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

[chickdiver]

Early morning at Outhouse Beach, Apra Harbor, Guam. Getting in a little dive before work with a friend.... weird noise.... kinda sounds like aboat, but not really...... glance toward the middle of the harbor.... WHAT THE????????

It was submarine, underway, underwater.... very very weird.

 

[caymaniac]

In NE.Australia a Minke whale swimming under me turn and stare at me, made a big circle and the whale did it again.

At Stingray City a big green moray swam into my BC and around my back then back into the coral.

Off South Africa a shark (raggletooth) big enough to swallow both my wife and I.

My wife swimming with a Manta as it did a loop off Bloody Bay wall.

A nudi that was mint green with chocolate pyramids on its back in the Red Sea off Hurgada Egypt.

The biggest grouper I saw was fighting for tuna heads on a shark dive at Osprey reef, the grouper was reported to be 400 lbs.

My sons first night dive, on the Brac, saw three octopus, two sleeping turtles, a nurse shark, barracuda, a school of squid, moray eel, shrimp, scorpion fish, peacock flounder.....some people see it all in one dive....it was great to be there with him.

Dive Safe,
Caymaniac

 

[diver567]

Well I saw this seahorse and turned round to get my buddy's attention, when I looked back all I could see was a fat toadfish - so I guess my buddy kinda made me miss a pretty neat thing.

 

[hantzu701]

Two huge yellowtails cruising through a school of smaller fish @ 70sft. They were moving so fast that they were as surprised as I was to see them.

 

[SueMermaid]

A tiny squid, no longer than my thumbnail, who came out of the darkness to play in my light. He settled into my hand for a minute, then methodically sniffed around my mask, seemingly trying to comprehend just what the heck I was, this bubbling, hissing, plastic and rubber-clad beast. It was one of the most delightful things that has ever happened to me.

 

[Jetwrench]

Bachealors Beach, Bonaire. Feb 19, 04

Just putting along with my buddy ahead and to my right. As his fins passed over a head of coral, an octopus appeared from it's modeled state like someone had flipped a light switch. My buddy has good eyes for finding cool things to see and never knew he swam right over it. Almost pulled his fin off getting his attention. Pinkish-blue and stretched out, it just sat there and watched us, like it was putting on a show(it was). A really cool display!

 

[RiverRat]

My first dive was a discover scuba in St. Maarten while on a cruise. While cruising along the lady next to me lost her top..........came untied. I should have helped her out but I got flustered and kept swimming, pretended I didn't notice. I'll never forget that.

 

[bermudaskink]

I hate all these people who have dived with sperm whales and minke whales and whale sharks... grrrrrrr.

My little list would have to be

1) sitting amongst a big ball of fry and hundreds of snappers in a reef tunnel in bermuda

2) a free swimming leapord flatworm in bermuda that sat on my hand and crawled around my dive computer

3) cape fur seals in south african kelp forest

4) giant spotted sting ray sleeping in the maldives (more exciting than the mantas I saw)

5) and probably the best but I was snorkelling and not diving .... a pod of 50 ir so offshore bottle nose dolphins in Bermuda. A rare sight and a very special moment. I spotted them while on a boat trip one day while I was a deckhand and took a school group into the water to snorkel with them, twice. There were mothers with calves and the viz was amazing we could watch them dive several hundred meteres down and whizz back up to leap out of the water to catch flying fiish and pass us closely by to take a good look at us, while they clicked and squeeked in very cheery tunes.

Am still jelous of those who have managed to see whales and whale sharks!! grrrrrrrrr!!

 

[bermudaskink]

3 things that I love to see that don't really count but thought I would share

1) as an instructor my favorite thing is seeing someone overcome a major problem like mask clearing after really struggling with it, and seeing their face light up with pride

not a marine animal I know.... but an animal and in marine surroundings...so I thought it worth a mention.

2) The hull of the boat at the end of the dive before I even have to go to the surface to look for it!

3) Someone I really don't like who is cocky, screwing up underwater in a non dangerous manner but making themselves look like a prat! Like getting temporarily stuck while penetrating a wreck.... hee hee hee.

 

[BacardiSpice]

First hammerhead I ever saw...while diving on the 'Numidea' on Big Brother Island in the Red Sea. It was circling overhead in a territorial dispute with a gray whaler. And next to me two lionfish were trundling through the wreck. Every childhood fantasy about wrecks, gin-clear water and sharks.

That...or the first encounter with Mantas in Yap...or dawn at China Wall in the Coral Sea...