Bonaire: Captain Don’s Reef and Sharon’s Serenity dive sites

On Thursday July 13th, 2023 I was on a dive trip to Captain Don’s Reef off of Klein Bonaire. Captain Don’s Reef is named for Captain Don Stewart, who founded the Bonaire dive resort Captain Don’s Habitat in 1976. The Website says,

At a very early stage, Captain Don realized the importance of conservation of Bonaire’s beautiful underwater resources. His endeavors led to the creation of the permanent mooring system and eventually to the Bonaire National Marine Park. For his efforts in marine environment conservation, Captain Don has received many awards and recognition all over the world.

https://www.habitatbonaire.com/sustainability

Near the mooring ball is a plaque in Captain Don’s honor, “which thanks him for his dedication to the preservation of Bonaire’s reefs.” ( info Bonaire ) I tried to get some video and photos but the current was sloshing me around too much to get a steady shot. I was happy to have the opportunity to visit the plaque in honor of a man that contributed to the marine park I was now diving at.

One of the high points in the dive was a Green Sea Turtle encounter in the shallow part of the reef.

The next stop was a dive site named Sharon’s Serenity, which was just down the shore and around the corner from Captain Don’s Reef. Sharon had worked for Captain Don at one time and this was her favorite dive site. I can appreciate why, now that I have been there. We swam along a steep slope of both hard and soft coral. Others in the group had an encounter with a large Hawksbill Sea Turtle. Unfortunately, I was too far away to get good video footage. However, I did have a close encounter with a French Angel fish.

Bonaire: 18 Palms Dive Site & Green Sea Turtles

On July 12, 2023 I had the opportunity to do a shore dive at the Boanire dive site named Eighteen Palms.

It’s the “house reef” for Plaza Beach & Dive Resort. The reef slope starts pretty close to the shore. Like many reefs in Bonaire, navigating was easy since you just follow the top of the coral slope along the coast until you hit 1500psi then turn around and swim back. What made this dive amazing is that we saw four Green Sea Turtles. During most dives I’m happy to see one.

Bonaire: Salt Pier Dive Site & a Seahorse

One of my favorite dive sites in Bonaire is Salt Pier. On July 12, 2023 I was able to dive there again. Swimming among and around the pier pilings feels like going through an underwater forest. The pilings are covered with interesting coral and sponges. Schools of fish also congregate around the pilings.

It turns out that Bonaire has a thriving salt industry, which is operated by Cargil Boanire. They make salt by putting sea water through a series of condenser and crystallizer ponds.

Their website says,

“Bonaire is famous for particular salt crystals, or “sun gems,” that are long, dense and heavy. Because the crystals are as big as a fist, they can be transformed into several grades to meet different customer needs. The salt produced on the island is used in multiple ways, including home water softeners, dyes for the textile industry and processing in the petroleum industry.

Manufacturers also use the salt to produce chlorine used to purify drinking water. A third of the salt is shipped to customers in the Caribbean, a third to North America and the rest to Europe and Africa. The plant also ships salt to Haiti, where the essential nutrient is medicated to help Haitians ward off disease.”

https://www.cargill.com/story/making-salt-in-paradise

The boat captain and dive guide decided we should dive this site as a drift dive. The captain dropped us off at the north end of the pier. The plan was to swim south among the pier pilings and have the boat pick us up at the south end of the pier.

Soon after starting the dive a Porcupine fish approached me. There seems to be a healthy population of these fish in Bonaire. There are times where they are not afraid of divers and allow you to get close to them.

Our dive guide found a few Seahorses for us! This was one of the easier ones to see and video.

As I mentioned earlier, schools of fish often hang out around the pilings.

Bonaire: Chez Hines Dive Site & Reef Squid

On Tuesday July 11th we went to a dive site named Chez Hines.

The best experience during this dive was the encounter with a school of Reef Squid. The marinebio.org website tells us,

“The habitat of reef squid changes according to the squid’s life stage and size. Hatchlings tend to reside close to the shore in areas from 0.2-1 m below the surface on or under vegetation. Young squid typically congregate in shallow turtle grasses near islands and stay several centimeters to two meters from the surface to avoid bird predators. Adult reef squid venture out into open water and can be found in depths of up to 100 m. When mating, adults are typically found near coral reefs at depths of 1.5-8 m.”

https://www.marinebio.org/species/reef-squid/sepioteuthis-sepioidea/

Since this school was in the shallower water near the shore, they could be younger reef squid.

Bonaire: Something Special Dive Site

During second week of July 2023 I took a trip to the island of Bonaire for some scuba diving.

On Monday July 10th we went to a dive site named Something Special. I had been there once back in 2007 for a night shore dive. But this was the first time as a boat dive. And this time I had a GoPro Hero 9 underwater video camera rather than the SeaLife 5 megapixel “point and shoot” camera that I used in 2007.

I was happy to see a small coral nursery at this dive site. I have been interested in coral restoration since I went on my first coral restoration dive in April of 2011. What makes this nursery interesting is that they are growing Brain coral rather than Stag horn and Elk horn coral. Brain coral grows a lot slower than Stag horn and Elk horn coral and is not as easy to grow in a nursery. It required a different technique than is used with Stag horn coral. I see they hung a few of the larger pieces but the small fragments were on small pieces of plastic.

Later on during the dive I spotted an eel swimming among the coral (photo below). I could not remember what species it was but knew I had to get some video footage, since it was right out in the open. Later that day I did some research and found out it was a Chain Moray Eel. The Wikipedia article tells us, “it feeds on such organisms as crabs, which are the mainstay of its diet, shrimps, worms, octopuses^[5] and small fish. Its blunt teeth are especially adapted for feeding on crustaceans.”

