Dive No.: 1966 Dive Site: Lighthouse Reef and Moonlight Reef Max Depth: 130ft/40m Total Time: 53mins Profile: 6mins @ 130ft, 8mins @110ft, 4mins @90ft, 4mins @70ft, 4mins @50ft, 12mins @35ft, 14mins @20ft, 5mins @ 15ft Air: 200bar – 80 bar Mix: air Tank: 12L/80cu Weight: 6lbs Visibility: 50-130ft/15-40m Water: 88F/31C surface, 84F/29C bottom Exposure: Rash Guard Comments: Beautiful deep drift along the bottom of Lighthouse Reef wall. Noticeable thermocline at 40ft; water in top layer was turbid with a moderate current running north, while water in bottom layer was extremely clear with a mild current running north. Sandy sloped bottom starts at 90ft and drops into the abyss, brightly illuminating the deep wall with reflected sunlight. Several oceanic triggerfish and » read more «

I’ve dreamed about doing this one for a long time: a no-moon, no-lights dive on Lighthouse Reef. Roatan has amazing bioluminescence, and on truly dark evenings they can be as brilliant and numerous as the stars in a clear night sky. Tonight, I finally get my chance to do it. We begin after sunset. As we descend down to the reef, I am amazed by how much I can still see in the waning light. Parrotfish nestle in to their holes and wrap themselves in mucus cocoons. Soldierfish and squirrelfish dart out from their alcoves. The reef is bathed in this eerie blue light that reminds me of hues I’ve only seen from Karl Stanley’s submarine. We careen through some » read more «

A few months ago Les Fruits de Mer co-founders Madam J and Mark AuMarc were awesome enough to host a private screening of Jacques-Yves Cousteau’s documentary The Silent World. The 1956 film follows the adventures of Cousteau’s oceanographic team aboard his research vessel Calypso as they explore the underwater world of the Mediterranean Sea, the Persian Gulf, the Red Sea, and the Indian Ocean. As one of the first feature-length films to use full-color underwater cinematography, The Silent World wowed audiences with its vibrant depiction of aquatic life, winning an Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature and the Palme d’Or award at the 1956 Cannes Film Festival. The jaw-dropping opening shot follows Cousteau’s team as they plummet headfirst down a » read more «

Welcome back to surreality! This is just a quick update to explain my lack of updates over the last week. It’s not that I haven’t had material to write about. I have, and that is the problem. For those eager for the next update in the adventures of TheScubaGeek, I offer this list of events in my life. Each of these items warrants a proper follow-up article (and I swear I’ll get them done), but for now, this is the best I can manage at 1am on Honduran highspeed…. Pete found a juvenile lionfish at 38ft near Dixie’s Place. We captured the bugger and brought him to the surface, where he survived for three days on a diet of rum » read more «