Turneffe Flats
Registered
20 24 April, 2014
Air Temperatures Low to Mid 80s
Water Temperature 82F
On Sunday morning, winds were coming from northeast at about 10 knots, and then switched to the northwest on Monday. A light easterly prevailed for the rest of the week giving us excellent surface conditions for diving all around the atoll. The week was mostly sunny with a few passing showers during the last couple of days of the week.
Divemaster Denroy was Boat Capt, and Dive Instructor Anne-Marie played Dive Guide for the week.
We headed to the west on Sunday, and visited North and South Creekozene, as well as Amberhead. With the incoming tide we had 100 feet of visibility for our first dive. As the tide turned around and started going out, visibility was reduced to 70 feet, which was still quite good. Sightings for the day were terrific with four Spotted Eagle Rays showing up on dives one and three. In addition, we came across a very large Scorpion Fish that must have measured at least 12 inches, taking into account underwater magnification. The plethora of sponges at Amberhead, never cease to amaze divers, with one particular Giant Barrel Sponge that two divers could likely fit in. At the end of dive three at North Creekozene, divers had a large Remora tagging them all the way through the safety stop, and seemed to want to follow them onto the boat if it could.
The northwest of the atoll was the choice for the following day as the northwest breeze was quite light. Since we planned on doing Blue Hole and Lighthouse Reef later in the week, we chose Terrace as our check out dive for Blue Hole that morning with visibility of 60 feet. Divers swam down the side of this vertical wall and came to the bottom of the sand shelf at 85 feet. From there, the sand shelf slopes off and ends at the edge of a coral shelf at 100 feet. Below that there are two more coral shelves that might have broken away from the main shelf at some point forming large jagged steps below, and then the wall falls away again into the deep blue resembling scenery from a Tolkien story. Divers took a moment to take in the view before heading back up the wall and admiring the bushes of yellow and green coloured Black Corals sprouting from the wall. Elkins Bay was our second dive site with its busy sloping wall. As divers swam along the edge, they were trying to figure out why the Boat Captain was revving his engine and passing nearby overhead. It didnt take them too long to figure out why when they saw large dark gray shapes looming up to them along the wall. Indeed, the highlight of the day here was that it turned out to be a pod of Bottlenose Dolphins that numbered at least 10 individuals of various sizes coming by at close range along the wall squeaking and clicking as they went.
For Tuesday we had very light easterly winds and calm surface conditions on the east side, so we chose Lindsays Back Porch to the north east of the resort for dive one, and Wishbone right out in front for dive two. At Lindsays we found several large Blue Parrots shoveling up sand in the circular white sand bed there. These fish have such a beautiful hue of bright blue along most of their bodies that appears to glow as they stand out against the white coral sand they like to forage in. At Wishbone we spotted a small Caribbean Reef Shark swimming deep along the sloping wall there, while a number of large Nassau Groupers showed up during the dive and followed us with their eyes as we passed by. Near the end of the dive in the distance, like ghosts in the mist of only 60 feet of visibility, a large school of Permit swam down through the water column and then shot up again and out of sight, spooked by the approaching divers.
On Wednesday, we chose the Elbow with predicted perfect conditions. It was late in the moon in these spring months, and the tide was going out. Conditions on the surface were calm but gave us no indication of the speed of the current. As we descended through the first 30 feet in a mild southerly current, we hit the current at the bottom that ran at about 2 knots with about 80 feet of visibility. Dive leader Anne-Marie hugged the bottom and divers followed suit. As they approached the wall, several large Cubera Snapper hid behind Deep Water Gorgonian Sea Fans for cover from the current. Large schools of Horse Eye Jack swam lazily against the moving water and Rainbow Parrots swam into it with ease. Divers hit the wall and swam into the current to keep from being swept off to the south, as the schooling Horse Eye Jack engulfed them. Deep on the edge of the wall, Cubera Snapper gathered in large numbers as they aggregated for spawning activity. Dog Snappers could also be seen gathering to spawn off the wall. Over half a dozen three and four foot Great Barracudas hugged the bottom, and a unit of 11 large Permit swam up from the giant spurs along the bottom passing close by the divers as they headed through the water column. A dozen Spade Fish swam in a loose group, and a single Cervalle Jack was spotted between the crowds of fish seeming to have lost his school. The current was so strong that divers went through air quickly and reached the deep drop off after 30 minutes of bottom time. Coming up for their safety stop, they were surrounded by large schools of Permit hovering just below the surface. This was a truly exciting dive, so much so that divers voted to do it a second time. After the surface interval, the boat captain dropped divers a little further north of the Elbow to a site called Mr. T. By this time, the current had slowed down as the tide drew near to slack, and the action underwater had changed, but not for the worse. For this run, the watch had changed and several hefty Black Groupers swam along the edge of the wall. Schools of both Cubera and Dog Snapper could be seen gathering deep off the wall as well, and the Horse Eye Jacks had moved off the wall also to deeper water. But, it was a massive school of Dog Snapper that swam in tight formation on top of the wall that stole the show. Divers watched as they swirled together and swam up toward the surface, and then down again as they made their way to the edge of the wall in slow motion starling-murmuration. A few of these individuals were impatient for the near-dusk spawning time, and could be seen with a stream of spawn clouding the water behind them. Observing this schooling activity enchanted divers for several minutes before it was time to surface.
