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Ocean Fest
-04/19/2008- I'll be at Ocean Fest all day Saturday & Sunday. Come on by for a Jello Shot.
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Ft. Lauderdale
-04/12/2008- We dove with Captain Todd & crew on the American Dream II today. We decided to go with the afternoon trip so that we could sleep in. Once again I decided to shoot my 105mm lens.
They were scheduled to do the Scutti and a 30' reef. We had heard that there had been Regal Sea Goddesses spotted on the Tracey. After talking with Todd we convinced the rest of the boat to go to the Tracey.
The Tracey is also known as the Ken Vitale Memorial Wreck.
Once we were hooked to the wreck we were the first ones to splash. We were diving nitrox, so we knew we would have no problems with bottom time.
After a few minutes on the wreck I spotted not one, not two, but three Goliath Groupers. Had the visibility been better I would have been pissed that I wasn't shooting the Tokina.
Two of the Goliaths were at least 300 lbs., while the third weighed about 100 lbs. The larger two were not afraid of us. In fact, they let us swim up to them and shoot close-ups of their eyes. That was cool.
Kelly found a Florida Regal Sea Goddess. I stayed back while she took her shots. Once she was done she signaled that I could shoot.
I cranked the f-stop down to f32 so that I would have some depth of field. I was glad I did. Kelly and I took our time getting the shots we wanted. We were the last ones on the boat.
The second dive was on the Caves. Kelly and I waited until everyone else was in. We took a flag for ourselves, and set off on the dive.
There were lots of small hermit crabs in sponges. My favorite one was a 1/2 inch long Red-Striped Hermit.
Next, I found a Yellowtail Damsel that was also about a 1/2 inch long. They are tough to shoot.
Near the end of the dive Kelly spotted a male Sailfin Blenny. She took some shots, and I hung back waiting for my turn. I never did see it displaying, but I love Sailfin Blennies.
After I was done shooting Kelly signaled that she was going back to re-shoot the blenny. First she called me over to where she was waiting. She pointed to something, and signaled that it was small.
After she swam back to the blenny, I looked for what she was pointing too. It took me a minute to find it. It wasn't until it moved that I realized that she had been pointing to the smallest Highhat I had ever seen. It couldn't have been more than a 1/8 of an inch long.
I put the Woody's diopter on, cranked the f-stop down, adjusted the strobes, and prayed. I actually got 4 or 5 decent shots of it.
Another great day of diving.
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Ft. Lauderdale
-03/22/2008- We dove with Captain Todd on the American Dream II today.
We did the Scutti & the Caves. For a change I decided to shoot macro with my 105mm.
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Ft. Lauderdale
-02/17/2008- We dove with American Dream II this afternoon. We did Hog Heaven & the Caves. I shot the Tokina 10-17mm lens.
Two great dives.
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Boynton
-02/16/2008- We dove with Scuba Kev again today. We did the Captain Tony & Clubhouse Ledge. There were lots of angels all over the reef.
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Boynton
-01/19/2008- Went out with Scuba Kev this morning. We did Table Top & Black Condo. Deepstops & Netmage were also on the boat. I was shooting the Tokina.
Kev & I got in with Francois. He is a new addition to the regulars on Kev’s boat. He dives a re-breather.
On the first dive we saw a large school of Amberjacks that kept circling around us. I got some cool shots of them with divers in the back ground.
On Black Condo, I got a nice shot of Kev with a Southern Stingray. A little later I got some great shots of a Hawksbill Turtle with Kev & Francois in the back ground.
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Ft. Lauderdale
-01/18/2008- Played hooky from work to dive all day with friends. Sandy (00Scuba) was in town from Chicago. I arranged some killer dives with Captain Todd on the American Dream II. The rest of the group was Onespeed, Kelly, Muggsy & Howarde.
For the morning we did a drift on the Mercedes followed by a drift on Martha’s Vineyard. I was shooting the Tokina, and despite the poor vis I was glad I had it. Right after we got in on the Mercedes a Loggerhead swam right over me. I got some cool shots. I spent the rest of the dive shooting the hunters.
On Martha’s Vineyard a nice little Hawksbill let me take quite a few shots. We also saw a really big Green Moray free swimming the reef.
In the afternoon we did Tenneco Towers followed by a drift on Hammerhead reef. Conditions on Tenneco were great. The water was nice and blue compared to the morning dives.
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Boynton
-01/13/2008- Did the Castor & Lynn's reef with Kelly, Scuba Kev & Onespeed.
I was shooting the Tokina again. I got a really cool shot from the bow of the Castor. It has the wreck and from surface to sand. Onespeed is bottom crawling hunting for fish.
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Ft. Lauderdale
-12/08/2007- Went out with Captain Todd & crew abord teh American Dream II. We did Hog Heaven & the Caves.
I was shooting my 105mm VR.
On Hog Heaven I shot a Lantern Bass.
On the Caves I shot several Blennies, a juvenile Queen Angel & some Yellowhead Jawfish.
Two great dives.
