Underworld Photography

DIVE REPORT: WEST PALM BEACH, FL (double-click white box in upper right corner for better pics and a better read; ALL RIGHTS RESERVED):

Outstanding diving on Saturday!!!!  Not a cloud in the sky, flat seas, 73 degree bottom temps. (which is very warm considering we have been diving in mid-60’s the past several weeks), 150 feet of beautifully blue water, and a lot of big creatures in the water — outstanding!!!!

The highlight of the day was a 12 to 14 foot Great Hammerhead Shark.  They are very shy and rarely come close to divers; I have only seen 5 in my entire life.  It was a magnificent shark, not a mark on it — a perfect creature.

The dive reports from the prior day said the blue water was to the south; so, we headed to the 60-foot reefs for the morning dives.  And, as allueded to above, this was some of the best water we have had in a very long time.  Not only was the water crystal clear, but there were a lot of creatures on the reef.

The water was so good, I went back out in the afternoon for more dives.

In addition to the Great Hammerhead Shark, we ran into Lemon Sharks, Bull Sharks, a Caribbean Reef Shark, more Nurse Sharks than I could count, Goliaths, Turtles, large Rays, and small bait balls on the reef.

The great visibility made for some great photograhy, especially wide angle.   Not many particles in the water — some beautiful blue colors in the photos.

If the water were always like this, I might just retire and dive every other day.

I cannot wait to get back out next weekend, but I know it will not be this good again for a long time.

Doug Kahle — SAVE THE OCEANS!!!

DIVE REPORT: WEST PALM BEACH (double-click white box in upper right corner for better read and better pics; ALL RIGHTS RESERVED):

The good news is the the water warmed to 70 degrees, which is very warm considering we have been diving in water temps. in the mid-60’s the past few weeks.  But, the vis was not great at 30 to 50 feet and we had a southern current.  Southern currents tend to screw-up diving.  The seas were 2 to 3 feet and there was plenty of sunshine; not a cloud in the sky.

We headed north out of the inlet to Shark Canyon and The Corridor.  Unfortunately, we did not see and “real” sharks, only a couple of nurse sharks.  A handful of turtles were out, a couple of loggerheads and a hawksbill.  Only one goliath on the Mizpah.  Again, the southern current tends to really screw-up diving some times.  Some large schools of fish were around and at least a large green moray was showing itself.

Hopefully, next weekend will be better.

Doug Kahle

DIVE REPORT — WEST PALM BEACH, FL (double click on white box in upper right corner for better read and better pics; ALL RIGHTS RESERVED):

All diving was cancelled today!  The winds are blowing a steady 20 knots with gusts over 30 knots; and the seas are 6 to 10 feet.

Here are some non-diving pics.

Doug Kahle — Save the Oceans; Save the Sharks!!!

DIVE REPORT: WEST PALM BEACH, FL (double click white box in upper right corner for better pics and easier read; ALL RIGHTS RESERVED):

The cold water is still with us; but, it is bringing a lot of life to the reefs.  

We heard the water was really cold all week, especially to the north.  So, we headed to the 60-foot reefs to the south.  The water temp. was 64 degrees on the bottom and 68 degrees on the surface.  But, again, there was not a cloud in the sky and air temp. was 80+.  I can dive in 64 degree water when the sun is beating down on me between dives.  The vis was not too bad at 30 to 50 feet, with some fine particles in the water.  Slight north current; and, flat seas. 

As we headed out to the reefs, we encountered a large pod of Atlantic Bottlenose Dolphins; there may have been some Atlantic Spotted Dolphins swimming with them.  Unfortunately, the top layer of water was very cloudy and I could not get close enough for a good pic.

Under the water, the reefs were filled with life.  A lot of very big turtles, including perhaps the largest female and male Hawksbill Turtles that I had ever seen.  We even ran into Hawksbill Turtles YYC-883 and TTG-089.  I have not seen these turtles in many months; they are looking big and healthy!

The reefs were packed with fish of all kinds.  Several Goliaths were on the reef and a very large Stingray escorted by a Cobia.

Another great weekend of diving.  It should only get better going forward.  I think the cold weather is gone until next winter; more and more turtles should be dropping by for mating season; and, the visibility should be improving with the winds shifting to the south and east.

Doug Kahle — Save the Oceans; Save the Sharks!

