes it fun– at least for me.  I’m usually thinking, is there a way to position my self so that if the shark or turtle or other wildlife that has just passed me will come back just to see me, at least out of curiousity.

Uncategorized

A Merry Christmas

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Christmas tree worms feeding in Curacao
Christmas tree worms feeding in Curacao

I always enjoy the infinite detail of Christmas Tree Worms.  I hope all have  a very merry Christmas.

Bahamas, wreaks

Have you seen the Sea star?

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Silversides swimming over the Sea star
Silversides swimming over the Sea star

Like many places in the Caribbean there have been at times ships that have on their face appeared to be normal cargo ships, while at the same time also being used to smuggle illegal drugs.  One such ship was the Sea Star which was eventually apprehended in Bahamian waters.  When the ship was sold through a forfeiture sale, it sold for a dollar and was eventually sunk as a purposefully sunk wreck.   It is the second largest wreck in Grand Bahama.   The person who purchased the Sea Star died in an automobile accident shortly before the sinking of the Sea Star.  If you circumnavigate the wreck a plaque with the owners name is towards the ship’s stern, near an external staircase.

sea star stairway

As of 2015 the Sea Star has been down since 2002 or about 13   years.   It has a fair amount of coral and sponge growth upon it.  Much of the hull is in pretty good condition.  However, the stern was twisted at a right angle from the rest of the ship when a hurricane came through the Bahamas a few  years ago.   Given that the Sea Star is over 30 feet wide and its hull was made of steel it must have taken a tremendous amount of force to twist the stern as the hurricane did.

From the cargo bay looking towards the bot
From the cargo bay looking towards the bot

The Sea Star has become home to a significant number of reef fish.  Towards the stern there was a sizeable school of blue striped grunts.  In the holds there were a number of arrow crabs.  I also found an enormous black grouper who was well ensconced in part of the hold.

The day we dove the Sea Star there was a current.  Towards the end of the dive we ascended up the stern line up to our boat.  The current was quick enough that if you held on to the line the current would hold your body out at a right angle so we all looked like flags blowing in the wind.

For divers who like to dive wrecks the Sea  Star is a wreck worth diving.  I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

Bahamas, Cayman Islands, wide angle

Have you been diving at the chamber?

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It was a bit surprising to find a lion fish hiding in the hyperbaric chamber that was sunk off the coast of Grand Bahama
It was a bit surprising to find a lion fish hiding in the hyperbaric chamber that was sunk off the coast of Grand Bahama

As I understand it, the chamber which sits on the chamber dive site off of the coast of Grand Bahama was a working chamber until the doctor who used it decided to retire.  Rather than just have the chamber rust out on the island, it was sunk at the chamber dive site.  The day we dove it, we discovered that a lion fish had taken up residence.  She was quite large and had a brood of small lion fish surrounding her.  When I thought about it, it just seemed odd to find a fish in a decompression chamber since they don’t have the same issues with pressure differentials that we do.

The vast majority of divers are well aware that by breathing compressed gas underwater they are at risk for getting “bent” or suffering decompression sickness if they do not follow recognized guidelines for safe ascents or bottom time.  In most classes I have attended the mantra of not making rapid ascents, that is faster than 30 feet per minute is repeated at least a dozen times.  Most divers I know are very careful not to exceed bottom time limits, that is: “go into deco” because for most boat operators, if you go into deco that is the end of your diving for a day.   But does staying within guidelines mean that a diver will not suffer decompression sickness;  unfortunately it is still possible to dive within generally accepted guidelines and still get “bent”.

Fortunately, only one of my friends, thus far, has had to make a trip to the decompression chamber.  From what his computer showed it  was not because he had exceeded guidelines.  Instead, it was because he had a broken bone from an unrelated accident that his doctor had not diagnosed.  He spent 2 partial days in a chamber at a significant cost, most of which was covered by insurance.

This is the only other chamber I have come across at the bottom of the sea. Won't work as a recompression chamber, but does have historic significance.
This is the only other chamber I have come across at the bottom of the sea. Won’t work as a recompression chamber, but does have historic significance.

(The chamber pictured just above is from the Kittiwake in Grand Cayman. It is at about 60 feet and is interesting to look into).

In my diving I have made it a point to try to be very conservative in my diving and endeavor to stay out of the chamber.  Given the relative small interior  size of many decompression chambers, I suspect I could get claustrophobic pretty quickly if I had to spend any time in a chamber.  But, given a choice between no chamber and claustrophobia, it’s a no brainer.  Take the chamber any time.  But, first choice is still to avoid a visit to the chamber if at all possible.

 

Bahamas, Mexico, swim throughs, Uncategorized

Do you like swim throughs?

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A short video clip from a swim through known as the “caves” in the Bahamas:

Swim throughs can occur several different ways.  The Caves in Bahamas is an example of coral growing so high that it creates walls that sometimes meet and cover the corridor that otherwise winds through the reef.  The swim throughs I have been through have ranged from wide enough for 3 divers to go through side by site down to swim throughs where I have to fold in close to the camera housing the arms holding my camera strobes out to the side of the housing.

swim through fins-1

The Caves in Freeport Bahamas’ dive site starts out easily wide enough to accommodate a diver so it is a dive in which we follow the leader.  If you are not the leader of the dive, you have to hope that the divers in front of you do not kick up the sand too much otherwise the visibility gets real spotty really quickly.   Fortunately my dive buddy who went in front of me did not kick up the bottom much at all.  The Caves does get pretty narrow at points.  There were a couple of places in the canyon where I had to  turn sideways just to get the camera in its underwater housing through the narrows.  The narrows did feel pretty narrow. It is not too uncommon for swim throughs to have narrow points.  If you are not the first through, you have to hope that who ever is in front of you doesn’t balk and then try to turn around, or that someone from behind doesn’t bolt and try to  swim over you.

swim through

(If you look closely you can see the diver closest to the camera is actually swimming over the diver in front; not a good idea, even if it is close to the exit).

As a dive site, the caves also has a good amount of fish life on the reef. I saw a school of goatfish which was quite large both on an individual basis and based on the number of individuals in the school .  Of course the fish life is what keeps me going back to see more creatures underwater. You never know when a plate sized angel fish or a turtle might meet you in a swim  through.  For me, the potential of a meeting of an interesting creature never gets old.

We have just finished swimming through a swim through
We have just finished swimming through a swim through