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Islamorada
-11/24/2007- We slept in today, and went out with Conch for the afternoon trip. We only got to do the first dive which was the Eagle. It was another great dive on the wreck. I was shooting the Tokina lens, and trying some concept shots.
Once we were back on board one of the divers started having symptoms of DCS, so we went in to drop him off at the Coast Guard station. We were done for the weekend.
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Islamorada
-11/23/2007- Still stuffed with turkey we went back out with Conch Republic. For the morning trip we did the Eagle & Crocker Shallows.
I was shooting my Tokina 10-17mm FE. The conditions on the Eagle were great! I got a shot of three Spadefish on top of the wreck with Kelly behind them.
On Snapper Ledge I got some really nice close focus wide angle shots of a Hogfish.
After a lunch from Las Brisas at the end of the dock we were back out on the afternoon boat. This time we did Conch Wall & El Fuego.
I came across a really friendly Hawksbill Turtle on Conch Wall. On El Fuego I practiced more close focus wide angle shots.
We had dinner at Ballyhoos.
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Islamorada
-11/22/2007- Drove down to Islamorada for our annual Thanks Giving weekend with Conch Republic. Every year for Thanks Giving we dive with Conch Republic in the morning, and Gary & Brenda cook Thanks Giving dinner for everyone.
We dove Snapper Ledge & Pillar Coral.
I found tons of Flamingo Tongues on Snapper Ledge. On Pillar Coral I found a Seaweed Blenny that was all golden. I got some killer shots, and it made the dives.
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Marathon
-10/20/2007- Only did the morning dives as we had to drive back home today. Our last dives were on Shark Harbor & Doughnut.
Abyss was great, but I will not stay at the Bonefish Motel again. Did not like the place, and I found a snake in my bed.
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Marathon
-10/19/2007- Went out with Abyss again today.
In the morning we did Horseshoe & Yellow Rocks. In the afternoon we did Tropical Rocks & Parallel.
After our dives we went out to the Island Fish Co.
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Marathon
-10/18/2007- We drove down to Marathon for a long weekend and dove with Abyss.
We did Critter Ridge and Kissing Grunts in the morning.
For the afternoon we did Samantha's & Herman's Hole.
All were great relaxing dives.
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Boynton
-10/13/2007- Went out with Kevin on the Explorer out of Boynton. Was diving with Brian a/k/a Deepstops & Puffer Fish. Puffer came down from Tennessee to do the MOFia spear fishing trip to the Dry Tortugas. He came down a few days early to get in some extra dives.
The seas were a little rough, so Kelly decided at the last minute not to go. I’m glad she did because she would have not liked the conditions had she gone. Both dives were hunting dives for Puffer & Deepstops.
Dive one was a drift on Black Condo. Saw lots of stuff, but no lobsters for Puffer. Viz was pretty good, and I got some decent shots. I did dive one on air. Max depth was 67’ with a total bottom time of 61 minutes.
Dive two was on Yellow Brick Road. It was also done as a drift. I did dive two on nitrox. Puffer was not up to doing the second dive as he had driven straight through to get to the boat. He stayed on board and slept while the rest of us dove. Max depth was 58’ with a total bottom time of 61 minutes.
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Ft. Lauderdale
-09/08/2007- Went out with American Dream today. We did Tenneco Towers and a drift on Hammerhead Reef. Went with Kelly and Chip. Chip and I were on nitrox, while Kelly was on air.
Viz was great, and there was a slight current on Tenneco. There was a crap load of fish all over the wreck. Kelly had to go up earlier than Chip and I so she followed up an a/o/w class. As usual, Chip and I were the last ones up. Max depth was 111’ with a total bottom time of 50 minutes.
We drifted Hammerhead. I had a headache during the dive so I only took a couple of shots. Viz was definitely not as good as on Tenneco. The current was up, so I took the flag and let Kelly shoot while Chip hunted. He never did find anything worth killing. Once again Kelly had to go up before Chip and I since she was on air. Max depth was 62’ with a total bottom time of 70 minutes.
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Ft. Lauderdale
-08/25/2007- Did the tons of steel wreck trek with American Dream today. I was buddy-less today. Kelly wasn’t up to diving, and Chip was not able to make it.
The dives are done as drifts over several wrecks. They tie marker buoys at the starting wreck and at the ending wreck. They drop you at one end & you drift the wrecks until you hit the accent buoy.
Dive one consisted of the five wrecks. The current was running to the north so we started at the south end with the Jay Scutti. From there we drifted to the sailing yachts Moonshot and the Pride. Then it was on to the Tracy a/k/a the Ken Vitalle Memorial Wreck. Finally we ended up on the Merci Jesus.
I was diving 36% nitrox. I did most of the dive at 70’ with a max depth of 74’. Total bottom time was 46 minutes. I was the first one in and the last one up.
Dive two was also done south to north. We started on the Donald G. McAllister. From there it was on to the concrete rag boat the Capt. Dede. Next we went to the LCM Emma Boggs. We ended the dive on the Curry Barge.
I did dive two on 36% nitrox. This dive was also done mainly at 70’ with a max depth of 74’. Once again my total bottom time was 46 minutes. I was first in and last out for this dive also.