Our last day of diving for the week was Thursday, and we headed for the Blue Hole and Lighthouse Reef atoll. Visibility in the hole was not so great at about 50 feet. However, two Caribbean Reef Sharks came in close to eyeball divers as they surfaced for the cave formations at about 90 feet. At Half Moon Caye Wall for dive two, a three foot Greater Amber Jack swam straight up to divers along the wall, so close it almost bumped into them. Caribbean Reef Sharks swam back and forth along the wall passing by divers close enough to see small parasites dart across their gray sides. Ocean Triggers glided back and forth off the wall waving their dorsal and anal fins, as Nassau Groupers challenged each others territory in and out of the swim-throughs along the wall. Divers swam over the coral wall and drifted down on the sand bed on the other side and found several Blue Parrot Fish chomped in the sand looking for food. After a stop at Half Moon Caye for lunch and a visit to the Red-Footed Boobie Bird Sanctuary, we chose Eagle Ray Wall on the northwestern side of Long Caye as the start of our third dive, and then swam all the way west to Painted Wall for a full 60-min dive on this stunning wall. Here we found a few curious Great Barracudas that trailed us for some time before veering off. Then we spotted two Tiger Groupers that eyed divers before moving away cautiously. Tiny Wire Coral Shrimp were spotted on long strands of Wire Coral growing from the vertical wall. They were best observed with a magnifying glass as they tried hiding on the opposite side of the coral strands, and then had to be coaxed to move into view. A hefty Spotted Eagle Ray swam by slowly along the wall hardly moving its fins as it drifted by. As many as five 4-foot Tarpon hovered in breaks along the wall below divers, and moved off when divers came too close. This trip capped a great week of diving for everyone.
Air Temperatures Low to Mid 80s
Water Temperature 82F
On Sunday morning, winds were coming from northeast at about 10 knots, and then switched to the northwest on Monday. A light easterly prevailed for the rest of the week giving us excellent surface conditions for diving all around the atoll. The week was mostly sunny with a few passing showers during the last couple of days of the week.
Divemaster Denroy was Boat Capt, and Dive Instructor Anne-Marie played Dive Guide for the week.
We headed to the west on Sunday, and visited North and South Creekozene, as well as Amberhead. With the incoming tide we had 100 feet of visibility for our first dive. As the tide turned around and started going out, visibility was reduced to 70 feet, which was still quite good. Sightings for the day were terrific with four Spotted Eagle Rays showing up on dives one and three. In addition, we came across a very large Scorpion Fish that must have measured at least 12 inches, taking into account underwater magnification. The plethora of sponges at Amberhead, never cease to amaze divers, with one particular Giant Barrel Sponge that two divers could likely fit in. At the end of dive three at North Creekozene, divers had a large Remora tagging them all the way through the safety stop, and seemed to want to follow them onto the boat if it could.
The northwest of the atoll was the choice for the following day as the northwest breeze was quite light. Since we planned on doing Blue Hole and Lighthouse Reef later in the week, we chose Terrace as our check out dive for Blue Hole that morning with visibility of 60 feet. Divers swam down the side of this vertical wall and came to the bottom of the sand shelf at 85 feet. From there, the sand shelf slopes off and ends at the edge of a coral shelf at 100 feet. Below that there are two more coral shelves that might have broken away from the main shelf at some point forming large jagged steps below, and then the wall falls away again into the deep blue resembling scenery from a Tolkien story. Divers took a moment to take in the view before heading back up the wall and admiring the bushes of yellow and green coloured Black Corals sprouting from the wall. Elkins Bay was our second dive site with its busy sloping wall. As divers swam along the edge, they were trying to figure out why the Boat Captain was revving his engine and passing nearby overhead. It didnt take them too long to figure out why when they saw large dark gray shapes looming up to them along the wall. Indeed, the highlight of the day here was that it turned out to be a pod of Bottlenose Dolphins that numbered at least 10 individuals of various sizes coming by at close range along the wall squeaking and clicking as they went.
