RRF Dive log.
Friday
Blew off work (again) to go diving. Went with SDD, me, Shawn, Capt'n Lynn and Kevin. We left the dock at about 1:00 pm ish. Air temp in the mid 80's, partly cloudy, winds 5 knots, seas 2-3 feet, calmer towards sundown. Water temp 80 degrees, viz about 50 feet, strong N current, beautiful day.
First dive
We went to mark the corners of the site. I had calculated the corner points from the data collected on the last trip. We set flags on the four corners to get a visual representation of the site. I was concerned with the E NS line as I knew it would be close to the reef line. (Again, these were calculated values from the last trip and we had to check them). The area looked great on top. We dropped on the SE corner and had to move the mark about 100 feet or more W. It was, as I suspected, just on the edge of the patch reef along the roll off. We did the same for the NE corner. We ended up moving the other two corners a little bit W to compensate for the difference. We were certain that the entire area was off the patch reef and then marked the four corners again. The new GPS numbers will be the official perimeter of the survey site. The only thing I saw inside the perimeter besides sand (and traces of Lyngbya) was an old broken lobster trap. This proposed site area will not significantly impact any existing biotas and we have three divers that can verify this fact, plus the captain who saw the bottom on the chart recorder. The E NS line must not be crossed as it is about 100 feet or so from the existing patch reef, maybe a little farther on the SE side as I think we moved it too far. We made five drops in all. Shawn and Kevin missed one mark (they didn't follow the line down). We burned up a 100cf nitrox bottle and I only had 600 psi left. We ran into a school of jelly fish. There were broken tentacles in the current and we were getting stung (good thing for wet suits) I got zapped on the face and neck. Shawn was wearing a shorty and got stung on the legs. There were tentacles stuck to the flag lines and we were getting zapped as we pulled the lines in. We saw several species of jellies and some with bioluminescent lines. It was the first time I had been stung by a jelly and it is quite annoying (it burns). It would hurt pretty badly if you got a full blast but luckily we only had minor stings. Kevin said to wash the sting in HOT water (as hot as you can take). Shawn did this and said it worked well to relieve the sting. We were all confident in our survey area.
Thanks to Capt'n Lynn for finding this area. With out her guidance we may still be looking for a place to put the reef!!!!!
Second dive
We dropped S of Gods spot so the current would carry us over it. We hit the bottom and landed in a school of some nice gray snapper. (I didn't have a spear, go figure). In less than 5 minutes we (I) were separated as usual on hunting trips. I was out in la la land gawking at the reef and looking for lobster. I missed most of the main reef. I was hunting ledges on the W side and found a few bugs. I only managed to catch one and it was too short. Lots of ledges in this area. I saw one bleached coral. It was the first I had seen on this reef. Several turtles and one monster loggerhead under a ledge sleeping. Lyngbya every ware (mostly on octocorals). Big angels, Queens, and French. Large schools of tropicals and the biggest parrot fish I have ever seen. Had to go up with over 1000 psi left. (That's a first)…..to much nitrogen and my computer was flashing caution. Had I thought about it I would have stayed on top of the reef instead of at 60 feet. I could have had a longer bottom time (not much). Bottom time was about 45 minutes (nitrox).
Shawn and Kevin came up right after me (about 500 yards away). Kevin shot a few snapper and Shawn had a couple bugs. Shawn said a spotted moray tried to steal the fish from the bag (he, the moray, was persuaded to leave) they also saw a monster green moray that swam over Kevin's shoulder. It was about 5:30 and getting dark. Not enough time for another dive, and the Capt'n wouldn't let us do a night dive with out two lights each so we headed back to the dock.
This reef system is truly a unique and beautiful area. I can say that it is the best reef system with in miles, as I have dove just about all of them including Bimini. Bimini is nice, but it is over fished and lacks the massive corals, sponges and diversity found here. (viz is better in Bimini, but on a good day can be just as good at Boynton) The reefs start just North of WPB so there is not much there. Lauderdale and Miami don't even come close. You don't find reefs like this until you get into the Conch Republic.
Bottom time today about 1 hour 45 minutes.
Brian