Time to learn video I guess. I took the outfit out for a test dive between Villa Blanca and Blue Angel last week and discovered I need to tighten the camera's mounting screw to the housing good and snug. The camera ended up laying on it's side in it's underwater housing and only half looking out it's view port. Just as well because Wilma really raked this stretch of inner reef pretty bad. I mostly found fields of broken up coral pieces and sand. From shore one sees light and dark areas that used to indicate sand and coral patches with coral heads here and there. If you look over years past you'll get the idea. Now it's mostly sand fields and sea grass patches until you get out a ways.
Most modern Scuba breathing regulators have two breathing mouthpieces. The second unit is for assisting another diver should they or their gear have problems (such as not watching their air consumption and running empty). I've been diving alone since I've been coming to Cozumel and that second unit has mostly been in the way. Plus it tends to 'free flow' when I bump it. I decided to take it off, have it repaired and store it as a spare primary unit.
There is a SCUBA regulator mechanic on Cozumel named Javier (Heavy-air) who is excellent. I took my regulator over to him for the repair and found he had moved to a new location on 1st, between 85th and 90th. His new place is just as clean, well lit and highly organized as ever but much larger. With regards to dive equipment, some design features work better than others because of local conditions. Javier has assembled a line of dive gear under his own label that incorporates the most useful features without dragging along the never used junk that seems to go bad. He rents his gear to local dive shops for customer use and provides all the service. He did a full service and repair on my primary mouthpiece unit during my first year down here ( he remembered me and my outfit ! ) and did a full service and repair on the second unit for a low price and secured the port it occupied on my regulators first stage. What a great place to shop.
Next day was sunny and calm so I gave the video outfit another try and got some interesting footage. With the operating system used on Mac computers you can key in 'shift-command-4' and the cursor turns to a cross hair you can click and drag a rectangle with on the screen and when you let up on the mouse clicker the computer takes a picture of everything within that rectangle. I used that method to get some still pictures from the video to show you now. I'm afraid they are not very good but they are 'Something'. The quality may improve with experience but I'm not optimistic. As a rule stills from video just aren't as good as from a still camera.
Lets have a look.
This is called a four eyed butterfly fish. With that eye like spot near it's tail predators have a 50/50 chance of guessing which way he's going to dart off to when chased.
The Barracuda is such an efficient hunter that a 50/50 chance is just fine. They are like crows in that they are so good at what they do that they've got time to indulge their curiosity. . . . and they are very curious. They make great sport fishing prey because of their fascination with things flashy and. . . . they fight like hell !
The eye markings sure give a determined look to this little blue fish I can't seem to identify.
I saw more little Lobsters on this dive than in the past and that's a good sign. Despite their spiny armor they are pretty vulnerable during the day and like to set up housekeeping with a dangerous critter for mutual safety. (as you will see later).
This is a drum. Notice that black stripe is carried on through the eye. It kind of reminds me of Darrel Hanna's character 'Priss" in "Blade Runner". These Drum are not rare but it's a treat to find one anyway.
I think this is a French Angle fish. Later in the dive I taped a just mature female cavorting with fat old male . Yes fish do 'couple', many for life, just like geese. I'll try to get a still of them for you, on down the page.
As I drift along with the current I try to keep track of where I am by surfacing and having a look around. This is the lighthouse at the public beach named Caletita. It's about a third of the way from Blue Angel, where I got in, to 'Hotel Cozumel' where I got out. There is about an 8-20 foot drop-off from the shore I've been following.
This was an interesting find. I doubt anyone would go to the effort to take the valve out of this Aluminum Scuba tank and throw it overboard if it was salvageable. Wouldn't that be a great place for an octopus to hide during the day?
Here is a head-shot of that little lobster's highly venomous room mate called a 'Splendid Toad Fish'.
. . . . . and finally our May and September couple:
Here are a couple fisherman emptying out their 'Panga' by streetlight as dusk falls.
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