October diving
October/24/2008
My
exit was premature. I returned to Loreto for
another dozen dives and these
were truly some of the most memorable I have ever had. My last dive was
October 8th, the day after my 61st birthday, and lasted 72-minutes maximum
depth of 68 feet in 84 degree water. I dive without a wet suit now.
Another instance of swimming with pilot whales, this time three of them came
within 6 feet of me. Exhilarating beyond belief. More playing with sea lions,
diving up the vortex of schools of barracudas and surgeons. The surgeons -
hundreds of them - circled around my head for several minutes and even
followed me as I moved to more fallow ground. I joined a school of goatfish
who simply made room for me among their chain so all I could see through my
mask was dozens of yellow fins wiggling in front of my face.
Had several episodes with turtles. laying behind one from a distance of 8-feet
for two-minutes until his wariness got the better of him and he took off. I
know better now not to follow.
Diving the wreck of the tuna boat in poor visibility, was delighted to see a
school of jacks materialize out of nowhere and veer off suddenly as they
approached my mask. Their silver skin shimmied in the cloudy light.
The Sea of Cortez is such a treasure.
were truly some of the most memorable I have ever had. My last dive was
October 8th, the day after my 61st birthday, and lasted 72-minutes maximum
depth of 68 feet in 84 degree water. I dive without a wet suit now.
Another instance of swimming with pilot whales, this time three of them came
within 6 feet of me. Exhilarating beyond belief. More playing with sea lions,
diving up the vortex of schools of barracudas and surgeons. The surgeons -
hundreds of them - circled around my head for several minutes and even
followed me as I moved to more fallow ground. I joined a school of goatfish
who simply made room for me among their chain so all I could see through my
mask was dozens of yellow fins wiggling in front of my face.
Had several episodes with turtles. laying behind one from a distance of 8-feet
for two-minutes until his wariness got the better of him and he took off. I
know better now not to follow.
Diving the wreck of the tuna boat in poor visibility, was delighted to see a
school of jacks materialize out of nowhere and veer off suddenly as they
approached my mask. Their silver skin shimmied in the cloudy light.
The Sea of Cortez is such a treasure.
Last dive of winter
March/08/2008
Diving
through a Loreto winter doesn’t bring the
certainty and regularity of
summer diving, however, for all the days we missed out because of rough seas,
guacamole visibility or contentious winds, we more than made up for in some
spectacular adventures unavailable in milder climes.
Interacting with three species of whales is an experience I’ll cherish for the
rest of my days. And the contact with the Coronado sea lions on our last two
dives was magnificent. I like to think that they knew I was leaving for they
put on quite the show. Frisky, curious and uncommonly bold, the encounters
were the most intimate that I had so far experienced. I was shooting with an
underwater camera for the second straight day, and the sea lions couldn’t help
but ham it up. They weaved and bobbed between us all. Rafa and I did our mimic
routine to entice them to play. They are so fast and agile, that snapping
photos was like shooting clay pigeons - I had to anticipate where they would
land in the following 2-seconds in order to make a good screen capture. The
current above was quite rough and as we came up from 74-feet onto the deck of
the reef wall, we would undulate from the movement of the rocking waves above.
All the sea fans and coral growth were swaying in the same rhythm.
Practically stumbled on a greenback turtle on the second dive. Again climbing
another coral wall and jack-knifing atop the plateau, I surprised a resting
turtle about 4-metres from my goggles. I quickly snapped a photo and he
lumbered away. As I followed him, he turned on the afterburners and left like
a shot. It was exhilarating to blunder onto such a magnificent creature. I
took some of the lead from Rafa as he attentively helped some novice divers
and in so doing, learned that marine life gives us a wide berth. Turning a
corner of a wall, I came upon an enormous giant grouper, at least 4-feet in
length. This large ancient grouper had successfully escaped poachers nets by
hightailing it at the first sight of humans, and he did the same with me. My
mouth was agape nonetheless. The plankton was in full bloom but the water
temperature had dipped to 61-degrees giving us better than normal plankton
visibility. Lots of sea life feeding seemingly oblivious to us. I finally saw
a school of surgeons, my buddies who have yellow fins like me and don’t mind
my joining the group. I finished the 46-minute final dive taking photos of the
beautiful gorgonian, sea tubes and little creatures who make diving in the Sea
of Cortez such an ever-changing adventure.
