Dive report - Lighthouse Bay, Saturday 28th March 2009

What a difference a day and a few miles makes!  It was a little bumpy coming up the Gulf but once around the tip of the Cape the seas were flat and gorgeous.  It was surprising as we canceled our scheduled Whale Shark Adventure today because the seas out of Tantabiddi were simply dangerous.

There's been so much hot action lately we couldn't resist heading back to Blizzard Ridge to try to spend some time watching the hunt in the better visibility. As expected, all of the hunters were out in force and the baitfish don't seem to be decreasing even after all this time. Quite a few olive sea snakes were out searching for food or for good resting places, too.

The highlight would have had to have been the 8m whale shark cruising past the boat while we were on the mooring! Evidently he was lonely since we weren't going out to see him 20 kilometers further south. It's very unusual to see these guys in the Bay so we were all surprised.
WATER TEMP: 26C
VISIBILITY: 12+m
CURRENT: none
SURGE: very mild
DEPTH: 14m

Dive two of the morning was at Gulliver's. A pair of harlequin shrimp are back, tucked up in a hole and munching happily away on a sea star.

Huge stingrays were languidly flying along the tops of the ridges and stirring up billowing clouds of sand as they snuffled the bottom searching for lunch.
WATER TEMP: 26C
VISIBILITY: 12+m
CURRENT: none
SURGE: none
DEPTH: 14m
Just a fabulous day of reef diving!