Ian and I were in Jo's group, so we were first in the water. There were 20 divers and three "guides", so they paired up all the divers and the three guides each took a group.
Visibility was a little better than on Saturday - about 60 feet. Ian and I headed down to the wreck and then followed along behind Jo as she went on her little tour. There is a pretty good sized patch of Red Phorbas sponge on the stern of the wreck.
Red Phorbas
As we started off up the starboard side, this lone Spotted Eagle Ray cruised right past me.
Spotted Eagle Ray
At the bow, the huge Blue Dragon Nudibranch was still there.
Blue Dragon Nudibranch
There is a little ledge off to the port side of wreck on the bottom where this Yellowmargin Moray Eel hangs out. There are always several Whitestripe Cleaner Shrimp hanging around and today, this one was climbing up onto the eel's head as I snapped the photo.
Yellowmargin Moray Eel and Whitestripe Cleaner Shrimp
Over on the stern of the wreck, I ran into this one as well. It was a little threatening as I got close for the photo.
Yellowmargin Moray Eel
As I was starting to ascend near the mast to end the dive, these three Spotted Eagle Rays floated by fairly close, so I drifted over behind them and got some good photos.
Spotted Eagle Ray
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. It is difficult to see where the sponge ends and the crab begins, but he is under there.
Sleepy Sponge Crab
This Rough-Spined Urchin had a really cool looking test, so I did this as a macro photo again, but a little differently than what I did on Saturday.
Rough-Spined Urchin
You can really see in this specimen why they call this Rice Coral.
Rice Coral
The little Spotted Linckia was still in about the same place. Once again, I couldn't get anyone to come and see.
Spotted Linckia
These two Green Sea Turtles were out in the flat eating algae. They pretty well ignored us as we swam past.
Green Sea Turtles
This little guy was hanging out along the wall at the edge of the reef.
Whitemouth Moral Eel
This little round hole in the reef wall was filled with Iridescent Cardinalfish. I also could see the large black "thing" in the background, but could not tell what it was. When I looked at the photos closely later, I discovered it is a large mature Viper Moray Eel - the moray with the nastiest disposition!
Iridescent Cardinalfish
Rough-Spined Urchin
This little juvenile Peacock Razor Wrasse was in the sand under the boat. It looked like a piece of leaf floating back and forth with the surge, but it was a little different.
Peacock Razor Wrasse
Under a ledge, right under the boat, was a hole filled with all sorts of critters. These large Yellowmargin Moray Eels often hang out with Whitestripe Cleaner Shrimp, Bicolor Anthias, Red Reef Lobsters, and Iridescent Cardinalfish. The anthias are almost always found only with the Yellowmargin Morays.
Yellowmargin Moray Eel and Whitestripe Cleaner Shrimp
Red Reef Lobsters, Bicolor Anthias & Iridescent Cardinalfish
Yellowmargin Moray Eels, Whitestripe Cleaner Shrimp & Hawaiian Squirrelfish
As I was swimming slowly along the top of the reef looking into the heads of Cauliflower Coral, I spied this Zebra Moray Eel. I had a devil of a time getting photos. He kept poking his head out and when I would move the camera, he would disappear back under the coral. I managed to get a couple and then I prodded him a little and got him out into the open where I could get a video.
Zebra Moray Eel
When I was down to 500 psi I slowly ascended and climbed out.
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