Dunkin' Dolphins

Today's dive started the usual way---At 6:30 in the morning I'm driving south to my buddy's (Fritz) house where we would meet up with Karen (another dive buddy) for our car-pool dive-mobile pool drive down to Quiescence in Key Largo. Along the way we stopped at Dunkin' Donuts and continued on our way there after.

Driving along the 18-mile stretch between Florida City and Key Largo we spotted tons of birds--from the large variety of Egrets to King Fishers and more. This area is always really pretty and there is a time of the year when a large congregation of these birds including the prettiest pink spoonbills will put on such a show that it will jam-up US-1 from all the sight-seers (ourselves included).

A few minutes later and we're pulling into Quiescence and having our regular weekly greet with the friendly gang who operate this great place. Apparently, many of the locals have been shying away from diving because of the colder waters and unpredictable weather. Just two days ago there were 30 knot winds ripping across the reefs. We come to find out we're the only 3 going on the morning dive. Diving just doesn't get any better than that.

After some of previous experiences and stories, Karen is looking forward to doing a drift dive on Molasses in hopes of seeing the Manta Ray we spotted a couple of weeks ago and of course we ablige.

Along the way we see a dolphin breach out of the water in front of us, then another. We're all looking in every direction hoping to see where they'll pop up next. As we walk towards the back of the boat we can see dark shadows below us. Next thing we know about 6-8 dolphins including a baby begin to put on a show for us. They begin swimming in the wake of the boat. Leaping out of the water. The mother and baby pop up right behind the boat ladder. It feels just like my dolphin encounter trip in the Bahamas last year. What a blast!

Sure enough this was reason enough to go home with a huge smile on our faces but since we're out here we might as well do our dives.

Out on Molasses we suit up--I look and feel like the Stay Puff Marshmallow Man with two full wetsuits on. I backroll into 80ft vis and 1-2 foot seas. Once everyone is in we begin our drift dive. First thing we spot....

This little friendly turtle decides to take our full attention for a good 10 minutes while swimming around us without a care in the world. While Karen and I are on both sides swimming along with it while taking pictures there are two Eagle Rays circling above us. Of course, since Karen and I are shooting pictures this is completely oblivious to us. Fritz "Eagle Eyes" is giggling the whole time watching everything take place and (supposedly) trying to get our attention.

We continue on our dive and one of the first things we noticed as we swam along was the huge schools of great barracudas swimming around.

These guys are everywhere and they're big and curious. The perfect chance at getting a good close-up shot.

We're swimming along and I can see a lobster from a distance and point it out to Fritz. He normally enjoys playing a gentle but fun game of sword antenna-to-finger fight with the little guys. As he approaches them he immediately looks back at me and excitingly points right above the lobster. I'm trying to figure out what he's pointing out but from about 5-6 ft away I recognize it.

A NUDIBRANCH!! WOOOOHOOOOOO!! I love these guys and this is the first time I see this one.

So a few minutes later we are swimming along and I spot two French Angel's swimming alongside an orange sponge. I gotta stop to get a picture or four.

Fritz and Karen stop just on the other side and wait. All of a sudden, through my hood I can hear Karens frantic snapping of her tank banger. Last time she did this we had a swordfish swimming circles above us. Needless to say, I stop what I'm shooting and high-tail it over to where she is at. I see them looking out into the distance and I follow suit. I see nothing. I turn to her and signal as to what happened and in almost slow-motion I see the two hand signs that would ruin the most perfect French Angel shot (should I have taken it). With her right hand she holds it up in a flat manner on top of her head... "Oh no!! A shark!" then she cups both hands in a C-formation and runs it across the sides of her head perpendicularly. "AHHHHH!!!!! A hammerhead shark!"

Turns out the famous hammerhead shark (6-8ft) that's been making rounds around Molasses in the past couple of weeks and who (probably) ate Stubby, the Eagle Ray (or another Eagle Ray) a couple of weeks ago charged straight at her and turned and vanished as it left her scared out of her wits. Needless to say, that French Angle shot I took doesn't seem too pleasing to me anymore. May I add, I've never seen a hammerhead shark underwater. Oh well, maybe next time (week).

We continue on our way, now spinning our heads as much as Linda Blair in hopes of seeing a return performance from Mr. H but to no avail. Along the way I see from a distance what looks like a common sea fan swaying in the current but something looks odd. It's shaped like the tail of a shark...

A nurse shark to be exact. A couple of snapshots and we continue on our way.

We approach Fu Manchu reef and stop there for a few minutes before getting back up on the boat. Wow! An hour has gone by and so much has happened that I didn't even realize I was cold. Gotta love it.

We decide to do our second dive at Molasses--it's not every winter day that Molasses has 80ft vis. This time we make it a stationary dive where we saw the turtle.

We backroll (or stride) in the water and I've switched modes--I'm in the small critter lookout mode now. Where are those nudibranchs?!?!

