On February 9th and 10th, I joined a group of divers from Atlantic Edge Scuba (Gaithersburg, Maryland) for diving in the West Palm Beach area. We used Pura Vida as our local operator and as always, they were great. A special word of thanks needs to go to Terry Wells from Atlantic Edge for putting the trip together and making sure everything ran smoothly. Kudos to Terry.
On the night of the 10th we did a Blackwater Dive which is where you leave the dock about 7:30 PM, travel about 5 miles south and 5 miles east into the Gulf Stream where the depth is about 750 feet (229 meters). You enter the water about 9 PM and drift for an hour or more at depths of 25-50 feet. When we surfaced we had traveled 3.5 miles and the depth was about 550 feet (168 meters) which means we floated northwest.
During the day embryonic critters live in the deep because it is dark and it helps keep them from getting eaten. At night they rise to the surface to feed and that is when we come in. Along with my reef photos I am posting some of the shots I took at night. The jellyfish is a Ctenophore / Comb Jelly and its exact name is a Spot-Winged Comb Jelly (Ocyropsis maculata) and is identified by the four dark spots—a key feature of this jelly. I did make some short (15 seconds max) videos of the night action and spliced them together and you can see that video on my Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/scubabobphoto) or on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2EN0RjwPnVA.
I hope you enjoy the photos. If you have any questions or comments please feel free to contact me.
