Best ever moment

[alemaozinho]

what was your best ever dive sighting/animal encounter/moment :06: ?

 

[Scubakevdm]

One time I was diving out on the reef and came across a big barrel sponge. At first I thought that it would get spooked and take off, but surprisingly it didn't! It stuck around for the entire dive. It almost seemed to enjoy the attention. Eventually it became so comfotable with me that I was able to approach it to within 6"! It didn't even flinch! Its amazing how quickly we developed a bond of trust. I still see it time to time, usually on the same section of reef, I guess they set up a territory or something. I named it Rover.

 

[DeepBlueResort]

Hi

Well i have a few, Diving with 2 Whale Sharks must be one, meeting face to face a 16ft Great Hammerhead must be another

 

[Pamdiv]

A close encounter with a giant manta ray in Fiji. It hung out with us for over 20 minutes showing us all the neat tricks it could do, including barnstorming inches above our heads. Way cool!!

 

[SueMermaid]

When a sharpnosed puffer came out of the reef and took refuge in my freefloating hair, staying with me, its Mothership, for the whole dive. He followed me all the way up to the surface, which was fortunately at that point not very far off the reef.

 

[Stingray81888]

My best moment ever happened 2 weeks ago. I was at SeaCamp in San Diego. The dive site was somewhere around San Clemente Island. My Counselor was dropping dead mackeral in the water to attract some bat rays into the area but they didnt come in the beginning. When we came back to the site we started and were about to ascend, there it was, a HUGE bat ray! It just swam around everybody and in between us. We were there for at least 5 minutes. Great Dive.

 

[DORSETBOY]

choice of 2 and I cant make up my mind.. prob diving 'solo' with a whale shark, swimming underneath it and watching it play with the bubbles from my reg on its underside. Alternatively, blue water diving and having a group of bull sharks circling upward underneath us... scary but an awesome moment.

 

[Wristshot]

Hard to narrow it to just one.. . . .

A) The first time I moved vertically in the water column without any effort at all. I rose about 12 feet to look over a ridge at an Eagle Ray, then dropped back down into the crevice / channel without doing anything. I just willed myself up and then back down. (okay breath control, but still it was a huge moment for me as a new diver.)

B) Finding an octopus hiding in some coral on a dive in Cozumel. I found it. Everyone else missed it! Then watching it change colors dramatically from Brown-purple-white with green shades. Awesome.

C) Swimming alongside a green moray eel that was longer than I am tall. It was about 5 feet away, and just swimming the same direction and speed as I was.

D) The best? My next dive!


Wristshot

 

[ChrisM]

Last December, Xmas eve, in Yap. Spent an entire dive with Terri the manta. Wou;d swoop down around and, using the trick I saw the DM do, I would break upo my bubbles on the exhaust into smaller bubbles. Terri came around, right over me, and stopped.... then gave a little shimmy and shake as the bubbles went up through his gills... then came around again, and again, and again, for over 1/2 hour....

Someone on the boat afterward said that manta liked what I was giving

I've got a self portrait of me on the boat following that dive, need to dig it up...

Chris