FEBRUARY 19, 2011

DIVE REPORT — WEST PALM BEACH, FL (double click on white box in upper right corner for better read and better pics; ALL RIGHTS RESERVED):

Finally, a warm weekend of diving.  Sunshine, relatively flat seas, good visibility, but bottom temps. are still around 68 degrees.  But, the 68 degree water is much more tolerable when the air temp. is 80+ degrees and the sun is beating down on you.

We headed south to the 60 foot reefs.  Visibility ranged from 40 to 60 feet; fairly nice blue water and not a lot of particles in the water.  It was good photography water. 

Ran into another Ridley Turtle on the first dive — a large male.  It was I believe the fifth Ridley since October or November 2010.  We have never encountered such a number of Ridleys in such a short time period; in fact, we have probably gone entire years without seeing a Ridley.  That is a good sign that the Ridleys are making a come-back in this area; maybe they are here to mate.

Of course, the Green, Loggerhead, and Hawksbill Turtles were also on the reefs.  Ran into many Loggerheads and saw some mating on the surface.  Also ran into at least five Nurse Sharks; my friend even removed a hook from the mouth of one — don’t try that at home; for a second, I thought it might get ugly.

But, the highlight of the day was two Lemon Sharks that circled around us on the first dive.  Like almost all sharks, they just will not come close enough for a good picture or hang around if there is no food present.  The Lemon Shark is now protected in Florida from the destructive practices of the fishermen; accordingly, hopefully they will also make a come-back in Florida and we will continue to see them on the reefs.

Perhaps the cold weather is now behind us.

Doug Kahle — Save the Oceans; Save the Sharks!!!