Long Beach was apparently worse than ever seen before and it looked it, the entire tide line had rubbish strewn along it. I filled a rice bag so big I could not lift it and had to float it. Very satisfying once done as you could see the change. A great deal of clear plastic in this case.
Google image: "the giant stride"
Butterfly fish. Google image.
Google image.
We saw a seahorse!! A wild seahorse! A "spiny" (Spinosa?), female, about an inch long with tail curled. Appeared very black with white patches and spine fin (these pictures are not it).
Google image.
It drifted along the sand so that us newbies initially thought it might be dead but Kim assured us that was the way they move; they are not very good swimmers.
Today we completed our 'confined water' (equivalent) dives and did Open Water dives 1, 2 and 3. dived to 12m before lunch. I made it down the anchor line but then lost buoyancy control and floated all the way back up. It was quite funny, Kim looked quite startled under her mask!
Ali and Maren.
Freddie, Laure and...me!
Abby did not make it, she could not equalise and ended up hurting her ear. Kim removed her from the anchor line and took her back up. Later she was sick.
After lunch and a buoyancy check (floating at eye level with weights on) we dived OW 2&3. I can't believe I am writing these things, I never would have thought this would be me! Even my lungs felt the exercise! Back to the Big Boat with some of the other divers this time, diving in the same area as us. Skill checks included mask removal and replace underwater and BCD removal. These were ok but I got a bit disorientated at one point in low visibility. Also I hate the current. Kim even lost the other three at one point and had to find them on the surface. About 9m depth.
This is from google.
We had a break between dives 2 and 3 and sunbathed on the deck of big boat. We have to swim from the boat, moored at the pier with our empty tanks, back to the dive hut to get refills. I do not like jumping off the boat, either in full gear ('the giant stride'), or with only the tank to drag.
We saw some of the reef finally. Pretty impressive. Huge "cones" of hard brown corals, some about 5ft tall and 1ft across the cone. Amazingly vicious black Diodemus urchins everywhere, need your buoyancy to keep above them as the reef rises and falls as you float over the top. The urchins have white 'spots' on them that may well be eyes. They seem to look at you accusingly, saying "how dare you swim over me!"
Google image.
Damsel fish, a small 1 inch, electric blue fish (also apparently a damsel fish?) and an unusual coral that Kim called us over to look at. Also sponges and that classic shaped fish - the butterfly fish.
Damselfish. Google image.
Ran into thermoclines (warm water/cold water fronts) and hydroclines (salt water/fresh water fronts), both had a dramatic effect on visibility.
By the end of the day I was exhausted but happy. My right ear was a little sore and my toes needed hydrogen peroxide for the fin blisters, but all was well. Played cards all evening. Three of the four geckos out to meet us this evening: George, Prince George (in honour of) and not-a-george (he's greener). Sun all day today and one of my towels is dry!!
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