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Archive for January, 2010
This Eastern Caribbean island is a paradise where the majestic mountainous landscape is as spectacular underwater as above. There are approximately 20 dive sites to explore including caves, swim-throughs, volcanic vents, and coral gardens. Marine life is plentiful offering many rare species including seahorses, flying gunards, and batfish. Water temps are in the high 70s in winter; mid-80s in summer. Vis ranges from 60 to 100 feet. The most popular diving is found along the island’s western coast–with sites clustered in the south, mid-island and north.
Off Dominca’s southwestern end, Soufriére Bay is actually the submerged crater of an ancient volcano. Divers can explore the shallow reefs that line the rim of the crater or drop down for a deeper profile. Operators also take divers outside the bay to sites like Scott’s Head Pinnacle. Dominica’s mid-island region (mostly off Salisbury Beach and Grande Savane) features patch reefs sloping down to steep walls at sites like Rodney’s Rock, Castaways Reef and Nose Reef. Larger blue-water pelagics like spotted eagle rays and rainbow runners that are largely absent from southern sites can be spotted here. Northwestern sites offer a varied underwater topography, exemplified at sites like Toucari Caves with its honeycombed caverns dripping with black coral and golden sea spray. Sperm whales are common off Dominica from October to March, and most of the island’s dive operators take groups on weekly excursions during this time.
Some interesting dives include:
Volcano Site at Prince Rupert Bay – This unique area has volcanic gases venting from the sea floor, which bubble up gently through the sand and coral. Hot sand, multi colored from the sulfur deposits, surrounds the huge sponges and brain corals flourishing at this site.
Pole to Pole- Dive under the Cabrits Cruise Ship Dock…this easy dive features, on a regular basis, some of the rarest critters around. Seahorses, batfish, flying gurnards, sand eels and more, all set against a background of towering wooden poles which are covered in sponges. Amazing both as a day and a night dive.
Toucari Caves at Toucari Bay- Toucari bay is excellent for day or night dives, as this site boasts a wide variety of sea life, including octopus, moray eels, rays, squid, lobster, crabs, trumpet fish, parrotfish and puffer fish, just to name a few. The healthy corals in this area include finger, pillar, fire, brain and vase. The “cave” part is secluded area with coral covered rocks reaching from the beach out to the main reef at about 40 feet. Toucari Bay is a honeycomb of tunnels, some as long as 45 feet, that provides exquisite swim-throughs and harbor schools of french grunts. On the lip of the bay, the reef drops to 110 feet and is home to large schools of mahogany snapper, big crabs and frogfish.
I’m not really sure what all of the mollusk fuss is about. To me they look like aquatic portabellas or perhaps marine potatoes. But enthusiasts around the world see so much more in the abalone, enough to dive in cold, shark infested waters to collect the beauties. Fans of Abalone diving and eating go to great lengths to celebrate the sport with festivals, cook-offs, and in prose (All Abalone are Deaf by Felix Macias.) I’m always looking for new diving opportunities, so I decided to find out more.
Where can I find these things? The majority of abalone species are found in cold waters, off the Southern Hemisphere coasts of New Zealand, South Africa and Australia, and Western North America and Japan in the Northern Hemisphere. Due to dwindling natural supply of abalone and increasing demand, some countries have begun farming the critters, including China, Taiwan, Japan, Australia, Chile, Iceland, Ireland, Mexico, New Zealand, South Africa, Thailand, and the United States. Abalone are mostly taken in depths from a few inches up to 10 m (33 ft.) Abalone are normally found on rocks near food sources like kelp. Divers commonly dive out of boats, kayaks, tube floats or directly off the shore.
How do I dive for abalone? It turns out that scuba diving for abalone is illegal in most parts of the world. Instead you have to freedive for them, which makes sense since they are usually pretty shallow. An abalone diver sports the usual gear like a thick wetsuit, booties, gloves, mask, snorkel, and a weight belt. You also need an abalone iron which is used to pry the mollusk off the rock it is so fond of, and an abalone gauge to make sure the size is large enough to take legally.