I left all my diving gear in Loreto. Pointless to bring it back as I have no
desire to dive anywhere else. I’m back for three months in July. Oh, humboldt
squid, I’ll return for you and the mating mobulas!
summer diving, however, for all the days we missed out because of rough seas,
guacamole visibility or contentious winds, we more than made up for in some
spectacular adventures unavailable in milder climes.
Interacting with three species of whales is an experience I’ll cherish for the
rest of my days. And the contact with the Coronado sea lions on our last two
dives was magnificent. I like to think that they knew I was leaving for they
put on quite the show. Frisky, curious and uncommonly bold, the encounters
were the most intimate that I had so far experienced. I was shooting with an
underwater camera for the second straight day, and the sea lions couldn’t help
but ham it up. They weaved and bobbed between us all. Rafa and I did our mimic
routine to entice them to play. They are so fast and agile, that snapping
photos was like shooting clay pigeons - I had to anticipate where they would
land in the following 2-seconds in order to make a good screen capture. The
current above was quite rough and as we came up from 74-feet onto the deck of
the reef wall, we would undulate from the movement of the rocking waves above.
All the sea fans and coral growth were swaying in the same rhythm.
Practically stumbled on a greenback turtle on the second dive. Again climbing
another coral wall and jack-knifing atop the plateau, I surprised a resting
turtle about 4-metres from my goggles. I quickly snapped a photo and he
lumbered away. As I followed him, he turned on the afterburners and left like
a shot. It was exhilarating to blunder onto such a magnificent creature. I
took some of the lead from Rafa as he attentively helped some novice divers
and in so doing, learned that marine life gives us a wide berth. Turning a
corner of a wall, I came upon an enormous giant grouper, at least 4-feet in
length. This large ancient grouper had successfully escaped poachers nets by
hightailing it at the first sight of humans, and he did the same with me. My
mouth was agape nonetheless. The plankton was in full bloom but the water
temperature had dipped to 61-degrees giving us better than normal plankton
visibility. Lots of sea life feeding seemingly oblivious to us. I finally saw
a school of surgeons, my buddies who have yellow fins like me and don’t mind
my joining the group. I finished the 46-minute final dive taking photos of the
beautiful gorgonian, sea tubes and little creatures who make diving in the Sea
of Cortez such an ever-changing adventure.
I left all my diving gear in Loreto. Pointless to bring it back as I have no
desire to dive anywhere else. I’m back for three months in July. Oh, humboldt
squid, I’ll return for you and the mating mobulas!
Mobula heaven
October/09/2007
We
took some friends from Canada out snorkeling on a
day where the sea,
current and swells were the roughest I have experienced on Coronado. It was a
typical day underwater, sea lions were frisky and interactive - two swam right
up to my chest in a game of brinkmanship and happily, they veered off at the
last second.
We drift dived - such fun - however the payback was formidable as we had to
swim against the current to return. The usual assortment of characters was
there and we logged a 53-minute dive at a total depth of 78-feet.
