Cai
The most accessible East Coast Dive.
An amazing fish dive and of all east coast dives this is the most accessible one with a very easy and sheltered entry and exit. However one of the most difficult to navigate with areas of lower visibility and a number of different currents that come into play. It is a long shallow dive that will take you through a number of different habitats. Each with its own specific features. Starting with the channel on the way out of the bay we will see high concentrations of fish.
Sometimes the fish are so dense that you cannot see the coral they are around anymore. This soup of fish consists of Grunts, Parrot Fishes, Snappers and Bermuda Chubs with very large Rainbow Parrot Fish and Cubera Snappers in between. The bottom hosts the highest count of Giant Anemones, they are everywhere! As the current takes us further out towards the drop off the channel gets a little deeper to form what is known as "The Tarpon Pit" During the day a large school of many Tarpon hangs out in this area. Sometimes they are all suspended throughout the water column, sometimes they are all neatly lined up next to each other just above the sandy bottom. But always a great view to see so many big fish together.
The drop off to the right of the channel is at approximately 45 degrees and is covered with nice hard corals as well as many large Gorgonians. There are many ledges along the drop off that make great resting places for Turtles. Many times Spotted Eagle Rays are seen cruising back and forth along this stretch of reef. As we go further south you will notice more and more Sea Fans appearing in the shallows. Before we turn around we usually do a D-tour through the shallows as it is beautiful scenery to see all those Sea Fans waving with the surge. Reflecting light or blending in as they sway you can sometimes see waves of light travelling through the field. Also many times we will see Turtles hanging out in the Sea Fan fields.
On our way back we will pass by a small sand covered rubble wall with many holes. Great for juveniles, shrimp, crabs, eels and lobster. This rubble wall will then turn into a much more dramatic 20 feet high wall with large cracks and holes. Most of the rock here is covered with macro algae which is a perfect habitat for Mutton Hamlet and Spotted Scorpion Fish. Scorpion fish???? What's the big deal about that? We see them all the time. Well, they adapt to their environment. You are used to see them in a plain sandy color. Here they are very colorful with red, purple, pink, gray and are all decked out with flakes on their bodies and colorful plumes growing on their heads.
Some of the unusual fish we often see on this dive are Rainbow-, Midnight and Blue Parrot Fish, Huge Cubera Snappers, Dog Snapper, Sea Bream, Green Moray, Purple Mouth Moray, Spanish Grunt, Reef Croaker, Glassy Sweeper, Black Brotula, Tiger Grouper and Yellow Fin Grouper.
