jason the filter freak February 18, 2009 February 18, 2009 (edited) fantastic photos, love the sponge and the pink... grogornian? Edited February 18, 2009 by jason the filter freak
Origami February 18, 2009 February 18, 2009 So, nice warm water shots. What depth is the wreck at? Sand tigers?
WreckDiver February 18, 2009 Author February 18, 2009 Those are from a couple of different wrecks but both are around 115 fsw. till rather shallow compared to some I have done. Deepest dive so far is 265 ft. Yeah those are sand tiger sharks. I love Sharks and diving with them. I have dove with Sand Tigers, Lemon, Grey Reef Sharks, Bulls on a couple of ocassions (very scary adreniline rush there, have to keep your eyes on them at all times), Seen a Tiger Shark while diving in the Bahamas in the distance (about 70ft away) and even Saw a Great White off NC about 4-5 years ago (that was a quickly aborted dive ) yeah there are a lot of Gorgonians on the wrecks off NC, but not a single coral of any kind. Lots of Volitan Lionfish though.
MisterTang February 18, 2009 February 18, 2009 Are Sand Tigers safe to dive with, then? They look pretty nasty.
Coral Hind February 18, 2009 February 18, 2009 Awesome pictures, thanks for sharing. I can't wait to go diving this Summer! Gorgonians are considered corals.
Origami February 18, 2009 February 18, 2009 (edited) Are Sand Tigers safe to dive with, then? They look pretty nasty. Safe? There are a few instances of them getting involved with humans. The more aggressive species encountered off of our coasts include bull, tiger, and white sharks. The bull shark has been implicated in a number of attacks publicized in the media over the last few years. The bull shark tends to hunt in murky shallows and in the surf which increases the chance that they'll encounter beachgoers. BTW, you can see quite a number sand tigers in the aquarium at Baltimore.... Edited February 18, 2009 by Origami2547
FishyTim February 18, 2009 February 18, 2009 Great pictures! Safe? There are a few instances of them getting involved with humans. The more aggressive species encountered off of our coasts include bull, tiger, and white sharks. The bull shark has been implicated in a number of attacks publicized in the media over the last few years. The bull shark tends to hunt in murky shallows and in the surf which increases the chance that they'll encounter beachgoers. BTW, you can see quite a number sand tigers in the aquarium at Baltimore....
jnguyen4007 February 18, 2009 February 18, 2009 Awesome pictures, thanks for sharing. I can't wait to go diving this Summer! Me too. That is all that I'm looking forward to this summer. I'm not looking forward to the 7 hour drive though. Thank goodness my wife is coming along so she can help me with the driving. Are you planning on taking all three dive courses or just one? I signed up for all three.
Novi February 18, 2009 February 18, 2009 Amazing pictures!! Your coral shots are amazing I am actually going diving in two weeks in Belize at the Blue Hole! Very much looking forward to that! If there is any way I can get a cheap underwater camera to take pics I am all for it and will post back!
Smoothtriqueter February 18, 2009 February 18, 2009 HAHA Great pics and it is funny to see a sunset at Buddy Dive! I did my open water certification there and will be going back next X-Mas. I can't wait Bonair is amazing, frogfish, octopus, Huge ocean triggers. Loved every mn of it. Great pics!
OUsnakebyte February 19, 2009 February 19, 2009 (edited) Lots of Volitan Lionfish though. Did anyone do any collecting of the Lions? What camera/housing are you using for your photos? Any strobes? My favorite is the serpent star on the gorgonian. If that is a large enough file size, that's "wall-worthy"! Very nice photos, by the way - my compliments. Did you do any boat dives in Bonaire, or just shore dives? Cheers Mike Edited February 19, 2009 by OUsnakebyte
WreckDiver February 19, 2009 Author February 19, 2009 Believe it of not the camera and housing is just a Canon A630 with the Canon Underwater Housing for it rated to 130fsw. The whole outfit cost around 500.00 then I have a Sea and Sea digital strobe. Looking at getting a Canon D40, housing, macro lenses, and 2x 50W HID strobes, but that outfit will cost some major mullah. Camera and lenses will run around a grand, strobes are 1500.00, and the housing is right at 2500.00. I do both Boat and Shore dives in Bonaire. I love going over to Klein Bonaire and diving off the beaten path. I also like going over to the windward side of the island and going out with Larry's Wild Side Diving. It pretty rough and hardcore with only a 6 man zodiac, but there are a lot more pelagics (Large Open Ocean Fish) on that side of the island. My favorite diving place so far has been Bonaire, but have a trip in the works for 2010 to go to Raja Amput, Phukett, and the Great Barrier Reef. Hope to have the new camera setup by then. Reefs are cool for diving but my passion is WreckDiving. I love going into the shipwrecks and exploring, just make sure you are certified for it before you try it as it can be VERY dangerous if not done correctly. One wrong move and you can silt yourself out and not know which way is up,down, in or out. I always run Wreck Reels when I penetrate a wreck so I can find my way out in these situations should they happen. As for sand tigers, I find them to be the most gentle of any of the sharks. I have "petted" many of them on the wrecks and have NEVER seen any sort of agression from them. Bulls on the other hand, I have had two VERY close calls with. The last one was so close I thought I might get my leg bitten off. I had kicked the 9ft Bull Shark 3 times in the nose with my fins before he finally swam off and I got the H-E-double hockey sticks out of the area. I really do not like Bull Sharks. Grey Reefs and Lemons are OK but very skiddish and unpredictable, Tigers and GW I have only seen in the distance and that is just fine with me. I do hope to take a trip to South Africa and do some cage diving with the GW's though
OUsnakebyte February 21, 2009 February 21, 2009 What are the currents/surge like on the windward side? What skill level would you recommend for divers heading to that side of the island? I have a friend who just got back from Raja Ampat and Lembeh Strait last month. Holy cow... are the photos just simply breathtaking. Of course, she mocks me, b/c the first photo in her series is my favorite animal - H. magnifica, complete with clowns... I'm not speaking to her right now...
WreckDiver February 21, 2009 Author February 21, 2009 What are the currents/surge like on the windward side? What skill level would you recommend for divers heading to that side of the island? I have a friend who just got back from Raja Ampat and Lembeh Strait last month. Holy cow... are the photos just simply breathtaking. Of course, she mocks me, b/c the first photo in her series is my favorite animal - H. magnifica, complete with clowns... I'm not speaking to her right now... For the windward side, I don't think Larry's Wild Side Diving will take anyone that does not have their Advanced Cert. It is not really bad once below the surface. but getting there and getting in and out of the 6 man zodiac in 3-4ft seas can be rough. Once you are down to about 30ft, it is pretty calm with just a little current, probably around 2 knot current at worst. Vis is nothing like the 100ft commonly seen on the leeward side though, I would say 20-30ft vis maybe 40 on a good day.
st9z February 21, 2009 February 21, 2009 I do hope to take a trip to South Africa and do some cage diving with the GW's though I want to go there and see the GW shoot out of the water. It looks so cool on the discovery channel!
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