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Scuba Forum / General / April 2004How to find life on the reef?
I've only have a grand total of seven dives, so I expect that some of this is obviously just get more experience - but I'm amazed at what the divemaster is seeing and what I'm missing. Frogfish, morays, octupus - half the time he is pointing at something and I still can't see it. I remember when I first started flying how hard it was to find airports and traffic - maybe it is simply the same process of getting acclimated - but there are some tricks to finding stuff from a plane (looking for hanger rows, keeping eyes still so they pick up movement when looking for traffic...) Are there equivalent tricks to finding stuff on the reefs? Michael >I've only have a grand total of seven dives, so I expect that some of this >is obviously just get more experience - but I'm amazed at what the [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] > >Michael Alot of it is acclimation. They blend in well with their surroundings to stay alive, but seldom do so perfectly. Alot of it is taking the time to look thouroughly, mixed with knowing where to look, what time to look there, and what signs might be left behind. For instance you wouldn't look for octopus, in the day, on a sandy area. You look for octopus on/in the reef, preferably at night. Signs of one in the area might be things like a pile of newly cleaned shellfish. Most sealife have habits and "tells", it's just knowing what to look for and taking the time to look. Oh, and divemasters dive the same areas over and over. For alot of them it's not so much skill as repetition. Michael wrote: > >I've only have a grand total of seven dives, so I expect that some of this > >is obviously just get more experience - but I'm amazed at what the > >divemaster is seeing and what I'm missing. Frogfish, morays, octupus - half > >the time he is pointing at something and I still can't see it. . . . Are there > >equivalent tricks to finding stuff on the reefs? As others have said, a lot of it is learning where to look and what to look for. Many ocean creatures are very well camouflaged. It's easy to look right at them and not see them. The expectation of finding things is also an important factor. Any time you see a grouper holding still very hear the reef, you're likely to find some kind of cleaner shrimp or fish attending them. The biggest factor, in your case, is probably that your attention is not on looking. As a relatively new diver, you're still thinking more about your equipment, pressure, nd time and a host of other details of how you are diving than you are about looking for creatures. As diving becomes more natural, you're ability to find things will probably improve as well. The really cool thing is, each thing you see for the first time is, well, the first time. Lee > I've only have a grand total of seven dives, so I expect that some of this > is obviously just get more experience - but I'm amazed at what the [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] > > Michael Yes, go very slow. Get your buoyancy skills honed up so that you can be very still. Properly trimmed, you should be able to hover at any part of the water column with no effort. Learn to be very calm in the water. Meditate before descending. All movements need to be slow, you do not want to generate pressure waves from rapid movements. Breathe slowly. Get your kit streamlined, with everything tucked away, no dangly sh.t dragging on the bottom. Find an experienced buddy. Minimize your ballast, many newbies carry too much weight. If you do all this, the fish will not be as disturbed by your presence. A non-predatory mindset helps too. Do lots of diving. Have fun. "Michael 182" <mhorwith@attbiNOSPAMALLOWED.com> pounded away at his keyboard resulting in: :I've only have a grand total of seven dives, so I expect that some of this :is obviously just get more experience - but I'm amazed at what the [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] :eyes still so they pick up movement when looking for traffic...) Are there :equivalent tricks to finding stuff on the reefs? Hint 1, no matter how slow you are going now, slow down. Hint 2, don't look for anything. Just look at what's there. Hint 3, a slight motion, slight difference in colour or shape will often be something neat. Hint 4, look in holes and under ledges. Dan Bracuk If at first you don't succeed, you run the risk of failure. The Best of rec.scuba http://www.pathcom.com/~bracuk/RecScuba/ > Hint 1, no matter how slow you are going now, slow down. > [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > > Hint 4, look in holes and under ledges. Which seems to lead to always dive with a flashlight. Would you agree? If so, any recommendations? Michael > > Hint 1, no matter how slow you are going now, slow down. > > [quoted text clipped - 9 lines] > > Michael You do not need a Fish Burner. They look cool and perhaps impress the girls (and some of the boys) but scare the fish. You should always have 2 lights on a night dive, one is a backup. One light is ok for daytime. What is really cool is to dive by moonlight and only use a tank marker so that the other divers can see where you are. While you are in the mood to buy stuff, get a DSMB (safety sausage) and a good LOUD whistle and a tank marker light. I was recently in Turks & Caicos where the Aggressor Boat broke its moorings with the divers down. Locating the 19 divers in the water was VERY difficult, even with 2 zodiacs in the water and both the Aggressor and the Caribbean Explorer II looking. No one had a DSMB and only one diver had a whistle. Its the kind of stuff that