Brother Orton King - The Old Hegg Turtle Sanctuary

How often do you get to meet a real person? A funny question I know but I am asking it honestly because we live in a world of phony people and to meet a real person is quite rare. Well Mary and I had the pleasure to meet a real man on Bequia. He calls himself Brother King and his mission is saving turtles at the Old Hegg Turtle Sanctuary.

Our time on Bequia was short so I asked Laury Stowe, with Bequia Dive Adventures, what would be the one thing we should do in Bequia.. Without hesitation he said, go to the turtle sanctuary.

The Wall at West Cay - A Virtual Dive

With Casio at the helm our skiff flew over the surface of the water heading west past Moonhole to a barren spit of rock known as West Cay. I pulled my hat down over my head and put my mask on so I could see into the wind. Mary looked over at me and laughed! What the hell it worked and I was the only one on the boat with a camera so you will just have to imagine what I looked like.

St. Vincent - Critter Capital of the Caribbean

With dive sites named "Well I Never" and "Critter Corner" you know you are about to experience something special. St. Vincent is known for muck diving in sand and turtle grass but it offers so much more. A diversity of small critters not found anywhere else in the Caribbean and Kay Wilson,owner of Indigo Dive St. Vincent, is an expert at finding them. We put together this slideshow with accompaniment of "Dive Into You" by Austin Wilacy. Click full screen for best viewing. Hope you enjoy it.

Bequia Sweet Sweet!

On Bequia we stayed at a quaint little place called the Gingerbread House facing Admiralty Bay. Each morning Mary and I were awakened by the chirping of birds. One bird in particular always had a special message for us. The Carib called it a “Grackel” and the early explorer and naturalist Frederick Ober in his book Camps in the Caribbes, written in 1880, described it thusly:

On Bequia…is a blackbird, a new species named the Quiscalus Luminosus, which makes the air respond with a joyous cry:

“Bequia, Sweet Sweet, Bequia Sweet!”

Banded Jawfish - Scuba Club Cozumel

After our morning boat dives and lunch we got a tank and headed for a shore dive. We had noticed a shell lined hole the night before on a shore dive at Scuba Club Cozumel and Mary and I wanted to get a look at the occupant.

We found the hole at the mouth of a small cove in about 15 feet of water. This shell lined burrow is the home of the banded jawfish. They excavate the sand with their big mouths and move stones and shells around it with their powerful jaws. They only grow to about 6 inches but their head is huge in relation to their body.

Batwing Coral Crab vs Spanish Lobster

Talk about crabby!  Mary spotted a creature and shined her light into the recess of a coral mound.  Suddenly sand came shooting out of the crevice and Mary motioned me over to have a look.  A batwing coral crab and Spanish lobster were having a very lively disagreement over something.  Just a quickly as it started it was over.  The obvious winner was the batwing coral crab who set about cleaning up after the altercation.  The Spanish lobster moved up the coral mound and, if he had had lips, I am sure he would have been pouting.

Both the Spanish lobster and batwing coral crab generally hide during the day and forage for food at night.  We have observed that a lot of critters considered to be nocturnal are seen more frequently during the day. 

The Cove - Take Action

On our bellies, hanging off the bow, Mary and I watched dolphins effortlessly ride the bow wake. Two adults swam on each side of the bow. A baby, amazingly fast, darted in and out among the adults. Not able to match the speed of the adults the baby eventually peeled off and was immediately followed by one of the adults, its mother perhaps?

Three adults easily keep pace with the boat as one flips over on her back. Mary claps and shouts with delight as the dolphin shows off her skill at swimming upside down. Her belly is swollen, she is pregnant, and Mary instinctively reaches out her hand knowingly.

Sea Anemone Mouth

Sea Anemones are members of the phylum Cnidaria (Nigh-DARE-ee-uh) derived from the Greek cnidos, meaning "stinging nettle" because they have stinging cells called nematocysts.  The anemone has numerous tentacles with these stinging cells embedded in them and if something comes in contact with the tentacle the stingers will discharge.  All quite fascinating but probably the most interesting and beautiful part of the sea anomone is its mouth which also functions as its other end as well.

Encircling the mouth are a number of tentacles to catch prey and particles suspended in the water.  If you place your hand on the tentacles you will notice that they are sticky and will stretch with your hand as you pull it away.  Don't worry the nematocysts cannot penetrate your palm.

We observed many varieties of anemone in the Pacific Ocean.  This picture gives you an idea of how big the anemone can grow.  Notice the clownfish swimming about.  Clownfish live in a symbiotic relationship with the anemone providing a very secure home which the clownfish will tenaciously defend.

Reflections of Beauty

It is said that the eye is the window of the soul, yet, fish are said to have no soul. Its window is a reflection of expressionless darkness encased in beauty for what purpose?

Giant Hermit Crab - Cozumel

After two wonderful morning dives on a small fast boat we had decided to take the afternoon cattle boat, something we are usually loathe to do, but this being our last dive day we hated to waste the opportunity for one more dive on Villa Blanca Wall in Cozumel.

