Shadowfax is becoming my second home (I wish).  This was a two-dive day with my buddies at Poor Knights Divers on 10 Feb 07.  Conditions were marginal with a 2 to 3 m swell with chop in a stiff easterly, but with the promise of easing conditions in the afternoon (never believe the Met).  The water was a tropical 20°C with visibility between 25 and 30 m.  The conditions dictated the dive spots – Middle Arch and Mary’s Wall on the lee side of the island.  The Knights provide fantastic shelter from the prevailing weather, but on days like this avoid a big greasy breakfast.

Martin didn’t join us on the day to accommodate an increase in the Dive HQ roll.  Before departure he asked me to try and get some photos of schooling juvenile snapper, and the smaller the better.  Apparently this phenomenon warrants some serious study.  I can attest that they’re there but the little beggars are a sod to photograph as they are forever on the move.  Hopefully the one or two solo beasties that I photographed will be useful.

We were joined on the dive by Sharkbait and a team from Dive HQ.

My first dive was dedicated to field trials of my Buddy Locator.  Working to a maximum depth of just over 30 m in close proximity to the boat gave me lots to think about.  Go to the Buddy Locator Page for details and a couple of photos.  At the end of the dive we were all entertained by Blue Maomao in a feeding frenzy at the surface.

The second dive was with Jamie and Scott.  Before the dive I switched the camera to movie-mode to experiment.  While movies don’t have the clarity of full resolution stills and lack the benefit of flash, they provide a great feel for the underwater experience.  I must incorporate a rotary control for the camera mode select on the camera housing.

There was heaps of underwater activity.  Critters included Moray Eels, Yellow Tail, Black Angelfish, Two Spot Demoiselles, Snapper, Kingfish, Sanders Wrasse, two varieties of Ray, Blue Maomao, Goatfish, Parore, Sweep, Leatherjackets, Pigfish…

Click on the thumbs to view the movies.