The sea was so rough that we dropped off the snorkelers on the lee side of
Coronado Beach were they portaged over the desert on a 10-minute trek to reach
the other side. Gray was feeling the effects of the salt water on his face and
elected to sit the dive out. Ben, Rafa and myself went off to find a pinnacle
100 metres offshore. Diving into the water, we descended to 43-feet and
quickly came across a couple of mobula rays bobbing and weaving through the
current catching krill for lunch. When we dropped to the 60-foot range, we
entered a blizzard of sardines, literally millions of them, schooling through
the current, changing direction as a uniform choreography. A dozen mobula
showed up as a battalion, large groupers, panamic graybys, bass, herds of
goatfish and surprisingly an enormous balloonfish at least three feet in
length. Normally a nocturnal animal, the shy balloonfish with eyes as big as
saucers obviously couldn’t pass up the free lunch. The visibility was cloudy
and clear depending on the volume of tiny shrimp, krill and sardines that
overcast the view. More mobulas one came up about 15-feet from, completely
oblivious to me and focused on its culinary dance. Beautiful form and grace,
these rays, smaller cousins of the manta are utterly hypnotic and I eyeballed
it as it moved beyond my reach. We reached a total depth of 71-feet before
climbing back through the reef range. I came across a group of goatfish and
surgeons floated in neutral buoyancy. They let me join them for a drift and I
slowed my breathing so the bubbles wouldn’t disturb them. Moving upward toward
the light, lots of little canyons of fish, rainbow wraisse, barberfish,
parrotfish, chromis and goats. I love the little Cortez brown damselfish that
advance and retreat as I approach. Rafa found a couple of giant blue
damselfish guarding their eggs deposited on flat slate-like formations. As
Rafa approached to look closer, the damsel parent would open its mouth and
move into his lens, trying to impede his way. Very brave and courageous
totally undaunted to the large invader. Moving up to safety stop, we fell upon
an octopus who despite our best coaxing efforts, would not come out and join
us.
As usual, looking up, I see that Daniel has brought the boat aside our bubbles
and we all floated up to the ladder.
current and swells were the roughest I have experienced on Coronado. It was a
typical day underwater, sea lions were frisky and interactive - two swam right
up to my chest in a game of brinkmanship and happily, they veered off at the
last second.
We drift dived - such fun - however the payback was formidable as we had to
swim against the current to return. The usual assortment of characters was
there and we logged a 53-minute dive at a total depth of 78-feet.
The sea was so rough that we dropped off the snorkelers on the lee side of
Coronado Beach were they portaged over the desert on a 10-minute trek to reach
the other side. Gray was feeling the effects of the salt water on his face and
elected to sit the dive out. Ben, Rafa and myself went off to find a pinnacle
100 metres offshore. Diving into the water, we descended to 43-feet and
quickly came across a couple of mobula rays bobbing and weaving through the
current catching krill for lunch. When we dropped to the 60-foot range, we
entered a blizzard of sardines, literally millions of them, schooling through
the current, changing direction as a uniform choreography. A dozen mobula
showed up as a battalion, large groupers, panamic graybys, bass, herds of
goatfish and surprisingly an enormous balloonfish at least three feet in
length. Normally a nocturnal animal, the shy balloonfish with eyes as big as
saucers obviously couldn’t pass up the free lunch. The visibility was cloudy
and clear depending on the volume of tiny shrimp, krill and sardines that
overcast the view. More mobulas one came up about 15-feet from, completely
oblivious to me and focused on its culinary dance. Beautiful form and grace,
these rays, smaller cousins of the manta are utterly hypnotic and I eyeballed
it as it moved beyond my reach. We reached a total depth of 71-feet before
climbing back through the reef range. I came across a group of goatfish and
surgeons floated in neutral buoyancy. They let me join them for a drift and I
slowed my breathing so the bubbles wouldn’t disturb them. Moving upward toward
the light, lots of little canyons of fish, rainbow wraisse, barberfish,
parrotfish, chromis and goats. I love the little Cortez brown damselfish that
advance and retreat as I approach. Rafa found a couple of giant blue
damselfish guarding their eggs deposited on flat slate-like formations. As
Rafa approached to look closer, the damsel parent would open its mouth and
move into his lens, trying to impede his way. Very brave and courageous
totally undaunted to the large invader. Moving up to safety stop, we fell upon
an octopus who despite our best coaxing efforts, would not come out and join
us.
As usual, looking up, I see that Daniel has brought the boat aside our bubbles
and we all floated up to the ladder.
Aquarium
October/04/2007
Ross,
Erin, Gray, Elizabeth, Rafa, Daniel and myself
left the dock at 8:45 am
and headed straight for Coronado. Not a cloud in the sky, the temperature
already in the eighties and we are heading for the basalt outcrops to pay a
visit to our pride of sea lions.
