Kevin will hopefully add an eloquent overtone to the report for this weekend. I'll try to fill in until he can add more info.
Friday, I dove LBTS with Scubakev, Marvel, ScubaJenny, and Jen. It was great. Playful eels, tons of shrimp, and a full moon made for great diving. Thanks to ScubaJenny and Marvel for excellent guiding. Exit time 11PM
On to Boynton Beach, Saturday (8:30 AM) found the greatest conditions of the year. You could see parrotfish from the bridge. Conditions were optimal. Viz was outstanding and current was minimal. Two dives in the morning allowed lots of time for viewing. Highlights included mucho eels, many tropicals, and a friendly turtle. I spent most of the second dive taking pictures of hamlets. There were paired up hogfish swimming around the reef. It was awesome.
The afternoon trip found me diving with Kev and PS for both dives. The first dive was at Black Condo. The resident turtle rekindled his friendship with Kevin. The two of them buzzed the ledge for about 15 minutes (in perfect formation). Outstanding!! The second dive was along the top of the reef. I enjoyed playing with a little octopus for a few minutes. He was the coolest ever.
The FIND: I saw a Shell Pile beside a barrel sponge. HMM, I thought, maybe I should inspect the area for an octopus. I found a small rock very close to place my left pointer fingertip on for balance and a pivot point. While scanning the area I noticed movement by my finger, then felt a pull on said finger. Awesome, octopus found me. I observed his natural interaction for a few minutes, then departed the area for more eels and a wonderful drift along some of the best reef ever. Time: 4PM
Last night found Kev, myself, my wife, and another bound for the reef at around 11PM. The moon was perfect for a night dive without a light. We hit the reef around midnight, where team 1 entered the water. I was running the boat, so I made a few runs south to allow the boat drifting room to the flag. Wind was out of the South and was blowing surprisingly strong. Sheri and I entered when first team was secure on deck. Our dive was awesome and relaxing. We killed the lights and followed the reef contour by moonlight for about 10 minutes (we were holding hands, but don't tell anyone :07: ).
I had to take this morning off because I was sleepy
. The afternoon greeted us with flat seas and excellent viz.
Afternoon dives were outstanding. I dove this afternoon with a nice guy from Melbourne. We talked photography and had two phenomenal dives. First dive found eels, a friendly peacock flounder, and a slipping backplate. (Side story, I changed the webbing on my SS plate. The new material is very "supple" and feels great. Problem is that the webbing will not stay in place. Modifications will begin when I finish typing this). The surface interval found discussions of composition for landscape photography. Dive 2 found us shooting eels and sponges, fans and plumes, juvies and grouper.
I'm teaching tomorrow, so we'll be diving the Castor in the AM and a nice piece of reef in the afternoon.
Kev, where are you?
