We started with Black Coral II as our first dive of the day
(we did Black Coral I first thing on Sunday).
From Avalon's dive site description:
Black Coral I and II
These two dives are most exciting!
Minimum depth is 24 meters (78') on top of the reef,
then a sandy bottom at 30 m (98').
Channels run across the reef perpendicular to the coast,
until they reach the drop-off where there is a resident population
of more than 30 reef sharks (Carcharinus perezi)
that get very close to the divers
(sometimes 10" away from the mask).
After 15 minutes of watching of these creatures while they swim around,
the dive continues close to the coral formations and sandy channels
with sleeping stingrays (Dasyatis americana), parrotfish,
big black groupers and tons of jacks swimming near divers until the end of the dive.
When following the mooring line up to a safety stop . . .
. . . we usually had lots of "company" . . .
. . . and usually a "welcome committee" under the boat.
DIVE 3: Sparring groupers . . . HERE
Please allow time to download
Video courtesy of Noel Lopez of Avalon Diving Centers
These two LARGE GROUPERS started sparring/threat display
RIGHT BETWEEN MY LEGS
(Grouper 1: "Hey! That's MY DIVER! Leave him alone!"
Grouper 2: "NO! That's MY DIVER! I saw him first!"
This is what happens when you feed fish).
When I saw what was going on I backed UP and out a bit
to give them some room. As exciting as seeing the sharks.
That's me in the background (blue split fins).
After Black Coral II we did Five Seas and Patrizia respectively.
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