Night Moves

Dive 1 - Okinawa Dusk Dive 

Our adventure began with a dusk dive to the Okinawa Wreck, a 107-foot-long Army tug resting peacefully at 75 feet below the surface. The wreck was teeming with life with schools of fish darting around its port side. As we traversed the wreck, divers spotted a massive Goliath grouper out in the sand. We found a large green moray eel wedged into the pipework of the wreck as well as a channel crab hiding out under a set of stairs leading to the lower decks of the wreck. A continuing celebration of our nation's 250th the Okinawa served its duty in two wars and in support of the Space program and continues to proudly wave Old Glory off its stern in its forever home. 

Dive 2: Razzle Dazzle

Warm 86-degree water, excellent visibility, and almost no current made for ideal conditions as we descended into the darkness. Our lights revealed a completely different world as sleeping reef fish gave way to the hunters of the night. Spotted moray eels out in the sand in search of prey. Sleeping parrotfish rested within the coral while squirrelfish and grunts emerged to begin their nightly routines. A colorful squid also made a magical appearance in the water column as divers lights illuminated their iridescent skin. Lobsters ventured from their hiding places, their antennae extending into the darkness as they explored the reef, blissfully unaware that mini-season was just around the corner. After nearly an hour underwater, we reluctantly surfaced not wanting the dive to ever end.

Intrepid night divers (from left) back row: Ralph Doerner, Naixin Kang, Rachel Davis, John Davis, Angelica Cookson, Aaron Brooks. Front row: Federico Quintana, Rudy Lopez.