Bearded Fireworm

End of the diving week and you enter that time of purgatory; the preflight surface interval.  You cannot dive before your flight and you have every intention of doing one of those interesting things you saw in a  brochure, like hiking remote trails, birdwatching, fishing, museums, you know all that tourist stuff.   So you grab your snorkel gear, head back to the beach and jump in.  Why dry out before you have to?

Mantas of Yap Part 3 - Final Encounters

For two more days we dived the same spot with each successive dive better than the last. It was as if the Mantas were coming to observe us and had asked all their friends to join them. On one dive I counted eleven Mantas and Gordon said he counted twenty-two.

Mantas of Yap Part 2 of 3 - First Encounters

After a 60 minute surface interval and constant reassurance from Gordon that we would see Mantas we did a back roll into our second dive.

Repeating the same procedure we had on our first dive we lay on the bottom staring into the dark water ahead. Waiting what seemed like an eternity I was certain that we would have a repeat of our failed first dive. Suddenly I saw Gordon move to our line of sight and point up toward the coral mounds. Our eyes strained to see what Gordon was pointing at and then a black mass began to slowly and gracefully appear.

Mantas of Yap Part 1 of 3 - First Dive

Gordon pointed to a spot and raised both palms and patted the water in a downward motion. This was my signal that this was my spot and that I was to lie down on the bottom. Lying prone at 76 feet in the middle of Miil Channel at Manta Ridge I felt more like a hunter waiting for prey to amble into our lethal trap than a scuba diver.

Looking to my right Mary was intently willing her eyes to see beyond what was humanly possible. Looking behind me Gordon was hovering with his fin tips barely touching the sand. Giving me the okay sign he pointed two fingers to his eyes and then swept a pointed finger in the direction of the current.

Twilight in the Islands

Twilight is a most enchanting time in the islands; the briefest of moments between the last breath of light and birth pains of darkness. A magical moment where primal urge drives one to waters edge, eyes, and hearts intensely fixated on the yellow orb, as if the mystery has yet to be solved. Reverent silence ensues as shadows flirt with fading light; a final flash signals defeat as the smoldering flame majestically merges with the sea. Darkness is born and night embraces the island.

Web Burrfish - Bizarre But Cool

On top of a sandy ledge near Saba we found this Web Burrfish willing to pose for us.  To describe this fish you would have to use the word bizarre. The piercing iridescent eyes, bright yellow spines with reticulated pattern on it's back and sides make this boxy fish one of my favorite bizarre fish.  And I think you would agree, he is a really cool looking fish!

Students Learn About the Ocean Floor

Through Donorschoose.org Mary and I have had the pleasure to support many projects in our public schools that help to educate children about the oceans of the world.  In partnership with other Ocean bloggers and the Oceans in the Classroom Initiative we have fully funded science projects from ocean floor spreading in Arkansas to invertebrate aquariums in Texas and breaking science news in Michigan.  Kids are learning science of the ocean and we love receiving letters and photos from the children.  Below is an update from Mrs. D's 6th grade class in Arkansas and photos of the children working with their sea floor spreading toolkit.

Dream Maker Octopus

Sama pointed to a cluster of rock at about 60 feet and when I circled around to where he was pointing all I saw was a swarm of wrasses. Looking over at Sama I hunched my shoulders and he pointed again at the spot directly in front of me. That is when I saw it, the outline of the octopus pressed against the rock.

Mary and I were diving from Wananavu, Fiji, at a site called Dream Maker at Thakau Vatu Latha or Sail Rock Reef. Comprised of five large coral heads, with caves and swim-throughs, the site is filled with soft corals called dendronepthia (carnation coral) in bright colors of yellow, purple and pink. On the edges of the site schools of snapper and sharks can be seen swimming against the current.

Peleliu Corner - Adrenaline Rush of Reef Hook Diving

Peleliu Corner is where Peleliu Expressway and Peleliu Cut merge and the ocean currents converge into the most extreme ripping current you will encounter as a diver. There is a reason they call part of this dive Expressway and that is because if you cannot hook in you are most definitely taking an expressway out to open ocean. U.S. Coast Guard approved transponders and safety sausage were required on this dive for good reason.

We had descended along Peleliu Wall down to about 104 feet. Our plan was to follow the wall for part of the dive slowly ascending to the top of the reef. Once we were given the signal by the dive guide we were to pop over the top of the wall as a group and hook in. When it was time to end the dive the dive guide would give us another signal and then, as a group, we would unhook and sail down the plateau out to open ocean where our boat would be waiting.

Upsidedown Jelly

Did you hear the story about the winner of a competition for what was billed the "best job in the world". Ben Southall was stung by a deadly jellyfish, called an irukandji, while getting off a jetski at Hamilton Island in Whitsundays. The bloke beat out 34,000 other people to get this dream job and almost dies from the sting of a jellyfish no bigger than your fingernail. As they say in Australia, no worries, he made out okay and I am sure he is getting his share of shouts at the pub these days.

When you think about jellyfish I bet you picture in your mind a deadly killing machine such as the lethal box jellyfish, Portuguese Man-of-War or the feared irukandji, but you probably never think about the benign upsidedown jellyfish as pictured in the black and white photo above.