Category Archives: SCUBA & Snorkeling

Adventures under the water.

The Ultimate Anchor is Definitely the Spaghetti Anchor

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We awoke at 0600 after a restless night. The closely set anchor alarm had gone off a few times in the night due to movement around the anchor. We were quite securely anchored! With wind and movement of the chain we did get closer to the 7 foot deep coral, but never got right over it.

We had decided to go SCUBA diving down together to check out the anchor and see if we could free it from the wreckage. Eric wanted to wait until the sun was higher in the sky and the visibility was good, so we nervously sat for three hours, too on edge to do anything else. At 0900, put on our SCUBA gear and jumped in. Christi was having a hard time on two fronts. One, she was sinking too fast, and then would float back up to the top without inflating the buoyancy compensator (inflatable vest). We couldn’t get the amount of weight set properly to get her down normally and keep her down. The up and down was wreaking havoc with her ears. So, Eric wound up going down alone, with Christi monitoring him from the surface. Continue reading →

Diving Manihi’s “The Break” with Sharks

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Friday, June 08, 2007 — Today we went SCUBA diving. Before we left San Diego, Eric decided we needed to become SCUBA divers as part of the boating lifestyle. Christi thought Eric had lost his mind. SCUBA diving didn’t seem like the right fit for us for a sport, for different reasons. Christi has weak lungs, has a hard time adjusting to the change in atmospheric pressure, and hates cold water. But she absolutely loves to swim in the ocean as long as the water is warm. Eric doesn’t like to swim in the ocean and tends to get panicky if the visibility isn’t phenomenal. He’s afraid something will sneak up and eat him. Eric faced his fears and bravely got certified in the murky waters in San Diego. Christi absolutely refused to get into the cold water.
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Swimming with Marquesian Dolphins — Or Were They Whales?

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Tuesday, May 29, 2007 – We were up at 6:30 preparing the boat for sea. Our next destination is an island about 24 hours away. We had a stop to make first, and we needed to make that stop as early as possible.

There is a particular spot on the southeast side of Nuka Hiva, just north of Tikapo Point, where melon headed dolphins (we’ve heard them called pygmy orcas, also. We’re not sure which is correct) congregate in the mornings by the hundreds. It is the only place where it happens and no one knows why. You can actually jump in the water and swim with them. They aren’t always there, but we had our fingers crossed. We cruised over to the spot and sure enough, right when we got there a half dozen dolphins came and played in the wake of our bow, and were soon joined by more. As we cruised around, there were always between half a dozen and two dozen dolphins at the bow. We could see tons more in the water. The water was teeming with them. Whether whale or dolphin, they look like dolphins but do not have the long nose. They are a light brown and a little smaller than dolphins we are used to seeing at home. Continue reading →