you hope you will never need but could save your life. If you have a DSMB, your fellow divers will come to you, and the ship will see your marker. I also carry a strobe light. email me offline for specifics. "Michael 182" <mhorwith@attbiNOSPAMALLOWED.com> pounded away at his keyboard resulting in: :Which seems to lead to always dive with a flashlight. Would you agree? If :so, any recommendations? I used to do that, but now I dive with a camera. Diving with a flashlight helps illuminate holes and brings out the colours under ledges. There is certainly nothing wrong with it. For daytime diving, the brighter the light, the better. The rule of thumb is, the more voltage you need to power the light, the brighter it will be. Two factors I consider important are, comfort when holding the light, and ease of battery changing. My favourite company for lights is Underwater Kinetics, but I don't like all their products. For example, I used to have something like this, http://www.uwkinetics.com/D_SL6.htm, and recommend against it because changing the batteries is awkward. I would also stay away from this one, http://www.uwkinetics.com/D_D8.htm, because I don't like that style of camera. If I were in the market for a light, I would get this, http://www.uwkinetics.com/D_LC100.htm. If I didn't want to spend that much money, I would get this, http://www.uwkinetics.com/D_C8eLED.htm. But that's just me. Other people have different preferences. Dan Bracuk If at first you don't succeed, you run the risk of failure. The Best of rec.scuba http://www.pathcom.com/~bracuk/RecScuba/ > > Hint 4, look in holes and under ledges. > Which seems to lead to always dive with a flashlight. Would you agree? If > so, any recommendations? Some do, some don't. Most of what you will see will be close enough to the edge of the hole or ledge to be seen without a flashlight. Some fish and creatures will shy away from the light, making it harder to find them than if you looked with natural light. I like Underwater Kenetics lights. I've had good luck with the lights and good service from the company. The UK- 40 is a small, realtively inexpensive light that works well for looking in holes, etc. Pelican also makes one that works well. Look for the Pelican light in hardware stores. They're cheaper there than in dive shops. Lee How to find life on the reef? My answer is "Bring a cold six-pack."  SignatureCharlie Hammond -- Hewlett-Packard Company -- Ft Lauderdale FL USA (hammond@not@peek.ssr.hp.com -- remove "@not" when replying) All opinions expressed are my own and not necessarily my employer's. > I've only have a grand total of seven dives, so I expect that some of this > is obviously just get more experience - but I'm amazed at what the [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] > > Michael I like a lot of the other comments that have been made, mostly: GO SLOW, Take a light, Perfect your Bouyancy, GO SLOWER. Here's a trick: In the Caribbean there is absolutely no end to the dead bleached sea urchin shells. Reach down, perfect your "scissor fingers" pick-up... and snatch them. Do this with any shell- look for any shell under the size of a nickel. Be surprised at what's still inside. Put it back where you got it- but find each and every small shell- any kind. You'll be amazed at what else you will see. Remember- find every one that's the size of a nickel. Scan a 3x3 foot sqaure (9 sq ft) using one whole tank. Your going to need a bigger slate and the Paul Humann books. Oh, BTW, Get the books (or CD) Critters, as was said elsewhere, are never found on their own. They are niche creatures. When a DM finds an oddity- look at what it inhabits. Drums patrol back and forth in grottos and overhead environs, Pedersen Cleaning Shrimp are in the Corkscrew Anemone. Approach most critters from the side, level with them, even if on the bottom. The don't see use as a predator. Buy a 10x magnifier. Go slow, Seymour. Doc "Robert Adelman" <lawyers-guns-money@worldnet.att.net> pounded away at his keyboard resulting in: : Pedersen Cleaning :Shrimp are in the Corkscrew Anemone. and other places. Dan Bracuk If at first you don't succeed, you run the risk of failure. The Best of rec.scuba http://www.pathcom.com/~bracuk/RecScuba/ > "Robert Adelman" <lawyers-guns-money@worldnet.att.net> pounded away at > his keyboard resulting in: > : Pedersen Cleaning > :Shrimp are in the Corkscrew Anemone. Bracuk gurgled: > and other places. Start with the easy hard stuff. Michael 182 left this mess on Sun, 04 Apr 2004 16:37:07 GMT for The Way to clean up: >I've only have a grand total of seven dives, so I expect that some of this >is obviously just get more experience - but I'm amazed at what the [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] >eyes still so they pick up movement when looking for traffic...) Are there >equivalent tricks to finding stuff on the reefs? Go slow. Look carefully. And remember the DM practically *lives* on the reef so he has a good idea where everything is. He didn't just dive one day and find all these critters. Tao te Carl "It takes a village to have an idiot." - Carl (c) 2003 (Kudos to Cap'n Jim Wyatt for this link) BEFORE you ask a dumb-a.s question here...http://www.speakeasy.org/~neilco/bart.gif All of the suggestions you have received are excellent but I've noticed that no one suggested a bifocal mask. If you are "of an age" you may need a little magnification. Jeanne > I've only have a grand total of seven dives, so I expect that some of this > is obviously just get more experience - but I'm amazed at what the [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] > > Michael |
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