The smiles on everyone's face describe better than anything else today's diving. Underwater, we witnessed sights and scenes as spectacular as they were refreshing - especially, on a warm summer's day. Everything today, underwater and above, conspired to produce much exhilaration and valuable memories!
Dive #1 Magic Point:
With military-like precision, a group of divers were rapidly dropped off at a point well south of our known dive site. Sealife V had barely stopped and like parachutists, we left the boat and were soon floating in the sea with the boat now receding into the distance. A final check that we were all ready to descend, and then a cobalt blue dome of the sky above us was quickly replaced with a bright aquamarine blue of another world. Almost immediately, we were surrounded by more Mado than I have ever seen in a densely packed school. Surreally, we were now bathing in silver and gold fish. A welcome like this was unexpected as it was appreciated! Our smiles were now magnified.
A Fiddler ray looked at this scene of divers bedecked in fish, with others swirling all around, with interest. I'm sure this ray would say, nothing on Netflix could compare with the riveting beauty of this scene and the intense pleasure it generated.
Reluctantly, we left the Mado and Fiddler ray, in order to explore an unexplored part of Magic Point. Excellent visibility allowed us to appreciate the lines of an expansive reef, and to value its sculptural shapes and form.
Each of us was able to take from this experience something different. Neil clearly enjoys the relaxing meditative quality of diving. David is an avid explorer. Sophie and Dan revelled in all of these things combined.
Exploring swim throughs, rock ledges, and overhangs, we came across a juvenile Three Bar Porcupine fish. So relaxed and friendly was it, we were able to come up quite close to it and take a good look at its eyes (part of our enquiry into corneal pigmentation in the eyes of puffer fish. Certain types of puffer fish have visible and variable pigmentation in their eyes in order to shield and protect their vision from glare - a kind of automatic sunglasses which functions according to ambient glare).
The unusual 'W' shaped eyes (actually pupils) of a Giant Cuttlefish nearby next caught our attention. Shelley thinks one is obsessed with eyes, but who could not be fascinated with the colourful eyes of underwater creatures? In the case of Giant Cuttlefish, one expert author observed how amazing it is to consider an evolutionary separation between us and Giant Cuttlefish of hundreds of million years and yet we have both, independently, developed a functioning eye with important common elements. What this author did not comment on is the fact that the DNA of a crucial element of the eye, the retina, is apparently also found in the skin of a Giant Cuttlefish. The compelling theory is that its skin colour and pattern changes for camouflage is regulated in situ, i.e. at the level of the structures of the skin that produce the colours and patterns. "In other words, the dermal structures could act as receptors and effectors, independent from, or, in addition to the eyes". This probably explains the almost instant ability for their skin to replicate the colour and texture of their surroundings when their eyes cannot see those surroundings underneath them. This suggests that the skin of a Giant Cuttlefish can actually 'see' things.
Other things seen on this dive were yet more spectacular: schools of fish, often spread out across a 'sky'-like space above us (so clear and blue was the water), several Wobbegong Sharks, who all seemed to be relaxing and enjoying the good life, a Lion fish, resplendent in its fine 'feathers' (actually venomous spines), nudis, an Eastern Blue Devil fish, friendly Blue Grouper, a school of King fish, and even a turtle!
The ingredients of excellent visibility, succulent aquamarine blue, an abundance of aquatic life, made this dive a great dive. What made it even more memorable was that it was David's 600th dive! Still underwater, with a keen audience of sharks, Comb and Crimson Wrasses, and very many Pomfrets all looking on, we shook hands to mark this special occasion.
Seeing a school of Diamond Batfish was a fine way to end this dive.
Dive #2 Old Man's Hat:
Cruising north, half a dozen seals seemed to wave at us. A dozen fins or so sticking out of the water in a tight cluster. In reality, seals often like to sun-bake like this. It seems a slightly curious way to do this. Or maybe they were really waving at the seals on the rock ledge of the cliffs of South Head. We really must go back there and dive with the seals!
The water temp at Magic Point spoiled us. At Old Man's Hat we experienced thermoclines. Sometimes these are actually quite visible as one was a few weeks ago, when the top 3-4m of water shimmered to the point of things being in and out of focus. That was rare and it was not the case today. But these phenomena show the almost limitless visual effects one can come across. No artist can compete with the range of aesthetic effects nature can produce for us underwater!
Some of the highlights from this dive included: a particularly colourful Weedy Seadragon; three more Three Bar Porcupine fish - including a very big one (it was a huge one); more Nudis, a pair of Reaper Cuttlefish (they do like hanging out with a buddy), Octopus, Mosaic starfish, the latter, theatrically holding on tight with its arms wrapped around something, and three Wobbegongs lying close to each other, in formation, in the middle of a colourful sponge garden - an elevated garden atop a very large bolder.
We made a pilgrimage to the main swim through but before entering stopped to gaze at the flicker of silver fish within. After penetrating it we saw ribbons of silver from Yellow Tail Scad streaming diagonally out from where we were. Hundreds of them. They produced an effect no fireworks could match. This is a recurrent theme in these reports, simply because of how true and spectacular these scenes are. Artifice, no matter how 'clever', or artful, is invariably a pale substitute for the beauty, stimulation, and excitement to be found in nature in the sea.
After our diving came to an end, we headed back technically in a boat, mentally floating on a cloud. Not even a F18 Hornet fighter jet, flying very low and very fast, directly over us, could puncture the feeling of jubilation we now felt after a tremendous morning's diving. The smiles on everyone's face was proof of that.
Eric