DIVE REPORT — WEST PALM BEACH, FL (double click on white box in upper right corner for better read and better pics; ALL RIGHTS RESERVED):

Finally, a warm weekend of diving.  Sunshine, relatively flat seas, good visibility, but bottom temps. are still around 68 degrees.  But, the 68 degree water is much more tolerable when the air temp. is 80+ degrees and the sun is beating down on you.

We headed south to the 60 foot reefs.  Visibility ranged from 40 to 60 feet; fairly nice blue water and not a lot of particles in the water.  It was good photography water. 

Ran into another Ridley Turtle on the first dive — a large male.  It was I believe the fifth Ridley since October or November 2010.  We have never encountered such a number of Ridleys in such a short time period; in fact, we have probably gone entire years without seeing a Ridley.  That is a good sign that the Ridleys are making a come-back in this area; maybe they are here to mate.

Of course, the Green, Loggerhead, and Hawksbill Turtles were also on the reefs.  Ran into many Loggerheads and saw some mating on the surface.  Also ran into at least five Nurse Sharks; my friend even removed a hook from the mouth of one — don’t try that at home; for a second, I thought it might get ugly.

But, the highlight of the day was two Lemon Sharks that circled around us on the first dive.  Like almost all sharks, they just will not come close enough for a good picture or hang around if there is no food present.  The Lemon Shark is now protected in Florida from the destructive practices of the fishermen; accordingly, hopefully they will also make a come-back in Florida and we will continue to see them on the reefs.

Perhaps the cold weather is now behind us.

Doug Kahle — Save the Oceans; Save the Sharks!!!

DIVE REPORT: WEST PALM BEACH (double-click on white box in upper right corner for easier read and better pics; all rights reserved):

All things considered, the diving was not too bad.  We were assuming the worst; the weather forecast said that we would have 6 to 8 foot seas Saturday morning.  That was not quite accurate.  The morning seas were very flat; but, we had no sunshine, the bottom temps. were 66 to 70 degrees, a slight southern current, and because we had no sunshine the visibility was 30 to 50 feet.  The air was also cold; we entered the water with air temps. of 53 degrees, and, with no sunshine, we were freezing, especially between the dives. 

But, there were a lot of turtles in the water — at least on the first dive.

We headed south to the 60-foot reefs; we heard the visibility was not too bad there the day before.  And, as noted above, the visibility was pretty good; if the sun had been out, we likely would have had 60 to 80 feet of vis.  The first dive we encountered a lot of turtles; at least 12.  Most were Loggerheads, but at least three were Greens, including one of the smallest Greens I have ever seen in these waters.  A couple of nice Green Morays on the dive also, including a very photogenic and cooperative one toward the end of the dive.

Strangely, the second dive, which was just to the south of the first dive, we encountered not a single turtle.  Very unusual considering we regularly see many turtles on this section of the reef. A Goliath Grouper has been hanging out on this section of the reef for a couple of weeks now and has apparently made it her temporary home.  She is fairly shy, it is difficult to get within 8 feet of her before she heads for the protection of the reef.

As we surfaced from the second dive, the winds were starting to blow.  The seas went from flat to at least 3 to 5 as we headed back to the marina.  Hopefully, the winter diving season is nearing its end and the water temps. and air temps. will start increasing in a few weeks.

  Doug Kahle

DIVE REPORT: WEST PALM BEACH and JUPITER (double click white box in upper right corner for an easier read and better pics; all rights reserved):

Dove in West Palm Beach on Saturday morning.  Not bad diving: a little bumpy; vis of 40 to 60 feet; a little chilly with bottom temps. at 67 to 70; very mild current; but, the top 15 feet of water was filled with Warty Jellyfish and the surface of the water had more Man-O-War than I had ever seen before.  The jellies and the man-o-war were all over us; I have never seen anything like this before anywhere.  The strong winds during the week must have blown in the jellies and man-o-war.

We headed to the shallow reefs and dropped on Breaker’s Reef and Tear Drop.  Again, nice diving.  A lot of turtles, goliaths, and nurse sharks.  Most of the turtles were loggerheads, but also saw some greens and even a hawksbill was hanging out on the reef.

Of course, all of the usual suspects were there: green morays, large schools of fish, including atlantic spadefish.

And, I even had a 5 to 6 foot Bull Shark swim in front of me on Breaker’s Reef.  Unfortunately, they are so shy, they will not come close enough for a picture.

