acooper
Contributor
Once again into the dark water. Deb and I are continuing our advanced certification dives, this time with a night dive off of Puako. Meet the boat and crew from Blue Wilderness Diving at the Puako boat launch at sunset to voyage onto a darkening sea.
Dive writeup with more photos over at my website www.darkerview.com
The dive plan was simple, head for the base of the reef and work our way up, a strategy that the Puako reef lends itself to. The state moorings are generally located at the crest of the reef about 100yds out from shore, just where the reef face begins. About 60-100ft (20-30m) down the reef ends the sand begins, the domain of garden eels and a completely different set of inhabitants. Here in the middle of Puako the reef ends at about 60ft (18m).
I had a new dive light to try this time, the HID Light Cannon from UK. I bought it during the closing sale at the Blue Wilderness Waimea shop for a fraction of the list price. I had bought Deb a light for Christmas last year, but didn't have a main light for myself, just the small pocket light. The light is impressive, a very bright light with excellent color for examining reef life. The spot is a little more focused than I would like up close, but that was quite useful as we were finding the buoys that marked the channel through the coral to the boat launch at Puako.
The night is beautiful after we moor to the state float and kill the engines. We drift under a moonless night with the stars overhead, I look to see Cygnus against the Milky Way arching across the western sky. The lights of a few houses along the shore illuminate the waves. Despite high surf warnings across most of the islands, here the conditions are gentle, a slight chop that will be no issue while diving.
Decending to the sand at the base of the reef there were no garden eels to be seen, they are apparently on the day shift. There were some other interesting things out in the sand. At first glance the sand would seem to be a desert, but any diver learns there are no unoccupied habitats in the ocean. Any possible terrain is worth checking and can yield a surprise. In this case what we found were Ghost Tube Anemones. These anemones raise their tentacles above the sand at night. As we watched they feasted, our lights bringing swarms of plankton into reach.
Burrows and tracks were everywhere in the sand, hinting at daytime residents or inhabitants that fled the bright dive lights. Always a question at night, what was here a moment ago to make such tracks? Are we seeing all that there is to see? The lights attract some things, but others flee, swimming away or ducking into burrows. Other creatures stand their ground, turning to face the lights, allowing us to view as we wish. We bring a momentary disruption to the reef, an event that some reef dwellers avoid, and others come to see. We move on to allow life to return to normal in our wake.
At the very base of the reef I find a Yellow Head Moray. This specimen lived up to the name in spades, his head a vivid yellow. A shy species he went for cover in a crevice and assumed a defensive position, boldly facing our bright lights with a wide mouth of sharp teeth at the ready. Not that I would be foolish enough to tempt him into attack. The dive light and camera flash must have been confusing enough, a few photos and I turned to leave the eel in peace to continue his nightly hunt.
After a short while exploring the sand we head up into the coral. Rich beds of finger coral beg to be explored. Here and there in the crevices sleep the bright fish that cloud the reef during the day. A large parrot fish drowses behind a cocoon of mucus. Dozens of shrimp dot the coral, their eyes catching the lights with bright reflections that mark their positions for us to find them. I find an odd creature I think is a shrimp that steps out of a crevice in the coral to grab a catch from the swirl in front of my light. Later I find this was a tiny lobster, something called a squat lobster.
The surreal setting of a night dive surrounds me. The coral below, the bright spots of the four dive lights spread out exploring the reef seem so small compared to the dark water of the vast ocean. I turn away from the reef to look out into the inky black, my dive light a bright spear that is all too small against such a void, the blackness is an invincible force that overwhelms the light and impresses upon me the true power of the sea. Turning away from such an unsettling vista I return to the familiarity of the reef, where my light is again effective.
One surprise was a large Big Fin Reef Squid (Sepioteuthis lessoniana). This was a large squid, at the upper end of the size range quoted in the guide books, maybe 14in. (35cm) long. The sighting was unusual enough that everyone was impressed, never having seen one this large. Squid are relatively rare on the reefs in Hawai'i. We interrupted the squid's dinner, catching it with a large shrimp wrapped among the tentacles. Enough of the shrimp was showing to allow me to identify it as a Marbled Shrimp (Saron marmoratus).
