Why We Dive
CREATURE ENCOUNTERS
by Ev Schultz
(No. 2)
MOUSE OVER IMAGES TO ENLARGE!
Recent activities in the ocean reinforce why we dive…
every day is different!
Well…it finally happened! John saw a Whaleshark…it took 5 days of a whaleshark hanging around this December to be assured John finally saw it. As luck would have it, John Svendsen has worked for us for about 7 years with a 2 year interruption recently, and he had never seen a whaleshark. They are illusive and normally seen only a couple times a year. Even when John was working on the water, he was in a location the whaleshark wasn't, even when our other dive boat would spot one. Providence was with us at the end of 2007, as we saw a whaleshark in November and then for 5 days straight in December….and yes John saw it too!
December 6th was octopus day! Enenui, Reef's End and Taco Flats at Molokini yielded about 20 Octopus amongst the three dive sites. Maybe the Earth's proximity to the sun or moons' pull was creating the perfect conditions for ‘Amore,' octopus style! There were Mantas and keiki (juvenile) Grey Reef Sharks at Enenui as well. The other dive group saw two Leaf Scorpionfish at Wailea Point and two more at the Landing Craft, where they also saw Spotted Eagle Rays. Other sightings as well as our typical tropicals, eels and pelagics in December included Ghost Shrimp, Frog Fish, Spiny Lobsters, Lion Fish and a Tiger Shark passing by at Wailea Point.
Yes, love must have been in the air…or water column! On December 21st, the 2-Tank charter observed Bottlenose Dolphin mating at Reef's End while the Whaleshark was hanging out at the Enenui side of Molokini. Guess who was on the Reef's End vessel….yep, John had to suffer by watching the dolphins mate and missed the whaleshark! We ended the year with a solo False Killer Whale sighting, looking for its pod.
All in all, it was a remarkable end to 2007 – we're ready to bring on 2008 with a flurry of Humpback Whale activity. The only thing missing is YOU!
Ev Schultz is an integral part of ERDA. She has managed the booking office for over nine years and is constantly being praised by our customers for her warm and friendly manor while dealing with our diver's needs.