ch0ppersrule
Contributor
Well, to start this report off right I must first tell you I had the distinct pleasure of meeting John P. Hoover, yes the Hawaiian Fishes book John Hoover. Very nice man. Okay- the first dive was at the Baby Barge in which I did not get to dive. The water was a bit choppy and I used 200psi going from the back to the front end of the NoriZ. I couldn't get my breathing under control so I took a little break and then tried to pull myself down the descent/ascent line. Pretty good current going. Well, I went back up (from my 5 ft down) and tried once again to catch my breath to no avail. Ended the dive and enjoyed the show from the whales while catching what little sun there was. Well, we were suppose to dive Fantasy Reef for our 2nd dip in the water, but Capt. Joe said the monk seals have been at the Spitting Caves the last several days. The entire boat decided that would be perfect and perfect it was. Everyone was in the water and down we went. Leda was our leader and decided to go around the bend. Good thing too because there was a momma and her baby (Monk Seals) playing around. They gave us quite a show. This is my first time to see 2 seals in the water and actually have them play around. The momma must have her picture taken a lot because she was coming over the reef and almost stopped and posed for us all before she started twisting around and playing with her baby. The baby was around 5-6 ft long and momma was 8-9 ft. She was enormous. My pictures didn't come out to good, but I did get some. I got to see a scorpionfish while I slipped behind (dang photographers slowing everybody up), several eels (stout morays and yellowmargin), 3 large turtles laying around watching as we passed right over their heads, tons of fish and I even spotted a baby (itty bitty) frogfish in a coral head. I tried to get his picture, but all that came out were his feet (lol- I am a world class photographer). I think I need to spend several more days diving Portlock as that is my favorite place on the island. Always something new and different to see. No sharks in view today, but the Monk Seals more than made up for it.
Melissa
Melissa
