Smmcdonald
Saint Lucia
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Nº138
Date: 2019-07-03 - 10:13
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Max Depth: 16m Duration: 49mins
Pictures
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- Temp: Surf 31°C Bottom 27°C
- Dive type : Recreational, Drift, Reef
- Visibility: Good Water: Salt
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Dive Shop & Buddies
Dive with Anse Chastanet Scuba St Lucia
Dive buddies:
Jennifer McDonald,
Vince Knick
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Dive Profile
- 1. Nitrox 34
- 12L Aluminium 207 → 29 bar
- Average depth: 11.4m
Data provided by EOL.org
Species Identified
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We found Jay's coral garden! Or somebody's coral garden! Several structures with dangling corals growing near the seabed were arranged near the entrance to the dive site. We had been told earlier in the week that Jay was growing coral nearby, so we assumed this was his project. Fairyland lies very close to Anse Chastanet Reef, and adjacent to Turtle Reef. (We would later run across Jay's coral garden again while diving Anse Chastanet.) This site is further out than Anse Chastanet, however, and typically offers more current, cleaner coral and clearer waters. The site slopes down off of the 'point' beyond Anse Chastanet, and down to 60'.
Shortly into the dive, I had another opportunity to film a peaock flounder gliding across the reef bottom. I find these fish beautiful and fascinating, not only because of their changing colours of browns and greens with rosette patterns of blues and lavenders, but also how they glide across the seabed in a wave-like pattern. Trumpetfish, too, have a tendency to catch my eye. I noticed the ones here have a purplish iridescent colour, most noticeable on the tops of their heads, which contrast nicely against the floor. I've seen trumpetfish on many dives in the past, but I do not recall ever seeing them in this colour variation, or at least not this remarkable. I may actually taken my first decent picture of one on this dive!
A small lobster in the bottom of a barrel sponge cought my attention. At first I dismissed it as another spiny lobster (in and odd place), but upon inspection noticed it was an entirely different species: a red-banded lobster, probably no larger than 6 inches or so. Nearby was an arrow crab sitting on a bleached coral. I have come across several arrow crabs during this dive trip, but this was the first that presented a decent opportunity for a photo.
Among the usual suspects of these reefs (chromis, creole wrasse, squirrelfish, parrotfish, blue tangs and surgeonfish), I also saw a glasseye snapper, porcupinefish, black durgon and and a smooth trunkfish. We finished our dive and surfaced to blue skies and a beautiful view of the pitons.
After our second dive, we returned to Anse Chastanet to pick up the others in our group for lunch and Anse Mamin, another beach on the resort, but this one a bit more remote. The little restaurant here specialized in burgers, a familiar and welcomed dish that did not disappoint. After lunch, one of the SCUBA St. Lucia guides, Joevan, took us on a walking tour of the old French Colonial plantation ruins, where we learned about some of the history and natural resources of the property. A special treat was when Joevan tought us how to open a coconut with our bare hands! In just a couple of minutes, he had methodically split the top and passed around the sweet flesh for us to taste.