Magical dives and a pixel dump

I have a backlog of posts to catch up on. Lots of pics too, so what I’m going to do is write an account of the incredible dives I had on Sunday and then tack on a pixel dump of shots from earlier dives over the past few weeks.

Saturday I got a text from a friend who told me a local 46 foot Newton dive boat was going out Sunday with the bare minimum of divers, and that there was plenty of space for me, him and his partner. OK! I got myself on the manifest and organized my gear and camera.

There is nothing as comfortable as being one of about 10 people, including crew, on a big dive boat. Usually, you get a tank station on the dive deck that’s a couple of feet wide, and in that space you have to assemble your rig, store your fins and wetsuit, and keep the deck clear for the other divers. Then you hope they do the same for you. It usually works out ok, but you’re still cramped, along with everyone else.

But on this day it was wide open spaces. Didn’t matter if you spread your whole kit out across four feet of bench space, nobody was going to need that space except you. Still, good habits apply and we made tight little piles of gear that collapsed into the 2 ft width of our tank stations, but there was none of the bumping collisions with others’ gear as you assemble you rig.

We discussed possible sites to dive and, it being one of the calmest days all spring in Kona, we could choose pretty much any spot we wanted. Laura P said she knew where there were some male Flame Wrasses. So first dive decision was made right there. We’d go look for those impossibly elusive and rare creatures. She described their location as a clump of rocks and coral about 75 feet deep, just south west of a big pinnacles we all knew.

Here's the Male Flame Wrasse. He isn't displaying his fins; they can look like sails, but he is a great specimen. On the way out to look for him we encountered so many other fabulous animals. Below they are: A Devil Scorpionfish, lurking with his camo completely blending him into the rocks, allowing him to wait for prey to swim by for the ambush. Just a moment later we found a very large Frogfish that, at first, I mistook for another Devil Scorpion due to his similar coloration. Out in the coral gardens covering the steep slope to the depths we often see Psychedelic Wrasses. They appear in groups of females and one male. Sometimes we get lucky and find psych babies. Here's one. Just beneath is a clutch of Spanish Dancer Nudi eggs. We call these "Sea Roses" and they are fairly rare.

Another baby fish we sometimes find is this baby Hogfish. They flit around the clumps of coral and rock and you spot them by their bright yellow band on their backs. Often we find magnificent growths of antler coral and around these are swarms of Hawaiian Dascillus, a kind of damsel fish. The Dascillus will make a kind of raspberry noise at you to display their displeasure at your presence. Here's one giving me a good side view.

Another interesting find are juvenile fish transitiioning from their baby colorations to their adult appearance. The mostly red fish below is a juvenile YellowTail Coris transtioning from baby to Adult.

Next we have a couple of related fish: an Orange spine Unicorn and an Orangeband Surgeon. They both have blades near their tailfins that they use for self defense.

Another fish related to the surgeons and unicorns is the Achilles Tang. I see them rarely though they are fairly common, they're just skittish and it's hard to get a shot of them. But I got this one displaying his beautiful orange teardrop coloation.

Continuing my lucky streak: a Female Whitley's Boxfish. These are rare, but they hang out in the same areas for long periods so we can find them occasionally. Here's one that appeared in a spot I didn't know to look for one. Out is the sandflats we look for Peacock Razor Wrasses. They like to skim along the sand and among small rock outcroppings. Here's a good one. Back in the coral I found this Potters Angelfish. Heading back to the shallows we looked under a ledge and found this brightly coloraed Common Bigeye. he was about two feet log.

A very common ambush predator, the Blackside hawkfish, likes to perch on coral outcroppings and jump on their lunch when it swims close by. They don't like camera flashes and will dart away if you get too close. Usuall get only one shot. here's one just milliseconds after he took off.

Another animal that stays put is the Lincya Star, also called Blood star. They are fairly rare. Here's one. This male Pencil Wrasse was trying to hide in some coral but I got this shot of him with his unique coloration. Another small animal with unique coloration is the Scrambled Egg Nudibranch. They actually are one of the largest nudis. This one was about 2 inches long. Finally, here's a very common White mouth eel sticking out of his hole to watch the passing show.

Now for the shots that I've taken over the past month or so, but was too tired or lazy to post.

Below another Devil Scorpion and a very well camoflaged Flowery Flounder. Have to mention that the very tiny yellow nudi with red trim is about the size of a grain of rice. We call them Rubber Duckys. They show up in summer.

Butterfly fish often appear in mated pairs. They follow each other and stay close to one another. Here are two of my favorites: Ornate Butterflies and Oval Butterflies. Just below, another ambush predator, the Reef Lizard. Also, a large Tiger Cowrie.

Have to mention the Snowflake Eel below. First one I've seen. They live in the sand and stick their noses out to see what's floating by, but divers scare them and they pop back in the sand. i was lucky to get this shot. Another beautiful butterfly: Threadfin Butterfly. See the thread fin trailing behind? One more thing to notice. Further below, an eel that it looks like had a big bite taken out of him. Not sure he was alive.

Above we saw a baby Psychedelic Wrasse transitioning to adult female. Here's an adult female. Below a Longspine Porcupine and, very awesome and rarew, a Male Whitley's Boxfish.