Night Dive

The other night, a number of us went for a dive at the Twin Bommies.

Twin Bommies is an excellent dive site for both advanced and novice divers. The mooring line leads divers to an insensitive bottom where they can adjust their buoyancy and acclimate to their surroundings. Novices will enjoy circling the Bommies that teem with diverse aquatic life. There is always a good chance of finding a cuttlefish or a lion fish hiding near the Bommies, and the clown fish can always be seen nearby.

Experienced divers have the option of following the wall across form the Bommies. Table coral, nudiebranchs, clown fish, and lots of other interesting stuff can be seen along the wall.

I've done a number of dives at this site, and have become familiar with the various points of interest here. I was excited to do a night dive (it had been too long since my last), but I had expected to see essentially the same site, just darker. Generally I'm not happy to be wrong, but I was pleased to be wrong about this dive.

We arrived at Bommies just as the sun was beginning to set. The full moon hung low in the sky, and was clearly visible before the sun had finished setting. These were perfect conditions for a night dive; full moon, calm waters, and excellent visibility.

My buddies for this dive (Gemma and Josh) and I geared up and splashed down. The sun was barely peeking over the horizon as we made our descent. Our first destination would be the wall. This was going to be interesting; I was breaking in a brand new torch and I was going to try to take photos while I juggled the light back and forth in my hands.

The clown fish were just bedding down for the night, nestled into their anemone when came upon them. They seemed a bit sleepy and a tad bit surprised to be entertaining guests after dark.

Feather stars; they almost look like alien creatures that are slowly and patiently invading the Earth, ocean first. It was great to watch them curl up and hide as I shined my torch on them. I wasn't really able to light the shot, line it up, and take it very quickly, so it was mostly closed by the time I snapped this.

Once we'd finished up at the wall, it was on to the Bommies.

The Spanish dancers were out in abundance tonight. I was very happy for the chance to snap a few photos to show everyone back home, as we only have American dancers to photograph.

As we puttered around the Bommies, I could see Gemma make a sharp turn off in a different direction. She had spotted one of the turtles that sleeps near the Bommies. It's always amazing seeing a turtle, no matter how many times you've spotted one before. I'm always taken with their grace underwater, especially considering their awkward shape. This guy was much too far for me to hope to photograph, so I had to content myself with following (really, trying to keep up with)him.

At this point I was starting to run a bit low on air, so I signaled my buddies that I'd be heading back to the surface. Just as I turned away to make my way closer to the mooring line, I saw this parrot fish nestled in for the night.

Awesome dive.

Greg: Padi Instructor @ Nautilus

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