MAY 30, 2009: BANZAI AND SPOTLIGHT DIVES
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The Sun Rider is the largest dive boat I have ever been on. I believe that the total capacity is 36 passengers, along with all of their dive gear.
Our captain skillfully approaches the north end of the island.
Skimming over the Banzai Plateau. Rose in the lead, followed by Bob.
Whip coral in the foreground. Rose floating above. Various assorted other divers in the background.
Rose approaches one of our spectacular sea fans.
Stinging hydroid (probably Aglaophenia cupressina). This beautiful critter can inflict a painful sting. However, it is preyed upon by certain nudibranchs.
After descending to about 130 feet, where I really didn't get any good photos (yes, Rose, the shot of the Eagle ray was too blurred), we ascended back up to the top of the Plateau. At about 40 feet, there is a lot of life here. In the first clip, you'll see Bob swimming by. Then a clip of Rose in the distance. If you have not brought up videos on this site before, it sometimes take a bit of patience. If it stays blank for a minute or two, try closing the video window and pressing the play icon again. Also, video quality with my camera is quite poor, but hopefully enjoyable.
The Pacific Ocean makes for a pretty cool aquarium! Here you see (top) a Palette surgeonfish (Paracanthurus hepatus), next is a Reticulated dascyllus (Dascyllus reticulata), and immediately underneath that is the prize of this photo: Lemonpeel angelfish (Centropyge flavissma) are notoriously difficult to photograph. They just keep darting in and out of the coral, never giving more than a fraction of a second to snap the shot. Bottom right, you see a Spotbanded butterflyfish (Chaetodon punctatofasciatus).
And then there is Bob (Homo sapiens), probably wondering what the dickens I'm taking photos of. Notice also all the divers in the background.
And here is Bob, probably wondering WHEN I'm going to take the photo (I don't think I told him that I took some videos).
A pair of Fourspot butterflyfish (Chaetodon quadrimaculatus) watching the divers return to the boat.
Hey! Another shot of a Lemonpeel angel! Looks like she is watching the alien beings return to the mother ship!
While my video capabilities are not great, this shot shows the profusion of life on this reef better than anything I can do with a still. Notice all the Palette surgeonfish swimming about. The clip ends with Bob on his safety stop.
Pull harder, Bob! I'm sure you can move that boat if you pull HARD enough!
After that previous shot, we boarded the Sun Rider, had an hour surface interval, changed our gear out, and then proceeded to the next dive. You see here Rose and Bob on their way to Spotlight Cave.
Yep, it does take TWO to Tango! I'm not sure I've ever seen a floating tango before.....
You know, it's kind of strange: Such a simple thing: Just a hole in the top of an underwater cave to act as a sunroof, of sorts. But the effect is totally magical and mesmerizing.
Tom and Bev: This is the hole from about 5 feet under. I was going to surface and see what it looked like from the water level, but there was enough of an up and down surge here that I chickened out. Anyway, the top of the wall you can see (sort of) above the water is where you two (and I) enjoy sitting and watching the water dance below us. I'm sure that on this day, it would have looked calmer than you've ever seen it, however.
I'm now back down on the floor of the cave, looking up at the sunroof hole. You see a Trumpetfish (Aulostomus chinensis) hovering above. These guys tend to hover, nose down, a few feet to a few inches above the bottom. Then, when they see a tasty-looking little morsel of a fish swimming under them, they dart down and catch dinner. They are, however, usually much more leery of people than is this one. I was afraid that he may be sick or something, but he did later dart away, so I think he just was not afraid. It was fun to be able to see him from this angle.
More magical mesmerizing.
Then one more look at the dancing beams before we head out the cave entrance (to your left) and back to the Sun Rider.
