ChrisF
Contributor
Finally, after much preparation and planning, Greg and I did our Dawn Dive. The plan was to wake up in the early morning while it was still dark, take the boat to our favorite local dive site (a natural ledge about 10 nautical miles off Clearwater Beach Florida) and do a 2-tank night dive. The first dive was a pure night dive and the second was to be sort of a reverse dusk dive, where we would enter the water while it was still dark and surface after sunrise, allowing us to witness the reef waking up.
This adventure was as much about the getting to the dive site as it was about the dive. While we have been to this site many times during the day, this was our first time doing a night dive off of Gregs boat. I was primarily concerned about the 20-minute run up the Intracoastal Waterway to Clearwater Pass, which provides access to the Gulf of Mexico. The Intracoastal is a shallow, relatively wide stretch of water that separates the barrier islands that form Clearwater Beach from the Florida mainland. There is a narrow channel that cuts through the waterway to provide safe passage for boats. If you get out of the channel, you run a very good chance of running the boat aground.
We decided to do a Dawn Dive instead of a night dive because I felt there would be less boat traffic in the Intracoastal in the early morning vs. the evening. Thats one less thing to worry about. Also, if we did get into trouble, I wanted to structure the trip so it would be getting lighter as time progressed, not darker.
We got up at 2:00 AM, left Gregs house at 2:30, and had the boat in the water by 3:00 AM. There was more light at the boat ramp than I expected. The area was reasonably well lit by lights from the parking lot and the nearby Belleair Causeway. As we pushed off the dock we had no trouble following the GPS route that I had set up and dry run a few weeks earlier. Greg was able to pick out the first marker, which marked our turn into the Intracoastal without using Boomer, a 50,000 candle power spot light we had brought along for the occasion.
Traveling up the Intracoastal at night was easier than I anticipated. For about 90% of the trip we either had sight of a lighted channel marker or, by relying on the GPS to get us pointed in the right general direction, we were able to use Boomer to pick out the unlit markers. For the remaining 10% we had to rely exclusively on the GPS to keep us in the channel. It worked like a champ.
Once we reached the open water of the Gulf we primarily used the GPS for navigation. Seas were calm, so that made the run to the site much easier. Not a single boat was visible on the horizon or I should say that at least there were no anchor lights or navigation lights visible. Running off shore at night is a bit like driving your car down an unlit country road with your lights off. You can see the stars and a faint line that separates the inky black water from the sky, which is slightly less black. Other than that, you are dependent on your instruments to ensure that youre going in the right direction. If there was something in our path that didnt have a light on it, we would have run right into it. I kept that in mind as I listened to the chatter on the VHF warning of a 30-foot sailboat that was missing/overdue out of St. Petersburg Beach to the South of us.
Fortunately, other than marveling at how the night sky is filled with stars that you normally dont see on land due to artificial light sources, the 45-minute trip out to the site was uneventful. Greg commented that the backlight on his depth finder was almost too bright. Its glare tended to detract from our night vision a bit. We need to see if we can tone that down some for next time.
Once we got the anchor set, we prepared our gear for the first dive. Again, there was more light available than I thought there would be even though the moon was hardly visible. By now our night vision was pretty well acclimated and the glow from the anchor light provided plenty of light to gear up by. In fact, I had an easier time gearing up under these conditions than I usually do on commercial dive charters that typically have a lot more lights on the boat. I guess less is more when it comes to cockpit lights.
As we rolled off the boat and into the black water, we were immediately treated to a light show of green bioluminescence as the plankton reacted to the sudden disturbance. Greg attached a light stick near the bottom of the anchor line to make it easier to locate on the way back. A short swim to the East brought us to the ledge. I brought along a Pelican float to which I attached another light stick. I have it rigged with only about 2 feet of line, so rather than floating up to the surface, it provides a convenient point of reference at depth to mark our entry point on the ledge.
We headed South on the ledge. There werent many fish around. Most of the ones that we did come across were inactive and easily approached. We saw several Cardinalfish. These guys are very reclusive and are typically not seen during the day, preferring instead to hide within in dark recesses of the reef. At night they swim out in the open to forage for food. We also saw several Whitespotted Soapfish and Leopard Toadfish. Each was clearly "sleeping". In general, we tried to minimize our intrusion on the reefs nightlife by using our hands to cover our lights, letting out just enough light to see and trying not to shine bright lights onto the critters we came across. The highlight of the dive was a Loggerhead turtle that Greg found snoozing in the sand. He was easily 3 feet, maybe 4 feet long, and had a massive head, which is characteristic of the species. Other critters included Red Night Shrimp, a bunch of Cushion Sea Stars (a jumbo-sized starfish), and a few brown-colored Cowries with white mantles.