The barking started about 100 metres before we arrived and continued while we
dressed and rolled in. There was a slight current so we finned to the shore
rocks and waited while Rafa and Ross tried to rescue Ross’ dumped weights. In
a few moments we were all at 24 feet and I started to lead the pack, anxious
to start interacting with our sea lion buddies. We weren’t disappointed. Soon
a couple of females swam down and we started to boogie. I’m undulating and
twisting my body in an attempt to get their attention; the sea lions thought I
was an idiot but one of them swam up to me and gave me a close fly past. I was
thrilled. Soon the remainder of the divers joined me and that got the sea
lions’ attention. Several came down, and at one point, one of the females was
swimming though and around each of us. A mom and her calf came down as well,
and I backed slowly away from the calf not wanting to incur any territorial
disputes. This is all happening in front of a gorgeous reef wall filled with
invertebrates, barnacles and the accoutrements of marine sea-life. There was
within this wall an overgrowth of rock that housed an air pocket, which Rafa
poked his head though and later remarked of the utter stench of the trapped
air.
After 10-minutes of sea lion play, we sallied forth, continuing down to total
depth of 82 feet. The fish life got scarcer as we descended and we encountered
a thermocline that was decidedly cooler than the 85 degree temperature in
which we were used to diving. A school of goatfish came by; a few surgeons,
king angels and damsels, the latter seeming to be very protective of their
turf. The damsels were engaged in nibbling little goodies off of sheer slate
walls.
We moved onto the sea floor, barren except for the detritus of shells and a
colony of sea eels who poked their long necks and mouths out from the sandy
bottom. We came across a beautiful pipe sea anemone with a gorgeous pink
collar and long white tentacles. We fought the current back to the seal wall
as we climbed upward, reached the sea lion territory and again interacted with
these wonderful creatures as we safety stopped home.
The second dive was perhaps my finest scuba experience here. We dove for
63-minutes at the cabbages site, round the corner from the pride. Called the
cabbages because the lava rock above shore resembles the vegetable, the site
is probably the grandest aquarium on the Baja. I held back from the others a
little because my regulator blew out 300 psi when its exhaust switch
accidentally turned on as I back vaulted into the water. To counteract the time
loss, I would dive shallower and what a reward! The others were down at about
40 feet finding a drift current; I stumbled onto a neap tide and thousands of
fish. I was completely gobsmacked. Huge 24-30 inch groupers, snappers,
parrotfish just hung, suspended in the nutrient-rich water, drenched in
sunlight. Enormous schools of grunts, surgeons, goatfish, barberfish and
god-knows-what-else moved blithely through me. I clutched a rock from the reef
and tried to regulate and slow my breaths. The place was as dense as Hong
Kong, fish everywhere. The bigger ones really blew me away as they were in
such copious supply. Normally wary of divers, they drew strength in numbers as
they just ignored me and went along feeding. I wanted to stay there forever,
intoxicated with the canopy of colour and light, my eyes completely glowing
with the reflection of fish. My scuba mates were heading down the current, and
reluctantly I followed. Soon, I signaled Gray to follow me as I found a small,
tight cavern that ninety-degreed back into the light and we both squeezed
through to our mutual delight. Moving down to the forty-foot level, I found
another gorgeous sea anemone like this morning and a scorpion fish so camouflaged
in the reef, that I had to pull Ross’ hand from landing on it.
It was a lovely drift and shortly we started to make our ascent. I’m yelling
to Rafa through my regulator to come and identify a marvelous shy little
6-inch creature whose hooded face carried bulbous eyes (a panamic blennie).
Soon we reached the 15-foot safety stop area where we were confounded by
enormous quantities of marine life, each of us following our own muse. It was
bliss to see each one of us completely absorbed in our delightful discoveries.
Looking up through the luminous water, we noticed that Daniel had brought the
boat and ladder right atop us. We squeezed as much air out of our tanks as we
could before drifting up to complete the dive.
Everyone was jabbering about the dive.
