Saturday, April 5, 2008

As I was saying, Diving...

ahem, before we were so RUDELY interrupted by all this focus on hockey (and potatoes), last weekend we were incredibly lucky to be asked by Gaylene and Colin to join some local divers for a night dive, and then head out to nearby island for a reef dive the next morning. With the help of Gaylene's underwater camera we can finally show you some of the cool stuff we saw!

The night dive was freaky at first, but fine once we were underwater. It really was pitch black (as you can see from the photo), so we really don't have any pictures of that. The next day, however, was beautiful weather, sunny, cool (wetsuits are incredibly hot when you are out of the water), and not very much swell (some of us get seasick easy).

The colors of the coral and sea grass were amazing. There were angel fish, large schools of bream (or something else silver and shiny), crayfish, cone shells (ooh, deadly).

But near the end of our dive, we saw something truly rare, a dolphin came down and swam a circle or two around us before it went off to play with others. Nathan said he about had to change his wetsuit when he saw this large, fast, grey object swimming at him (not a shark, not a shark, please not a shark). While I would willingly pay money for to swim with the dolphins, a close encounter with a wild one was spectacular! i knew there was a reason we finally got our dive tickets.

4 comments:

Loren said...

Thanks for the diving update and pictures. You know they make strobes for night photography. Use them in Alaska all the time. Dark abd cold diving. Some day I may be able to afford such a setup.

I appreciate the info on diving and the pics. I just love diving - even in the cold of Alaska. Do like the vibrant colors of warm water diving as well.

Keep up the diving and the blog about diving. Some day I hope to join you diving in Australia. Loren

cj_atc said...

Great pictures Nathan! Try to get more pictures of the nudibranches, but be sure to blur out the good stuff so no one gets offended.

On the serious, I need some advice from someone who has been a hockey fan longer than I have. The topic? The nuance of the playoff beard. Like most Jones men (at last on this branch of the tree), I currently have a beard. Do I need to shave it and start over for the playoffs?

If so, when do I shave it? Now or do I wait until the day of the first playoff game?

I guess this is why these are the unwritten rules of sport. To keep out the posers.

Elwood said...

I say keep the beard, but don't do any landscaping to it. No trimming or shaping or shaving around it. Just let it go.

Awesome pictures! Would have been great to get a picture of the dolphin, if not for the mental gymnastics of "Shark vs. Not Shark."

Mary Ann and Al said...

Hi,
I don't think I will ever do the diving thing, but I did snorkel for the first time when I was in Hawaii. I loved seeing what is at the bottom of the sea. Thanks for the pictures
Mary Ann