Towards the end of the dive we were lucky enough to encounter a small Green Sea turtle. I was amazed that it swam so close to me.

Grand Cayman Island: Sergeant major nest at Devil’s Grotto July 21 2022

Towards the end of the dive I was hanging out under the boat and started watching a Sergent major fish. They are common throughout the Caribbean and I have seen hundreds (maybe thousands) of them over the years. But it’s still interesting to observe their behavior, especially when it comes to their nesting.

Wikipedia says, “The sergeant majors is an oviparous species in which the males create nests where the females to lay their egg masses on rocks, reef outcrops, shipwrecks, and pilings.^[5] The males actively chase the females in courtship before the female releases approximately 200,000 ref, ovoid eggs which are attached to the substrate by a filament”

Reefnews.com does a good job explaining what happens next,

After building this nest, the male Sergeant Major will stay near the nest for several days to guard the eggs until they hatch. The female will leave during this time. The male will chase away all other fishes to keep the eggs from being eaten. The male Sergeant Major can be very aggressive during this time, and will even attack people in the water if they accidentally get too close to the nest. Although the Sergeant Major probably couldn’t hurt anyone, it will fearlessly try to drive away anybody that it thinks is too close to its nest.

http://www.reefnews.com/reefnews/photos/sgtmjr02.html

Grand Cayman Island: Tarpon at Devil’s Grotto July 21, 2022

Another thing that I like about Devil’s Grotto are the tarpons that usually hang out on the reef.

I have seen many tarpon over they years and enjoy diving with them. The Florida Museum website tells us, “tarpon can also tolerate oxygen-poor environments due to a modified air bladder that allows them to inhale atmospheric oxygen.” They go on to explain,

This swim bladder contains spongy alveolar tissue and has a duct leading to the esophagus that the tarpon may fill directly with air gulped from the surface. This feature allows the tarpon to take oxygen directly from the atmosphere and increases its tolerance of oxygen-poor waters. In fact, studies have shown that tarpon must have access to atmospheric oxygen in order to survive, and that juvenile tarpon are obligatory air-breathers. Adults living in oxygen-rich waters still roll and gulp air, probably as an imitative pattern based on visual perception of other tarpon.

https://www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu/discover-fish/species-profiles/megalops-atlanticus/

I was able to slowly swim into a small school of them during the Devil’s Grotto dive.

I must admit that I would like to catch some with a rod and reel at some point.

Grand Cayman Island: Hawksbill Sea Turtle at Devil’s Grotto July 21 2022

My last dive of the trip was to Devil’s Grotto. I had some great dives at this site back in 2019 so I was excited to be here. Unfortunately, the Silver-side minnows that I got to see back in 2019 at this site were not here this time. But I did have several great sightings and encounters. One of them was a Hawksbill Sea Turtle. I spotted it at the surface getting some air and was able to intercept it on the way down.

The NOAA Fisheries website tells us, “Hawksbill turtles are omnivorous (feeding on both plants and other animals), but their preferred food in many areas is sea sponges. They will also eat marine algae, corals, mollusks, tunicates, crustaceans, sea urchins, small fish, and jellyfish.”

I was able to extract a few still images from the video footage.

Grand Cayman Island: Sharks at Royal Palms Ledges July 20, 2022

I only spotted one small Nurse Shark during my 2019 trip to Grand Cayman island. So I was thrilled to have three Nurse Shark sightings during the dive at Royal Palms Ledges during the 2022 trip. Royal Palms Ledges is off of Seven Mile Beach in the area of the Royal Palms Beach front.

The first encounter was the best one since the shark got close enough for some good video footage. Unfortunately, my GoPro decided to flip from landscape view to portrait view and I did not realize in until it was too late. Needless to say, I was disappointed when I watched the video file. But I eventually figured out how to edit the video in Adobe Premiere Pro and flip the video back to landscape orientation.

I truly think this shark spotted me and swam over to check me out. It was fine with me since closer is better when it comes to underwater video footage.

During the second encounter, the Nurse Shark was swimming down the sand channel. I turned to look at the dive guide then looked back and then shark was gone. It turns out the shark had dropped down behind some coral and was hidden from me. I swam up the channel a few kicks and spotted it.

The third encounter was towards the end of the dive. A few other people in the group spotted the shark first and got my attention. I could not get so close for this one but it was a treat to watch it swim by.

Grand Cayman Island: Reef Squid at the Crevasse Dive Site July 19 2022

One of the dive sites that we visited on July 19th is named the Crevasse. It’s one of the sites that is south of the George Town Cruise Port and Sunset House.

I saw all of the usual tropical fish, but the big thrill was getting some close up video footage of a couple of reef squid.

The marinebio.org website tells us,

These animals are social creatures often found in small groups that communicate through a variety of complex signals. Both cuttlefish and squid communicate by controlling the pigment in their skin. Messages such as readiness to mate, sexual identification, and alarm are flashed through various colorful spots, blotches, and background color. To signal slight alarm, their brow ridges turn bright gold and their central arms turn white. Their entire body will pale when a squid retreats from a potential predator and in open water when faced with an extremely aggressive predator, reef squid can also hide themselves and confuse predators by ejecting a cloud of black ink. Retreating squid near the protection of the reef will often turn dark brown or reddish in color to match their surroundings.

https://www.marinebio.org/species/reef-squid/sepioteuthis-sepioidea/

I was also able to extract a few images from the video footage.