Two great dives although I had some recent dental work, and I was having some tooth squeeze which was not that enjoyable.
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Lake Worth Lagoon
-08/19/2007- Dove the Lake Worth Lagoon again today. Once again conditions were warm and sunny, and the waters were clear. Water temp was in the 80’s and very comfortable. Went with Kelly, Richard & Shen.
There were the usual Hairy Blennies, Seaweed Blennies, crabs, Juvenile Highhats. Also today I saw three new nudis, three different Jaw Fish, and five Bat Fish. As I was getting out I found a Pipe Seahorse. I took some pictures, and when I was done I quietly called Kelly and Richard over to see it.
Total dive time 118 minutes. All in all another great day.
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Lake Worth Lagoon
-08/18/2007- Dove the Lake Worth Lagoon today. Conditions were warm and sunny, and the waters were clear. Water temp was in the 80’s and very comfortable. The current seemed a bit strong today, or it could just be that I haven’t dove there in a while. Went with Kelly, Richard & Shen.
Was very pleased with the critters as usual. Tons of Hairy Blennies, Seaweed Blennies, crabs, Juvenile Highhats, three different nudis, and lots of Lantern Bass. I have never been into shooting nudis before, so this was both fun and challenging. Also, the Lantern Bass were a new species for me. I had fun with them as they were very playful.
Total dive time 103 minutes. Once out of the water we ran into Scuba Dad from Scuba Board. All in all it was a nice day.
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Curacao
-08/09/2007- Day 8in Curacao. We are leaving tomorrow afternoon so our boat diving is done. We get in the water as soon as the boats leave for the morning dives. We will do one last long dive and then we will be done. This will be Kelly’s 500th dive. It was a special one. The conditions were once again beautiful, and the fish life abundant. We even fond an octopus out on a rock that let me photograph it with Kelly right up next to it. It was a nice shot for dive 500.
All too soon it was time to get out. Total bottom time was 83 minutes.
We soaked our gear for a long time, and then lay it out to dry in the sun. We lay out in the sun with the gear. The sun felt good and the peace and quiet was a welcome change since the bozos had arrived.
Kelly and I cleaned up and headed into Willemstad for the afternoon. They have a foot bridge that opens for passing ships and boats. You can stand on it as it swings open and closed. After shopping we found a table at an out door café that was on the water. We sat there and had a snack while we watched the activity on the bridge.
We then went off to explore. We found the hotel that one of the DM’s had told us about. The Kura Hulanda hotel is made up of 65 buildings in the heart of Willemstad. It was once a center piece of the slave trade.
Curacao was a part of the Middle Passage at the height of the African slave trade. Kura Hulanda was a big part of that. It has now been beautifully restored, and turned into a unique hotel. It incorporates the historical architecture with modern conveniences of a first class hotel and spa. It also has a museum on site.
We spent the rest of the afternoon just wandering around the grounds. It was easy to lose your self there in the deep history. The photography opportunities were fabulous.
Reluctantly we drove back to Habitat. That evening Andy, Adria, Kelly and I had dinner together in the bar while we looked at a slide show of some of the images we had taken that day. It was a great way to spend our last evening there.
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Curacao
-08/08/2007- Day 7in Curacao. These will be our last boat dives for the trip. We are on the morning boat with Andy and Adria. There were two boats scheduled for this morning. There was an early boat with 18 people on it. This was one group, and they were all goobers. We checked the board the night before and decided to go out on the 2nd boat to avoid them.
When we got to the shop a few minutes after the first boat was scheduled to have left Ann Marie was all worked up. The big group had not shown up yet. Some time during the night they had decided to change when the boats were scheduled to leave, and changed the times on the board. They had stayed up late drinking, and wanted to sleep in. Worse, was the fact that now these 18 goobers were now on our boat.
A quick word with Anne Marie, and a small group of us grabbed the first boat and left without the goobers while Anne Marie was lighting into the group leader that had shown up.
First dive site was Long Beach. Anthony the DM told us that it was a good location to find a seahorse. A few minutes into the dive he found one. There was a group of divers with P. & S. cameras, and they charged in to get the shot. I hung back waiting my turn.
I soon heard Kelly making a big ruckus. I looked to see what the problem was. She was pointing at a diver, and yelling into her reg. I looked at the diver to discover that it was one of the P. & S. people. She was trying to get shots of the seahorse. She had her hand firmly clamped onto the coral to steady her self. I couldn’t believe it.
Anthony finally noticed what Kelly was yelling about. He went over to the woman to try to get her attention. When that didn’t work he ended up prying her hand off of the coral. This pissed her off, and she went back to trying to shoot the seahorse. She was lying on more coral while her gauges dragged across the reef. Anthony ended up lifting her off the reef by her tank valve. This was not the last time she was holding the coral.
Kelly and I finally got out chance. We took a couple of shots each and moved on. Kelly soon called me over. She pointed out a Hamlet that I had never seen before. I later looked it up. It was a Shy Hamlet.