At 25ft (8m) we explored a small wall that marks the crest of the reef. Here a yet different environment led to a different set of inhabitants. Bright orange Colonial Cup Corals hung on the rocky overhangs. Looking more like anemones, these large corals remain withdrawn during the day and bloom at night, become bunches of brightly colored flowers. These flowers are carnivorous, and like the tube anemones we found in the sand, the corals were faced with more prey than tentacles when our lights attracted clouds of plankton. Taking photos I had to keep moving to escape the plankton and get clear photos of the rich life on the rock.
Breaking the wall were several very nice caves begging exploration, here were Regal Slipper Lobsters, a small cowrie and more. A Brown Slipper Lobster (Parribacus antarcticus) trundles over the cave floor looking like some ancient life from some prehistoric sea. Attracted to the light an enormous Yellow Margin Moray eel comes through the cave amongst the divers. He swam a tight circle around me as I spun in the water, not wanting to lose sight of the large predator with all too many sharp teeth. A beautiful animal who gave me the best look possible, but the quick encounter gave me no time to ready the camera.
I was disappointed in not finding any nudibranchs this dive, but there were other surprises. Many reef dwellers I had never seen before. Night dives are endlessly fascinating, there is always a surprise, even on a reef we have dived many times before.
A single dive does make for a short trip, all too soon we were headed back to the boat launch. The night is surprisingly dark, during the dive a thick mist of vog has come north, obscuring the stars and dimming the bright planets Jupiter and Venus that hang above the western horizon. As we get under way a green glow appears in the wake, startlingly bright, we leave a trail across the water.
Getting into the Puako ramp does involve navigating a narrow coral channel. This is well marked with buoys, but they are unlighted and invisible on this dark moonless night. Using dive lights as search lights we located the buoys and made our way to the dock. Here we are met by Denise, holding a light at the end of the dock to aid in navigation. In short order the boat is hauled from the water and to the fresh water spigots to begin the work of rinsing the boat and sorting gear, getting everything ready for next time.
Dive writeup with more photos over at my website www.darkerview.com
The dive plan was simple, head for the base of the reef and work our way up, a strategy that the Puako reef lends itself to. The state moorings are generally located at the crest of the reef about 100yds out from shore, just where the reef face begins. About 60-100ft (20-30m) down the reef ends the sand begins, the domain of garden eels and a completely different set of inhabitants. Here in the middle of Puako the reef ends at about 60ft (18m).
I had a new dive light to try this time, the HID Light Cannon from UK. I bought it during the closing sale at the Blue Wilderness Waimea shop for a fraction of the list price. I had bought Deb a light for Christmas last year, but didn't have a main light for myself, just the small pocket light. The light is impressive, a very bright light with excellent color for examining reef life. The spot is a little more focused than I would like up close, but that was quite useful as we were finding the buoys that marked the channel through the coral to the boat launch at Puako.
The night is beautiful after we moor to the state float and kill the engines. We drift under a moonless night with the stars overhead, I look to see Cygnus against the Milky Way arching across the western sky. The lights of a few houses along the shore illuminate the waves. Despite high surf warnings across most of the islands, here the conditions are gentle, a slight chop that will be no issue while diving.
Decending to the sand at the base of the reef there were no garden eels to be seen, they are apparently on the day shift. There were some other interesting things out in the sand. At first glance the sand would seem to be a desert, but any diver learns there are no unoccupied habitats in the ocean. Any possible terrain is worth checking and can yield a surprise. In this case what we found were Ghost Tube Anemones. These anemones raise their tentacles above the sand at night. As we watched they feasted, our lights bringing swarms of plankton into reach.
Burrows and tracks were everywhere in the sand, hinting at daytime residents or inhabitants that fled the bright dive lights. Always a question at night, what was here a moment ago to make such tracks? Are we seeing all that there is to see? The lights attract some things, but others flee, swimming away or ducking into burrows. Other creatures stand their ground, turning to face the lights, allowing us to view as we wish. We bring a momentary disruption to the reef, an event that some reef dwellers avoid, and others come to see. We move on to allow life to return to normal in our wake.
