Martin, a dear friend, accomplished photographer and journalist for the Argentine "Week End" magazine, visited us during November.
We made many dives while he documented the beauty of the Cayman Islands under water (although visibility was not at its best).
We dove the Kttiwake Wreck and we also had a great encounter with a Trumpet Fish at the Turtle Farm Mini Wall.
We are thankful for his visit and we hope to see him back soon.
Here are some of his photos (photo credit Martin Mainardi)

Silversides are back!!!!

It has been about ten days since the Silversides are back at Devil's Grotto!
No good pics but lot of fun diving the caves!

In search of the Silver Sides

We know the Silver Sides are coming back. It is the season. We heard rumors of divers seeing schools of them but we have not found them yet. In a couple of coral holes we saw a few dozens but the giant bait balls are just not there at the moment.
Fish activity though was great. The reef was exploding with life. We found a friendly Tiger Grouper in a cleaning station. She let us practice our photography!
Sergio

Night Dive at Don Foster's Dive Reef

Great dive. We saw 5 octopus hunting, many lobsters walking and shrimp all over the reef. Two hours of plain fun!

Diving the Blue Heron Bridge - West Palm, Florida

Tracy and I had to travel to Florida for some appointments.The town we were going to was close to a dive site located on West Palm Beach. The site was recommended to us by our friends Leslie and Albert who live in Key Largo. We decided to take our dive and photo gear just in case we had time to visit the place. It turned out that we had some free time in between appointments so we gave it a go.
The site is called "Blue Heron Bridge". New to us but well know to the locals as one of the best shallow dives for small creatures. Sea Horses, Bat Fish, Eagle Rays, Sea Robins, Blennies of several kinds, Spade Fish, Barracudas and more abound in the area. The bridge has a "West" and  an "East" side that can be dived but only between an hour before and  after the high tide because of the natural currents.
To get local information and to rent our tanks we visited "Force-E" dive shop (very close to the dive site). There we met Mark Kosarin who gave us a map and verbal details as to how to do the dive. He was very informative, passionate about diving the site and passionate about photography too.
With this newly found wealth of information we drove over the bridge and entered the "Phil Foster Park". It was getting late and the tide had already turned. However upon looking at the water conditions and the fish we could see without even getting in the water, we decided to snorkel! We took our cameras and snorkeled along the beach and the west side of the bridge. We saw many creatures, fish and even Manatees. We were very excited!
We got familiar with the area and ended up scuba diving the place 3 times over different days. We took hundreds of pictures, we enjoyed diving in the current and putting our skills both as photographers and divers to test under different conditions than the ones we normally dive.
Our last dive we ended it after sunset as the tides were getting later and later every day.
I want to acknowledge and thank Mark from "FORCE-E" for all his help to make this dives so memorable for us. And I want to recommend to all divers if you happen to be visiting South Florida, take the opportunity to dive this site as you will be blown away by the abundance of marine life. Visit the guys at "FORCE-E" to rent what you need and get info (You can even hire a Dive Guide to point out more things and navigate the site with ease) and off you go to one of the most prolific sites on the planet!
Until next dive...
Sergio

Gaze into their Eyes

A night dive at Don Foster's Dive Reef followed by two day dives at the Turtle Farm Reef. Conditions could have not been any better. The Cayman Islands we know...calm seas, visibility forever, fish everywhere, non stop action. Great week end of diving.
Always searching to improve photographic skills, I decided to concentrate in getting the eyes expressions of the fish we came across. Some let us get close to them, some were very skidish.
Even after five hours of solid diving, I came out with very few pictures and only a handful that I thought actually captured what we saw. In any case, spending time observing these creatures I am thankful for those that allowed me to inch forward slowly and perceive their eye movements, worried expression and curiosity.
Spending time in nature with creatures in their own environment gives me a chance to be in harmony with all creatures. Quietly observing answer some of my questions however, I come up more puzzled than before with new behaviors, rare creatures that I did not see before.
I can not wait to the next opportunity to get back in the ocean and learn more!!!

Until next dive!

Tracking the Jaw Fish

For four consecutive days we visited the Jaw Fish located on the hard pan off the Don Foster's Dive Cayman dive shop.
We could see the eggs in his mouth developing, growing bigger and with more detail. We were hoping to be present at the moment he releases the baby fish but not such a luck.
Here is a picture of the last time we saw him and a few creatures that surround his habitat.

Until next dive!

Week End of Diving

Over Friday and Saturday we did two dives along the Don Foster's Dive reef.
Conditions varied from one day to the other. Friday there was a slight current North to South and visibility out on the deepest section of the reef was pretty good.
Saturday there was no current and the visibility had dropped a bit. However both dives we had great marine life encounters. Turtles, Moray Eels, Angel Fish, Hamblets of different kinds and several schools of Blue Tangs.
Very entertaining dives. Friday, Tracy and I buddy upped as a photo team. On Saturday it was Romeo, Marco (visiting diver from Argentina) and myself.

Until next dive.

Cheese Burger Reef

After many years, today we decided to return to visit Cheese Burger Reef ( its original name is Soto's Reef), located North of George Town Harbor.
Seas were a bit rough on the west side and visibility was pretty poor today. However we had a lot of fun exploring the big caves filled with Tarpons and seeing several schools of Sargent Majors and Bermuda Chubs.
Romeo found a Sucker Fish sitting still on the sandy bottom. She was missing her Caudal (Tail) fin. She let us get close and although I did not do well taking her pictures, she was beautiful and friendly.
We had a great day of diving  and manage to navigate all the way to the shore underwater even though we haven't visited the place for a long time.
If you decided to shore dive this Reef, please visit the guys from "Lobster Pot Divers" . You can access the reef from there and rent tanks and also equipment if you need it.

www.lobsterpotdivecenter.com
Until next dive!