Near the end of the dive I shut my camera down in preparation of heading up to the boat. Andy came over to me a signaled that he wanted me to look at a crab. I thought “great, another crab”. When I saw it it was great. I managed a couple of shots before it bolted into a hole. When I showed the pictures to Kelly she told me that it was a Box Wing Crab.
Once again I shut my system down and headed for the boat. Once again Andy signaled me over to look at something. After the crab how could I refuse? He pointed out a juvenile Box Fish. I had shot a bunch of them already, and was about to signal thanks but no thanks. That’s when I saw it. Right under the Box Fish was a Hawk Fish. It was perched perfectly on an outcropping of coral. I quickly unfolded and positioned my strobes while I adjusted my settings. I quick adjustment to the focal point and I had the eye dead in focus. As soon as I fired the Hawk Fish bolted for cover. Great, great, great dive.
Dive two was back to Pelikan Beach. This was where we had seen the yellow froggie. I was on a mission. Before we got in the water the captain gave a lecture about not touching the reef. That touching it killed hundreds of years worth of coral growth. The lecture did not sink in with the “coral killer”, and I could tell nothing would change.
The captain went in with us this time. He, Kelly, Andy, Adria & I set out in search of the froggie. About 20 minutes into the dive the captain signaled that he had found it. After he showed me where it was he signaled that there was a second froggie. It was the same color, but smaller. It was only about an inch and a half long, and it was a cutie.
Kelly and I took shots to our hearts content while Andy and Adria hung around watching. We made sure that the rest of the group didn’t see what we were shooting. Lord knows what the “coral killer” would have done. Another great dive.
Kelly, Andy, Adria & I made our plans for the afternoon. The day before Andy & Adria had gone north to Playa Kalki. They had dove Alice in Wonderland. They had only been able to get in one dive, but they said that it was better than Port Marie. The dive shop there had an arrangement with Habitat so we wouldn’t need to bring tanks with us. This would make it a whole lot easier.
As soon as we were back we loaded the gear in the truck and I ran up to the restaurant. We ordered lunch to go which we ate off of the truck tail gate. With dry cloths on and beer in the cooler we headed north.
An adventurous hour long drive at break neck speed around some hair pin curves found us at Playa Kalki. We checked in with the shop and grabbed some tanks. Since Andy & Adria had been there the day before we agreed to follow them.
We swam out over the sand and rock debris until we hit the reef. We were soon descending down one of the most beautiful walls I had ever seen. It was definitely the prettiest wall I had seen so far in Curacao.
The topography of the wall was phenomenal. I could see that on a day with good viz this would be hard to beat for w/a photography. The corals were extremely healthy, and they were just stacked up layer after layer after layer. The texture and depth of field would be incredible.
I was shooting my 60mm, and Andy started pointing out subjects at a rapid pace. I was having trouble keeping up with them all. They showed me more eels than I could count, a huge lobster, and a bunch of tiny Box Fish. One of them was the size of a corneal of corn. I still don’t know how he spotted it.
All too soon we were headed back to the dock, but Alice still had more Wonders to share. We came across a bunch of Lettuce Sea Slugs and a couple of friendly squids. They came right up to me, and we were able to take quite a few pictures.
After changing out tanks, and taking a brief surface interval it was time to get back in. Adria was having trouble with her HP swivel again and decided to sit out the dive. This time we decided to head south. This was just wasn’t as good as the north half of the reef. And although we did find some things we were out in just under an hour. We turned in the tanks just as the girl was locking up the shop. We bought a couple of shirts and thanked her.
Out in the parking lot we had some beers and talked about all of the stuff we had seen. We all agreed that the north part of the reef was some of the best diving we had ever done.
Back at Habitat Kelly and I got in the pool to rinse off all of the days salt. We stood at the end of the pool enjoying the fresh cool water while we drank beer and watched the sun sink below the horizon.
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Curacao
-08/07/2007- Day 6 in Curacao. We are not doing the morning boat today. This lets me sleep in. After the morning boat pulls out (packed) we head down for some dives. I stay with my 105mm lens.
The current wouldn’t make up it’s mind which way it wanted to go so we stayed near the line. We spent a long time in the shallows while I looked for Slender File Fish, but no luck. Still a great dive.
After a rain break we got geared back up and in the water. As soon as we hit the wall Kelly signaled that she wanted to go deep. We hit 100’ and decided to work our way back up the wall.
Kelly spent some time shooting Fairy Basslets. They dart around so much that it wore Kelly out. I laughed because I knew exactly what she was going through.
We spent a lot of time in the sand flats. I made a point of shooting things that I had not shot before. I was looking for nudis, but did not find any. Spent the last 10 minutes in about 6’ near shore. It was like being in a washing machine. It got to Kelly and gave me a headache so we got out.
We were going to go to the store to get more sandwich meat, but since we stayed in the water so long we just grabbed lunch at the restaurant. After we ate we loaded the gear and cameras in the car and headed for Sunset Waters.
We left at 4:00, and the drive took a little over an hour. We probably could have done it faster, but we had to go out of our way to get some fuel.
