UAE East Coast Temperatures

[Searcaigh]

Yay the temperatures are at last getting warmer, 27C on Inchcape 10 and 29C on Car Cemetery yesterday.

My Nikonos connection on the D300 housing is playing up so I was using the D70 today with the 85mm Micro lens.

Met up with friends Stewart (aka Benzonar) and Dragan yesterday at Divers Down for a trip to Inchcape 10, my third attempt to dive this site, the previous two times were cancelled by DD due to weather.

It was almost another no dive as we were stopped by the coast guard whilst passing by the oil terminal at Fujairah, seems we were too close, however after about 15 minutes they let us carry on with a warning of a 2,000 Dirham fine and confiscation of the boat for 6 months next time around :shocked2: There is a 5 mile exclusion zone around this area that the boat driver was not aware of.

So we made it, 14 divers in total, so the boat was quite crowded, Stewart and I waited until most had left the boat before we dropped overboard. Visibility did not look too great at the surface, and it was not too great at the bottom either. On the way down I was following Stewart's yellow fins but lost him at around 10M, plus I lost sight of the anchor line. Reached the bottom and carried on in the general direction and eventually found the wreck.

Inchape 10 is slightly bigger than Inchcapes 1 and 2, and the coral growth looks better, lots of life on it too, but I only found one nudibranch, Stewart found a couple more, the water is probably getting too warm for them.

At the end of the dive, the current was picking up and we ascended via several lines to the surface before spotting Dragan on the anchor line to which we both transferred across.

Back on the boat it transpired that Dragan's housing had leaked (another story), and because of the change in conditions we voted to go back towards DD and dive at Car Cemetery, taking the longer route

CC was totally different with almost 10M viz and no current to speak of, and I had a nice 70 minute leisurely dive

Ornate Blenny at CC



Gymnodoris rubropapulosa at CC

 

[Searcaigh]

Soem weird temperatures yesterday, Martini was 27C on surface and 23C at the deepest point 19M, you could feel the change at 10M when descending the mooring.

Hole in the Wall had 28C throughout the whole dive depth down to 15M, mooring at this site has disappeared.

Nice to be in a 3mm for the first time this year, but glad I kept my hooded vest, it was necessary during the first dive.

 

[K80tik]

Soem weird temperatures yesterday, Martini was 27C on surface and 23C at the deepest point 19M, you could feel the change at 10M when descending the mooring.

Hole in the Wall had 28C throughout the whole dive depth down to 15M, mooring at this site has disappeared.

Nice to be in a 3mm for the first time this year, but glad I kept my hooded vest, it was necessary during the first dive.

I was supposed to go to Khorfakkan this weekend but ended up staying in AD. I heard that I would need my 3mm wetsuit there. I went diving at Empor with EDC this weekend. Was pretty descent viz for AD (7 to 9meters). Water was at 30C @ 14M. I may head out there soon. Water is getting to hot near AD and it seems all the fish went for cooler/deeper waters

 

[Searcaigh]

The Gulf gets too hot to dive in the summer, recorded 36C water temps on Sheikh Mohammed's Barge in 1997, uncomfortably warm even in a skin.

Recommend using Divers Down on the east coast if you are new to the area, very professional. If you know the dive sites then Scuba 2000 is acceptable.

 

[Searcaigh]

Well back in UAE waters after some superb diving at Lembeh Straits, and what a welcome back .... 27C even at 30M and visibility around 15M. However I will get on my soapbox later on!

Had four dives, Inch 2, Car Cemetery, Inch 1 and Sharm Rocks, all solo. Inch 2 and CC were just amazing on Thursday and I really wanted to return to CC again today but I was out voted on the boat and we ended up diving Sharm Rocks which was for me rather boring, but I did chill out and hang with the fish at 10M



Inch 1 was a mistake, I think the only dive center not on the wreck today was Divers Down, we saw both of their boats heading south and I did wonder! We were the second boat on the mooring and I had Romy drop us off at the mooring, however more boats pitched up during our dive and when I was ascending the line was busier than Sheikh Zayed Road at peak hour. I also noticed when I was doing my deep stop at 20M some guy whiz by and what caught my attention was 30 bar on his SPG, I assume he made it .... Inshallah.

The viz took me by surprise I have to say, I was shooting the 105mm all weekend, ho hum I could really have had some great shots with the 10-17 but it is so unpredictable here I would not want to chance it ... maybe next week.

Best shot on Inch 1 was one of a bunch of cleaner shrimp.



Sharm Rocks was amazing vertically it was possible to see the bottom at 12M where we descended, some beautiful Broomtail Wrasse swimming in between the snapper and other shoaling fish where I was just hanging, it was really cool

The previous day on Inch 1 as I was moving slowly along the port side from bow to stern I ran into the inevitable sandstorm. Two people ahead of me, one of them reasonably horizontal but still finning and his buddy in a vertical position finning to maintain position and kicking up a sandstorm .... Who teaches these w@nkers?

Time to go off piste and get away from these idiots that have no buoyancy control or situation awareness and find some subjects that will work with the 105

Car Cemetery was bliss, I could even have done wide angle there too.

Found a pair of cling fish on a feather star as well as plenty of gobies and blennies

 

[Simon-]

Weekend temperatures in Mussandam this weekend were between 27 - 29c, just ok in shorts and rash vest.

Lovely young (3.5m) Whaleshark at the eastern end of Lima Rock on Saturday.

 

[Searcaigh]

Where's the pic Simon?

 

[Simon-]

The first pic is from my little point and shoot Fuji, the second is from David Robinson (Sharkwatch Arabia). You can see David on the left in the first photo.

The pic of the nudi is mine too.

 

[Searcaigh]

Simon,

The nudi is Chromodoris tinctoria

Had a weekend at Scuba 2000, and following last week's amazing viz decided that I would experiment with wide angle, not such a brilliant idea to be honest but I had a second day of diving with the 105 and the +10 diopter to see what I could do on the other end of the lens scale.

Some local divers on the boat and they did not impress me much as one swam past me with fins hitting off the bottom on every stroke creating an underwater sandstorm and cr@pping out the viz for me and another photographer on Anemone Garden



Found a nice ball of catfish on Inch 2



We were the only boat on Inch 1 on Saturday morning, pleasure to dive that wreck with almost nobody else on it, found a pair of long nose flatheads at the stern.



Car Cemetery never fails

Chromodoris annulata laying eggs



Plenty of cleaner shrimp in one of the nooks and crannies, was experimenting with the +10 diopter





Third dive on Sharm Rocks had nothing major to excite me but Idid find this weird critter still to be identified, there were two under a piece of rubble

 

[Benzonar]

Gordon,

Looks like a fire clam - tend to find them under rocks.