My BDB Jeannie requested some pictures from our last two dives before she returned to Alaska. I could have just sent them in an email, but what would be the fun in that?
The first I call Shooting Range, where you can have an afternoon manta day. There were two solo videographers, although we only chatted with the research videographer. The surface swim is over 1/4 mile both ways, and even flat-2' will have small breaking waves in the shallowest areas.
Jeannie recently repaired the velcro flap for my inflator/deflator, so of course I showed up at the dive site without the inflator/deflator. After a minute of contemplation I decided it would be the most colorful Hawaiian backpack ever and went ahead with the dive. Diving AL100 instead of AL80 and 12lbs instead of 16lbs, only from 1000-500psi required very shallow breathing and no living coral was damaged.
The expansive finger coral means even the biggest reef fana is well hidden by the time a camera is near, and the two Manta Rays we saw were not interested in our exhaust bubbles; very challenging photography! We had a charging back and forth 79 minute dive (44' max depth). If only I could afford a rebreather!
Even when we were not close enough to take pictures it seemed we were interrupting the normal evening routine; either not all the cleaner fish came out of hiding or the Manta did not hover as long as usual. Moving in for a picture resulted in everything swimming away; quite different from Ulua, 5-Caves and Molokini (only the manta swims away there).
The first I call Shooting Range, where you can have an afternoon manta day. There were two solo videographers, although we only chatted with the research videographer. The surface swim is over 1/4 mile both ways, and even flat-2' will have small breaking waves in the shallowest areas.
Jeannie recently repaired the velcro flap for my inflator/deflator, so of course I showed up at the dive site without the inflator/deflator. After a minute of contemplation I decided it would be the most colorful Hawaiian backpack ever and went ahead with the dive. Diving AL100 instead of AL80 and 12lbs instead of 16lbs, only from 1000-500psi required very shallow breathing and no living coral was damaged.
The expansive finger coral means even the biggest reef fana is well hidden by the time a camera is near, and the two Manta Rays we saw were not interested in our exhaust bubbles; very challenging photography! We had a charging back and forth 79 minute dive (44' max depth). If only I could afford a rebreather!
Even when we were not close enough to take pictures it seemed we were interrupting the normal evening routine; either not all the cleaner fish came out of hiding or the Manta did not hover as long as usual. Moving in for a picture resulted in everything swimming away; quite different from Ulua, 5-Caves and Molokini (only the manta swims away there).
