Reef
Reports
Sea Turtle Dive with Kyalami -
Jupiter Scuba Diving
Saturday, June 2
Our annual sea turtle dive to Jupiter
during the height of sea turtle
nesting season yielded a host of
loggerheads, a shark-bitten hawksbill
and a couple of XL Goliath
groupers.
Dive 1: Scarface -
seas 2-3 feet, depth 83, water temp 85
above 40', and a chilly 75 below 40',
viz dirty 30 with floating algae,
strong current. Apparently named for
Scarface the Green Moray Eel, he
didn't make an appearance but we so
many loggerheads on top of the ledge
and also sleeping underneath. In
addition to numerous tropicals we saw
a large Goliath Grouper under the
ledge and a lovely hawksbill turtle
with a portion of his shell missing
from a shark bite around his left rear
flipper.
Dive 2: Loggerhead -
seas healthy 3 feet, depth 70, water
temp the same wicked 85-75
thermocline, viz murky 30, strong
current. The dive site we love and ask
for year after year boasts the largest
number of loggerheads we see in a
single dive all year. The females rest
up during the day for their nightly
nesting so they are often found
sleeping under the ledges during the
day. In addition we saw a couple of
green moray eels and more
Goliaths.
--
Active Divers Vice President and
Safety Officer Rachel Davis |
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