We got there just before the shop closed. Kelly chatted with Lynn who ran the shop. Kelly had met Lynn at the Florida Dive Show last year. I got a site briefing from Mike. He asked us what we wanted to see. I told him we were shooting macro, but anything would be great. He told me how to find two seahorses. We found them. It took a while, but we were able to shoot both of them.
Even better than the seahorses were the reef squid. They were in mid water, and let us approach them really close. I got some killer shots.
I went to go back to the seahorses when I spotted a goober trying to find them. He signaled that he couldn’t find them. I pretended to look for them where I knew they weren’t when I found a Slender File Fish. Sweat. As I was shooting away I spotted a second one. This was a great dive.
We had brought a change of cloths with us so that we could have dinner at Sunset Waters. After we saw what the resort was like we decided to just get cleaned up and head back to Habitat. Sunset Waters was the other place we thought about staying. I am Soooo Glad that we went with Habitat instead. It was a nice place, but it was too bohemian for us.
Dinner was cheese and crackers and beer in the room. We downloaded our pictures from the day, and called it a day.
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Curacao
-08/06/2007- Day 5 in Curacao. We did the morning boat today. Andy & Adria are on the boat with us. We buddied up with them as most everyone else on the boat was a spaz. The weather is hot and clear and the seas are calm. It is a beautiful day out on the water.
The first dive site is San Juan. It is a nice reef and no current. I am shooting my 60mm macro lens, and it is a good choice for this dive. Lots of eels and fish. Before the dive we told the DM to think froggies, but no luck.
Dive two is on a site called El Rancho. It is not dove very often because of the tough conditions they usually have. Today is an exception, and they take advantage of that. Viz 100’ plus, and very little current. We went south and had a totally relaxing dive.
Back at Habitat we make plans with Andy & Adria to head over to Port Marie for some afternoon dives. We agree to meet at 1:00 PM after we get some lunch. I made Kel & I some sandwiches, and switched over to my 105mm lens.
We still ha the 6 tanks from the day before, so all we needed was 2 more and we were on our way. After showing Andy & Adria the park we geared up at the truck. After a couple of equipment problems & some false starts we hit the water. The first dive was totally relaxing and so much fun.
A quick tank change and we were back in the water. The first dive we had gone south and checked out the second deeper reef. This time we went north and stayed on the first reef.
If the first dive was great, this one was the bomb. We had so much fun and found so much stuff. Andy got excited when he found a Chain Moray. I took a bunch of pictures of it.
After a couple of beers at the Port Marie bar it was back to Habitat for a quick dinner, down load the pictures, and bed.
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Curacao
-08/05/2007- Day 4 in Curacao. We were not going out on the boat today, so there was no need to rush. We were going down to Hook’s Hut to dive. We already had 2 tanks in the truck. We grabbed another 4 so that we would have a total of 6. We would probably not use more than 4, but I didn’t want to drive all the way there and leave not feeling like we had dove enough.
We kept to our morning routine. Breakfast on the balcony while we prepped our cameras. We watched the boats leave while we sat there. We packed drinks and snacks. We through our gear in the truck and headed out. Kelly and I were taking turns driving. Today was her day to drive.
We found Hook’s Hut. We parked and got out to explore the set up. We checked in with the on site shop. They had us sign wavers to diver there. After talking to one of the instructors to find out how best to do the dive we made one more check. Kelly was not comfortable with the whole dive profile for the site so we decided not to do the dives there.
We keep going south to see if we can find some place better to dive. After a while we decide to head back. So, we go back to Habitat. We got right in the water. The first dive was okay, as we went north. After a quick surface interval we got back in. Since there was no current we went south this time.
I soon found a Hawkfish which was very cool. I got some good shots of it with my 105mm lens. About ½ way through the dive Kelly signaled me over. She had found a Chain Moray Eel. I was ecstatic. I had seen a couple in St. Vincent, but I had never been able to get a shot. This time I was able to get some great shots. For a while I just sat there and watched it.
Back in the room I made some sandwiches. We sat out on the balcony enjoying the day. I could learn to love this place. We had made plans to go in for a twilight dive. Another couple (Andy & Adria) from the boat were going in with us. We met up at the dock and got in. Kelly and I were after the mating Hamlets again.
We found the mating pair where they had been for the previous night dive. We waited and waited, but they never spawned. Eventually, they swam there separate ways on the reef. I wonder if we had frightened them off tonight.
We toured the reef a little and then made our way back in. We stopped under the dock before we got out. We found all sorts of stuff under there. We stayed in for quite a while shooting away on Urchin Crabs. A quick rinse and dinner and it was off to bed.
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Curacao
-08/04/2007- Day 3 in Curacao. I woke up early like I normally do. We were going out on the boat today for the first time. I prepped my camera for the dives. I decided on my Tokina 10-17mm FE lens. I thought about keeping the 60mm lens on, but I knew I would kick myself if we saw a turtle.
Dive one was Pelikan Beach. Sure enough, no sooner were we in the water when the DM pointed out a yellow Frog Fish. I know the 60mm lens would have been great for it, but I wasn’t going to let that ruin my dive.
