Pura Vida Divers was out today on captain Van’s, Narcosis dive boat enjoying another wonderful day out on the water. The seas were a very manageable 2-3ft with a very slight north current and 75 degree water temperature. Underwater the top 30-40ft had over 100ft of visibility, but unfortunately that dropped substantially near the bottom to around 35-40ft. But this didn’t keep the amazing encounters from happening… quite the opposite!
We began the day with our first dive on the Princess Anne wreck. Diving this wreck you are likely to encounter some of the larger pelagic fish for which Palm Beach is known. Before the group could make it to the wreck the welcoming comity of bull sharks were swimming nearby. In and out of the hazy blue water they would appear and disappear. Never aggressive, but simply slowly swimming alongside us so we could marvel at their presence.
Most of the dive was spent hovering over the bow of the Princess Anne as the sharks swam in and out of sight over and over again. As we began to swim north, since there was not a trickle of current, we soon came across a couple of giant goliath groupers. Behind them the bulls would materialize from time to time. Off in the distance, at the edge of visibility, a large mass of life swirled. As I swam in its direction to investigate, I found myself engulfed in hundreds of horse-eyed jacks that filled the water column from about 70ft up to 30ft.
Wishing to capture some of the colorful beauty of the wreck, I stopped at one of my favorite spots where numerous tropical fish swirled. Last time I was here I had cleaned the area of monafilament line, and once again it was covered in this dangerous material. Turtles are prone to getting wrapped up in this fishing line, and being air breather, they will drown so discarding of this hazard is always an important thing I feel the need to do. It’s my way of thanking the ocean for all the wonderful things is does for me.
On our second dive, we motored north to Midreef. This hill-like reef is adorned with sponges of all colors and tropical fish to match. Eels and tons of fish kept us entertained during the hour long dive.
Special thanks to captain Van of the Narcosis for hosting our divers while we put the finishing touches on our dive boat, Sirena. She is back in the water with a slew of new improvements. We can’t wait to get back out to all the action on the reefs and wrecks of Palm Beach. Call us if you would like to experience some incredible diving.
[youtube=http://youtu.be/lG14_2K4H7c&rel=0]
