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Sunday - morning dive at Anchor Bommie and Hero’s Cave
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date: 7/9/2008
Author:Shay Young
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CONDITIONS
Weather: Sunny | Air Temp: 23°C | Wind: SW 15/20 knots | Water Temp: 18-20°C | Water Visibility: 20m |
Sea State: Calm
ISLAND LIFE
Critter Encounters:
Today started a little windy with an awesome sunrise during an early low tide making for an incredible reefwalk. We encountered a number of sea cucumbers including the Green, Sandy and Black species. Many clams were also of interest awing guests with their vibrant mantels glistening in the morning sun as each clam has a different pattern distinguishing them from each other like human fingerprints.
The glass bottom boat and snorkel trip today was the highlight of many of our guests day as Manta Rays were everywhere feeding on plankton on the surface; this made for some great close up and personal experiences with these amazing creatures. The Manta Ray can grow up to 9 metres in width, this is enormous, however today we were lucky enough to see the other end of the scale with a small Manta Ray sighted at around a 1 metre wingspan; not much is known about Manta Ray reproduction so this begs the question could this small one be a newborn?
The whales were in full force today with many being sighted swimming around the island, and then unsuspecting guests on our boat experiencing the whales swimming around the boat with thunderous blows and pectoral slapping. The Humpback whales are now heading back to the colder waters surrounding Antarctica, some with newly born calves, others now pregnant and males escorting them back to southern waters. The Humpback whale gets its name from the modified dorsal fin on its back now a small hump, the scientific name Megaptera noveangliae meaning large pectoral fins and first seen off New England.
One guest was so in awe with this magnificent trip saying ‘It’s amazing… utterly amazing…. Just gorgeous!’
The flotsam fossick saw guests heading around the northern point of the island scavenging the shoreline for flotsam that may have floated ashore. Cone shells were everywhere to be seen, all washed up and many other bivalve shells were also encountered, the highlight was however simply being at the right place at the right time! As the tide inundated the Lagoon we were lucky enough to see the about 15 Black-Tip Reef Sharks circling on the reef edge with their dorsal fin half out of the water intensely waiting for the Lagoon to fill deep enough for them to power on in over knee depth water to feed on the small fish and other vertebrates emerging from their places of hiding in amongst the coral.
The diving today included a morning dive at Anchor Bommie and Hero’s Cave in the afternoon. The divers reported some interesting sights including turtles (juvenile and adults), silvertip reef sharks and Mantas. Skipper and keen diver Clint said it was ‘Mant-astic’ out there this afternoon! Sebastian the pilot flying the 4pm departure sighted around 40 Mantas from the air.
Today has surely proved to be another truly special day on our magnificent coral cay! |
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cone shell - Wayne Fox
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