We started out north along the wall. We hadn’t gone very far when the DM signaled us to turn around and head back toward the boat. There were some spaz divers with us, and they were really sucking up their air.
Kelly got my attention and pointed out into the blue water. There slowly cruising along the wall was a beautiful Spotted Eagle Ray. He was in no hurry. I swam along with it for a while until it turned out into the deep. I watched it fade away into the darker water. I was so glad I had gone with eh wide angle lens.
Dive two was Port Marie (a/k/a The Valley). This site had two reefs that paralleled each other. We started on the shallower of the two reefs. The DM soon pointed out a yellow Seahorse.
We went further down the first reef. We crossed over a sand channel to the second reef. The reef was spectacular. There was plenty for me to shoot with my 10-17mm lens. I hit about 70’ on the second reef. As I was making my way back across the sand channel to the first reef I found myself in a school of Boga’s. I took a couple of shots, and then I just floated in the middle of this school enjoying myself.
As we hung under the boat for our safety stop I looked at my gauge. I had ½ a tank left. I remembered the DM telling us to signal him when we got to ½ a tank so he would know when to turn the group around. I signaled him ½ a tank. When he realized what I was doing he cracked up.
We made a quick run to the grocery store for more supplies. I made us lunch, and we ate out on out balcony. Except for when we went to bed we had the air off and the windows open all day. The breeze was wonderful.
After lunch Kelly and I decided to grab some tanks and head back to Port Marie. I changed over to my 105mm lens. We through our gear in the truck and headed over there with the intent to find the yellow Seahorse.
We geared up and got in the water. We swam out from the beach to the reef. As soon as we hit the reef we saw the Seahorse. We had figured its position perfectly. After we had our fill shooting the little guy we went out to explore the reef again. This time with a macro eye. We found tons of stuff to shoot.
Port Marie is a public park. They have a restaurant and bar, and an on site dive operation. They also have a public beach. After our dive we sat at the bar and had a drink. Our DM had told me to try the iced tea. I had that while Kelly had an espresso. Kelly said the coffee was really good. The iced tea was wonderful.
Back at Habitat we showered and got cleaned up. We sat out on the balcony and down loaded our pictures from the day. We snacked on aged cheese, ate a killer olive spread, and drank Amstel beers. Not a bad way to spend the evening.
After we were done with the pictures I got on line. Kelly had paid for Internet access for the length of our stay. The wireless connection was supposed to work in the lobby area. We were able to pick it up in our room.
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Curacao
-08/03/2007- We didn’t wake up until 8:00 in the morning. I can’t remember the last time I slept 11 hours straight.
We took our time getting our cameras ready while we ate breakfast. We brought everything out on the balcony to enjoy the breeze and the view. We had a great view of the boat dock, and the ocean.
We were not doing any boat dives until the next day. We wanted to wait until the morning boat had left before venturing down for our dives. Once they had cleared out, and our cameras were ready we headed down for the day.
The House Reef was an easy dive. The lower level was where you geared up. It was a short walk down the dock to the stairs that took you right into the water. Once in it was an easy swim across the sand area to the reef. All you had to do was follow the guide rope that took you to the reef.
Once on the reef you could set your own depth and then head out either North or South depending on the current. Viz on the sandy area was crap since the seas had kicked up. We didn’t linger there. Once on the reef the viz was really good. This was fortunate as we were both set up to shoot wide angle.
We went to 60’ and then started our dive. Man I really love the House Reef. It has pretty much everything you could want. The diving is so easy as you go at your own pace. There is no schedule to maintain. We went south this dive. We took our time on the dive and drained our tanks down as low as we dared.
After our dive we rinsed off and took a walk around the property. We never really got to explore when we got there as we had to make the dive orientation, and it was dark when we got out from our dive the first day.
We grabbed a snack and sat down by the pool to enjoy some sun. W weren’t there too long when it started to rain. We grabbed our snack and headed up to the room to wait the shower out. We sat out on the balcony and watched the rain. It was very relaxing.
Fortified with food we got in for our 2nd dive of the day. Once on the reef I realized that the current had shifted. This gave us to explore to the north this time. Near the end of the dive I was thinking that it was strange that I had not seen one Angel Fish. I had no sooner thought this when a beautiful Queen Angel swam right up to me.
After a quick rinse and some dry cloths it was off to the restaurant for a late lunch and some off gassing. Kelly brought her laptop so we went through the Reef Net fish ID CDROM that she brought. There were a lot of cool tools to help you search the database.
We had both seen a Hamlet that we had never seen before. After searching the database we discovered that it was a Yellowtail Hamlet, and it was rare. We decided to do our next dive at dusk with the hope of shooting them spawning. So it was back to the room for a nap before the dive.
After changing over to our 60mm lenses we were ready to get back in. The seas had calmed down, and the viz had improved. We got in at 6:40 PM with some time to get oriented and find the Hamlets before the show would begin.
This was my first dive with my new 1mm wetsuit. I had picked it up just for this trip. Up until then I had been diving in my skin. I absolutely loved it. It was warm enough, and it was just as comfortable as a skin suit.