This is a good time to mention the insanely stringent regulations surrounding the recreational hunting of abalone due to their severely threatened populations. In addition to the aforementioned no scuba rules, there are limits to the number taken, the size taken and the time of year the tasties are collected. These vary by country and even by city, with strict penalties for non-compliance. Some places like California have law enforcement professionals dedicated to catching abalone thieves not following the rules (where did those taxpayer dollars go?) So before you go setting your mind to hunting abalone, you should check the local regulations.
I found one! Now what do I do with it? Abalone are basically sea snails, conceptually similar to conch. You can serve it raw like sushi, or steam it, saute it, boil it, bake it, or even serve it like a “steak.” Winning cook-off recipes have made it into cakes (like a crab cake, not chocolate, thanks), battered it in beer and even mixed it into tomato sauce over pasta. The key appears to be cleaning the fresh mollusk correctly, removing the lip, tough foot and guts. A thorough pounding of the meat with a heavy mallet also seems to contribute to a tasty outcome.
So although I can’t put my scuba skills to work, it does seem like hunting for the great abalone is an interesting proposition. Although I’m not crazy about continuing to deplete the population of this animal which has been so highly regarded for so very long, I do like the idea of celebrating its existence in so many tasty ways. Perhaps I’ll stick to the farmed version and dive for something else instead.
Hey baby, what's your sign?
I recently started asking around for new blog ideas, and got an earful of weird dive experiences from my fellow recreational divers. It was an unusual accumulation of aquatic encounters that I just had to put together into a post.
Subway Cars – “Early in 2009 I dove the Atlantic City Reef to see the NYC subway cars that they put there the year before. It was really strange to see some of them sitting upright, looking like they were waiting to pull out of the station. Some sediment had built up on the seats, looking like somebody stuck more gum on them. I love diving wrecks, but I’ve never seen anything manmade look so bizarre underwater. At least boats were meant for the ocean!” -Rick T.
Divemaster Feeding a Moray from his Mouth – “I just got back from a trip to Moorea in French Polynesia, where I went on a shark feed dive. After most of the fish pieces had been fed to the sharks, one of the divemasters started feeding pieces of tuna to a moray eel who had stuck his head out of the nearby reef. Apparently unsatisfied with his hand-feeding technique, the divemaster took out his regulator, put a piece of tuna in his mouth, and then swam over to give the moray a mouth-to-mouth feeding experience. I guess he thought the move was funny or clever, but I just thought: What a dumbass!” -Tony A.
Wall of Jellyfish – “Diving Jellyfish Lake in Palau was definitely the strangest dive ever. Actually I was freediving because you can’t scuba in the lake. When I first got in the water I didn’t see anything. But then as I swam out into the middle of the lake where the sun was hitting the water, I ran into a wall of jellyfish so thick I couldn’t see through it. They were everywhere; it was like swimming in jell-o.” –Amanda B.
Squid Sex – “In Bonaire my dive group came across a pod of squid during one early morning dive. The squid kept circling each other and would occasionally flash different colors or make their skin look striped. Back onshore I asked our divemaster about it because I had never seen squid do that before. Usually they just hang out in a line and get spooked if you get too close. Turns out the behavior was “cephalopod mating rituals,” a.k.a. squid sex.” Michael R
Narwhals are one-of-a-kind sea creatures, with a long spiraling tusk that has earned them the nickname Unicorns of the Sea. For hundreds of years, sightings of these mammals have spawned tales of mermaids and sea monsters when sailors and explorers have encountered them. In reality, these aquatic beauties are related to bottlenose dolphins, belugas, harbor porpoises, and orcas. Their natural habitat is the Atlantic portion of the Arctic Ocean. They are also found in fewer numbers in the Greenland Sea, extending to the coast of Russia.
The narwhal is 13 to 16 feet in length and weighs between 2,200 and 3,500 pounds, living exclusively on a diet of fish and squid. They are often sighted swimming in groups of 15 to 20, but gatherings of hundreds or more have been reported. A notable quality of the Narwhal is its ability to perform incredibly deep dives for a marine mammal, going to at least 800 meters (2,400 feet) with many dives reaching 1,500 meters (4,500 feet).
Their diving skill aside, the most unique feature of the Narwhal is, of course, the tusk, which is actually one of its two upper teeth. After the first year of a male narwhal’s life, its left tooth grows outward, spirally. This long, single tooth projects from its upper jaw and can grow to be 7-10 feet long. Marine biologists disagree on the evolutionary purpose of the tusk, sighting mating appeal, a defensive weapon and a fish-sensing antenna as possible uses.
