Mike and I were in Jo's group, so we were first in the water. There were 19 divers and three "guides", so they paired up all the divers and the three guides each took a group.
Visibility was OK - about 50 feet. Mike and I headed down to the wreck and then followed along behind Jo as she went on a little tour. Not a lot of new things to see and photograph.
At the bow, there was this huge Blue Dragon Nudibranch. It seems like I go for several dives without seeing any of these and then they are all over the place for a while.
Blue Dragon Nudibranch
I have taken a lot of photos over the past few months of Yellowmargin Moray Eels. They are pretty common. I knew what the name meant, but this is the first time that you can really see why they were named. That bright yellow margin on the tail really stands out.
Yellowmargin Moray Eel
Banded Urchins are another species that are ubiquitous. For the most part, they are pretty bland. Once in a while though, one of them stands out. Such was the case with this one.
In all the Banded Urchin photos, you cannot see the action. All those little spines are in constant motion!
Banded Urchin
Swimming through the wheelhouse, this Giant Porcupinefish was hanging out away from the other divers and out of the current.
Giant Porcupinefish
Once again, I ended the dive as I usually do on the Mahi, by slowly ascending up the mast. The flag that is usually there was removed by Shawn today, so he could take it home. It was starting to get a little tattered. He always puts a new one on the wreck on Memorial Day in honor of his father.
I did my safety stop under the boat and then swam up to the ladder and climbed out.
On the second dive, we made the normal tour through Makaha Caverns. I took some photos of similar things, but done a little differently. This Rough-Spined Urchin had a really cool looking test, so I did this as a macro photo.
Rough-Spined Urchin
Today, there seems to be more large patches of Blue Octocoral out than normal. Usually you only see a few of the polyps open during the day, but these are all fully open. Makes for much better photos this way.
Blue Octocoral
As we were headed back down a little finger valley toward the boat, I spotted something unusual off to my left along the wall of the valley. It was a tiny Spotted Linkia. It was only two or three inches across. Everyone else just swam by without noticing it.
Spotted Linckia
This Titan Scorpionfish was hanging out in the open. I could have gotten a better photo if it had been a little more shaded where the flash would have worked, but. . .
Titan Scorpionfish
Back near the boat, there was another Blue Dragon Nudibranch - kind of the bookend for these two dives.
Blue Dragon Nudibranch
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