Heck of a diving day -- we were up before the crack of dawn, getting ourselves ready for diving today. We pedaled down to Jim’s house, where he had hooked up a trailer to his bicyle, and we loaded up our gear and headed to the marina. The water inside the lagoon was troublesome, as the winter winds were headed our way, so I was in fear that we wouldn’t hit the Eugen.
Our first dive was quite deep, I think we almost hit 170 feet. Eek! The site was called Mad Crack, named after a lady named Madilyn, in addition to the huge crack in the reef. Wayne and I were pretty much right at the edge of deco, not exactly where you want to be on a little atoll in the middle of the Pacific, but the dive was amazing. You can check out the pictures! Our second dive was in the lagoon, we hit the Eugen. You can see the stern of the Eugen above the water level, and she is on her side for the most part. The bow is down at about 110 feet, so it was another deep dive. Quite a lot of life on the wreck, and one chair in it.
We checked back in at the harbor, grabbed a quick Subway lunch, and headed out oceanside again, this time hitting Gea and Golden. Lori is on high hunt for a golden cowrie, we shall see whether or not she gets one!
Strangely enough, not a heck of a lot of pelagic life, I was expecting to see a little bit more. I should have thought to bring an empty water bottle with us, and then to rub it in order to attract a couple of sharks, but c’est la vie.
Side note, diving with the Canon G12 and its underwater housing is amazing. I think I have finally found my very last dive camera ever (knock wood), as the pixel size is more than adequate, the resolution is fantastic, it’s easy to adjust under water and does not require a red lens filter (woo hoo!), and it’s just fun to use. Definitely time to put the Olympus housing up on eBay, along with all the other old ones. If anyone out there wants a camera, drop me a line!
Dinner that night was hosted by Malcolm and his wife. Lovely steak, potatoes, free flowing wine, and great conversation. It is amazing how quickly this community brings you in under its wing, and befriends you sight unseen! It’s the kind of place I could live a year or two before heading back home to Hawaii.