Rapture.
and headed straight for Coronado. Not a cloud in the sky, the temperature
already in the eighties and we are heading for the basalt outcrops to pay a
visit to our pride of sea lions.
The barking started about 100 metres before we arrived and continued while we
dressed and rolled in. There was a slight current so we finned to the shore
rocks and waited while Rafa and Ross tried to rescue Ross’ dumped weights. In
a few moments we were all at 24 feet and I started to lead the pack, anxious
to start interacting with our sea lion buddies. We weren’t disappointed. Soon
a couple of females swam down and we started to boogie. I’m undulating and
twisting my body in an attempt to get their attention; the sea lions thought I
was an idiot but one of them swam up to me and gave me a close fly past. I was
thrilled. Soon the remainder of the divers joined me and that got the sea
lions’ attention. Several came down, and at one point, one of the females was
swimming though and around each of us. A mom and her calf came down as well,
and I backed slowly away from the calf not wanting to incur any territorial
disputes. This is all happening in front of a gorgeous reef wall filled with
invertebrates, barnacles and the accoutrements of marine sea-life. There was
within this wall an overgrowth of rock that housed an air pocket, which Rafa
poked his head though and later remarked of the utter stench of the trapped
air.
After 10-minutes of sea lion play, we sallied forth, continuing down to total
depth of 82 feet. The fish life got scarcer as we descended and we encountered
a thermocline that was decidedly cooler than the 85 degree temperature in
which we were used to diving. A school of goatfish came by; a few surgeons,
king angels and damsels, the latter seeming to be very protective of their
turf. The damsels were engaged in nibbling little goodies off of sheer slate
walls.
We moved onto the sea floor, barren except for the detritus of shells and a
colony of sea eels who poked their long necks and mouths out from the sandy
bottom. We came across a beautiful pipe sea anemone with a gorgeous pink
collar and long white tentacles. We fought the current back to the seal wall
as we climbed upward, reached the sea lion territory and again interacted with
these wonderful creatures as we safety stopped home.
The second dive was perhaps my finest scuba experience here. We dove for
63-minutes at the cabbages site, round the corner from the pride. Called the
cabbages because the lava rock above shore resembles the vegetable, the site
is probably the grandest aquarium on the Baja. I held back from the others a
little because my regulator blew out 300 psi when its exhaust switch
accidentally turned on as I back vaulted into the water. To counteract the time
loss, I would dive shallower and what a reward! The others were down at about
40 feet finding a drift current; I stumbled onto a neap tide and thousands of
fish. I was completely gobsmacked. Huge 24-30 inch groupers, snappers,
parrotfish just hung, suspended in the nutrient-rich water, drenched in
sunlight. Enormous schools of grunts, surgeons, goatfish, barberfish and
god-knows-what-else moved blithely through me. I clutched a rock from the reef
and tried to regulate and slow my breaths. The place was as dense as Hong
Kong, fish everywhere. The bigger ones really blew me away as they were in
such copious supply. Normally wary of divers, they drew strength in numbers as
they just ignored me and went along feeding. I wanted to stay there forever,
intoxicated with the canopy of colour and light, my eyes completely glowing
with the reflection of fish. My scuba mates were heading down the current, and
reluctantly I followed. Soon, I signaled Gray to follow me as I found a small,
tight cavern that ninety-degreed back into the light and we both squeezed
through to our mutual delight. Moving down to the forty-foot level, I found
another gorgeous sea anemone like this morning and a scorpion fish so camouflaged
in the reef, that I had to pull Ross’ hand from landing on it.
It was a lovely drift and shortly we started to make our ascent. I’m yelling
to Rafa through my regulator to come and identify a marvelous shy little
6-inch creature whose hooded face carried bulbous eyes (a panamic blennie).
Soon we reached the 15-foot safety stop area where we were confounded by
enormous quantities of marine life, each of us following our own muse. It was
bliss to see each one of us completely absorbed in our delightful discoveries.
Looking up through the luminous water, we noticed that Daniel had brought the
boat and ladder right atop us. We squeezed as much air out of our tanks as we
could before drifting up to complete the dive.