We found the mating pair of Yellowtail Hamlets right where we had last seen them. We putted around the area shooting other things waiting for them to get busy. They started by slowly circling each other. They kept getting closer and closer to each other until their bodies were entwined. They rose into the water column like this suspended for a brief moment before diving back down to the reef.
They repeated this same thing 8 – 10 times. Each time they were suspended there for maybe 10 seconds before they broke apart. It was tough to shoot in the darkening waters. I needed a focusing light to allow my camera to lock in on them. I had to use a red filter on the focusing light so as to not frighten them too badly. Finally, after one last dance they went their separate ways on the reef for the night.
We puttered around the reef some more shooting things as they either settled in for the night, or came out to hunt in the dark. The red filter really allowed me to approach them a lot closer than I have been able to do in the past. With all of that Kelly and I were able to each get one shot of the Hamlets.
After another quick shower and change we were back at the restaurant for some dinner. Tonight was pizza night. We had watched them build the wood fire earlier in the day. We had brought Amstels down from the room. They helped us pass the time while we waited for our pizzas. It smelled so good when we finally got our food I tore it up. If possible, it tasted even better than it smelled.
Back in the room we downloaded our pictures and went through them. By the time we were done with this it was time for bed.
Things we learned day 2:
• Kelly is much happier when she is properly weighted.
• Kelly is still not that comfortable with night dives.
• Mating Hamlets are really tough to shoot.
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Curacao
-08/02/2007- We arrived in Curacao to beautiful weather. Picked up our rental truck at the Budget counter after we grabbed some Amstels. We hit the Centrum grocery store on the way from the airport to the hotel. We stocked up on lunch meat, snacks, water and beer.
We stayed at Habitat Curacao. The place was great. We checked into the hotel & got our room. Once we had dropped everything off, and put away the food we had to rush down to the dive shop. We had to do an orientation meeting before we would be able to dive. We just made the last one before the shop closed for the day.
Did our orientation with the dive shop and got registered. Anna Marie showed us the gear lockers, where to get our tanks from, and how everything worked. She also told us what to expect diving in Curacao. After that we got our gear together and made our first shore dive from the resort.
The House Reef at Habitat is one of the best sites on the island. The reef is in great shape, there are tons of soft and hard corals, and there are more fish than you can count. We didn’t take our cameras in for the first dive. We wanted to get the lay of the land first before we started shooting. Besides, there was a lot of work that needed to be done on our systems before we could take them in the water.
After the dive we rinsed and stowed our gear in what would be our lockers for the week. We went back to the room and grabbed a quick shower and put on dry cloths. We were hungry, and we didn’t want to eat too late. We wanted to get back to the room and take care of our cameras for the next day.
After a great meal of some local dishes, and a couple of Amstels we were done. Feeling completely drained we dragged ourselves back to the room. We looked at our rigs and decided that they could wait until the next day. We didn’t want to risk putting them together when we were so tired. We had just enough energy to put batteries on to charge. We were asleep by 9:00 o’clock.
Things we learned day 1:
• They do not allow cyalume lights.
• You need little locks for the gear lockers.
• There are plenty of 110v outlets in the rooms.
• They do not allow gloves. Leave them at home.
• SLEEP HELPS!
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Ft. Lauderdale
-07/22/2007- Went out with Scuba Board people on the American Dream. We ended up doing two Tenneco dives. Man were they great. I found a Coney in a golden phase which is uncommon.
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Ft. Lauderdale
-07/21/2007- Dove with Chip & Jim Ernst from Scuba Board. We did the McCallister & Baracuda Reef. Viz was great, and conditions were good. We went out with American Dream. Shot with my 10-17.
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Islamorada
-07/15/2007- Did the afternoon dives with Conch again. We did Betty's and Horseshoe. Another two great dives with Scuba Board.
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Islamorada
-07/14/2007- Snorkled behind the hotel in Florida Bay. Saw tons of upside down jellies. The grass beds were amazing. Can't wait to do this again.
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Islamorada
-07/13/2007- Dove with Conch Republic Divers in the afternoon. This was a part of the Scuba Board Keys Invasion II.
We did Molasses & Pickles. Two great dives.
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Big Cypress National Preserve
-07/07/2007- Went out to the Big Cypress National Preserve early in the morning. We saw several hawks, and a lot of gators. Really hot, but had a great time.
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Ft. Lauderdale diving
-06/03/2007- While Kelly was out at the Long Beach Scuba Show I went out with American Dream on the Sunday afternoon boat. I had planned on diving all day Saturday as well, but the seas were running 6’-9’.
For our first dive we did a deep drift on Mine Car. It's a reef in the 3rd reef line. She runs between 60'-90' deep.
I buddied up with Chip, Dave Scuba Board, and a Divemaster in Training who took the flag for us. I was shooting my 60mm lens.
The visibility was not the best, but I saw lots of fish life on this reef. I have never seen schools of butterflies before, but there was a large school (60 or more) of Reef Butterfly fish.
There were also quite a few Chalk Bass. These were a first for me.
