Creatures From The Crevice: A Photoessay of Shaw's Cove

[Craig Hoover]

Current and surge in The Crevice make a good thrill ride. Nick hovers in The Arch; not an easy feat. Due to camera problems he is a spotter when not practicing hovering.

The Crevice opens into Crescent Bay to the north. We found a relaxed scorpionfish at the mouth of The Crevice on this side. Scorpionfish are common at this site.

Four foot guitar fish make any dive a winner. We followed this individual over the top of the reef for half an hour. It settled in a swim through cave and I was able to take this shot.

Back in The Crevice we took a closer look at the walls. Yellow sulfur sponges are common. We slowed the pace and began to absorb detail. This is when we began to find nudis.

Here is a close up of Tylodina fungina, the mushroom cap sidegill. Look closely and the eyespots are visible.

Many thanks to Nick for the patience to explore at a slug's pace. It is a pleasure to see all the big and small creatures that a site has to offer.

 

[OCdiving Deb]

Beautiful report and pix, Craig! Thank you for sharing!

 

[ligersandtions]

Wow! Nice report and pics

I've never dived on the south side of Crescent Bay....looks like maybe I should consider it sometime. How deep were you? I assume you can only do it on reasonably calm days (like the channels at Shaw's), right?

 

[ScubaSam]

Enjoyed your awesome pics. Thanks for sharing.

 

[Rainer]

Sweet!

 

[bperc]

Thanks for the great pics

 

[wrybosome]

Thanks for the photos, and especially the descriptions. What a fun read!

 

[FrankPro1]

Nice job finding the Tylodina fungina on the sulfur sponge. Great detail on the Scorpion fish eye. How much did you crop that shot? Thx for sharing your explorations with us

 

[Craig Hoover]

Wow! Nice report and pics

I've never dived on the south side of Crescent Bay....looks like maybe I should consider it sometime. How deep were you? I assume you can only do it on reasonably calm days (like the channels at Shaw's), right?

We rounded the tip of the reef down to 50 from Shaw's and cruised back to 25. Took The Crevice back to Shaw's. There is another wider cut in the reef at 35 that is more evident from the Crescent Bay side. A few swim through caves here are fun to explore.

There is more surge on the Crescent Bay side. Deeper than 35 the reef is less scenic. Golden gorgonians and southern palm kelp are found here. For sightseeing I explore walls or stay on the Shaw's side. No dive feels complete without the drama of soaring through a canyon; even if surge and poor vis, I take a ride through The Crevice.

 

[Craig Hoover]

Great detail on the Scorpion fish eye. How much did you crop that shot?

No cropping. I can fill the frame with a one centimeter subject.

Shot taken with Canon 7D in Aquatica housing with a manual focus port, 100mm lens and Macromate wet diopter. I use autofocus but the manual focus knob helps to attach fishing line as a backup in case the diopter is knocked off the port. (This happened once already.) Line is 5 lb test and must be replaced every 30 dives.

100mm lens better to use with wet diopter for best magnification. Ask bvanant for more detailed description. He is the technical adviser for Bluewater and is glad to share extensive knowledge. He can be found in the Canon Corner.