What have you seen underwater that you'll never forget?

[love2godeep]

Wow! It's so awesome below the surface of the sea! I can never get enough of the undersea world!

And then, every once in a while, there's something so absolutely stunning that I can hardly believe I'm actually seeing it.

How about you? What have you seen underwater that you'll never forget? No, I don't mean the pod of naked lady snorkelers who cruised, oblivious, over your head. :54: I'm talking about some form of gorgeous, amazing, or otherwise unforgettable marine life that you saw from behind your mask.

Oh yes--where did you see it? And when?

I'm really a neophyte, so I'm sure my stories won't compare with yours. Yet maybe I'll get up my courage a post a few things here, myself. Every dive is a discovery, for sure!

 

[glbirch]

Mantas. 20' span, cruising without effort a in current that kept me hiding behind rocks. Thailand, last November.

 

[ElectricZombie]

I had a bunch of 8 foot tiger sharks that kept getting about a foot or two away from me on a dive I did to the U-352 here in NC. I guess they were extremely curious that day.

 

[Zippsy]

Whale sharks to the left of me, mantas to the right! Anambas, Indonesia (near Pulau Tioman, Malaysia). 24 October 2003 - a day that will live on forever with every bubble I blow.

 

[IslandHopper]

...that I'll never forget ? ... well

it was actually a fairly run-of-the-mill Lionfish ... although the reddest coloring that i've seen to date ... The reason I'll remember it is that right after I took a photo of it, I inadvertently let go of the camera ....
This was a night dive, the camera was positively bouyant ... away it went, out of site immediately ...
my buddy thought I'd lost my head... didn't know what had happened... just saw me suddenly doing flips and twists and shining my light all over the place ABOVE me.

Oh well, I wasn't impressed with the camera anyway, so it's as good an excuse as any to get a nicer one

 

[DORSETBOY]

Whale shark cruising up and down about 10m above me for 5 mins then dived straight down in front of me into the deep!

 

[ItsMandy227]

Although I think sharks are the neatest things to see underwater last March on a trip to Cozumel I saw something amazing and peaceful. It was a beach dive and about 50 feet offshore there was a incredible reef. Hiding in one piece of coral was an octopus, it was absolutely beautiful. Other than seeing it breathing you would of passed it by and never knew it was there. That was also my first time in salt water so that may have had something to do with it as well. I just think they are fascinating creatures along with everything else in the ocean. I've yet to see another one.

 

[colinw]

A commerant swimming (underwater flying?) by me. I'm thinking, "She doesn't belong here." And then I realized, she's probably thinking, "He doesn't belong here."

 

[cyklon_300]

40+' whale shark, 50 hammerhead sharks, 2 dozen eagle rays....

Darwin's Arch, Galapagos June 1997

 

[love2godeep]

Seems like so far the sharks have it! To date I've only spotted one little reef shark, which was fun but neither electrifiying nor terrifying.

Still, I'm accumulating my own unforgettable memories. My favorites, so far:

A whole colony of lionfish of all sizes, hanging out in Kosi Bay, South Africa. I watched them for a long time.

A huge, gorgeous nudibranch in Palawan, Philippines. It was fuschia-colored with a white dotted border and bright yellow rhinophores--maybe 7" long. A chromodoris bullocki. I'm partial to nudis, anyway, but this guy was incredible!

Three different species of anemonefish hanging out in their giant anemones, each family with big mama and smaller papa, and some with a whole lot of little Nemos. This was all in a fairly small radius, near Roxas, Palawan.

Oh, one more: A couple of yellow stingrays mating. This was at Bloody Bay Wall, Little Cayman.

I can't wait to see my first manta. But I love these unforgettable smaller wonders, too....