Dive #250 - Rich Torkington's Dive Log
© Copyright 2010 Rich Torkington Mesa, Arizona

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Bottom Time to Date:

218h
47m


Dive Info:

Dive Start:
11:30AM

Bottom Time:
72 minutes

Maximum Depth:
92 feet

Safety Stop:
3 minutes

Beginning Air:
3000 psi

Ending Air:
600 psi

Weather Conditions:
Sunny 80°F

Surface Conditions:
Calm

Surface Water Temperature:
80°F

Bottom Water Temperature:
80°F

Visibility:
50+ feet

Gas:
Air
250
TITLE
* * *½
July 19
2006
LA VALLE
ST. CROIX, U. S. VIRGIN ISLANDS
SHORE DIVE
 
Linda (buddy)
2Dive4 St Croix Villa
http://www.2dive4.net/
Grunts
A cloud of French grunts and black durgeons entertained us here.
Videocap by Rich Torkington in the USVIs 2006 
Dive Journal: Following our aborted dive attempt from the house – see dive #238, I have been clammering about retrying it. The winds have calmed down at least a little bit, and I guess I’m just eager to see what’s out there.

Linda is not so sure she wants to try it again, but she bravely makes a go of it. We hike the hundred yards east to the sandy beach, and this time we are both successful in getting out past the breakers. We do a long surface swim sorta northeast to a mooring ball set in 40 feet of water, then submerge.

We’re still over scrubby sand flats until we finally reach the reef in about 55 feet of water. The bottom continues to slowly slope downward and the reef gets prettier. A dropoff occurs around 80 feet and goes to at least 130 feet.

There are loads of black durgeons around. I play with a Pederson cleaner shrimp for a while, and then spot a nice lettuce sea slug. There is a lot of fan leaf algae in this area, and more of the pretty spur-and-groove formations we’ve been seeing everywhere on the north side of St. Croix.

On the return swim, we go through a big school of young french grunts, peppered with black durgeons. I also catch sight of more nimble spray crabs tucked in with long spined urchins in the shallows.

Return through the surf zone is no big deal. Yes – success!
More
Dive
Info:
Fins:
Mares Avanti Quattro
Computer:
U S Divers Matrix
Tank:
80 ft3 Aluminum
BCD:
SeaQuest Spectrum 4
Dive Type:
Shore
Body of Water:
Caribbean
Mask:
U S Divers
Protection:
3mm shorty
Regulator:
SeaQuest
Spectrum XR2
plus Oceanic
Slimline octopus
Weight:
8 lb
Water Type:
Salt
Video Equipment:
Sony DCR-TRV227 digital handycam in Top Dawg housing