The best of 2006
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Fabulous
Guest
The SS Yongala off Townsville, Australia. A few points and links.
Well, what makes the Yongala so significant in the minds of divers is that it's not merely a dive site, or even a wreck; it's an entire constantly churning and swarming planet of diving. There are thick forests of soft corals, legions of snappers, wrasse, sea snakes, damselfish, anthias, tiara batfish, grouper, whiptail stingrays, jacks, gobies and sea turtles. Mix that with the occasional reef shark strolling past within arms length and schools of fish so thick you can't see the ship it is like visiting another planet. And everything comes in the size that comes after XXL. I think it is called whopping. It's almost frightening how large some of the marine life gets, especially the jacks and sea snakes.
Images
http://images.google.com.au/images?q=ss+yongala&ndsp=18&svnum=10&hl=en&lr=&start=0&sa=N
History
http://www.townsvillemaritimemuseum.org.au/Yongala.htm
Well, what makes the Yongala so significant in the minds of divers is that it's not merely a dive site, or even a wreck; it's an entire constantly churning and swarming planet of diving. There are thick forests of soft corals, legions of snappers, wrasse, sea snakes, damselfish, anthias, tiara batfish, grouper, whiptail stingrays, jacks, gobies and sea turtles. Mix that with the occasional reef shark strolling past within arms length and schools of fish so thick you can't see the ship it is like visiting another planet. And everything comes in the size that comes after XXL. I think it is called whopping. It's almost frightening how large some of the marine life gets, especially the jacks and sea snakes.
Images
http://images.google.com.au/images?q=ss+yongala&ndsp=18&svnum=10&hl=en&lr=&start=0&sa=N
History
http://www.townsvillemaritimemuseum.org.au/Yongala.htm
el ridgeo
Contributor
My best diving experience of 2006 was a trip on the Solmar V to Socorro Island in May. On our first dive at a site called Roca Partida we saw white tip reef sharks, manta rays, and humpback whales. We spent two days at Roca Partida and saw the whales, 2 adults and a calf, on almost every dive. We also saw a whale shark the last day at this site. Absolutely the best diving of the year.
vondo
Contributor
For me, probably the King Cruiser off Phuket. A really nice, big wreck with a ton of coral and fish. It's falling apart after 10 years down. (Feb 2006)
A close second would have to be my first dive on the Spiegel Grove. (Jun 2006)
A close second would have to be my first dive on the Spiegel Grove. (Jun 2006)
Sveta
Registered
WOW. Guys, you are heros. I couldn't even imagine that you can experience so much!
I am new, so my most exciting moment was the very first time when i got "kicked out" from a live-aboard ship, in the middle of the Great Barrier Reef. I looked down into water, got scared and decided that it wasn't "my thing". I was bouncing on the surface like a buoy and it took a lot of afford for my instructor to convince me to finally deflate my BCD.
But since then... every dive is an adventure and an excitement cause everything is still very new for me.
I am new, so my most exciting moment was the very first time when i got "kicked out" from a live-aboard ship, in the middle of the Great Barrier Reef. I looked down into water, got scared and decided that it wasn't "my thing". I was bouncing on the surface like a buoy and it took a lot of afford for my instructor to convince me to finally deflate my BCD.
But since then... every dive is an adventure and an excitement cause everything is still very new for me.
For me, it was that cold and rainy Sunday morning in October when my 12 year old looked up at me after dive #5 and said, "...really? We passed the certification dives? Oh this is so COOL!"
I flashed back to that same moment in 1975 when I was 12 and having the exact same feeling...
Dive lessons: $239. "Cool looking" gear: $175. Certification dives: $75. Reminding yourself why it's all worth it: Priceless...
I flashed back to that same moment in 1975 when I was 12 and having the exact same feeling...
Dive lessons: $239. "Cool looking" gear: $175. Certification dives: $75. Reminding yourself why it's all worth it: Priceless...
For me, the best dive of the year was back on Sep 18 this year. Although I live in Canada where the water is perpetually cold year round, visibility often averages about 25 feet, I do get down to warmer climes a couple of times a year to strap on a single tank, a thin wetsuit, and shoot pics of pretty fishies and other interesting aquatic animals.