At the very base of the reef I find a Yellow Head Moray. This specimen lived up to the name in spades, his head a vivid yellow. A shy species he went for cover in a crevice and assumed a defensive position, boldly facing our bright lights with a wide mouth of sharp teeth at the ready. Not that I would be foolish enough to tempt him into attack. The dive light and camera flash must have been confusing enough, a few photos and I turned to leave the eel in peace to continue his nightly hunt.
After a short while exploring the sand we head up into the coral. Rich beds of finger coral beg to be explored. Here and there in the crevices sleep the bright fish that cloud the reef during the day. A large parrot fish drowses behind a cocoon of mucus. Dozens of shrimp dot the coral, their eyes catching the lights with bright reflections that mark their positions for us to find them. I find an odd creature I think is a shrimp that steps out of a crevice in the coral to grab a catch from the swirl in front of my light. Later I find this was a tiny lobster, something called a squat lobster.
The surreal setting of a night dive surrounds me. The coral below, the bright spots of the four dive lights spread out exploring the reef seem so small compared to the dark water of the vast ocean. I turn away from the reef to look out into the inky black, my dive light a bright spear that is all too small against such a void, the blackness is an invincible force that overwhelms the light and impresses upon me the true power of the sea. Turning away from such an unsettling vista I return to the familiarity of the reef, where my light is again effective.
One surprise was a large Big Fin Reef Squid (Sepioteuthis lessoniana). This was a large squid, at the upper end of the size range quoted in the guide books, maybe 14in. (35cm) long. The sighting was unusual enough that everyone was impressed, never having seen one this large. Squid are relatively rare on the reefs in Hawai'i. We interrupted the squid's dinner, catching it with a large shrimp wrapped among the tentacles. Enough of the shrimp was showing to allow me to identify it as a Marbled Shrimp (Saron marmoratus).
At 25ft (8m) we explored a small wall that marks the crest of the reef. Here a yet different environment led to a different set of inhabitants. Bright orange Colonial Cup Corals hung on the rocky overhangs. Looking more like anemones, these large corals remain withdrawn during the day and bloom at night, become bunches of brightly colored flowers. These flowers are carnivorous, and like the tube anemones we found in the sand, the corals were faced with more prey than tentacles when our lights attracted clouds of plankton. Taking photos I had to keep moving to escape the plankton and get clear photos of the rich life on the rock.
Breaking the wall were several very nice caves begging exploration, here were Regal Slipper Lobsters, a small cowrie and more. A Brown Slipper Lobster (Parribacus antarcticus) trundles over the cave floor looking like some ancient life from some prehistoric sea. Attracted to the light an enormous Yellow Margin Moray eel comes through the cave amongst the divers. He swam a tight circle around me as I spun in the water, not wanting to lose sight of the large predator with all too many sharp teeth. A beautiful animal who gave me the best look possible, but the quick encounter gave me no time to ready the camera.
I was disappointed in not finding any nudibranchs this dive, but there were other surprises. Many reef dwellers I had never seen before. Night dives are endlessly fascinating, there is always a surprise, even on a reef we have dived many times before.
A single dive does make for a short trip, all too soon we were headed back to the boat launch. The night is surprisingly dark, during the dive a thick mist of vog has come north, obscuring the stars and dimming the bright planets Jupiter and Venus that hang above the western horizon. As we get under way a green glow appears in the wake, startlingly bright, we leave a trail across the water.
Getting into the Puako ramp does involve navigating a narrow coral channel. This is well marked with buoys, but they are unlighted and invisible on this dark moonless night. Using dive lights as search lights we located the buoys and made our way to the dock. Here we are met by Denise, holding a light at the end of the dock to aid in navigation. In short order the boat is hauled from the water and to the fresh water spigots to begin the work of rinsing the boat and sorting gear, getting everything ready for next time.
