BARBADOS 1/14&21/2012

Anim Anim
DAY FOUR:
FIRST DIVE
TUESDAY, 17 JANUARY 2012

Just found out at breakfast that Ed's 6:30 a.m. flight
was canceled due to mechanical trouble -
he may be coming back here for a day;
depends if there's an open seat out of here.
I guess I'll find out when we get back from diving.

Great diving continues.
Lots of turtles on & under the water.
We saw four on the surface,
just popping up for a breath of air,
then rapidly swimming away.
Those under the water
were much more relaxed,
busy eating and not afraid of divers.

File fish (trigger fish) hiding in coral

The first dive was "The Fork".
The reef was deep, and takes a curve
about 2/3 through the dive,
which was short. Lots to see:
eels, turtles & trigger fish.

Small crab inside a sponge (saw lots of these)

We saw two turtles on the last dive site, "Pieces of Eight".
Interesting site, and also a deep dive.

For the first time I locked up
one of my dive computers
It's not as bad as it sounds,
as I use more than one computer
in case something happens to one of them.
On this trip, I'm using air
(just compressed air, not oxygen).
I have lately been diving NiTrox
(Nitrogen-enriched air
to allow longer bottom time,
and lower the risk of a
decompression sickness "hit").
Anyway, my second-newest computer
for some strange reason said I needed
a 15-minute safety stop or ascent time!
Normal stop is THREE minutes . . .
sometimes a bit longer.
Anyhow, in attempting to
"honor" the computer,
I ran out of time and had to surface
after only eight minutes.
I'm ok, but the computer
won't let me use it for 12-24 hours,
depending on how long
the software thinks I need to cool off.

(VERY) Small spotted eel

Two lobsters under ledge

Fish trap of chicken wire

I hate these things because if they break their mooring,
they just keep killing fish until the wire rots (a very long time)

Eel in fish trap ate the bait (and maybe some of the fish) . . .
sad part is when the fisherman pulls up the trap,
this eel will itself likely become bait.

Large spotted drum

This little damsel fish
didn't like me swimming
next to its algae farm (or eggs).
It came after me & the camera . . .
aggressively swimming in
towards my face & the lens;
so much so that it was
hard to get a picture.
So I backed off a bit
it slowed down.

DAY FOUR: TURTLES! HERE

Anim Anim

DAY FOUR: FIRST DIVE TUESDAY, 17 JANUARY 2012
Just found out at breakfast that Ed's 6:30 a.m. flight was canceled due to mechanical trouble - he may be coming back here for a day; depends if there's an open seat out of here. I guess I'll find out when we get back from diving.
Great diving continues. Lots of turtles on & under the water. We saw four on the surface, just popping up for a breath of air, then rapidly swimming away. Those under the water were much more relaxed, busy eating and not afraid of divers. File fish (trigger fish) hiding in coral
The first dive was "The Fork". The reef was deep, and takes a curve about 2/3 through the dive, which was short. Lots to see: eels, turtles & trigger fish. Small crab inside a sponge (saw lots of these) We saw two turtles on the last dive site, "Pieces of Eight". Interesting site, and also a deep dive.
	For the first time I locked up one of my dive computers It's not as bad as it sounds, as I use more than one computer in case something happens to one of them. On this trip, I'm using air (just compressed air, not oxygen). I have lately been diving NiTrox (Nitrogen-enriched air to allow longer bottom time, and lower the risk of a decompression sickness "hit"). Anyway, my second-newest computer for some strange reason said I needed a 15-minute safety stop or ascent time! Normal stop is THREE minutes . . . sometimes a bit longer. Anyhow, in attempting to "honor" the computer, I ran out of time and had to surface after only eight minutes. I'm ok, but the computer won't let me use it for 12-24 hours, depending on how long the software thinks I need to cool off.

(VERY) Small spotted eel
Two lobsters under ledge Fish trap of chicken wire I hate these things because if they break their mooring, they just keep killing fish until the wire rots (a very long time) Eel in fish trap ate the bait (and maybe some of the fish) . . . sad part is when the fisherman pulls up the trap, this eel will itself likely become bait.
Large spotted drum

This little damsel fish didn't like me swimming next to its algae farm (or eggs). It came after me & the camera . . . aggressively swimming in towards my face & the lens; so much so that it was hard to get a picture. So I backed off a bit it slowed down.