The water is too clear to not get a couple of wideangle shots with the plethora of reef fish swarming every inch of the reef.

I'm about to take a trial shot to make sure my exposure is correct and this little parrot fish swims right smack into the middle of the frame as the strobe fires and wadda ya know.... perfect exposure. Oh yeah... I meant to do this!

I look up and my buddies are gone! I notice their bubbles on the other side of the reef.. no biggie. I wasn't expecting them to stick around all day for this sloooooowww-paced dive buddy. They return 15 minutes later and I've moved about 10 feet. They always get a giggle out of this.

I spot a little yellow head poking out beneath a purple common sea fan..

A Wrasse Blenny.. What a cute little fella and how photogenic.

Of course the dive wouldn't be complete without a picture of Fu Manchu's cousin...

I decide to go for a little swim around the coral heads and find a huge overhang. Some huge dog snappers are hanging out below but soon leave as soon as I swim by. I'm checking out the bottom side of the underhang in hopes of finding a orange-ball corallimorph but instead spot a juvenile queen angel.. "Oooohh! Nice! I don't have a shot of one of those." This little fella is darting in and out of different crevices. Right when I'm about to settle down and wait for a shot I notice just a couple of feet away from me an orange sponge but something looks odd.. The formation is broken up by what looks like an algae covered rock. Hmmm.. A closer inspection and...

It turns out to be a 2ft octopus!! Wooooaah! I love these guys. I'm sure with three hearts they've got to be a favorite of the women too. I watch him change colors and textures and I take a couple of snapshots of it.

I swim up in hopes of finding my friends so I can show them the octopus and luckily Fritz is nearby (Karen had returned to the boat). I signal him to come over quickly and luckily the octopus stayed put. Now this little fella decides it's time to go for a stroll around the reef out in plain, broad day light.

I'm watching him move all about while nearby the schools of huge barracudas swam by. I've now turned from photographing it to becoming its personal bodyguard. I'm throwing hand signals to it letting him know that he needs to hide in one of the crevices on the reef but he continues on his merry way. Gosh darn it! About 10 minutes later and I notice my dive time is at 64 minutes. Woah! Gotta go! Hopefully the little fella found refuge or maybe he hired Mr. H to take care of him while I was away.

Back at Quiescence we pack our stuff and head over to a great little restaurant (forget the name) and I enjoy the pleasant and always fun after-dive lunch with my great dive buddies.

From Dunkin' Dolphins to a fearless Octopus--What a day! And not one complaint about the cold water.... Okay... maybe one or two... ;D

Laz

What camera and lens did you use? Quiescenet divers, I think I use to dive with them 20 years ago. Do they run a series of 6 pac boats?

All in all then a pretty ordinary day!

I think you and that camera were made for each other... All these shots are 1st class.

That Barracuda shot is OUT£%$£^*NSTANDING! If you'll pardon my French of course, and that's one of the nicest Angel shots I've seen in a long time... Beautiful composition.

Keep this up and I will hate you!!!!

What camera and lens did you use? Quiescenet divers, I think I use to dive with them 20 years ago. Do they run a series of 6 pac boats?

Dave, I'm currently using the Olympus C-5050 inside a PT-015 housing. For the barracuda silo shot I used a Sea & Sea WAL--all other shots were with the native lens.

Quiescence runs 3 - 6 pack boats, yes. If you were diving in the Keys 20 years ago, it was probably with them. They're one of the few older dive shops in Key Largo.

Keep this up and I will hate you!!!!

Sheeww! Thank God I didn't post the whole series of barracuda shots then...

Those sea lice have gotta itch!

Awesome as always Laz.

J

Hey Laz, not bad for a days work! Beautiful shots.

What was the exposure settings for that shot into the sun?

How deep were you?

Did you try to bracket you exposure on that shot?

What's your favorite color....

Herb

Yep, the last time I was that close to a GB was in the Gardens of the Queen of southern Cuba in Sept. 1997. It had my YS120 in its mouth shaking it and me around. It still has the scars today!

Great:

Dives, shots and report!

Continue with that stuff, and as the Goldfish said we will continue to hate & jealous you.

Hey Laz, not bad for a days work! Beautiful shots.

 

What was the exposure settings for that shot into the sun?

How deep were you?

Did you try to bracket you exposure on that shot?

What's your favorite color....

 

Herb

Thanks, Herb.

The exposure settings for the cuda silo shot was F/5.6 at 1/1000 sec--ISO 64 with the Sea & Sea WAL. I was hovering at about 30 ft. of water (an abyssal max. depth of 40ft. lol) and I bracketed like crazy. Wanting to really put some practice under my belt with wide-angle, silo (type) shots, I set one of the modes on the 5050 to continuous shooting with 1 stop of bracketing between shots. I set the camera to shutter priority so that I could control the background and let the camera choose the aperture that best suits the shot. I'd hold down the shutter button and let that puppy capture 5 shots (I think) at a time before having to repress the button (No waiting.. the camera writes to the card in the background, Chris. lol)

It didn't work out great (still toying around with it) but there are some shots where it did alright. I really didn't meter as good as I should have and I shouldn't have shot directly into the sun. Where I shot this (just outside Fu Manchu reef) there's always schools of something (usually Permits) that hang around so I'll try some further tests until I get the hang of it.

