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Here's the latest on diving conditions from Boynton Beach Florida and the Greater Boynton Beach Metropolitan Area.
Hey! Okay, it looks like the BDC didn't make it through the maintenance, so I'm gonna transplant the temporary reports over from SB2 and go from there.
Originally Posted by scubakevdm
Whew! I had intended to do some posting as soon as the regular ScubaBoard came back up, but I'm not sure how soon that will be, and furthermore I don't remember where I left off. I think maybe it was Friday.
In any event, the Ocean has been a little squirrley lately, generally fairly calm, but with atypical currents running and sporadic thermoclines. The most interesting departure from the norm as far as the current goes is that there has in many cases been a south current at depth with a fairly strong north current on the surface. We have also seen strong north currents throughout the water column in locations right next to south currents throughout the water column. All this has not really diminished the diving, but does make it a bit tricky for the operators to make intelligent decisions regarding the drops. It got to the point where I would drop in just prior to the dive and check out what the current was doing on both the top and down on the reef.
In any event, here are some of the specifics for the weekend.
Dive 1: Clubhouse Reef.
I didn't take the camera on this particular dive, but it was a pretty good one.
Seas; less than 2' Viz 60' blue below about 10'. Water temp, 82. Current, mild south. This was a case where the surface was going north, and we had actually intended to do Gulfstream, which is immediately adjacent to Clubhouse. Most notable on this dive was a large loggerhead undergoing an extensive cleaning effort by a pack of gobies and several juvenile Spanish hogfish.
Dive 2: Briney Breezes. Seas 2-3' Viz 65', blue below 15'. Water temp 82. Current; south, mild.
I did take the camera this time and squeezed off a few shots. The conditions that you see were pretty close to the first dive as well. Most notable was a free swimming goldentailed moray, but unfortunately I wasn't fast enough to get the shot. In any event, here are a few of the images from this dive. A pair of lobsters waiting for mini season to open. Butterflyfish on the lip of the ledge at Briney. This is a very fishy area of the reef. Some Cottonwicks under a chunk of reef that has fallen into the sand. A French Angelfish on a similar chunk.
Cool man!
Okay, here's what I have for Saturday, 7 July, 2007:
Dive 1: Castor. Seas calm. Vis 50' current north on top, south at depths below 60' for the first 40 minutes of the dive, eventually changing to completely north. Water temp 82 at depths of 80' or less, a medium thermocline below 80' where temps dropped to 74 degrees.
We had a trip full of big cameras, and I didn't want to wreck their ops, so I didn't shoot many myself. Hopefully I can round up some of their pics and edit them into this later on today. I did find a cucumber on the deck of the cargo hold. The folks were out mostly trying to get Goliath grouper shots. The cuc.
Dive 2: Delray Ledge. Seas, calm. Viz varied 45-55'. Current moderate north. Water temp 82 throughout.
I didn't take the camera on this dive so that I could take the flag for the shooters. We found a couple of nice loggerheads and a nurse shark napping with his head jammed into a hole near the top of the ledge and his body dangling out. He was a funny sight. Again, I'm hopeful that I can get ahold of some of the shots the customers on this trip took and edit them in here later on today.
Oops. I'm a little tardy with this one... I left the camera up in Boynton, and ended up staying in Ft. Lauderdale all week. The details are a little sketchy, but I do remember that we did the Capt. Tony and then Clubhouse.
Dive 1: Capt Tony. Current... I think it was slight north, pulling a bit offshore on the bottom, almost nonexistent on top. Vis was about 60 feet or so, clear, but a little green on top, blue down below. I think there was also a slight thermocline below about 60'. Water temps were like 86 until you hit the layer, then about 79 at depth. Notable were the ever present pair of Goliath Groupers.
A scorpionfish on the port forward ladder on the Tony.
Here's Will. He's my friend and he's opening a dive shop across the street from the boat!
Dive 2: Clubhouse. I don't remember any of the particulars on this dive. The only way I even know that we did Clubhouse is because I found pictures of an anemone, and the only one I know lives on Clubhouse. I think we had good vis again though, and I think that the current picked up, but I can't remember for sure.
Hey! Today we did Black Condo and Gazebo. The viz was booming, seas were flat, sun was shining. It doesn't get much better than today.
Dive 1: Black Condo. Viz around 100'. Current slight north. Water temp... hot. I showed 87 degrees. I didn't get to spend a whole lot of time in the water, and couldn't take any pictures on this dive due to dead camera batteries. Doh!
Dive 2: Gazebo. Viz about 70, sometimes 80'. Current was slight north. Water temp 87. I saw the pair of Pacific Sailfin Tangs, and even go close enough to get an identifiable shot of one. My strobe was turned down a little though, so I didn't get much light on him. Bummer. No second chance either.
The Pacific Sailfin Tang.
A green moray peeks out to see what's going on.
Here's a couple of white spotted filefish. This isn't the greatest shot of filefish, but does demonstrate the type of reef that Gazebo is.... low relief, but very colorful.
A crappy shot of some spadefish... but look how far away that diver in the background is. That's good vis.
I have to report that our Sunday AM dive with Underwater Explorers was fantastic!
The ocean looked like a lake, I think you could have water skied out there.
I didn't know if I could believe the reports I'd heard about how warm the water had gotten, but it's true - my computer read between 86 and 90 degrees the whole time during the two dives.
We went to Briney Breezes first, then Gulfstream. Vertical viz was top to bottom, there was some particulate in the water so horizontally the vis wasn't gin clear, but was still very good. Current varied, even during the same dive, and was bit stronger at the top than at depth, but was generally mild.
We saw quite a few large lobsters enjoying their last days of freedom, a couple of hawksbill turtles, and a 7-8 foot great hammerhead on the second dive, swimming along the top of the reef.
We really enjoyed diving with the crew of UE - Kevin and Alex. Very laid back, helpful, knowledgeable, and friendly. Uncrowded boat. It made for a very pleasant dive experience.
Hey thanks for doing the BDC Steve! Everything he said was true, and here are some pics to prove it!
I let Naoko shoot for most of the dives, so didn't have the camera in hand for most of it. It's an entirely different set up than what I've been using for the earlier dive reports, and I'm still doing a bit of trail and error with the settings, so bear with me for a few more reports, until I get it dialed in. Unfortunately I was the first to spot the Great Hammerhead, and of course, this was while Naoko had the camera. By the time I was able to direct her attention towards the shark, it was already past us. She did manage to get a shot off, but the thing was about 80 feet away and just shows up as a ghost.
Seas were flat calm, the sun was shining, it doesn't get much better than this.
A pair of doomed lobsters on Briney.
Gulfstream is a strong ledge with alot of relief. It has become so undercut in places, that large chunks of it have broken off and fallen into the sand. This picture also gives you a pretty good idea of what the vis was like.
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Originally Posted by scubakevdm
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