Mar
2
2010
This video was shot while freediving in the blue water near Catalina Island, CA.
Feb
23
2010
In late summer of 2008 a group of us from Dallas travelled to the Turks and Caicos for a long week of diving. We went out on the Explorer II with Captain JF and had a great time diving and good camaraderie with crew and guests. This is one of many videos I shot.
These are the sand flats off the coast of West Caicos Island. Watch for the eels swaying in the background. Not sure what the rays are eating. I originally thought they were digging up eels, but on watching the video more closely it seems like they are crunching – some kind of shellfish? What do you think? Also, do you think the rays made the big piles of sand next to the holes?
I always enjoy meeting squid. They are so inquisitive – sometimes allowing you to approach quite closely. I enjoy their constant color changes to match the surroundings. Notice how they try to look like a mooring line. Also, notice how they blend into the open water as they depart the safety of the line. On one night dive, a squid allowed me to approach within a few feet when a large Black Jack rocketed in for the kill – bam – in a flash of black ink the squid made its escape leaving a swirling cloud of black suspended a foot or two in front of my face!
Feb
4
2010
Ginnie Springs is one of the best known North Florida Cave systems for scuba diving. The caves are easy to find and access. Visibility in the Springs is close to the clarity of air; you have the sensation of flight rather than diving. I spent one weekend at the springs doing my rebreather training and getting my introduction to cavern diving. On the last dive, I brought my video camera along to capture the scene. The video includes the Devil’s Slot, Devil’s Eye and Devil’s Ear.
Three separate cave entrances along a short creek birthed by these Springs. Inside Devil’s Eye we filmed the infamous “Grim Reaper” sign – warning you to go no further since 300+ people have died in these caves. You get a brief shot of me in my Draeger rebreather, which is not so interesting. The very next scene is a shot of my dive buddy and technical instructor Don Winter filmed only by the single beam of his canister light. When you see TV videos of cave dives they are professionally lit with tons of lumens. This scene with Don gives you a much better sense of the exploration that attracts cave divers. Another point of interest near the end of the video is the water column above the Devil’s Ear entrance – half crystal clear spring water – half silt laden river water.
Don is a retired Michigan State Trooper and public safety diver, and owner of the South Florida based Scuba Dragons technical dive shop. The music is from Pink Floyd’s The Division Bell album and provides the name for this post. It perfectly matches this sensation I experienced during the dive.
Feb
4
2010
Early Spring and late Fall are the best times for Tigers, Hammerheads and Bulls in the Texas Flower Gardens. Sometimes Tigers are shy – they linger just at the edge of visibility, fading in and out of view like a primordial spirit. Other dives they can be a bit “in your face”. This photo was taken by my buddy Terry Lindemann on a safety stop on his way back to the MV Spree. I was just starting my assent from bottom when Terry snapped this great shot.
Dec
22
2009
Cocos Island is considered by many as one of the best places in the world to see big shark action. I was fortunate to make this trip in 2006. It requires more than a day boat ride West from Costa Rica to the deserted islands – approximately 300 miles into the empty Pacific.
Dec
22
2009
This may be a new site but we have some good oldies to share. This video was taken in 2006 of a Bull Shark at Stetson Banks near the Texas Flower Gardens. Stetson is about 65 miles offshore SSE of Freeport Texas. The Flower Gardens are about 135 miles SSE of Freeport. When the vis is good at Stetson it is one of my favorite dives. We saw schooling hammerheads on this same dive but they were too far away to video. I was hovering at about 100 feet. The Bull swam vertically up and down the wall from about 100 to 150 feet. If you look closely in the video you can see a large Grouper and a large Stingray swimming alone the bottom. Ron Moore was my dive buddy and swam into the final frames. Enjoy!