Microdiving
April/25/2007
Took
dives nine and ten today in the Sea of Cortez.
Huge plankton bloom covers
the entire marine park, but Raphael, my divemaster is totally nonplussed.
Most divemasters wouldn’t think of diving with only 6-8 feet of visibility. Not
so for Raphael. Its just a great opportunity to go microdiving with a small
flashlight, an accessible ocean floor and of course, a coral wall.
We chose our first dive at Coronado Island, at the base of basalt formations
where the sea lions like to catch the sun. Frigate birds and vultures were
circling overhead and we passed rock outcroppings completely bleached with the
guano of the pelicans. We quietly approached the sea lion rocks where few take
notice and the occasional one greets us with a bellow. The giant stag lion is
there overseeing his empire as we park the boat about 20 feet from his lair.
They feign obliviousness as we slip into the water and find the ocean floor at
12 feet. This really is where Raphael is in his element. For the next
55-minutes we crawl along the floor, inching our way as Rafa focuses his small
beam on the microcosmic universe found in the ocean, when one actually stops
and examines the minute little universes inhabiting each square metre.
Nudibranches (shell less snails), olivia prohyria, whose shell designs match
anything found in the fashion district, arrow crabs that look like spiders,
tiny, tiny gobies, flatworms and infinitesimal crabs less than 1 mm in length
(see attached photos). And the coral and sea anemones were in full bloom
feeding on the plankton. Copious morays poked their heads from their burrows
feeding on the flotsam. We’d find an area and stay weightless, motionless,
barely breathing to watch the action on the floor. Lots of stingrays and
surgeon schools. Raphael would find a tiny tidbit of coral and offer it to a
submerged miniscule mouth that I could only see by tipping my head so that the
reading glass of my mask could discern what was happening. In the midst of
this, two sea lions came down and slowly glided by us, six feet away. I had
two good seconds of eyeball vibe connect with one of them, an image
permanently lodged in my brain. The floor and coral wall were littered with
starfish, scallops and oysters encrusted in the sea bed. Many of these animals
use camouflage, changing colour when it suits them. The three foot golden
grouper we saw used this same technique.
We left the cove an hour later to the grateful barking of the sea lion herd
and drove northwest to a turquoise bay, dropping off our snorkeling couple
while we went for another dive. On the way, we saw a pair of mobula rays
leaping out of the water as they swam toward us. Turning off the engine, we
awaited their arrival as they glided right underneath the boat showing us
their wonderful brown and white canopies.
The second dive was away from the bay and about 100-metres from shore.
Descending on the anchor line, I noticed that we were on a rock promontory in
the middle of the channel that rose to about 15 feet below the surface. It was
late morning and the visibility improved a little as we took Raphael’s
invertebrate 201 course. There were some more triggerfish and surgeon schools,
plentiful angels, wrasses and damsels as we sought out the mountainous coral
wall. Crevasses and caverns were combed for life as many fish seek solace and
protection within their depths. The crevasses were also the hangout of larger
fish. Raphael pulled out an enormous rock slipper lobster that was 18 in
length. Along the wall, blennies would thrust their wee little heads out of
the tubes that were sheltering them. Puffers would investigate us and I gently
found one, observed it expanding between my hands, and enjoyed some quality
time with another species. Raphael would find an amazing orange sea coral
that, when touched, would implode itself into a small eyeball shape. We took a
quick 40-minute dive; at the three-minute 15 rest stop I played with some spot
tail grunts, later emerging right by the boat.
On our way back to the beach cove to pick up our snorkelers, I pointed to
Raphael that there was a dolphin pod about 75-yards ahead of us. He remarked
that the dolphins were angry. Asking him how he knew this, he said by the way
theyre slapping their fins on the water. I surmised that moments earlier, I
saw a power boat speed through them and knowing this pod was sheltering three
or four of its young, that that was the reason for their distress. Raphael
immediately told Ramon the boat captain to give them a wide berth, which he
did. Coming around well in front of them, the dolphins thanked us with a show
that was utterly astonishing. Several of them catapulted out of the water,
jumping at least 15 feet above the waterline, twisting before arching back
downward. They repeated this for at least 90-seconds. On occasion, several
would jump out in unison. We were stupefied; I of course was screaming with
joy. When it was over, I turned to Raphael, Rafa, I may be crazy, but did they
do that for us? Rafael said, I think that too. I thought, these must be highly
intelligent, sentient, intuitive mammals. Rafa added, Yeah, Im sure they did
that for us. They can sense us a mile away. I thought that surely the dolphins
must be able to identify us by the unique vibration of our motor.
The snorkelers were on the beach witnessing the show and jumping with delight.
Picking them up, we walked through a sunbathing flock of red crabs before
climbing on board and pushing off.
Leaving the bay, we came upon our dolphin friends. And again, we gave them a
wide berth. And, incredibly once we had bypassed them, giving them wide berth
and moving in front, they gave us the second half and a repeat performance of
the show.
