Blue Water, White Triggers

[MB]

Nice quiet dive today between fronts. I thought sure this was going to be blown out; yesterday the winds were howling. But the mojo mustabin working. Sea were under 1', viz was over 75', water temps are creeping up to 74, and two excellent students made my day.

We dove a section of Hillsboro Ledge off Deerfield that I didn't recognize. Beautiful reef. The blue water was in, and its was as pretty a dive as I've had in Florida (and it didn't have all those annoying eagle rays that followed us in Abaco!). There's something about blue water - it sparkles. Fish at a distance flash more. Corals have more color. Mercy!

On the 2d dive I was following my students' descents, when I glanced to my right and a triggerfish was staring at me from about 2'. After recovering from the startle, I asked if it would like to join us for the dive, but it wandered off, only to reappear several times over the next 45 min. Midway, we were circled by a dozen triggers, but only 2-3 appraoched. At the end of the dive, as we prepared for an ascent to 22' (a pre-safety stop) we floated in to a school of about 50 juvenile triggers. All curious. All friendly. All thanking Michael and Tonya for looking like real divers, staying horizontal, controlling their buoyancy, and making slow ascents. Talk about natural reinforcement...

Seems that Michael & Tonya want to go dive again. Go figure.

[DORSETBOY]

Ignorance is bliss!

[MB]

Ignorance is bliss!

I don't quite follow your reply. I'm curious as to what you've identified as ignorance.

[Scubakevdm]

Very nice. I'm sad though, that I missed the good water. I'm even more sad that I missed the friendly triggers! It seems like all the triggers up here are into violence, running aroung in gangs, trying to score some ear. Ahh but what are you going to do, you know? Triggers today.

[MB]

It seems like all the triggers up here are into violence, running aroung in gangs, trying to score some ear. Ahh but what are you going to do, you know? Triggers today.

Finning thru the hood, ya gotta keep your wits. But we've got some community initiatives going on, pairing the young triggers with octos and squid, teaching them patience, teaching them to communicate before committing to violence. Just have to keep them away from the damsels before they start to model aggression...

[H2Andy]

well triggers are territorial, as i understand it, and some triggers are more aggressive than others.

there are reports of triggers biting divers to keep them off their territory.

this is all hearsay. i've never had this experience and i've been failry close to triggers.

a nassau grouper lunged at me once, but stopped short of biting.

the only bite i've ever gotten was from a bi-color damselfish while snorkeling.
the darn thing bit me in my arm for no reason. buggers...

now, porcupine pufferfish... that's another story