UAE East Coast Temperatures

[hedonist222]

turns out it was a stargazer:

image from my dive partner

 

[Searcaigh]

Two days of diving from Sandy Beach, nice and quiet with no more than six divers on the boat yesterday and today.

Met a couple of people new to diving in the UAE but well experienced, Theresia and Roxanne.

Water temps were a consistent 25C and I managed in my 5mm, although my main buddy Kerstin dived dry.

Dive sites on the Sunday were Inchcape 1 and Dibba Rock, while today we did Gunther's Wrecks and Sharm Rocks.

Plenty of seahorses (six in total) around and large pipefish (more than 10) during all of the dives.

The large honeycomb morays (Fred and Wilma) are still on Inch 1, first time I've dived this wreck in 2020. Very strong current due to the timing of the dive, (full moon at the moment).

Hoping to get another couple of dives in this week, possibly with Barracuda at FIMC in Fujairah.

 

[hedonist222]

Where does barracuda usually go?

Divers down usually go as far north as dibba rock and as south as martini rock.

 

[Searcaigh]

Where does barracuda usually go?

I've not known for them to go further north than Inch 1.

Generally they dive the main sites around Fujairah and as far south as Kalba.

Most of the diving off Fujairah is deeper than 20m, so AOW is really necessary. They frequently go to Martini and Hole in the Wall when teaching. Nitrox is available at AED25 per tank, they get their fills from Coastal Technical Divers next door, and has to be ordered in advance.

 

[Searcaigh]

A reasonable couple of dives on Inchcape 2 and Martini Rock yesterday, with water temps of 26C. However I was in my drysuit as the boat drive is around 35mins not fun in a wetsuit on the return journey.

Mooring line on the wreck was cut

We dropped a shot and one of my buddies Ernie went down and moved it closer to the wreck and shot a Yellow SMB to confirm all was good.

Lots of cowries on the wreck

and plenty of shrimps

The second dive on Martini was very pleasant too. Plenty of sharpnose puffers around but they refused to cooperate and I got too many ass shots

Whip coral gobies were a better subject.

Thoroughly enjoyable day and a good post dive lunch at the Turkish restaurant in FIMC with my buddies Kerstin and Theresia, without Ernie as he had to return to Abu Dhabi and spend two hours at the border for Covid checking

 

[hedonist222]

We dived yesterday. Martini rock and Shark island.
And then a night dive at Sharm Three Rocks.
I brought along my UV light. What a spectacular sight.

Visibility was abundant and currents non-existent.
Water was a bit cold despite me being in a 3mm suit and a 5/4/3 hoodie.
My dive computer registered a low of 23, and average of 24.

I think the highlight was a juvenile cuttlefish mimicking the persona of a crab. It was scuttling along the seafloor and had its tentacles shaped like pincers. What a sight.
Also found a cavern filled with dozens of saron shrimp.
Alas, I could not get closer because a of brute looking eel that was guarding the entrance.

 

[Searcaigh]

Did not dive yesterday due to a a pre-planned brunch with friends who are heading back to KSA next week.

Today we did Inchcape 10 and Car Cemetery 2 with Barracuda.

Vis was 15+m and water temp 25C

Haven't seen vis as good as this for well over a year. I was shooting WA only on the first dive, but the CC2 site was also just as good and the whole site totally visible from -10m.

We only found the nudis in the last five minutes, four Hypselodoris infucata within a meter of each other on the same car on CC2.

But the best find was a Golden Cardinalfish with eggs in its mouth

On our safety stop there were long strings of salp floating by, and one of them must have been 6-7m in length, made me wish I had WA for that dive but I would have lost out on the macro shots had I continued in that mode.

 

[hedonist222]

I finally figured out what pair of fish I'd seen a few times on a deep night dive.

Unicorn filefish (aka leatherjacket):

Similar to the below but the species that I saw had much more angular and sharper fairing/ fuselage (for lack of better terminology).

I'm glad I finally found closure as I'd spent a good amount of time looking it up but "large thin rectangular dish with pointed nose" didn't yield a lot of results.
During yesterday's dive I realized that the common filefish looks similar to what I'd seen. So I searched "mature filefish" and here we are.

 

[Searcaigh]

There's a glut of Reticulated Filefish over the past year, not sure why, possibly an increase in food source (I've seen them eat jellyfish) or a decrease in their predators whatever fish that might be?

 

[hedonist222]

Other than Maldives & Zanzibar, any other diving destinations?
I was supposed to be in Anilao in April of this year.