My favorite color... That would be the Ocean Blue that's seen from the boat while moored to The Duane's buoy when there's 150+ ft. of visibility.. That is such a pretty blue (for more reasons than one).

Yep, the last time I was that close to a GB was in the Gardens of the Queen of southern Cuba in Sept. 1997. It had my YS120 in its mouth shaking it and me around. It still has the scars today!

Oh!! And I'm supposed to feel bad for you!?!? You were diving where very few people have ever dove (DIVED!) -- Los Jardines De La Reina. Being that my family is from Cuba, I have heard amazing stories about that place. I've been to Cuba a couple of times but never to dive it. I did go to one beach that was the wierdest place I've ever seen. The floor had a medicinal mud (trust me.. I got stung by a nasty jelly and the pain was gone in less than 5 minutes). But what was even more amazing were the humongous shrimps (4-5 times what we see here) jumping out of the water onto the shore. I kid you not!

So tell me about it.. how was the diving in Los Jardines? Why did the cuda attack your strobe? Did you see any salt water crocks? If so, did you get any photos? Did you dive any other places in Cuba? Details man.. details!

JDR: In my opinion this IS the best part of the Caribbean - BAR NONE! Yes, I was the first Brit ever to Dive here; courtessy of an Italian Company who operate a diving & sport fishing operation out of JDR via Jacaro on the south coast. I love Cuba but hate to see it degraded so much - Politics!

The whole 200 mile area is beautiful mangrove islands with huge expanses of lagoon. The southern extremes of JDR is marked by a 500M drop-off. So many sharks and rays and a Jew fish the size of a car.

Barracuda: Unbelievable amounts, they are big strong and vicious too. Any provokation; like breathing out and they lunge at you! The 5 foot brute that attacked me just did it because the YS120 looked tasty. Quite disconcerting until 'Noel' my guide hit it on the head with his knife handle.

No I didn't see any crocs or Manatee, but they were due to reintroduce them from further inshore.

I really want to get back there soon!

Hey Laz,

Dug a shot out of JDR; didn't think I had any here on disk.

This is a school of Horse-eyed Jack on one of the outer reefs.

Incidentally this was the first assignment for the 12mm lens after Stoney Cove in UK.

Bob I have been wanting to go to Cuba for diving myself. Give me enough notice and time to plan and I think it would be a great trip.

ps Canadians have no problem going to Cuba.

Now that was Abernethys in July, Port Hardy BC in August, October 04 Seychelles, Red sea, Cuba

I think I forgot to insert work in ther somewhere to pay for all that.

Incidentally this was the first assignment for the 12mm lens after Stoney Cove in UK.

Talk about chalk & cheese sites!

Fantastic shot Bob. The diver makes the Jacks look enormous.

The Horse-eyed Jack shot - greater!

I like the diver position there.

BTW: I found a nice icon for you Bob (although you are green instead of gold since you became a moderator)

Hang on Arnon, I'll get my glasses!

Beautiful shot of the Horse-eyed Jacks, Bob. There's a liveaboard company in Mexico who also run a liveaboard across to Cuba. My uncle goes every year to Cuba and I might just take him up on his offer to go with him this year. Not only are the waters around Cuba amazing but so is the land and the people. I saw a Discovery special where some marine biologist from HBOI dove the deeper waters around Cuba and they took some amazing footage. They also did a shore dive to a wreck called El Cristobal Colon (The Christopher Columbus) that really looks neat.

There was an article a couple of months back in National Geographic by David Doubilet on Cuba. There's an amazing photograph of a saltwater crocodile in it.

Here's the best shot I have of a saltwater croc I found down here in South FL. I would have traded ten of my best photos for one good half in/half out shot of this fella. <_<

Hey Laz,

The company I refered to do connections out of Mexico too - The Cuban Live aboards are not allowed into JDR since the formation of the JDR Marine National Park (I helped draft the original rules) and the Park Law is enforced by armed wardens (Colt 45's). These boats just touch the outskirts

There are still a lot of Spanish Galleons there too, this may be the another reason for protection - It works! It was really amazing to see no one except sport fisherman - they put the fish back after recording the details. There are some Humungous Turtles there.

If you are interested I can contact my friends and try and organise a trip? Not sure when it could be as they are allowed only a set number of Clients at the Lodge and on the 2 short duration safari boats.

Noel, was training Stingrays to perform like those at Cayman, and his Silky's let you snorkle with them!

They had some great encounters with whalesharks during the summer last year. A real Haven.