Everyone was jabbering about the dive.
Rapture.
Coronado
September/20/2007
Went
to Coronado Island about a half hour NE of
Loreto. Beautiful day, calm
sea although the divemaster groaned when he looked at the water as he realized
we are now into a two week plankton bloom where our underwater visibility
drops to about 15 feet.
We drove until we came to a large outcropping of basalt rock, the residue of a
5,000 year old volcano. At its base, sat several sea lions and a few of their
adolescents. We anchored about 5 metres from them and dove in. They soon
followed us, and even with the poor visibility, we could see what wonderful
swimmers they are considering how awkward they are on land. They were just
checking us out and left us alone after they gave us an eyeful. The plan was
to swim through them and circle back around, submerging deeper when we reached
a crevasse. The fish weren't as plentiful here although there were Cortez
angel, sting rays, barberfish, several species of damsels and a small school of barracuda.
Reaching the abyss, we dove to 90 feet, and then began scaling a fabulous
mountain wall with thousands of urchins and sea aenomies clinging to its
chest. Many kinds of invertebrates, sea fans and orange cup coral, cucumbers,
slugs and starfish covered the wall and on one ledge, we saw a 6 inch spiral
shark's egg. Very impressive. Because of the slight current, all the coral was
in full blossom with tentacles open to feed on the plankton.
There were three of us diving today, including a construction manager from
Denver, an experienced diver who brought his digital camera. Got lots of fine
shots.
For the second dive, we turned the boat eastward into another small cove.
Rafael, our divemaster, knew of a large shelf and cliff face that we could
explore. I still have issues clearing my ears on second dives, so I used the
anchor line and descended very, very slowly, clearing every few seconds to
insure no barotrauma. We reached bottom at 20 feet and began to move. More
schools and variety here, perhaps because the visibility was improving. Mostly
angels, soapfish, damsels and small wrasse. The floor was littered with
panamic and chocolate chip stars, gorgonian and burrowing anemones whose
extended tentacles were feasting on the bloom. We now were in a stronger
current and drift dived for several minutes. The current was the trigger for
all the invertibrates to show their colours and appendages to haul in the
food. And speaking of food, saw an enormous lobster that would be a nice
dinner for two.
We started moving up another enormous cliff face, again completely covered
with the most astonishing marine life. Lifting my head, I could see stretched
before me a landscape teeming with life. Worlds within worlds. Especially in
the mountain caves. Saw a three foot yellow snapper who withdrew as soon as he
saw me. I am learning that when I see something particularly interesting, to
refrain from blowing bubbles that might frighten them off.
As we ascended to the thirty foot mark, the water began to get murky and
became a harvest; shepherded by a dozen smaller fish, was a 5 foot grouper
coming to feed, one of the larger fishes in the Sea of Cortez. We saw this guy
on three separate occasions. Swimming through a group of damsels and angels,
we came into the soft gossamer light indicating that the surface was near and
another fabulous adventure was coming to an end.
No dolphins this time, but returning home, we encountered three mobula rays
who, despite our pleading, refused to leap out of the water. It's mating time
and soon hundreds of the will be on the surface.
sea although the divemaster groaned when he looked at the water as he realized
we are now into a two week plankton bloom where our underwater visibility
drops to about 15 feet.
We drove until we came to a large outcropping of basalt rock, the residue of a
5,000 year old volcano. At its base, sat several sea lions and a few of their
adolescents. We anchored about 5 metres from them and dove in. They soon
followed us, and even with the poor visibility, we could see what wonderful
swimmers they are considering how awkward they are on land. They were just
checking us out and left us alone after they gave us an eyeful. The plan was
to swim through them and circle back around, submerging deeper when we reached
a crevasse. The fish weren't as plentiful here although there were Cortez
angel, sting rays, barberfish, several species of damsels and a small school of barracuda.