We had agreed in advance that we wanted to take a conservative approach to gas management for this dive and decided that whoever reached 2,000 psi first would turn the dive. I hit the 2K mark shortly after we came across the Loggerhead, so I signaled to Greg that it was time to head back. We found ourselves swimming into a bit of current on the return trip. I hadnt noticed it on the way out. It required a bit more work, but wasnt too difficult to swim against. After swimming for a while some little voices in my head started telling me that we should have come across the marker I had placed to mark our start point. I checked my watch to confirm it. Yep, we should be close to our start point. We continued North along the ledge for another few minutes and soon the welcome green glow of the marker I had placed appeared ahead of us. When we reached the marker, we explored in the immediate vicinity for a few more minutes and then headed up, stopping at 30 ft for a minute and then spending another 4 at 15 ft.
We watched the sun come up during our surface interval, which lasted just over an hour. We didnt get down for the second dive when it was still dark as we had originally planned, but it didnt matter. The view from the surface was great.
We stayed at the same location for the second dive, but headed North on the ledge instead. As soon as we reached the ledge we could tell that things had changed from the previous hour. It was obviously brighter and the fish were much more abundant and active. There werent many big fish, but lots of small stuff. These included schools of silversides, small grouper and hogfish, and lots of Cubbyu. It was hard to believe this was the same spot we left just an hour earlier. The reef was alive with activity. On the down side, it seemed as if the visibility was getting worse. I'm not sure if that's just because we expected to see more now that it was light out or if the light had kick-started the plankton floating in the water, turning it into that green muck that is all to familiar in the Gulf during the summer months.
By the time we surfaced, two other boats had joined us on the site and were preparing to enter the water. That was ok, because for a while at least, the ocean was all ours and we had just been treated to an exclusive showing. Now that we were done, the rest of the peons could get in and see what was left.
The ride back in was a bit bumpier as the wind had picked up a bit, but it was less stressful because we could at least see where we were going.
It all came off like clockwork. I love it when a plan comes together.
Dive 1
Start Time: 4:39 AM
Time at depth: 57 minutes
Max depth: 58 feet
Water temp: 90 dF (HOT!!)
Air temp: 76 dF
Dive 2
Start Time: 6:55 AM
Time at depth: 51 minutes
Max depth: 57 feet
Water temp: 90 dF
Air temp: 79 dF
This adventure was as much about the getting to the dive site as it was about the dive. While we have been to this site many times during the day, this was our first time doing a night dive off of Gregs boat. I was primarily concerned about the 20-minute run up the Intracoastal Waterway to Clearwater Pass, which provides access to the Gulf of Mexico. The Intracoastal is a shallow, relatively wide stretch of water that separates the barrier islands that form Clearwater Beach from the Florida mainland. There is a narrow channel that cuts through the waterway to provide safe passage for boats. If you get out of the channel, you run a very good chance of running the boat aground.
We decided to do a Dawn Dive instead of a night dive because I felt there would be less boat traffic in the Intracoastal in the early morning vs. the evening. Thats one less thing to worry about. Also, if we did get into trouble, I wanted to structure the trip so it would be getting lighter as time progressed, not darker.
We got up at 2:00 AM, left Gregs house at 2:30, and had the boat in the water by 3:00 AM. There was more light at the boat ramp than I expected. The area was reasonably well lit by lights from the parking lot and the nearby Belleair Causeway. As we pushed off the dock we had no trouble following the GPS route that I had set up and dry run a few weeks earlier. Greg was able to pick out the first marker, which marked our turn into the Intracoastal without using Boomer, a 50,000 candle power spot light we had brought along for the occasion.
Traveling up the Intracoastal at night was easier than I anticipated. For about 90% of the trip we either had sight of a lighted channel marker or, by relying on the GPS to get us pointed in the right general direction, we were able to use Boomer to pick out the unlit markers. For the remaining 10% we had to rely exclusively on the GPS to keep us in the channel. It worked like a champ.
Once we reached the open water of the Gulf we primarily used the GPS for navigation. Seas were calm, so that made the run to the site much easier. Not a single boat was visible on the horizon or I should say that at least there were no anchor lights or navigation lights visible. Running off shore at night is a bit like driving your car down an unlit country road with your lights off. You can see the stars and a faint line that separates the inky black water from the sky, which is slightly less black. Other than that, you are dependent on your instruments to ensure that youre going in the right direction. If there was something in our path that didnt have a light on it, we would have run right into it. I kept that in mind as I listened to the chatter on the VHF warning of a 30-foot sailboat that was missing/overdue out of St. Petersburg Beach to the South of us.
