Wreck diving
September/21/2007
We set
out a little later today and headed to a dive
wreck about an hour south
out of Loreto. We were all excited and eager for a great day. About half way
there, we spotted a couple of pods of dolphins about 100 metres distant and in
seconds, a group of about half a dozen pulled into the slipstream of our prow
and started dancing in the crest. Of course, I’m carrying on like a complete
buffoon, screaming, whistling and literally falling off the bow trying to make
contact with their backs. Got my first dolphin touch and I was completely
agiggle. These guys obviously knew our collective delight and a couple of the
perkier ones started accelerating only to catapult 10-12 feet into the air in
front of us, drenching us with dolphin backwash. It was our first encounter
with dolphins this week and we were completely gobsmacked. A half hour out of
port and my day was made already.
The wreck site was in 30 to 70 feet of water and its length was 120 feet - an
old tuna boat. The water was silty, murky and akin to soup. The wreck had
some coral and garbage growing from it but pretty much devoid of fish. I had
fun diving through the bulkheads and summoning up past echoes of life on board
however the experience wasn’t as edifying as I had imagined.
The second dive however made up for it. We went back to the shoreline along a
winding cliff face called Coyote Point. I had a little issue with equalizing
on the first dive so I scarfed another Sudafed. I’m happy to become a poster
boy for Pfizer. The phenylephrine keeps my eustachian tubes open and allows my
ears to equalize. Can’t buy them in Mexico so I’m having friends send me a
caseload when they visit. Living better through chemistry. Anyway, after a
slow descent, we started a casual and relaxed swim through what our divemaster
Rafa calls the aquarium. Yowsa. Eighty-four degree water temperature,
visibility is 60-80 feet and we’re diving though mariners’ heaven. The King Angels
are impervious to us; schools of them swim right through us, oblivious. Same
with the sergeant majors. A cornucopia of fish. I just hang weightless and try
not to slack jaw. The grey and yellow surgeon fish have three silver buttons
adjacent to their tails on both sides. They sparkle in the light but actually
hide little knifelike edges to impale their prey passing beside them. Scary
looking green moray eels with razor teeth and menacing eyes poke out of holes
in the wall daring anyone to come closer. Gorgeous lazuli blue damsel fish
filleting their way through the water. Small schools of yellowtale tuna,
grunts, wraisses accompanied by beautiful turquoise parrotfish, white spotted
puffers, redtail triggerfish, silver jacks, Mexican hogfish with signature
headbumps, all were in this continual endless parade. Green
goatfish burrowed into the ocean floor with only their head and eyes sticking
out; scorpionfish deadly to touch camouflaged into the rockbed walls,
looking very much like rock; stingrays half buried in the ocean floor and of
course beautifully green/brown spotted hawkfish, always a delight to meet.
Then there’s the invertebrates, those minute creatures inhabiting the reef that
take a seasoned and observant eye to behold. Nudibranches - shell-less snails,
blennies and little bits of life so microscopic to be nearly unnoticeable.
Stewart, Nancy and I broke from the pack, dove down to 60 feet and found some
lovely small tunnels to twist and dive through. Looking up, just dumbfounded
by the sheer wall of aquatic life busily going about its business. On the way
back, Rafa gently poked a protuberance on the reef wall and encouraged its
owner, a two foot octopus to find greener pastures.
A 59-minute dive. Breaking the surface and swimming back to the Prim’am, there
was a whole lot of whooping and hollering going on to celebrate a marvellous
day.
And as if that wasn’t enough, on the way home we were again greeted by our
dolphin pods and then dozens of mobula rays (small cousins of the manta)
leaping out of the water, flashing their silver/white bellies above the
surface of the sea.
Life doesn’t get better than this.
out of Loreto. We were all excited and eager for a great day. About half way
there, we spotted a couple of pods of dolphins about 100 metres distant and in
seconds, a group of about half a dozen pulled into the slipstream of our prow
and started dancing in the crest. Of course, I’m carrying on like a complete
buffoon, screaming, whistling and literally falling off the bow trying to make
contact with their backs. Got my first dolphin touch and I was completely
agiggle. These guys obviously knew our collective delight and a couple of the
perkier ones started accelerating only to catapult 10-12 feet into the air in
front of us, drenching us with dolphin backwash. It was our first encounter
with dolphins this week and we were completely gobsmacked. A half hour out of
port and my day was made already.
The wreck site was in 30 to 70 feet of water and its length was 120 feet - an
old tuna boat. The water was silty, murky and akin to soup. The wreck had
some coral and garbage growing from it but pretty much devoid of fish. I had
fun diving through the bulkheads and summoning up past echoes of life on board
however the experience wasn’t as edifying as I had imagined.
The second dive however made up for it. We went back to the shoreline along a
winding cliff face called Coyote Point. I had a little issue with equalizing
on the first dive so I scarfed another Sudafed. I’m happy to become a poster
boy for Pfizer. The phenylephrine keeps my eustachian tubes open and allows my
ears to equalize. Can’t buy them in Mexico so I’m having friends send me a
caseload when they visit. Living better through chemistry. Anyway, after a
slow descent, we started a casual and relaxed swim through what our divemaster
Rafa calls the aquarium. Yowsa. Eighty-four degree water temperature,
visibility is 60-80 feet and we’re diving though mariners’ heaven. The King Angels
are impervious to us; schools of them swim right through us, oblivious. Same
with the sergeant majors. A cornucopia of fish. I just hang weightless and try
not to slack jaw. The grey and yellow surgeon fish have three silver buttons
adjacent to their tails on both sides. They sparkle in the light but actually
hide little knifelike edges to impale their prey passing beside them. Scary
looking green moray eels with razor teeth and menacing eyes poke out of holes
in the wall daring anyone to come closer. Gorgeous lazuli blue damsel fish
filleting their way through the water. Small schools of yellowtale tuna,
grunts, wraisses accompanied by beautiful turquoise parrotfish, white spotted
puffers, redtail triggerfish, silver jacks, Mexican hogfish with signature
headbumps, all were in this continual endless parade. Green
goatfish burrowed into the ocean floor with only their head and eyes sticking
out; scorpionfish deadly to touch camouflaged into the rockbed walls,
looking very much like rock; stingrays half buried in the ocean floor and of
course beautifully green/brown spotted hawkfish, always a delight to meet.
Then there’s the invertebrates, those minute creatures inhabiting the reef that
take a seasoned and observant eye to behold. Nudibranches - shell-less snails,
blennies and little bits of life so microscopic to be nearly unnoticeable.
Stewart, Nancy and I broke from the pack, dove down to 60 feet and found some
lovely small tunnels to twist and dive through. Looking up, just dumbfounded
by the sheer wall of aquatic life busily going about its business. On the way
back, Rafa gently poked a protuberance on the reef wall and encouraged its
owner, a two foot octopus to find greener pastures.
A 59-minute dive. Breaking the surface and swimming back to the Prim’am, there
was a whole lot of whooping and hollering going on to celebrate a marvellous
day.
And as if that wasn’t enough, on the way home we were again greeted by our
dolphin pods and then dozens of mobula rays (small cousins of the manta)
leaping out of the water, flashing their silver/white bellies above the
surface of the sea.
Life doesn’t get better than this.