Reaching the abyss, we dove to 90 feet, and then began scaling a fabulous
mountain wall with thousands of urchins and sea aenomies clinging to its
chest. Many kinds of invertebrates, sea fans and orange cup coral, cucumbers,
slugs and starfish covered the wall and on one ledge, we saw a 6 inch spiral
shark's egg. Very impressive. Because of the slight current, all the coral was
in full blossom with tentacles open to feed on the plankton.
There were three of us diving today, including a construction manager from
Denver, an experienced diver who brought his digital camera. Got lots of fine
shots.
For the second dive, we turned the boat eastward into another small cove.
Rafael, our divemaster, knew of a large shelf and cliff face that we could
explore. I still have issues clearing my ears on second dives, so I used the
anchor line and descended very, very slowly, clearing every few seconds to
insure no barotrauma. We reached bottom at 20 feet and began to move. More
schools and variety here, perhaps because the visibility was improving. Mostly
angels, soapfish, damsels and small wrasse. The floor was littered with
panamic and chocolate chip stars, gorgonian and burrowing anemones whose
extended tentacles were feasting on the bloom. We now were in a stronger
current and drift dived for several minutes. The current was the trigger for
all the invertibrates to show their colours and appendages to haul in the
food. And speaking of food, saw an enormous lobster that would be a nice
dinner for two.
We started moving up another enormous cliff face, again completely covered
with the most astonishing marine life. Lifting my head, I could see stretched
before me a landscape teeming with life. Worlds within worlds. Especially in
the mountain caves. Saw a three foot yellow snapper who withdrew as soon as he
saw me. I am learning that when I see something particularly interesting, to
refrain from blowing bubbles that might frighten them off.
As we ascended to the thirty foot mark, the water began to get murky and
became a harvest; shepherded by a dozen smaller fish, was a 5 foot grouper
coming to feed, one of the larger fishes in the Sea of Cortez. We saw this guy
on three separate occasions. Swimming through a group of damsels and angels,
we came into the soft gossamer light indicating that the surface was near and
another fabulous adventure was coming to an end.
No dolphins this time, but returning home, we encountered three mobula rays
who, despite our pleading, refused to leap out of the water. It's mating time
and soon hundreds of the will be on the surface.
Paradise
May/02/2007
Went
to Coronado Island about a half hour NE of
Loreto. Beautiful day, calm
sea although the divemaster groaned when he looked at the water as he realized
we are now into a two week plankton bloom where our underwater visibility
drops to about 15 feet.
We drove until we came to a large outcropping of basalt rock, the residue of a
5,000 year old volcano. At its base, sat several sea lions and a few of their
adolescents. We anchored about 5 metres from them and dove in. They soon
followed us, and even with the poor visibility, we could see what wonderful
swimmers they are considering how awkward they are on land. They were just
checking us out and left us alone after they gave us an eyeful. The plan was
to swim through them and circle back around, submerging deeper when we reached
a crevasse. The fish weren't as plentiful here although there were Cortez
angel, sting rays, barberfish, several species of damsels and a small school of barracuda.
Reaching the abyss, we dove to 90 feet, and then began scaling a fabulous
mountain wall with thousands of urchins and sea anemones clinging to its
chest. Many kinds of invertebrates, sea fans and orange cup coral, cucumbers,
slugs and starfish covered the wall and on one ledge, we saw a 6 inch spiral
shark's egg. Very impressive. Because of the slight current, all the coral was
in full blossom with tentacles open to feed on the plankton.
There were three of us diving today, including a construction manager from
Denver, an experienced diver who brought his digital camera. Got lots of fine
shots.
For the second dive, we turned the boat eastward into another small cove.
Rafael, our divemaster, knew of a large shelf and cliff face that we could
explore. I still have issues clearing my ears on second dives, so I used the
anchor line and descended very, very slowly, clearing every few seconds to
insure no barotrauma. We reached bottom at 20 feet and began to move. More
schools and variety here, perhaps because the visibility was improving. Mostly
angels, soapfish, damsels and small wrasse. The floor was littered with
panamic and chocolate chip stars, gorgonian and burrowing anemones whose
extended tentacles were feasting on the bloom. We now were in a stronger
current and drift dived for several minutes. The current was the trigger for
all the invertibrates to show their colours and appendages to haul in the
food. And speaking of food, saw an enormous lobster that would be a nice
dinner for two.
