So what takes your breath away...?

[fjpatrum]

I'm new so my answer is yes to all of the above. It's all breathtaking for me, from silly little garden eels all the way up. I want to do a black water dive for the phosphorescent (bioluminescent?) creatures, though. And swim with the whale sharks... those would both be very very cool.

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

I'm new so my answer is yes to all of the above. It's all breathtaking for me, from silly little garden eels all the way up. I want to do a black water dive for the phosphorescent (bioluminescent?) creatures, though. And swim with the whale sharks... those would both be very very cool.

... my first encounter with a whale shark definitely took my breath away ... I was freediving ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[denisegg]

The encounters with the sea life are enchanting! The only sharks I have ever seen are nurse sharks, bull sharks and reef sharks. Sea turtles are one of my favorites, as well as sting rays, morays, octupus.
In the ocean my favorite dives are wreck dives. I love to explore them and dream about what life was like when they were topside.
It is hard to pick a favorite, but I suppose the Oriskany would have to be. My first dive there was three months after it sank. The surface of the ship was slick with no growth yet and the flight deck was at about 135ft, a easy ADV OW dive.
Then of course in caves it is wet rocks.

 

[Robert Gillcash]

Wow, just when I think I've seen it all at my favorite site, it blows me away again! I went a bit farther to the right hand side of the reef then normal, and encountered a Brain Coral approx 100 feet diameter! Massive!
Plus, I saw a Titan Triggerfish, a really big one, the biggest yet! He turned and swam away so fast I didn't get even a chance to take a pic.
Also, a really big shell with the shell innards living inside, I've seen this in the fish markets but never near the shore.
Yeah. It just continues to amaze me.
Did I mention this is the same site I saw a remora? One that isn't supposed to be within 1,000 miles of here?
Or that this is the site where the sea snake licked me?
Or that this is where I regularly see approx 1,000 fish every dive?
Did I mention Herb, the clam that is so big he can't even close anymore?
Or how about the clams with shells so jagged they look like jack-o-lanterns? Scary to get fingers near those ones!
Take my breath away??? Good thing I carry a pony bottle with me!

 

[denisegg]

Two nations, separated by humour...

Yeah if you believe what I said that is humour personified...

 

[TomZ]

Two items from Invasion 2012 :

1. Whale Shark dive. A totally amazing experience.

2. Denise's monkey

 

[denisegg]

Two items from Invasion 2012 :

1. Whale Shark dive. A totally amazing experience.

2. Denise's monkey

was not drug, alcohol or narcosis induced I swear!!

---------- Post Merged at 10:22 AM ---------- Previous Post was at 10:18 AM ----------

Pure Denise...Pure Narcotic I know, or at least I am told..

 

[TMHeimer]

139010[/ATTACH]View attachment 139013View attachment 139011View attachment 139012

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This is a Pacific Tritons Trumpet, which is the shell that consumes the dreaded Crown of Thorns Starfish, which detroys reefs. It is banned for collection in some Asian countries due to over collecting. Finding them sold in fish markets is a cause for their numbers to be low. Such places make it tough for us "true" shell collectors. Collecting the the Atlantic Tritons Trumpet is generally not banned, as Crown of Thorns doesn 't exist (yet?) outside the Pacific. So it could be a concern about reefs as opposed to Pacific Tritons populations.

 

[nolatom]

During a U-bolt drilling trip off the Spree last year at Stetson, coming up the line alone, no one else in the water, and preoccupied with looking at psi and nitrogen ticks since marginal on both, then looked out and..


Whale shark. Wow. really big, and very spotted..


No camera (btw nice photo on yours, NWGratefuldiver) but it really did happen.

Climbed back aboard, everyone looked at me and asked if I "saw it". Turns out the cook and deckhand had been down a few minutes earlier and saw it, no camera either, so I was the "confirmation" that we'd really seen it.

 

[smellzlikefish]

I'm new so my answer is yes to all of the above. It's all breathtaking for me, from silly little garden eels all the way up. I want to do a black water dive for the phosphorescent (bioluminescent?) creatures, though. And swim with the whale sharks... those would both be very very cool.

I have been doing blackwater dives roughly every other week for the past 8 months and every week I look forward to Saturday when I can go back. The variety of critters you can see is just stunning. Looking back, my favorite bluewater dives beat the snot out of my favorite reef dives. Diving bluewater at night eliminates those bluewater dives where nothing shows up.