Dive #242 - Rich Torkington's Dive Log

This beautiful turtle hung around us for a long time at the Cane Bay Wall
Videocap by Rich Torkington in the USVIs 2006

Dive Journal: A beautiful lazy day, lounging around the house and reading. I used some of the morning to prepare a big pot of rice and beans, laced with chicken and vegetables.

In the afternoon, the waters are calling to Linda and me again, and our tales of great diving at Cane Bay have enticed Janel to dive with us as well. This time, instead of doing the long swim heading due north from the beach, we vector off further west at a heading around 330°, and then turn due west at the dropoff.

There isn’t much fish life over here but the reef is quite beautiful. Fortunately, we come across a great little turtle, a hawksbill we think. He is at first buried beneath an overhang, and all we can see are his fins moving about. He finally emerges but doesn’t flee at all. Instead he continues to nibble on the reef and slowly swims around us. I’ve got my video running the whole time – great! We hang with the turtle for a long time until he finally chugs topside for a breath.

Progressing further west, we run into a curious “snowstorm” of some kind of bloom in the water, and visibility drops off considerably. Janel later claims that these particles have locomotion. We turn around and explore the shallower areas of the wall, where Linda and Janel spy peacock flounders and a scorpionfish.

The three of us enjoy happy hour at the Full Moon Bar afterwards, and we’re in bliss. The Full Moon is a diver-oriented place, and when it is not crowded the vibe here is super friendly. The view from the bar surface looks right out over Cane Bay.