achu
Guest
We scheduled it last second, 10PM the night before. Just the 4 of us, and it wasn´t going to be work for the DMs... This was going to be a "just for fun " dive day.
Our predive briefing was probably the most comprehensive I´ve had in a while. The directions were quite clear: Check your guages and your computer often. We will be backrolling and when everyone has given the "OK" signal, as soon as possible we descend. The descent will be fast, as the currents might be screaming along... once we get to the bottom at 70´, we swim towards the wall and drift along the wall until we get to the little nook in the wall. 3 of us will sit in the back of the nook and wait, while the guide stays towards the edge of the wall to look for the rays. When the guide sees the rays, we sneak over to take a peek. 90 feet max depth. The order was to start to ascend 3 minutes before our computers go into deco... Under no conditions were we to go into decompression.
Well, the dive went pretty much as planned. We lucked out in that the current was quite manageable. I was surprised at how much coral and life was on the wall. We found a moray, lots of colorful sponge, gorgonia and coral! We drifted over to the "nook" and I noticed that on the edge of the wall, there was another large group of divers all hanging there waiting to see the eagle rays... Sigh, their bubbles are goign to scare the eagle rays away!!!
As we waited, 2 eagle rays gracefully "flew" by... then another few more... The other group left... and we backed up into the nook... We waited... waited...waited... I found a fire worm crawling over a sponge... we waited... waited... hmmm... I wonder if there are any seahorses here??? And we waited... Until the DM signaled, 5 eagle rays, oncoming! We snuck over to the edge of the wall, we tried to keep ample space between each of us so there wouldn´t be a mass of bubbles scaring the eagle rays away... I looked, and out from the distance, wasn´t just 5 eagle rays... there was one, two... ooh and behind another few... and within seconds 15 eagle rays emerged and headed straight towards us. I can´t even begin to describe the feeling of being in the water with 15 of those awesome creatures!!! They flew by in formation and seemed to not even notice us. As they went off in the distance, one was flipping up and then down, trying to loosen the giant ramora sitting on it´s "wing". Then all of them seem to suddenly move as one as they all turned around and came back at us for a second fly-by!!! Wow... breath... breath... ooh, check the guages....
All too soon, we needed to descend...BUT can you believe that they actually went by again for a third run as we started to ascend??? Amazing!
We surfaced. I just couldn´t believe what I had seen. What an experience! The decision was to go back for the second dive. I wasn´t feeling great since I was already slightly congested early that morning... I decided to do the responsible thing, and call the second dive. Heck, I saw what I went to see. I was satisfied.
Of course, I´ll be paying for that dive for the next two weeks as I seem to have caught a cold... I´ve sneezed at least 8 times just writing this report and my nose is stuffed. Boo hoo... I suppose I´m not going to get any sympathy here as I realice how incredibly lucky I am... to be able to dive so much... and to have seen a flock of 15 eagle rays fly by "up close and personal" all at once!
achu
Our predive briefing was probably the most comprehensive I´ve had in a while. The directions were quite clear: Check your guages and your computer often. We will be backrolling and when everyone has given the "OK" signal, as soon as possible we descend. The descent will be fast, as the currents might be screaming along... once we get to the bottom at 70´, we swim towards the wall and drift along the wall until we get to the little nook in the wall. 3 of us will sit in the back of the nook and wait, while the guide stays towards the edge of the wall to look for the rays. When the guide sees the rays, we sneak over to take a peek. 90 feet max depth. The order was to start to ascend 3 minutes before our computers go into deco... Under no conditions were we to go into decompression.
Well, the dive went pretty much as planned. We lucked out in that the current was quite manageable. I was surprised at how much coral and life was on the wall. We found a moray, lots of colorful sponge, gorgonia and coral! We drifted over to the "nook" and I noticed that on the edge of the wall, there was another large group of divers all hanging there waiting to see the eagle rays... Sigh, their bubbles are goign to scare the eagle rays away!!!
As we waited, 2 eagle rays gracefully "flew" by... then another few more... The other group left... and we backed up into the nook... We waited... waited...waited... I found a fire worm crawling over a sponge... we waited... waited... hmmm... I wonder if there are any seahorses here??? And we waited... Until the DM signaled, 5 eagle rays, oncoming! We snuck over to the edge of the wall, we tried to keep ample space between each of us so there wouldn´t be a mass of bubbles scaring the eagle rays away... I looked, and out from the distance, wasn´t just 5 eagle rays... there was one, two... ooh and behind another few... and within seconds 15 eagle rays emerged and headed straight towards us. I can´t even begin to describe the feeling of being in the water with 15 of those awesome creatures!!! They flew by in formation and seemed to not even notice us. As they went off in the distance, one was flipping up and then down, trying to loosen the giant ramora sitting on it´s "wing". Then all of them seem to suddenly move as one as they all turned around and came back at us for a second fly-by!!! Wow... breath... breath... ooh, check the guages....
All too soon, we needed to descend...BUT can you believe that they actually went by again for a third run as we started to ascend??? Amazing!
We surfaced. I just couldn´t believe what I had seen. What an experience! The decision was to go back for the second dive. I wasn´t feeling great since I was already slightly congested early that morning... I decided to do the responsible thing, and call the second dive. Heck, I saw what I went to see. I was satisfied.
Of course, I´ll be paying for that dive for the next two weeks as I seem to have caught a cold... I´ve sneezed at least 8 times just writing this report and my nose is stuffed. Boo hoo... I suppose I´m not going to get any sympathy here as I realice how incredibly lucky I am... to be able to dive so much... and to have seen a flock of 15 eagle rays fly by "up close and personal" all at once!
achu
