Dive #19 - Rich Torkington's Dive Log

Linda and Captain Don beckon the Johnsons for a photo together.
Photograph by Rich Torkington in Bonaire 1998

Dive Journal: Up early again for a morning boat dive. Myron, Mercedes, and Linda head over to RumRunners for breakfast, but I am too beat to get up. I am seriously exhausted, and the day hasn't even started yet! Still playing catch-up, I guess. I manage to grab a couple donuts in the cabin, thanks again to the Drays.

We gather our gear and board the Ocean Freedom at 8:45AM. This morning's destination is a site called Ol' Blue, again off the main island. I've elected to dive with 7 lbs of lead this time, trying to find an optimum. It is a beautiful dive site with a nice steep slope, and we proceed to the bottom of it at around 81 feet depth. We catch sight of a barred hamlet and several barracuda. We see no fewer than four stunning nudibranches called Flamingo Tongues, which are small and brilliantly colored shell-less mollusks that feed on soft corals. Very unusual. Near the end of the dive, we spend a lot of time in the shallows around 20 feet down, and I find my emptying tank uncomfortably buoyant. Better go back to 8 lb.