After the requisite half hour of snuggling we got up and headed down for breakfast, pancakes and bacon, mmmm. Then we prepped the gear for the first dive. During the night the boat had moved to Long Cay Wall which had some large coral heads in about 50 feet of water, and a steep wall that dropped off to over a thousand feet. We all jumped in and descended a bit down the wall, then swam along at around 70 feet. After about 20 minutes we ascended to 30 feet and swam back to the boat along the top edge of the wall. This site had much more fish-life than the last one and was really fun. Rick and Randy got lots of great pictures along the way, including a juvenile spotted drum which was swimming in tight little figure eights.

Trumpetfish

Tiger Grouper

Feather Duster Worm

Trumpetfish

Between dives we got some sun and relaxed. For the second dive we followed Chris who pointed out some cool sea life that we might have missed, like some tiny decorator crabs that looked like little bits of weeds in some of the sea fans. Rick spotted another juvenile drum as well. As we made our way back to the boat the light was really good and there were lots of fish. It was a great site. As we were waiting to board the boat, we saw lots of one eyed jacks and even a barracuda swimming around.

Juvenile Spotted Drum

Fred and Gina

Decorator Crab

Christmas Tree Worms

Lunch was Mexican, tacos and tamales, very delicious. During lunch the boat moved to our second site for the day, Silver Caves. It was another wall site, with several cuts in the coral that made great swim-throughs. Rick's octopus was acting up so Chris jumped in and tried some adjustments, but then figured out that it was the first stage that had the problem. He swapped it out for one from the boat and we were back in business. In the water we saw some big tarpons and a couple of spotted drums (also known as Triangle Origami Fish). Some of the other divers saw a giant turtle, but we missed it. Back on board we rested and had fun with the other passengers. We decided not to do the second afternoon dive since we were a little bit cold from the last one. Dinner was a great fish dish, with some more great dessert.

Yellow Tail

Horse Eyed Jacks under the boat

Randy in a cut in the coral

Damselfish

After dinner we had a presentation about the Blue Hole which we would be diving the next day, which sounded really exciting. Since we'd be diving very deep the next day, we kept the night dive shallow and relatively short, in order to minimize our nitrogen levels for the next day. Before going in the water Rick was kind of cold in his shorty suit, so Jay volunteered a full suit for him to use. One more item from the boat and Rick wouldn't have any of his own gear left! The night dive was fun, though we didn't get much chance to dawdle as Rick was determined to find an octopus. We did see a bunch of Tarpon, which were about 5 feet long with big green eyes. They didn't seem to be afraid of us and would zip by, sometimes coming from behind. Kinda spooky, but they're harmless to divers. We saw a big grouper sleeping under a rock, and also a giant lobster (about 3 feet long) that was out looking for food. We also saw a couple of basket stars which look like plants but are really animals which extend their arms to collect food, then swing them into the mouth in the center to eat whatever they catch. Very cool to watch!

Tiny little Sharpnose Puffer

Basket Star

Tarpon in the dark

Stovepipe Sponge

Back on board we took nice warm showers at the back of the boat, then had some hot chocolate and went inside to look at pictures. The captain moved the boat inside the atoll for the evening as we looked at pictures and had some more dessert. Around 9pm we headed up to our room for a nice full night of sleep. Gotta be rested up in the morning for our deep dive!