Okay… So I might have fibbed slightly, in the name of entertainment, on my last dive report: New Ocean Surprises. But many of the words I wrote were true to nature. The ocean world is filled with fascinating new creatures and adventures waiting to be discovered.
To help me on my quest as an explorer of this watery world I follow a saying by American author, Edward Abbey, “In order to see that which is not readily apparent, we must break old habits and learn to see anew.”
In my decades of diving I remind myself to look at some of the same places I have seen a thousand times a little differently. No where is this most apparent than what lies between the boat and the ocean bottom. The great expanse of liquid ocean is host to an incredible magnitude of unique and fascinating alien life. Looking at it requires a slightly different perspective.
As Frank, the pug (dog), from the Men in Black movie said, “You humans, when’re you gonna learn that size doesn’t matter? Just ’cause something’s important, doesn’t mean it’s not very, very small.” Nowhere does this hold more true than in this expanse of ocean. Look a little closer and you are likely to be taken back by all its splendor.
Our Black Water dives are one of those perfect opportunities to feel the ebullience of exploration run through your veins. It’s a completely different world down there! Tiny cephalopods, octopus and squids, abound. Jellies in all shapes and sizes drift in the water column. The uniqueness of larval fish will leave you in wonder. Then there is the other 90% of the marine life that leaves you saying, “What the?!?!” Every glance offers the opportunity to see something you, or science, has never seen before!
This fathomless world is home to all kinds of undiscovered creatures. Interestingly enough, I sometimes find myself giggling at the reports from scientists mentioning the discovery of a species while traveling miles beneath the ocean waves in their submersibles (ie. this foraminifera), all the while I have seen these creatures numerous times during my Black Water dives.
But don’t take my word for it! Just look at some of the images I was able to capture during our recent Black Water dive. If these aren’t the makings of some sci-fi alien creatures then I don’t know what is. The beauty of it is that its right under our noses. Come explore this unique and magical realm with us and, as Edward Abbey said, “learn to see anew.”
