Just a little lagniappe.

[shoredivr]

Thanks for that well-written account. I like night stealth diving, too. Full moon in Bonaire one year gave a great lights-out sand and reef dive looking at the sparklies.

A great way to finish a wreck dive, too: looking up the mooring line from 45 ft above the Kingshorn and seeing the moon through bottle-green water....

 

[BabyDuck]

wonderful report! thanks!

 

[diverdowndh]

On Grand Turk the DM told us they have contests to see how long they can go without using lights, many times the entire dives. They have curious luminescents down there, they look like lighted balls on a string, they are vertical in the water. On the first night dive we took we turned off our lights for almost 10 minutes and it was really, really cool. But, there was no sandy bottom there, only the reef and the Columbus channel which is really deep and my buddy and I decided we needed lights/references. It was cool! No dolphins though, great story!

 

[Hammerhead]

Diving the Sardine Run off the east coast of South Africa in 2008. Everyone heads out on boats which are directed from a microlite plane to where the action is thickest.

First day of diving we head out on the boat, a total of 7 divers and a guide. I was the least experienced diver with 1,400 or so dives, but as part of the operation's safety protocol, a check-out dive is required.

A couple of the guys pointed out that they would far prefer just to hit the water ASAP and the situation looked like it might get heated until the skipper came up with a solution: -

"look fellas, I actually agree with you, but I've just heard from the guy in the sky that there's a super-pod of dolphins coming in. How about I give you all the nod, you all jump in, check your gear is OK and then just sit tight and wait for the dolphins to come to you?"

Grins all around, yours truly, always an inquisitive sod, pipes up with: -

"How many dolphin in a super-pod?"

Now I'm thinking a hundred, maybe two hundred, dare I dream for more? The skipper speaks into the radio and gets a quick reply from the pilot and turns back to us with the immortal words: -

"Well' it's a big one and it's difficult to judge numbers from the air, but he reckons between seven and eight thousand."

I didn't count them. I couldn't have even started, but I know that I'll never forget the whirrs, clicks, chirrups and then a solid wall of dolphins swimming like lightning above me, below me, around me, just everywhere.

A day later I played chicken with a Humpback whale and got smacked on the right shoulder by the tailfin.

I'm a lucky SOB.

 

[KozMcCharlie]

That dive illustrates everything that I consider worthwhile about being underwater and validates all of my fantasies about diving...

 

[shark girl]

Wow, Clay Jar, thank you for such a beautifully written and magical report! I love playing with bioluminescence too. Last year I sailed to Great Barrier Island. We spent a night at a little spot called Smoke House Bay. As we walked through the damp sand, it lit up and sparkled beneath our feet. Splashing in the water sent out sprays of diamonds. Fish glittered as they swam. Sadly I had no dive gear so couldn't jump on in. You've made me itch for a good night dive!

Hammerhead, you are very lucky indeed!