Chance surprise meeting with an old friend

Today was no-shadow day in Kona.  That means that the sun, in its way across the tropic of cancer, passed directly overhead.  Laura wanted to be sure to get back to the dock by 12:20pm when the event was to happen.  In the water and out in the channel we found Dolphins and Sandy! She is a friend and dive guide who, while I was away on the mainland,  moved to another part of the island, making seeing her and being in the water with her a much less frequent treat.  However, today as our group crossed the sand flats outside the harbor, she and a group she was shore diving with appeared, and much hugging and bubble-blown greetings ensued.

Sandy!

 

Next dive site was going to be Kaloko Ledges.  I was stoked because I had thought to find a bearing from Kaloko Ledges to Kaloko Arches (Canyons) moorings,  because if you are on your own, as camera people sometimes are, you can dial in 40 degrees from the outer mooring and that will get you to the inner mooring.   Anyway, current came up so we ditched that site and headed back toward the harbor, stopping at Turtle Heaven where there was no current.

This is a great dive ste, with healthy reef, lots of fish and eels, and close enough tot he harbor that you often get to see big animals like Tiger Sharks, though none presented today.  

What did present, however, was a wonderful cast of vertibrates and non vertibrates. 

First up was a very large Hawksbill turtle, I think anyway.  It swam right past me headed north.  In the same area of reef I found a juvenile Yellowtail Coris passing an Ornate Wrasse going opposite directions.

At one point on the way back around our big circle route Rob and Laura found a giant Cowrie with a Fried Egg nudi in the same crack.  Moments later, a Fried Egg Nudi on his or her own.

These are two different White Mouth Eels, found about 50 yards apart. They might be sibllings who live just close enough to help each other with chores.  Or they might just be friends with benefits.

Anoth3r great find by Laura: Jewelled Anemone Crab, hiding under a deep recess off the sand flats.  Had to really open up the aperture to get that one, he was so far back.  AS I looked up to find my group there swam by a male RingTail Wrasse.  Hip shot...I didn't even have time to look in the fviewfinder.  Lucky I got anything.

BAck near the mooring there was a nice overhang with wirecoral popping out from under the ledge.  Goodie!  Lets look for gobies and shrimp.  No gobies but Dot pointed at a section of one of the strands, and..Yay!.. A Wirecoral Shrimp!  I had to wrestle with my rig to get under the ledge far enough to capture him, but managed it after a while.  Later Doug said, "I saw you working your rig to get under that ledge."  Understatement.

 

Just about on my safety stop and here's a nice, stationalry animal, out in the open (ambush predator) for me to shoot.  I don't care that Blackside Hawkfish are everywhere and unremarkable finds.  I just didn't want to work to get a nice photo.

Here's a video with Laura and a Horned helmet about to have lunch, plus a Square spot Goatfish also looking for lunch.