For Tuesday we had very light easterly winds and calm surface conditions on the east side, so we chose Lindsays Back Porch to the north east of the resort for dive one, and Wishbone right out in front for dive two. At Lindsays we found several large Blue Parrots shoveling up sand in the circular white sand bed there. These fish have such a beautiful hue of bright blue along most of their bodies that appears to glow as they stand out against the white coral sand they like to forage in. At Wishbone we spotted a small Caribbean Reef Shark swimming deep along the sloping wall there, while a number of large Nassau Groupers showed up during the dive and followed us with their eyes as we passed by. Near the end of the dive in the distance, like ghosts in the mist of only 60 feet of visibility, a large school of Permit swam down through the water column and then shot up again and out of sight, spooked by the approaching divers.
On Wednesday, we chose the Elbow with predicted perfect conditions. It was late in the moon in these spring months, and the tide was going out. Conditions on the surface were calm but gave us no indication of the speed of the current. As we descended through the first 30 feet in a mild southerly current, we hit the current at the bottom that ran at about 2 knots with about 80 feet of visibility. Dive leader Anne-Marie hugged the bottom and divers followed suit. As they approached the wall, several large Cubera Snapper hid behind Deep Water Gorgonian Sea Fans for cover from the current. Large schools of Horse Eye Jack swam lazily against the moving water and Rainbow Parrots swam into it with ease. Divers hit the wall and swam into the current to keep from being swept off to the south, as the schooling Horse Eye Jack engulfed them. Deep on the edge of the wall, Cubera Snapper gathered in large numbers as they aggregated for spawning activity. Dog Snappers could also be seen gathering to spawn off the wall. Over half a dozen three and four foot Great Barracudas hugged the bottom, and a unit of 11 large Permit swam up from the giant spurs along the bottom passing close by the divers as they headed through the water column. A dozen Spade Fish swam in a loose group, and a single Cervalle Jack was spotted between the crowds of fish seeming to have lost his school. The current was so strong that divers went through air quickly and reached the deep drop off after 30 minutes of bottom time. Coming up for their safety stop, they were surrounded by large schools of Permit hovering just below the surface. This was a truly exciting dive, so much so that divers voted to do it a second time. After the surface interval, the boat captain dropped divers a little further north of the Elbow to a site called Mr. T. By this time, the current had slowed down as the tide drew near to slack, and the action underwater had changed, but not for the worse. For this run, the watch had changed and several hefty Black Groupers swam along the edge of the wall. Schools of both Cubera and Dog Snapper could be seen gathering deep off the wall as well, and the Horse Eye Jacks had moved off the wall also to deeper water. But, it was a massive school of Dog Snapper that swam in tight formation on top of the wall that stole the show. Divers watched as they swirled together and swam up toward the surface, and then down again as they made their way to the edge of the wall in slow motion starling-murmuration. A few of these individuals were impatient for the near-dusk spawning time, and could be seen with a stream of spawn clouding the water behind them. Observing this schooling activity enchanted divers for several minutes before it was time to surface.
Our last day of diving for the week was Thursday, and we headed for the Blue Hole and Lighthouse Reef atoll. Visibility in the hole was not so great at about 50 feet. However, two Caribbean Reef Sharks came in close to eyeball divers as they surfaced for the cave formations at about 90 feet. At Half Moon Caye Wall for dive two, a three foot Greater Amber Jack swam straight up to divers along the wall, so close it almost bumped into them. Caribbean Reef Sharks swam back and forth along the wall passing by divers close enough to see small parasites dart across their gray sides. Ocean Triggers glided back and forth off the wall waving their dorsal and anal fins, as Nassau Groupers challenged each others territory in and out of the swim-throughs along the wall. Divers swam over the coral wall and drifted down on the sand bed on the other side and found several Blue Parrot Fish chomped in the sand looking for food. After a stop at Half Moon Caye for lunch and a visit to the Red-Footed Boobie Bird Sanctuary, we chose Eagle Ray Wall on the northwestern side of Long Caye as the start of our third dive, and then swam all the way west to Painted Wall for a full 60-min dive on this stunning wall. Here we found a few curious Great Barracudas that trailed us for some time before veering off. Then we spotted two Tiger Groupers that eyed divers before moving away cautiously. Tiny Wire Coral Shrimp were spotted on long strands of Wire Coral growing from the vertical wall. They were best observed with a magnifying glass as they tried hiding on the opposite side of the coral strands, and then had to be coaxed to move into view. A hefty Spotted Eagle Ray swam by slowly along the wall hardly moving its fins as it drifted by. As many as five 4-foot Tarpon hovered in breaks along the wall below divers, and moved off when divers came too close. This trip capped a great week of diving for everyone.
