Cool water

This is any wreckies dream. Imagine a place where wrecks appear miraculously and in perfect clear water. That's exactly what's happening in Lake Michigan right now.

Link: HERE

"Though the past winter was the hottest on record, it was chilly enough on the East Coast to send seasonal sheets of ice creeping across the Great Lakes. Now that that ice has cleared with spring, Lake Michigan is clear enough that shipwrecks lying on the lake bottom can be seen from the air."

"The U.S. Coast Guard Air Station in Traverse City noted the crystal clear water conditions and the lost ships during a routine patrol. Last week, they posted a handful of pictures to their Facebook page."

"For NPR.org, Bill Chappell reports that spotting wrecks from the air is "fairly common," according to one of the pilots on the patrol, Lieutenant commander Charlie Wilson, "but not in the numbers we saw on that flight." Chappell also notes that the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality writes, "An estimated 6,000 vessels were lost on the Great Lakes with approximately 1,500 of these ships located in Michigan waters."

Love at first sting

Ever wondered what is like to be stung by a lionfish? Ever wondered what you should do if you are? With lionfish become more common in Caribbean waters, it's inevitable that you'll come into close proximity with lionfish  and if you're really unlucky, be stung by them.

But never fear as Captain Nigel's is on hand to give you good practical advice on his latest website update. Something everyone should consider reading, if not to help yourself then at least to help others. Hit the link below and get yourself educated.

Link: HERE

Yesterday's Papers

Well my 15 minutes of fame have been and gone. Or 43 seconds in my case as my interview popped up on the 6 o'clock news this evening. They edited it quite heavily and left a lot of the story out but hey, it's all about maximum impact in a short space of time.

Video and additional words can be found on Cayman27's website via the link: HERE

So the full version is that we were diving on Sunday at the East End with the lovely people at Tortuga Divers. Captain Nige, suggested Split Rock as there had been a lot of shark activity there that last few visits, so we motored round for a look see. Pretty much as soon as we got in, we had a few reef sharks cruising past.

There was a pretty stiff Westerly current, so about half way into the dive, we started to head into one of the narrow cuts on the main wall. I saw a lionfish come bolting under me trying to make for a shallow overhang, which it nearly made but then a reef shark came streaking in to snag it at the last second. The lionfish looked completely unharmed or injusred prior to being eaten.

A few seconds later a second reef shark came in trying to take the lionfish for itself which was interesting as I was stuck in the a narrow cut with a pair of reef sharks going at big time either side of me which made for an interesting experience.

I look terrible without make-up on.........oh hi mum!!

The original shark didn't reliquish the prize however and after a few more bumps and rolls it made of with it's spiky snack whilst other reef sharks continued to cruise by not to mention the occasional turtle or two. Definately a dive to remember thats for sure and a very good sign that the apex predators are starting to take note of the lionfish and are actively hunting them without the help of human intervention.

The original

Octographer

Sony continues to innovate and beat all other manufacturers to the punch, especially with using trained octopus to take pictures with one of their cameras! That's the end of my photographic career then. Replaced by an octopus, who'd have thought..........

Link: HERE

"Octopuses are known to be very intelligent creatures, but one octopus over in New Zealand has one upped its peers by becoming the world’s first octopus to be trained as a photographer."

"Sony recently partnered with the SEA LIFE Aquarium in Auckland for a project called “The Octographer.” Working with an animal trainer, the team trained an octopus named Rambo to take pictures of visitors from inside her tank."

 

 

Dancing Days

Not much to report this time round, just a relaxing three dives done during the day and into the night time, looking for the small stuff. And we had a some great finds as well.

As always Scubacat Ginger was there to provide a beacon home for us in the dark.....

The lion sleeps tonight

Check out Captain Nige's newly comissioned web site, Lionfish Hunting (link below). Everything you need to know about how to hunt, what to use, how to eat them and much, much more.

If this man can't tell you what you want to know about lionfish, then you don't need to know it!

Link: HERE

You'll also find him on Facebook: HERE

Best of both worlds

Sharks and turtles. The perfect combination. Like Morcombe and Wise, Eddie and Alec and Cider and Cheese, we got the perfect pairing on the first dive this morning. The cold front and ensuing high winds were due to hit us early morning but it actually held off till the afternoon although it was still lumpy at the surface which can be attested to by numerous people feeding the fish over the side of the boat any time they weren't underwater.

Rope off, chocks away!

With a strong NE wind, Captain Nat headed us South with Captain Nige deciding to do the Maze as there was a good chance to see the ladies in grey. And what do you know, it was a damn fine choice. As soon as we touched down, we had one, then another, then another until we had four sharks cruising past and checking us out.

Shark number one was notable as is had some fish line hooked up on it, and yes I would have tried to remove it if I could swim fast enough and get close enough to it, but after a few minutes it disappeared to be replaced by all of it's relatives.

And they were all more than happy enough to get up close and personal for the entire duration of the dive, which was find with us as we were more than happy just to sit and shark watch. Part way through, Jill did get my attention to see a massive loggerhead turtle cruise by which I decided to try and catch it up for a couple of shots. It was a big old boy and I haven't seen one of these for a few years so it was a welcome sight.

And I managed to remember to get a little bit of video as well.

After a brisk swim back to the wall, the party was in full swing with sharks weaving in and out of the cuts to check us out and smile for the camera.

And we had a fly by of another turtle towards the end as pointed out by Captain NIge, although I thing he was a bit pre-occupied by what the sharks were getting up to.

Captain Nige on the lookout as his turtle companion scuds past

To be honest, there was almost no point getting in the water to do a second dive as there wasn't anything that was going to top dive number one and we would have been more than happy to stay moored up and jump right back in with our fine finned friends. But given that people where chumming topside again, it was decided to motor on to somewhere a little flatter, in this case the Old House dive site.

It turned out to be ok, nothing particularly special, some nice swimthroughs. They did have some nice blennies though so that sort of made things interesting.

And a nice little red legged hermit made a brief scuttle past the camera for a shot as well.

Briefly followed by a juvenile lettuce leaf slug in a really awkward place, as is fairly typical for nudibranch, the inconsiderate little buggers.

The ride back to the dock was highly entertaining and I wish I had taken a picture as we had people hanging of both sides of the boat doing their best to empty their stomachs  which is always entertaining when it's someone else!