We started moving up another enormous cliff face, again completely covered
with the most astonishing marine life. Lifting my head, I could see stretched
before me a landscape teeming with life. Worlds within worlds. Especially in
the mountain caves. Saw a three-foot yellow snapper who withdrew as soon as he
saw me. I am learning that when I see something particularly interesting,
refrain from blowing bubbles that might frighten them off.
As we ascended to the thirty-foot mark, the water began to get murky and
became a harvest; shepherded by a dozen smaller fish, was a 5 foot grouper
coming to feed, one of the larger fishes in the Sea of Cortez. We saw this guy
on three separate occasions. Swimming through a group of damsels and angels,
we came into the soft gossamer light indicating that the surface was near and
another fabulous adventure was coming to an end.
No dolphins this time, but returning home, we encountered three mobula rays
who, despite our pleading, refused to leap out of the water. It's mating time
and soon hundreds of the will be on the surface.
sea although the divemaster groaned when he looked at the water as he realized
we are now into a two week plankton bloom where our underwater visibility
drops to about 15 feet.
We drove until we came to a large outcropping of basalt rock, the residue of a
5,000 year old volcano. At its base, sat several sea lions and a few of their
adolescents. We anchored about 5 metres from them and dove in. They soon
followed us, and even with the poor visibility, we could see what wonderful
swimmers they are considering how awkward they are on land. They were just
checking us out and left us alone after they gave us an eyeful. The plan was
to swim through them and circle back around, submerging deeper when we reached
a crevasse. The fish weren't as plentiful here although there were Cortez
angel, sting rays, barberfish, several species of damsels and a small school of barracuda.
Reaching the abyss, we dove to 90 feet, and then began scaling a fabulous
mountain wall with thousands of urchins and sea anemones clinging to its
chest. Many kinds of invertebrates, sea fans and orange cup coral, cucumbers,
slugs and starfish covered the wall and on one ledge, we saw a 6 inch spiral
shark's egg. Very impressive. Because of the slight current, all the coral was
in full blossom with tentacles open to feed on the plankton.
There were three of us diving today, including a construction manager from
Denver, an experienced diver who brought his digital camera. Got lots of fine
shots.
For the second dive, we turned the boat eastward into another small cove.
Rafael, our divemaster, knew of a large shelf and cliff face that we could
explore. I still have issues clearing my ears on second dives, so I used the
anchor line and descended very, very slowly, clearing every few seconds to
insure no barotrauma. We reached bottom at 20 feet and began to move. More
schools and variety here, perhaps because the visibility was improving. Mostly
angels, soapfish, damsels and small wrasse. The floor was littered with
panamic and chocolate chip stars, gorgonian and burrowing anemones whose
extended tentacles were feasting on the bloom. We now were in a stronger
current and drift dived for several minutes. The current was the trigger for
all the invertibrates to show their colours and appendages to haul in the
food. And speaking of food, saw an enormous lobster that would be a nice
dinner for two.
We started moving up another enormous cliff face, again completely covered
with the most astonishing marine life. Lifting my head, I could see stretched
before me a landscape teeming with life. Worlds within worlds. Especially in
the mountain caves. Saw a three-foot yellow snapper who withdrew as soon as he
saw me. I am learning that when I see something particularly interesting,
refrain from blowing bubbles that might frighten them off.
As we ascended to the thirty-foot mark, the water began to get murky and
became a harvest; shepherded by a dozen smaller fish, was a 5 foot grouper
coming to feed, one of the larger fishes in the Sea of Cortez. We saw this guy
on three separate occasions. Swimming through a group of damsels and angels,
we came into the soft gossamer light indicating that the surface was near and
another fabulous adventure was coming to an end.
No dolphins this time, but returning home, we encountered three mobula rays
who, despite our pleading, refused to leap out of the water. It's mating time
and soon hundreds of the will be on the surface.
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.