Tag: scuba

The Aqua Safari Back in the Water

Engine trouble. Bad enough that the boat has spent a couple months on shore, one engine replaced and the other rebuilt. Thus it has been a while since I have been out diving, since late October! Had the weather been better shore diving may have been a higher priority. The winter weather has been rough, with high surf warnings a common item in the morning news.

Cave Entry
One of the many entries to the cave at Pentagon
Since the gear had sat for several months the first order of business was a good checkout of everything. The tanks only had a few hundred pounds of pressure in them, but enough to check the regulators and computer. The valves and buoyancy bladder in the BCD held pressure. I did need a new mask strap, solved with a trip down the hill to the Blue Wilderness shop. Purchasing two, one for the mask, one for the spares kit. Both of the tanks are due visual inspection, need to get that taken care of.

Arriving in the Makalawena area we found a dozen boats milling about. Only one thing would attract that may boats… Dolphins. The shallow water here is a good place to find dolphins and whales. Sure enough, there were dozens of dolphins about and pods of humans snorkeling between the boats in an attempt to see the dolphins in the water. The dolphins seemed intrigued by the boats and swimmers. A group came over to check us out and surf in our wake.

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Eye of the Predator

Trumpetfish are stealthy hunters, using their oddly shaped body to strike unsuspecting prey. They are also known to follow large creatures on the reef, turtles or groupers, to take advantage of prey flushed out in their passage. This trumpetfish was using me for the same purpose, hoping to strike whatever the big, noisy diver scared up. The fish hovered quite close to me, not even moving away despite several bright flashes from the strobe. The cave is a very popular dive site, this fish may have learned to use divers to find an easy meal.

Eye of the Trumpet
A trumpetfish (Aulostomus chinensis) considers the camera

Unintended Photos 2

Yes, I meant to do that… Not.

Sometimes you download the SD card and find photos you had no idea you took, an accidental actuation of the shutter. Most of the time they totally worthless, a photo of blurred gravel, or a hand across the lens. But on occasion they are a bit more interesting, properly exposed and in focus…

Gauges
An accidental photo of my gauges early in the dive with plenty of air remaining.