Today we went for four dives, including two trips to the island of Tintamarre. First, we went to the seaward side of Tintamarre to Japanese Reef. While the waves are rougher on that side, the island prevents large surges underwater for excellent visibility. In preparation for this difficult entry, we geared up on the calmer side of the island and were delighted to see four dolphins frolicking beside our boat. It was almost impossible to pay attention to the dive briefing during such an enchanting encounter. We hoped they would join us on one of our dives, but today they did not.

We headed to Japanese Reef and prepared to enter the water commando-style, back-rolling into the water in pairs. The reef was beautiful and we saw many creatures, including Barracuda, and many small fishes. We also discovered a small Nurse Shark hiding on the sandy bottom beneath a coral ledge.

For our next dive we returned to The Tugboat, one of the most scenic wrecks in the area. After lunch, we headed back to Tintamarre to a dive site called Chico, which is adjacent to Japanese Reef. On this dive we saw a trio of spotted creatures: a majestic Spotted Eagle Ray, a Spotted Moray Eel and an adult Spotted Drum. As we prepared to ascend we were greeted by a Turtle.

For our final dive, we returned towards Grand Case and dove the Creole Rock site starting on the seaward side. We swam through a large expanse of gorgonians before reaching the reef surrounding Creole Rock. After seeing a gorgeous Queen Triggerfish, we then headed home to prepare for an evening with our friends.

This entry was posted on Friday, February 13th, 2009 at 6:27 pm and is filed under On Expedition. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.