The second dive was also done as a drift. We did Barracuda Reef. Visibility was down to about 5'. This made for a tough time of keeping track of the group. As the only photographer I frequently found myself alone. I would have to hurry ahead in the direction that the current was running. I would eventually find someone from the group. It was usually Chip as he would try to stay between me and the flag. Chip is a really good dive buddy.
I was shooting my 60mm again. When I first hit the bottom I came face to face with the cutest juvenile Queen Angelfish. I took quite a few shots of it before I started the dive. Throughout the dive I came across quite a few Queen Angelfish in various stages from juvenile to transitional. Under one ledge I counted 5 of them.
I also found a very cooperative Sand Diver that I took several shots of.
Near the end of the dive I came across a very playful juvenile Cocoa Damselfish.
Despite the crappy visibility I got some good shots, and as always I had a great time diving.
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Ft. Lauderdale dives
-05/13/2007- Did the afternoon dives with American Dream. We did the Ken Vitale Memorial wreck (a/k/a the Tracy) and a drift on the Caves.
Viz was slightly less than yesterday on the wreck. The current was also noticably stronger. It was hard pulling down the line with one hand while holding the camera with the other. It also made for a fun safety stop.
Shot the 10-17 FE again. What a great lens. We got paired up with two other divers. Chip from Watermakers and Luis who was visiting from Central America.
I had met Chip before, but had never dove with him. We met Luis for the first time when they paired him up with us. Both turned out to be good divers, and I ended up using them as models on the wreck. Thanks Chip & Luis.
On the drift on the Caves I shot my 105mm VR again. I LOVE THIS LENS!
Chip likes to hunt and kill the fish, but he put his tracking skills to work for "good" instead of "evil". He found us subjects to shoot. He even found a nice pair of Yellowhead Jawfish.
At first Luis thought that we were crazy because he couldn't see what we were shooting. Once he settled in next to me while I was shooting a Sailfin Blenny he saw what we see in a reef. All of the little things that most divers never see.
I also found a female Green Razorfish. I got a couple of shots before it bolted on me. I found another one later in the dive, or maybe I just found the same one again. Either way, this time all I got was the south end of a north bound fish.
Later on the boat he said that he never knew those things were there, and would never have seen them with out us. It pays to dive with photographers. It really makes you slow down and really look.
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Ft. Lauderdale dives
-05/12/2007- Did the morning dives with American Dream. It was a nice relaxing day as there were only 9 people aboard including us.
We did the Jay Scutti wreck and a drift on Oakland Ledges. Viz was about 70' on the Scutti. I had a great time shooting my Tokina 10-17 FE. On Oakland Ledges I shot my new Nikon 105mm VR. What a great lens.
Viz was not as good on the second dive due to the sponge spawn. The reef was covered in sponge goo. But, as soon as I got to the sand I saw that I was in a field of Sailfin Blenny's. There were more than 30 of them. I love Sailfin Blenny's. They are so much fun to watch, and such a pain to try to shoot them displaying.
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Ft. Lauderdale dives
-04/28/2007- Dove this morning out of Ft. Lauderdale aboard the American Dream II. As usual Captain Todd & crew were great. We did the Ken Vitale Memorial wreck & a drift dive on the Caves. Viz was not the best, but the seas and the weather were great.
I saw a lot of Sailfin Blennys, Roughhead Blennys, and Seaweed Blennys. I also saw quite a few juvenile Reef Butterflyfish.
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Ocean Fest
-04/21/2007- Did the Ocean Fest dive show today. Saw a lot of friends old and new.
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Ft. Lauderdale dives
-04/14/2007- Did both the morning & afternoon dives with American Dream today.
For the morning we did two drift dives on Baracuda reef. The seas were 2 - 4 feet, and the viz was crap. I did both dives shooting macro with my 105mm lens. I found lots of Roughhead Blennys in a variety of colors, tons of Sharpnose Puffers, and one male Sailfin Blenny. I never found the female.
For the afternoon dives we did the Ebanezer wreck & a drift on Baracuda reef. (After 3 dives in one day on the same reef I was starting to know the fish by their first names.)
Viz was still crap, so once again I shot macro. This time I used my 60mm lens. I only took a couple of shots on the wreck. On Baracuda there were lots of Hamlets (which I love to shoot with the 60mm), a small nurse shark sleeping under a ledge, a couple of Goldentail Eels, and tons of butterflys.
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Ft. Lauderdale dives
-03/10/2007- Did the morning dives with American Dream. Todd & crew are the best. We did the Jay Scutti wreck and a drift on the Caves. This was my first outing with my new D200. I borrowed a housing from Reef Photo. I decided to shoot macro my 60mm. (Especially since I don't have the 10-17 zoom fisheye lens yet.)
I found some Orange Cup Coral to shoot on the Scutti which wasn't bad. Shortly before the end of the dive I found a half dozen Flamingo Tongues. I spent the last couple of minutes of the dive shooting them.
On Baracuda I took a lot of shots (99). I found a variety of Hamlets, several juvenile French Anglefish, quite a few Saddled Blennys & a Atlantic Guitarfish.
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