Dive #85 - Rich Torkington's Dive Log
© Copyright 2010 Rich Torkington Mesa, Arizona

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Bottom Time to Date:

73h
39m


Dive Info:

Dive Start:
9:30AM

Bottom Time:
59 minutes

Maximum Depth:
80 feet

Safety Stop:
3 minutes

Beginning Air:
3100 psi

Ending Air:
500 psi

Weather Conditions:
90°F

Surface Conditions:
2' swells

Surface Water Temperature:
82°F

Bottom Water Temperature:
82°F

Visibility:
80+ feet
85
TITLE
* * *½
July 17,
2001
SAMAKAI WALL
YAP - FEDERATED STATES OF MICRONESIA
BOAT DIVE
VIDEO
Kay (divemaster), Jennifer (NY, Alberto and ?? (new employees), and Linda (buddies)
Photo
A stunning yellow mask angelfish
Videograph by Rich Torkington in Yap 2001 
Dive Journal: Barney and Liz have elected to dive with the Japanese divers this morning, since they’re going to continue to survey for manta rays. We’ve asked to go to the southern end of Yap this morning to visit a site called Yap Caverns.

Alberto and ?? are new divemasters who have just arrived at Yap Divers after working around the Red Sea in Egypt. They are extremely friendly and have joined us in order to make some exploratory dives in the area.

It’s overcast and raining as we leave, and when we exit the harbor, the winds pick up and the swells increase in size. We get about halfway there when Kay stops the boat and decides to change the plan. He knows the winds and surface will be even worse at the southern end of the island, and the boat is already rolling and slamming quite a bit. There are some dark clouds down there, too. He finally chooses the more sheltered site of Samakai Wall.

It’s a rough entry but nothing too bad. The overcast conditions cut down on available light, but most of the reef fish don’t seem to care either way. Early on this dive I spy a nice sailfin tang, and this one is finally fully flaired.

Midway through the dive we encounter yet another (or the same!) pair of cuttlefish hovering above the reef. This time I spend even more time getting closeup video from different angles. The cuttlefish slowly darken their brownish hue, something I later learned indicates agitation. I guess they did not care for my close approaches, but they posed for the camera quite a while without fleeing.

Also ran into a nice foxface rabbitfish and a stunning patterned sea cucumber who was easily 30 inches long. The cuke had layers of frilly black colored feet fringed in white which came out from its underside in layers like a skirt. Very cool.

The dive is just wonderful, but I also notice a fair amount of coral damage here. Not just a little bit of bleaching, but plenty of large branches and pieces broken and strewn on the floor. I’d guess that this is due to typhoon action and is in some contrast to the reefs at Kosrae.

SUMMARY OF SOME FISHES OBSERVED ON THIS DIVE:

This list was created by looking over the video footage and identifying each species.

  • Sailfin tang flaired
  • Longnonse butterflyfish
  • Spot banded butterflyfish
  • Reef lizardfish
  • Peacock grouper
  • Crown-of-thorns starfish
  • Blackside hawkfish
  • Foxface rabbitfish
  • Bronze sweeper
  • Chevron butterflyfish
  • Pennant bannerfish
More
Dive
Info:
Fins:
Mares Avanti Quattro
Computer:
U S Divers Matrix
Tank:
80 ft3 Al
BCD:
SeaQuest Spectrum 4
Dive Type:
BOAT
Body of Water:
Pacific Ocean
Mask:
U S Divers
Protection:
3mm full wetsuit
Regulator:
SeaQuest
Spectrum XR2
plus Oceanic
Slimline octopus
Weight:
12 lb
Water Type:
Salt
Video Equipment:
Sony DCR-TRV11 digital handycam in Top Dawg housing