Smmcdonald
Costa Rica
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Nº91
Date: 2016-09-13 - 10:57
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Max Depth: 19.1m Duration: 41mins
Dive Location
- Temp: Surf 26°C Bottom 26°C
- Dive type : Recreational
- Visibility: Average Water: Salt
Specific gear used
- Weights: 5.4 kg
Recent Divers in Islas Catalinas
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Dive Profile
- 1. Nitrox 31
- 12L Aluminium 200 → 27 bar
- Average depth: 12m
Data provided by EOL.org
Species Identified
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This morning we woke to a beautiful day with clear skies and a calm sea. This would be our chance to sail to the Catalina Islands! The ride out was smooth and quick: we made the islands in about the time we made the half-way point yesterday.
The Catalina Islands are a pair of rocky outcrops jutting out a couple of hundred feet into the air. They are inhabited by seabirds: dozens, if not a hundred or more frigate birds circled above them. The tops are ridge-like and rounded, sloping rather steep in places and giving way to cliffs that plunge to the sea. They have a thick, green vegetation blanketing the slopes and ridge.
Our first dive was called "The Point", which is situated southeast of the southern most island. The waters were clear on entry, and we were greeted by a similar scene of boulders covered in red and green algae. Our first encounter was with an hourglass moray eel (Muraena clepsydra). There were sea stars of different varieties, including panamic cushion star (Pentaceraster cumingi). And, of course, a large green moray eel. We came across a large bait ball of grunts, each about 8" in length. These moved in unison and formed a column that rose up to near the surface from the floor as we approached. I've seen large schools of bait fish in NC, but not like this: not made up of fish this large and not quite as densely packed.
At the end of our dive, as we hung out on the finger reel for our safety stop, a devil ray approached. I didn't know it at the time, but my GoPro was on 'camera' mode, so all I got was a blurry picture as it glided by almost within arms length.
Back on the boat, we began what may have been the most interesting--and comical--surface intervals yet. Just off in the distance, I could see what appeared to be floating debris. As it drifted close to the boat, it became more obvious that it was a large sea turtle. At first, it seemed to be floating along naturally, but then we got a little worried as it was sitting pretty high out of the water. Was it injured or entangled? The captain slowly moved over to intercept the turtle as the current slowly moved it toward us.
Well, it was injured, and it wasn't "A" turtle. It was a mating pair! Nature at its finest, we were semi-content just to watch for a moment from a distance. Laura wanted more. She decided to go snorkeling to "get a closer look". This made for a rather comical exchange for the next 15 minutes or so. Eventually, the turtles glided a bit too close to the boat and they decided to break off the "engagement" and headed for deeper waters. That being done, we packed up and headed around the island to finish our interval and move on to our next dive site.