Yann and Marie arrived in Saba the day after us, so our second day of diving was actually the first time we all dove together. We started the morning off at Third Encounter, another pinnacle dive. I apologize if the photos are a bit boring. There were so many great sponges that I ended up taking loads of photos of them.

Our next dive was at Diamond Rock, presumably named after its whitewash of guano. This dive site was amazing. In addition to the rock that juts out of the water there is a second peak underwater and a sandy bottom about 80 feet down. In addition to the gorgeous underwater landscape, we saw a giant jack, a southern stingray and a hawksbill turtle.

I should also mention that we dove with Saba Deep, and they were really great. We dove new sites almost every dive and they made everything super easy by taking care of our gear, taxi and such. Since it was low season we were also able to opt in to extra dives in the afternoons, even if we were the only people going out.

Several members of Les Fruits de Mer (Madam J, Yann, Marie and myself) undertook an expedition to the nearby island of Saba last week for some diving, hiking and, of course, Extreme Shallow Snorkeling. Over the next few days I’ll be posting all about our adventures.

Saba is a much younger island than St. Martin, I believe about ten million years younger, or about half the age of St. Martin. While both islands are originally volcanic, St. Martin was submerged and capped with limestone, while Saba is basically still just a volcano jutting straight out of the ocean. It’s about a seventh the area of St. Martin, but twice as tall.

This post features some photos from our first day of diving on the island. The world-famous diving is the primary tourism draw of the island. Our first dive was at a site called Outer Limits, which is one of the pinnacle dives. The underwater pinnacles are basically submerged mountaintops off the coast of Saba that rise to between 90 and 110 feet below the surface of the ocean. Although the depth means short dives, these unique formations are a big attraction to divers.

Our next dive was at a site called Ladder Labyrinth, which primarily consists of coral and sponge encrusted underwater lava flows that create a variety of interesting structures. Underwater hot springs leave sulfur patches in the sand, and geothermal heat can be felt if you put your hands into the sand in the right spots.

We were also lucky enough to arrive during the month-long Sea and Learn event, which includes talks by experts and hands-on research opportunities. We went on a dusk/night dive with Graham Forrester to see if we could watch hamlets spawn. Although we didn’t actually see this because there aren’t very many hamlets in the waters around Saba, we did have a great night dive. One highlight was a nurse shark which followed us everywhere, probably because our flashlights helped it find prey.

It was a busy day and a great way to start our expedition!

I was doing surface cover the other day on the dive boat near Tintamarre and tried my hand at photographing sea birds while I was there. With the boat rocking and the birds flying, it’s quite difficult. As you can see, the results were less than spectacular. When the boat is rocking, it can also make you feel a bit ill. One thing I did learn was to find the bird and focus while zoomed out, then zoom in. Using a 70-300mm lens, trying to focus at 300mm is much slower, and getting a flying bird in the frame is much harder. Starting at 70mm, it’s pretty fast and easy, and then you can zoom in on the bird. Probably everyone who photographs birds already knew this.

We held the second annual Tacousteau on the roof deck of our new apartment and it was a great success. We enjoyed the delicious Mexican food, tacos, and watched two episodes of the first Jacques Cousteau series. Fish were trapped in plastic bubbles, sea turtles were saved by Falco and much, much more. Everyone wore red hats, including our video projector. Special thanks to Big B for taking the photos!

Last Tuesday was the second of many Grand Case Mardi Gras nights. This time I took a lens that could autofocus and I think the photos came out a little better. You can see the band, Kevin, some kid with an awesome purple hat and much more.

On January 10th, we again commandeered the dingy to explore the Creole Rock area. Heading northeast, we rounded the shallows where we saw more than a dozen spiny lobsters clustered in a crevice in an undersea wall. From there we went into the channel between Creole Rock and Bell Point, but found it mostly just sea grass beds. Curving around to the back side of the rock, we found a southern stingray (Dasyatis americana) and I briefly saw a spotted eagle ray (Aetobatus narinari in the distance.

As we returned around the rock, four more spotted eagle rays swam by together, and while Madam J swam after them shooting video, I was able to get a few photos of the fifth member of the group, which was following slightly behind. There were several isopods clinging to the right side of his face.

During the dive we also saw an initial phase redband parrotfish (Sparisoma aurofrenatum) being cleaned by some pederson cleaner shrimp (Periclimenes pedersoni), a fairy basslet (Gramma loreto) swimming upside down in a small cave, a pair of graysby (Cephalopholis cruentatus) in another cave and what seemed to be some very small bulb tunicates (Clavelina spp.) clinging to sea grass, which I had first mistaken for fish eggs.

Pinel Islet and Little Key are two small islands in the marine reserve. Pinel is a popular snorkeling destination, while Little Key is seldom visited. Strong winds and surf over the past week left the conditions less than optimal, with relatively poor visibility on both sides of Pinel. We snorkeled in three locations: the backside (sea side) of Pinel, the front side (St. Martin-facing) side of Pinel, and a circumnavigation of Little Key.

I took my new 85mm macro lens underwater for the first time, and it wasn’t the most practical choice for the situation. As you can see from the photos, it has the potential to be great to shoot small, flighty fishes. At the same time, it is difficult to use (as any lens would be) for snorkeling as it is hard to maintain a fixed position. Debris in the water also made it difficult to focus at times, when the camera focused on the debris rather than the subject.

Still, we had an excellent exploration, particularly when we swam out to Little Key for the first time. The coral there is generally healthier than that in the designated snorkeling area of Pinel. We found a scorpionfish, schools of young grunts with a few yellowtail snappers mixing in, trumpetfish and many other creatures. The general topography is shallow corals mixed with sea plants on the side facing Pinel, which shifts to sandy and grassy shallows facing St. Martin. Wrapping around the island, facing St. Barths, there is deeper water, maybe 20-25 feet with various soft corals and sponges, often growing on the dead skeletons of large elkhorn corals.

I was hoping to get some photos of the local giant centipedes ever since I saw part of one that had been squished on the road. Last night I saw one, but didn’t have my camera. Luckily, today I got some help from a bird, which was attempting to eat one in the yard next door to the dive shop. As you may be able to make out from the photos, the bird was thrashing the centipede, then gingerly leaping away for a moment to check its progress. When the bird noticed me, I got some pretty nasty glares before it flew off.

The centipede seems to be of genus Scolopendra, which are large, venomous centipedes that capture anything they can hold onto, including lizards and even bats. This particular specimen was approximately 6-7 inches long. It survived the bird attack, and mostly stayed still during the photo session, perhaps trying to avoid drawing attention to itself. I wouldn’t say this technique worked, but then again, I didn’t eat it.

Below are a variety of creatures seen where we are staying, many of which were on our veranda. Included are: a fly, the black witch, the hieroglyphic moth, a checkered swallowtail chrysalis, a small spider with a fly it caught, some other moths and a termite.

Our beloved Crépe is gone. We’re not sure where he went, but Madam J thinks he may have blown out the door while the maid was cleaning our room. Below are a few photos of Crépe. Although we tried to provide him with food and water, he didn’t partake (as far as we could see), although he did spend a day sitting with the damp cotton pad. We’ll miss you!!!