Sunday morning I finally dove Jupiter for the first time; only a few miles to the north, but I had never dove there.  It was outstanding!!!  Flat seas; 40 to 50 feet of vis with no sunshine; no current — we prefer current to push us along the reef so that we can cover more ground.  The marine life was incredible.  The creatures in Jupiter are definitely a little large than in West Palm Beach.

Dropped on a dive site called Tunnels and could not believe what was going on.  Nurse sharks, carribbean reef sharks, goliaths, turtles, and a spotted eagle ray — all at the same time and in the same place.  Truly amazing!!!

And, these were the larges goliaths, nurse sharks, and loggerheads that I had ever seen before.  Apparently, I need to dive more often in Jupiter

Just a great weekend to be underneath the water!!!

Doug Kahle

SAVE THE OCEANS — SAVE THE SHARKS!

DIVE REPORT: WEST PALM BEACH (double click white box in upper right corner for better pics and a better read; all rights reserved):

WOW!!!  The sharks were out today in West Palm Beach.  The diving conditions were pretty damn good also: not a cloud in the sky; bottom temps. of 68 degrees ( a little chilly); air temps. of 70 to 75; visibility of 60 to 80 feet; a nice north current; and, flat seas.

Headed to Shark Canyon for the first dive; we have not dove this site since early December; so, we were expecting the reef to be loaded with creatures, and it was!

Right when we hit the bottom, we were greeted by a large Loggerhead Turtle — one of six we saw on the dive.  As we made our way north on the reef, we started running into Nurse Sharks under the ledges, followed by Caribbean Reef Sharks.

From that point forward, we ran into sharks constantly; both Nurse Sharks and Caribbean Reef Sharks.  There were probably at least eight Reefies and six or seven Nurse Sharks.  As we began our ascent, we even had a Reefie swin underneath us.

Right before we began our ascent, we spotted a Ridley Turtle underneath a ledge.  This is the fourth Ridley we have seen in the past five to six weeks.  That is unheard of and has never happened before.  The more numerous sightings may be an indication that the turle is recovering from near extinction.

A great dive on a beautiful day!

For the second dive, we jumped in on Governor’s Riverwalk.  We encountered a very photogenic Loggerhead Turtle.  But, the highlight of the dive was a massive Bull Shark.  The shark was easily 9 to 10 feet with serious girth.  Unfortunately, they will not come close to you unless you have food so I was not able to get a photographic of this magnificent shark.

If only every weekend of diving were this good!!!

DIVE REPORT: WEST PALM BEACH (double click white box in upper right corner for better pics and better read; all rights reserved):

The good news: visibility was not bad at 40 to 60 feet; the seas were flat; and, we saw a lot of turtles and goliaths. 

The bad news: it was freezing!  The bottom temperature was 68 degrees; we heard reports of 63 degrees on dive sites just to the south of where we were diving; the air temperature was only 65 degrees and a cold wind was blowing out of the west.  If that were not bad enough, we had no sunshine! 

We decided to stay close to the inlet and dove some wrecks.  First dive was the Princess Anne and second dive was The Corridor.

Pretty good diving.  The wrecks were filled with goliaths and turtles.  On The Corridor, we saw Green, Loggerheads, and Hawksbill Turtles.  Both wrecks had numerous goliath, including some very large ones.

Of course, all of the usual suspects were out: Green Morays, Stingrays, Lionfish, and large schools of fish.  One diver claimed that three sailfish circled him on his safety stop.

Perhaps one more month of cold winter diving.

DIVE REPORT — WEST PALM BEACH, FLORIDA (double click on white box in upper right corner for better pic and read; all rights reserved):

Great diving today in West Palm Beach.  The seas were relatively flat, probably no more than 1 foot; the water warmed from last week to 72 degrees; the visibility was easily 80 to 100 feet of particle free water; and, there was no current.  We actually would have preferred a nice current so that we would not have had to kick constantly.

We headed south to the shallow reefs; on the way there the Spinner Sharks put on a little show — they have defintely arrived in Palm Beach County.

Turtles were everywhere!  Mating season is only weeks away and they are starting to arrive.  We did two dives and easily saw 20 turtles — most were Loggerheads, but also saw Greens and Hawksbills.

Nurse Sharks were also abundant — at least 8 to 10 on the two dives.  We are starting to see more and more Nurse Sharks in the early part of the year.  Not sure why that is; but, they are pretty skiddish.

Of course, Lionfish were everywhere also; we easily saw 20 of them on two dives.  One of the most beautiful fish on the reef.

Again, a great day of winter diving in West Palm Beach.