But no, the best dive for me was right here at home in Kingston, Ontario. Sometimes the best ones happen when you least expect it. It was a warm Saturday afternoon as we made our way out on Lake Ontario, leaving port at Kingston and headed out to do one of my favourite wrecks, the City of Sheboygan. After having a nice dive, we stopped off at the Cornwall and dropped in on the wreck. Expecting moderate viz, the whole wreck appeared in front of us, just as we barely broke the surface. The viz must have been 4 times what we were used to. And we had the wreck all to ourselves. With camera in hand, I was hitting all my shots just right. Couldn't have asked for a better dive with my camera.
Then some of my shots gets some attention and voila, published in this month's edition of Advanced Diver Magazine. Sometimes when you least expect it...
But no, the best dive for me was right here at home in Kingston, Ontario. Sometimes the best ones happen when you least expect it. It was a warm Saturday afternoon as we made our way out on Lake Ontario, leaving port at Kingston and headed out to do one of my favourite wrecks, the City of Sheboygan. After having a nice dive, we stopped off at the Cornwall and dropped in on the wreck. Expecting moderate viz, the whole wreck appeared in front of us, just as we barely broke the surface. The viz must have been 4 times what we were used to. And we had the wreck all to ourselves. With camera in hand, I was hitting all my shots just right. Couldn't have asked for a better dive with my camera.
Then some of my shots gets some attention and voila, published in this month's edition of Advanced Diver Magazine. Sometimes when you least expect it...
Nice pics...
I still have a few dives left in me so the season is not over just yet. I came down with a nasty whooping cough this summer which pretty much obliterated any summer diving that was to be had. After I began to heal my 2nd dive was at Manatee spring with some very good buddies. We had the water to ourselves and it was one of the nicest days I have seen in awhile... which is saying alot for florida.
The spring basin just waiting for us...
The spring is surrounded by cypress.
-V
I still have a few dives left in me so the season is not over just yet. I came down with a nasty whooping cough this summer which pretty much obliterated any summer diving that was to be had. After I began to heal my 2nd dive was at Manatee spring with some very good buddies. We had the water to ourselves and it was one of the nicest days I have seen in awhile... which is saying alot for florida.
The spring basin just waiting for us...
The spring is surrounded by cypress.
-V
So many of them and the year isn't over yet, but probably a recent dive on Farnsworth Bank off the windward side of Catalina. I spent most of the dive over a plateau at about 85' filming several as-of-yet unnamed species while a HUGE baitball developed overhead with several dozen sea lions as well as cormorants diving thru it to capture fish. I spent the entire rest of the dive at 30-40 ft within the baitball filming the fish and sea lions. First time I haven't gone into deco at this site, and was treated to a Mola on my safety stop!
Almost every dive there is magical for me. On the most recent one I encountered and filmed five torpedo or Pacific electric rays at depths between 100 and 150 ft. That's the most I've encoluntered at one site in a day, and more than I used to see in an entire year of diving. Adding icing to the cake, two Molas passed by twice on my long deco stop.
Almost every dive there is magical for me. On the most recent one I encountered and filmed five torpedo or Pacific electric rays at depths between 100 and 150 ft. That's the most I've encoluntered at one site in a day, and more than I used to see in an entire year of diving. Adding icing to the cake, two Molas passed by twice on my long deco stop.
I can't pick...
There was the time that a harbour seal decided to tag along for a good 20 minutes, tugging at my fins.
Then there was the time where I encountered a teeny tiny baby giant pacific octopus making his way across the bottom.
Then there were the wreck penetrations I did on the HMCS Saskatchewan off of Nanaimo BC...amazing!
Then there was the nurse shark that I had the luxury of watching while he ate his lunch in Cozumel...that was really cool.
And the caverns in Tulum MX...they floored me. They were beautiful.
I can't pick just one!!
There was the time that a harbour seal decided to tag along for a good 20 minutes, tugging at my fins.
Then there was the time where I encountered a teeny tiny baby giant pacific octopus making his way across the bottom.
Then there were the wreck penetrations I did on the HMCS Saskatchewan off of Nanaimo BC...amazing!
Then there was the nurse shark that I had the luxury of watching while he ate his lunch in Cozumel...that was really cool.
And the caverns in Tulum MX...they floored me. They were beautiful.
I can't pick just one!!
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