Diving — Page 4

Boca del Rio, Dive 79

December 7, 2012

Dive: 79
Belize Dive: 13
Date: 12/7/12
Site: Boca del Rio
Avg/Max Depth: 48/87
Temp: 81
TBT/CBT: 0:51/65:10
Buddies: Nick, Curtis, Kristen

I didn’t plan on doing two dives today, but Rudy twisted my arm. And boy am I glad he did!

After seeing Curtis manhandle a shark, I decided it was something I wanted to try. I was trying to stay where they were swimming, which was a bit deeper than I wanted to be. They always look closer than they actually are, so I didn’t so much as touch one. I wasn’t paying attention to my computer and ended up going into deco for the first time. Seriously? I hear everyone else’s computers beeping at them. A little warning would have been nice.

It had me ascend to about 30 feet, which sucked because it was too far up to get a good look at anything. I hung there for at least 5 minutes. Once my timer was up, everyone else was ascending, so I went right into my safety stop.

The good news is that, because I was so close to the surface, I was that much closer when THE DOLPHINS came to play!!1! I didn’t have my camera, which was bittersweet. I was close enough to have gotten some good photos, but it was nice to watch them without distraction.

It was a fantastic way to end the dives here on beautiful Ambergris Caye.

Sandy Point, Dive 78

December 7, 2012

Dive: 78
Belize Dive: 12
Date: 12/7/12
Site: Sandy Point
Avg/Max Depth: 59/96
Temp: 79
TBT/CBT: 0:49/64:19
Buddies: Nick, Curtis, Kristen

I left my camera behind today. I didn’t really feel like dealing with it. I wanted to be able to observe and just enjoy being under the water. Also, by leaving it behind, I believed it would increase our chances of seeing something awesome, like some dolphins for Kristen.

Rudy ended up with an unclaimed spear. Just as I decided that I would swim up to him and take it, Curtis swooped in and accepted the challenge. He shot one too! Damn it. Next time.

Treasure Canyons, Dive 77

December 6, 2012

Dive: 77
Belize Dive: 11
Date: 12/6/12
Site: Treasure Canyons
Avg/Max Depth: 60/93
Temp: 79
TBT/CBT: 0:49/63:30
Buddies: Nick, Curtis, Kristen

It was a pretty quiet dive. Nothing too crazy happened. We did see a school of ocean triggerfish, which was kind of neat.

My mask was giving me issues, and because Nick put soap in it instead of Sea Drops, I had burny eyes. My camera was also giving me issues. The red filter fell out of place and was causing a lens error every time I turned it on. I missed a photo of a baby lionfish sitting on Loidy’s hand. It started working correctly eventually, but I was tired of it, so I hooked it to my BCD with a carabiner and tucking it into my cummerbund.

View all of my photos from Treasure Canyons below.

Billy Bob’s, Dive 76

December 5, 2012

Dive: 76
Belize Dive: 10
Date: 12/5/12
Site: Billy Bob’s
Avg/Max Depth: 49/69
Temp: 81
TBT/CBT: 0:49/62:41
Buddies: Nick, Curtis

Somehow I ended up over the wall with Nick and Rudy on this dive. They were hunting lionfish and feeding the eels. Creepy little bastards. I don’t think anything in the water makes me as nervous as these guys. The spotted eel in the beginning of the video below is twisting around to break a lionfish in half, then it chokes it down like a snake. The green eels are swimming about, which seems kind of rare to see, as they’re usually in their hidey holes with their heads poking out.

There were also barracudas, which give me the heebie-jeebies. This one was little and close, so it wasn’t too bad. I feel like if I’m close enough, it can see I’m not food and won’t charge me.

Not everything on the dive was creepy though. This sea turtle swam nice and close to me. I got photos and video!

Me and Nick.

Oh, my inflate button unstuck itself before this dive, so I got to use it like normal. At least I know what to do if it acts up again.

View all of my Billy Bob’s photos below.

Turneffe Wall, Dive 75

December 5, 2012

Dive: 75
Belize Dive: 9
Date: 12/5/12
Site: Turneffe Wall
Avg/Max Depth: 45/66
Temp: 79
TBT/CBT: 0:48/61:52
Buddies: Nick, Curtis

This dive started out with a bit of a glitch. My inflate button got stuck and I went rocketing to the surface. Okay, maybe not rocketing. I managed to keep a reasonable pace. It’d been so long since basic dive training that I really wasn’t sure what was happening or what to do about it (unhook it). It’s a good thing it happened right at the beginning of the dive in 40 feet of water as opposed to later on at greater depths.

Martin was waiting on the boat when I popped out of the water. He jumped in to turn off my air, then replaced my tanks since I lost a lot of air to the free flow. I had to manually inflate for the rest of the dive. It took a few times to remember which button to push while exhaling, and a mouthful of water, but I got it figured out. I’m happy to say that my buoyancy was just as stellar as always.

The wall was one of the best I’ve seen. It reminded me of diving in Cayman. Here’s a picture over the edge.