Usually humans spot narwhals on the ocean’s surface, but there is the possibility (albeit limited) of scuba diving with these amazing creatures. April is the only month where Arctic diving is realistically possible, as it’s the warmest month of the year there, when the raging cold reduces to a still-really-chilly dull roar. Of course you will need your dry suit as well as high-tech microfiber undergarments to keep you from turning into an ice cube in the approximately 28 degree water. And a cold-water regulator is a must, as your “regular” regulator will cease to function before you even get in the water.
Once you are ready, it’s time to find someone to take you there. Few people on this earth have the scuba know-how and the means to organize an undertaking like this on their own. A few companies offer expedition-like trips to the Arctic Circle and can, for a price, incorporate diving into the itinerary. Their role includes finding pods of narwhals and other whales to see, an important part of the equation when one is talking about 1000s of miles of open ocean where these animals live.
To date, few people, other than scientists, can say they have gone scuba diving with the Unicorn of the Sea. But increased availability of ice diving training, improved ice diving gear and an ever-growing body of knowledge about these creatures is improving the chance that you too can dive with these unusual aquatic wonders.
Alexandria offers one of the most interesting diving experiences in the world, with more sites being discovered each year. This part of the Mediterranean boasts no reefs or colorful tropical fish, but rather a wealth of archeological treasures such as sunken cities, palaces and numerous wrecks. Experts estimate that some 7000 monuments belonging to the Pharaonic and Roman dynasties are preserved under Alexandria’s waves.
The diving around Alexandria can be divided into some logical groupings based on features and historical period. Some of the more interesting diving includes:
Underwater city of Cleopatra and her Palace – The site is located just inside the Eastern Harbor of Alexandria. The city dates back to 300 BC, and was built by Alexander the Great. The city collapsed and fell into the sea after several earthquakes. Divers can see Cleopatra’s royal districts, the statue of Mark Anthony, Cleopatra’s sun boat and the wreckage of a 2nd World War plane that exists inside the ruins. Various monuments, carvings and building ruins can be seen throughout the site.
Quaitbay Fort – There are three wrecks to dive in the waters below present-day Quaitbay Fort. Two wrecks were ships used to carry goods to Alexandria during Cleopatra’s era. The third wreck is the remains of a Roman shipwreck also used to carry goods to Alexandria. Though quite old, the ships’ structures and typical nautical characteristics can still be distinguished.
Underwater city of Heracleon – Located at a distance of 4 km from the coast of Abou Kir bay, at depth of 8m, lies the ruined buildings of the city of Heracleon, complete with a nearby pharaonic style temple. Found in the temple were 3 colossi carved on red granite for Ptolemy & his queen. Other relics, such as stone monuments, utensils, bronze figures, gold coins and pottery have been recovered at the site, their origin identified as dating from sometime between the 4th. and 1st. centuries BC. This site continues to produce archeological treasures and demonstrates advanced construction techniques.
Napoleon’s Wrecks – In the late 1700’s, Napoleon Bonaparte began his French invasion of Egypt by landing his fleet in Alexandria. His flagship, the Orient, exploded and sank in the Battle of the Nile. At 2700 tons and carrying 120 cannons, this ship makes for a fascinating and well preserved wreck dive. Two other nearby wrecks, the Serieuse and the Artemise were also frigates belonging to Napoleon’s fleet. Artifacts recovered from the wrecks include anchors, cannons, portable firearms, ammunition, navigation instruments, and gold, silver and copper coins.
WWII Wrecks – There are two WWII wrecks near Alexandria. The HMS Calcutta was a C-class British light cruiser, built by Vickers during 1917, and launched during 1918. Despite to her anti-aircraft weapons, the HMS Calcutta was damaged and sunk by a German Junkers Ju 88 bomber in the waters north-west of Alexandria. Due to the location, the visibility around this wreck is consistently better than in Alexandria harbor, and the remaining structure is overflowing with sea life. The second wreck, the HMS Galatea was an Arethusa-class British light cruiser, built in Greenock by Scotts Shipbuilding & Engineering Co. during 1933, and launched during 1934. She was intercepted and torpedoed by the German submarine U-557, the explosion scattering the ship’s ruin across the sea floor. Again, the currents surrounding the wreck deliver superior diving visibility.
