Just like paradise

And away we go! First time off on Saturday for a loooong time so taking complete advantage of that we headed East for some fun, frolics and other words beginning with "F" fanfaronade? It was an overcast morning, about 13 knots ESE with a mild swell once through the cut as we headed for the shelter of the North side.

How many instructors can you fit on a jet ski? Three apparently.......

 So it was with a fanfaronade (yes it's a real word, read a book people) that we made our way to one of our favourite sites (and one of the top rated wall dives in the world no less), Babylon.  Luckily we had the mooring to ourselves with the other boats tied off to Mcurleys and Northern Lights.

It's been a little while since we dived Babylon and it was still as glorious as ever. It was missing a few rope sponges here and there but given the nature of the site, only to be expected.

Captain Nige warned us before hand of a particularly active moray eel and sure enough the mad bastard was out and doing endless laps around and around the pinnacle as though he was in a race. He was probably on the hunt but he didn't mind us and we didn't mind him. I'm surprised he didn't get dizzy and fall off. We let him be to do his own thing.....

The colours were as vibrant as I remember them to be and the area teaming with life. grunts, sweetlips, angel fish, fusiliers, snappers, triggerfish, sergeant majors, they were all there. It was like a check list of all the usual suspects and then some.

We could have swam off to Julies or Mcurleys but with scenery like this, why go anywhere else?

After the half time oranges (and a few green faces), we took a short ride to a new site I haven't dived before called Top Secret which is unique for having coral that feed during day time, rather than more commonly at night.

I will be honest here, I felt that there are better sites than Top Secret. I wasn't that impressed by it and I tried really hard to find the small stuff here but it was pretty challenging. It wasn't a bad site but I think there are better options out there (in my humble opinion of course). But at least it's another place crossed off on the list of sites to dive.

A big thanks to Tortuga Divers for letting us jump off their perfectly good boat and to Captain Nige, Miss Lindsey and Miss Ellie for looking after us and eating cookies. Till the next time, off and clear.

The boys are back in town

Tropical storm Alberto has passed us by and the persistent rain and winds have abated leaving a calm and serene landscape to go diving in. No need to ask twice! And away we go. 

A very mild Northerly current and pretty decent vis combined to make an enjoyable dive this morning. Spot and Brutus made a late arrival to the scene but I couldn't blame them as it's been a while since they last saw us. 

The three amigos. Brutus was just out of frame on this one.

 Still getting a handle on the new strobes but it's getting there. Output and coverage are different compared to the Z240's so getting to know what I can and can't do with them is taking a little time......

A quick stop at Amphitrite followed by a couple of laps around the Nicholson for good measure was our starter for ten, followed by a leisurely bimble over to the main wall. A good few turtles and eagle rays cruising around but too far off in the distance to bother trying to get a shot of. 

 The scenery on the main wall proved to be as colourful and vibrant as I remember is to be with ample opportunity to set up a couple of test shots.

 There was a huge amount of flamingo tongue cowries out today and a large percentage of them were happily romping over the sand and generally having fun.

We also had a smattering of blennies, barber and pederson shrimps hidden away among  hard corals in the shallows like hidden little treasures just waiting to be discovered.

And there's also been quite a lot of squid activity recently as well with squadrons of squid buzzing divers with their synchronised low flying antics which is always amusing to watch, much less photograph.