I am way beyond euphoria here. Visions and memories to last a lifetime.
the entire marine park, but Raphael, my divemaster is totally nonplussed.
Most divemasters wouldn’t think of diving with only 6-8 feet of visibility. Not
so for Raphael. Its just a great opportunity to go microdiving with a small
flashlight, an accessible ocean floor and of course, a coral wall.
We chose our first dive at Coronado Island, at the base of basalt formations
where the sea lions like to catch the sun. Frigate birds and vultures were
circling overhead and we passed rock outcroppings completely bleached with the
guano of the pelicans. We quietly approached the sea lion rocks where few take
notice and the occasional one greets us with a bellow. The giant stag lion is
there overseeing his empire as we park the boat about 20 feet from his lair.
They feign obliviousness as we slip into the water and find the ocean floor at
12 feet. This really is where Raphael is in his element. For the next
55-minutes we crawl along the floor, inching our way as Rafa focuses his small
beam on the microcosmic universe found in the ocean, when one actually stops
and examines the minute little universes inhabiting each square metre.
Nudibranches (shell less snails), olivia prohyria, whose shell designs match
anything found in the fashion district, arrow crabs that look like spiders,
tiny, tiny gobies, flatworms and infinitesimal crabs less than 1 mm in length
(see attached photos). And the coral and sea anemones were in full bloom
feeding on the plankton. Copious morays poked their heads from their burrows
feeding on the flotsam. We’d find an area and stay weightless, motionless,
barely breathing to watch the action on the floor. Lots of stingrays and
surgeon schools. Raphael would find a tiny tidbit of coral and offer it to a
submerged miniscule mouth that I could only see by tipping my head so that the
reading glass of my mask could discern what was happening. In the midst of
this, two sea lions came down and slowly glided by us, six feet away. I had
two good seconds of eyeball vibe connect with one of them, an image
permanently lodged in my brain. The floor and coral wall were littered with
starfish, scallops and oysters encrusted in the sea bed. Many of these animals
use camouflage, changing colour when it suits them. The three foot golden
grouper we saw used this same technique.
We left the cove an hour later to the grateful barking of the sea lion herd
and drove northwest to a turquoise bay, dropping off our snorkeling couple
while we went for another dive. On the way, we saw a pair of mobula rays
leaping out of the water as they swam toward us. Turning off the engine, we
awaited their arrival as they glided right underneath the boat showing us
their wonderful brown and white canopies.
The second dive was away from the bay and about 100-metres from shore.
Descending on the anchor line, I noticed that we were on a rock promontory in
the middle of the channel that rose to about 15 feet below the surface. It was
late morning and the visibility improved a little as we took Raphael’s
invertebrate 201 course. There were some more triggerfish and surgeon schools,
plentiful angels, wrasses and damsels as we sought out the mountainous coral
wall. Crevasses and caverns were combed for life as many fish seek solace and
protection within their depths. The crevasses were also the hangout of larger
fish. Raphael pulled out an enormous rock slipper lobster that was 18 in
length. Along the wall, blennies would thrust their wee little heads out of
the tubes that were sheltering them. Puffers would investigate us and I gently
found one, observed it expanding between my hands, and enjoyed some quality
time with another species. Raphael would find an amazing orange sea coral
that, when touched, would implode itself into a small eyeball shape. We took a
quick 40-minute dive; at the three-minute 15 rest stop I played with some spot
tail grunts, later emerging right by the boat.
On our way back to the beach cove to pick up our snorkelers, I pointed to
Raphael that there was a dolphin pod about 75-yards ahead of us. He remarked
that the dolphins were angry. Asking him how he knew this, he said by the way
theyre slapping their fins on the water. I surmised that moments earlier, I
saw a power boat speed through them and knowing this pod was sheltering three
or four of its young, that that was the reason for their distress. Raphael
immediately told Ramon the boat captain to give them a wide berth, which he
did. Coming around well in front of them, the dolphins thanked us with a show
that was utterly astonishing. Several of them catapulted out of the water,
jumping at least 15 feet above the waterline, twisting before arching back
downward. They repeated this for at least 90-seconds. On occasion, several
would jump out in unison. We were stupefied; I of course was screaming with
joy. When it was over, I turned to Raphael, Rafa, I may be crazy, but did they
do that for us? Rafael said, I think that too. I thought, these must be highly
intelligent, sentient, intuitive mammals. Rafa added, Yeah, Im sure they did
that for us. They can sense us a mile away. I thought that surely the dolphins
must be able to identify us by the unique vibration of our motor.
The snorkelers were on the beach witnessing the show and jumping with delight.
Picking them up, we walked through a sunbathing flock of red crabs before
climbing on board and pushing off.
Leaving the bay, we came upon our dolphin friends. And again, we gave them a
wide berth. And, incredibly once we had bypassed them, giving them wide berth
and moving in front, they gave us the second half and a repeat performance of
the show.
I am way beyond euphoria here. Visions and memories to last a lifetime.