Siwa Oasis – This isn’t ocean diving, but the opportunity is still fantastic. Siwa is located on the edge of the Great Sand Sea approximately 3-hours into the desert by car from Alexandria. During the Roman Occupation in the early 300 B.C.’s, the Romans modified many of the natural springs that occur here and turned them into wells. The oasis itself is too shallow to dive in, but the surrounding 190 springs and wells offer plenty of unique diving action. The water is crystal clear with fairly constant temps. Typical depths are between 6 and 8 meters with some wells having unique fish varieties which are not native to Egypt. Perhaps the most unique feature, however, is that many contain remains of Roman era construction.
There are some drawbacks to the unique diving in Alexandria. Dive conditions can be difficult at some sites, with medium to low visibility from silt and pollution. Also, divers have a limited selection of reputable dive companies to use, as the lack of a large volume of dive tourists makes it difficult to sustain a dive operation. Finally, government permission to dive some of these sights, like Heracleon, may change without warning as authorities take into account local archeological and drug smuggling activities. But, it seems the challenges may be worth the rewards as few other places in the world allow a diver to combine their sport with such a rich exploration of history.
On our last dive trip we encountered a couple who mentioned they had been to see the whalesharks of the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico last year. They seemed like honest enough folks, but their claims of seeing hundreds of whalesharks off the peninsula seemed exaggerated at best and a bold faced fabrication at worst. I decided to do some research to find out more about these multiple Mexican whalesharks and determine if it would be worth the trip to see them.
So yes, indeed, there are whalesharks off of the Caribbean coast of Mexico. During the month of June to September, in the area around Cancun, Contoy and Isla Holbox, the sharks swim by during their summer feeding migration. Though the locals, who quaintly call the fish Dominoes, have known about the migration for a long time, it is only within the past six years that these aquatic Latin beauties have grabbed international attention. Whale Shark Tourism infusion started with 9000 people in 2005. 2006 saw a 50% increase to 13,500. 2007 saw another increase to over 16,000 and in 2008 the total board saw almost 20,000 Whale Shark swimmers!
Yes, swimmers. There is no scuba diving allowed with the whalesharks, just snorkeling, a rule enforced by Mexican marine park rangers with fast boats, firepower and determined glints in their eyes. There are a variety of outfitters who the government has licensed to take people to swim with the Whale Sharks which keeps good control over process. Props to Mexico for acknowledging and protecting their marine treasures.
Let’s talk numbers. Were my dive buddies making an accurate statement, or were the oodles of whalesharks all in their minds? If they really did go in 2008 or 2009, it is possible they were telling the truth. Each year since 2005 the number of whalesharks sighted in the region has increased, though it is unclear whether that is a function of more whalesharks in the area, or better spotting techniques (like the use of planes or historical sighting data). Some days you might be lucky to see one or two, with five to ten seeming to be the average. But when the water is thick with plankton, for example from spawning fish, the whaleshark numbers can grow dramatically, with 2009 aggregations reaching 300+. That’s 300+ whalesharks at one time in an area no bigger than a few football fields. I can’t imagine a site more amazing than that.
So the only downside seems to be the unpredictability of the sightings and the time it takes. While my dive buddies may have seen 300, if I went a week later I might have only seen one. Depending on where you are based, the boat ride out to see the whalesharks could be three hours or more (that’s three hours out and three hours back.) On the upside there are frequently surface manta ray sightings in the area, giving passengers something to look for on the long ride. And of course, the possibility of something this good is certainly worth the wait.
Though the weather outside is frightful...
We’ve returned from our dive trip to St John’s. It was a fantastic week filled with colorful macro creatures, turtles, barracuda, tarpon, all manner of reef fish and some really unique underwater rock and coral formations. Vis wasn’t too good due to the weather front that has hit the islands over the past few weeks, but water temp was a balmy 82 degrees!
Now we are back home and frozen solid from the snow and ice that mother nature dumped so unceremoniously on us (thanks, Mom!) Already I am longing for more snowflakes. Snowflake Eels, of course.