7 Wonders of the world

[Antmany2k]

hey all,
so i am a big history nerd and was a bit bored and doing some reading on my lunch break and was reading about the 7 ancient wonders of the world, which then lead to the 7 wonders of the medieval world, modern world etc etc. there are so many lists and 1 of them was 7 natural wonders of the world and the Great Barrier Reef came up on there. that got me thinking and i thought it might be a fun thread to see what peoples 7 wonders of the undersea world are.

rules are that there should be 7 (obviously) and they can be wrecks, dive sites, caves, lakes whatever you like as long you put your scuba gear on to get there and enjoy it and most importantly a short (or long) explanation of why you love that particular wonder. doesn't have to be historical or even be considered good by others as long as its something YOU consider a wonder.

i look forward to seeing your responses

 

[nolatom]

Okay, I'm a "hick" who's only dived in the States, but what the hey to get this started..

1. Stetson Bank, at night---like orbiting the Moon
2. the Chester Poling wreck--I was in the Coast Guard in Boston when she broke in two in a winter storm and sank, a great rescue story
3. Flower Garden Banks, east and west. More hard coral than Stetson. And in the states!! The "Redneck Caribbean"
4. Drift dives off Jupiter and West Palm--maybe not a "wonder", but riding the Gulf Stream with sharks and turtles, is cooooll.
5. The "Russian freighter" off Pensacola--not Russian, but a cool now-unclassified story about how she "sank", she was a test-target during WW2 for a remote-control "bomb" boat (it worked by the way). And cool big ole Scotch boilers sitting there like 3 huge beehives.
6. U-bolt drilling/cementing trip for mooring buoy anchor, off the MV SPREE at Stetson, yeah it's work but fun, and when I least expected, it, whale shark!!!
7. Okay, I'm running thin here, how about just being weightless, underwater, and living to tell about it??

Yup, I don't get around that much. But it's been pretty cool, if you look around. I'm easily impressed anyway.

Okay, y'all have at it...

 

[Chavodel8en]

Total homer answer: the kelp forests of the temperate Eastern Pacific. Edit: I guess we could expand this to worldwide to include S. Africa, western Australia, etc.

Why: because they support and provide habitat to a tremendous volume and variety of life, from poisonous munching snails to rockfish and sea lions. And for the diver because its beautiful to look up and see the sunlight filtering through the kelp stalks. In recent times, the kelp was so thick it would be a thick tangled shag carpet on the surface in summer, up and down the coast, from Alaska to Baja, and also down in South America. Comparable to the Great Barrier Reef in terms of mass -- or actually probably much larger. Unfortunately, at least in Northern California, the kelp is being threatened right now by uncontrolled sea urchins, so its a lot thinner.

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

There exists a list for the seven wonders of the underwater world. They include the Great Barrier Reef, the Galapagos Islands, Lake Baikal, the deep hypothermal vents near the Galapagos Islands, the Belize Barrier Reef, the Northern Red Sea, and Palau. Underwater Wonders - 7wonders.org

Seems like the two Barrier Reefs mentioned aren't as wonderful as they once were ... having been loved to death by the scuba industry. I would put the Dahab Blue Hole on the list ... particularly the arch that sits about 180 feet below the surface there. I'd also put Browning Pass (northern Vancouver Island) on the list, as the abundance and diversity of life there is unlike anywhere else I've ever been. And I'd include the kelp forests of southern California, as already mentioned.

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[nolatom]

No one else wants to try this??? I thought it was fun.

 

[Compressor]

Ok here we go:

1. Red Sea
2. Raja Ampat
   
3. Little Cayman
4. Kelin Bonaire
5. Karpata in Bonaire
6. Place of Refuge in Big Island of Hawaii
7. Cayman Wall

I know I will get flack for this post.

 

[JamesBon92007]

I. The ocean.
2. Skinny dipping with naked women in the surf during a full moon during a phosphorescent red tide. Maybe even better wearing a mask.
3. Kicking the wet sand along the shore during a red tide and full moon and watching it flash and sparkle.
4. How long do I have to think about it?

Edit: The Manta Ray Night Dive, Kona

 

[Schwob]

Haven't gotten around that much yet in terms of scuba, so I have only three so far that I would even dare to qualify as "wonders reachable by scuba"

- Red Sea

- Bonaire, cause once you are there (that being the caveat) it is a wonderous combination of good, convenient, independent, on your own schedule, comparatively affordable (see caveat above) and quite good and at many locations quite easy tropical warm water diving.

- weightless underwater bliss (or is Zen the word), wherever encountered, in a wonderous foreign "world" we're not made to be in.

- OK, maybe a fourth... that first moment when you give up resistance to p...ng in the wetsuit...

 

[Ontwreckdiver]

1.The Great Lakes. Some of the best wreck diving in the world. Where else can you dive an intact 1800's wooden schooner and a 600+ foot modern freighter all in the same day.
2. The cenotes in Mexico. The best underwater cave diving in the world.
3.Chuuk wreck diving.

 

[Antmany2k]

No one else wants to try this??? I thought it was fun.

thanks, i was hoping it would be a fun thing for people to think about and see what other peoples answers would be

I know I will get flack for this post.

why would you get flack? everyone will have different ideas of what their wonders are but its meant to be fun and personal to you.

- OK, maybe a fourth... that first moment when you give up resistance to p...ng in the wetsuit...

some great answers here guys, keep it going