Fortunately, other than marveling at how the night sky is filled with stars that you normally dont see on land due to artificial light sources, the 45-minute trip out to the site was uneventful. Greg commented that the backlight on his depth finder was almost too bright. Its glare tended to detract from our night vision a bit. We need to see if we can tone that down some for next time.
Once we got the anchor set, we prepared our gear for the first dive. Again, there was more light available than I thought there would be even though the moon was hardly visible. By now our night vision was pretty well acclimated and the glow from the anchor light provided plenty of light to gear up by. In fact, I had an easier time gearing up under these conditions than I usually do on commercial dive charters that typically have a lot more lights on the boat. I guess less is more when it comes to cockpit lights.
As we rolled off the boat and into the black water, we were immediately treated to a light show of green bioluminescence as the plankton reacted to the sudden disturbance. Greg attached a light stick near the bottom of the anchor line to make it easier to locate on the way back. A short swim to the East brought us to the ledge. I brought along a Pelican float to which I attached another light stick. I have it rigged with only about 2 feet of line, so rather than floating up to the surface, it provides a convenient point of reference at depth to mark our entry point on the ledge.
We headed South on the ledge. There werent many fish around. Most of the ones that we did come across were inactive and easily approached. We saw several Cardinalfish. These guys are very reclusive and are typically not seen during the day, preferring instead to hide within in dark recesses of the reef. At night they swim out in the open to forage for food. We also saw several Whitespotted Soapfish and Leopard Toadfish. Each was clearly "sleeping". In general, we tried to minimize our intrusion on the reefs nightlife by using our hands to cover our lights, letting out just enough light to see and trying not to shine bright lights onto the critters we came across. The highlight of the dive was a Loggerhead turtle that Greg found snoozing in the sand. He was easily 3 feet, maybe 4 feet long, and had a massive head, which is characteristic of the species. Other critters included Red Night Shrimp, a bunch of Cushion Sea Stars (a jumbo-sized starfish), and a few brown-colored Cowries with white mantles.
We had agreed in advance that we wanted to take a conservative approach to gas management for this dive and decided that whoever reached 2,000 psi first would turn the dive. I hit the 2K mark shortly after we came across the Loggerhead, so I signaled to Greg that it was time to head back. We found ourselves swimming into a bit of current on the return trip. I hadnt noticed it on the way out. It required a bit more work, but wasnt too difficult to swim against. After swimming for a while some little voices in my head started telling me that we should have come across the marker I had placed to mark our start point. I checked my watch to confirm it. Yep, we should be close to our start point. We continued North along the ledge for another few minutes and soon the welcome green glow of the marker I had placed appeared ahead of us. When we reached the marker, we explored in the immediate vicinity for a few more minutes and then headed up, stopping at 30 ft for a minute and then spending another 4 at 15 ft.
We watched the sun come up during our surface interval, which lasted just over an hour. We didnt get down for the second dive when it was still dark as we had originally planned, but it didnt matter. The view from the surface was great.
We stayed at the same location for the second dive, but headed North on the ledge instead. As soon as we reached the ledge we could tell that things had changed from the previous hour. It was obviously brighter and the fish were much more abundant and active. There werent many big fish, but lots of small stuff. These included schools of silversides, small grouper and hogfish, and lots of Cubbyu. It was hard to believe this was the same spot we left just an hour earlier. The reef was alive with activity. On the down side, it seemed as if the visibility was getting worse. I'm not sure if that's just because we expected to see more now that it was light out or if the light had kick-started the plankton floating in the water, turning it into that green muck that is all to familiar in the Gulf during the summer months.
By the time we surfaced, two other boats had joined us on the site and were preparing to enter the water. That was ok, because for a while at least, the ocean was all ours and we had just been treated to an exclusive showing. Now that we were done, the rest of the peons could get in and see what was left.
The ride back in was a bit bumpier as the wind had picked up a bit, but it was less stressful because we could at least see where we were going.
It all came off like clockwork. I love it when a plan comes together.
Dive 1
Start Time: 4:39 AM
Time at depth: 57 minutes
Max depth: 58 feet
Water temp: 90 dF (HOT!!)
Air temp: 76 dF
Dive 2
Start Time: 6:55 AM
Time at depth: 51 minutes
Max depth: 57 feet
Water temp: 90 dF
Air temp: 79 dF
