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Lionfish Hunting

March 1, 2012 By Dive With Mia

Today was a hunting day.  I had been an observer for over a year now and a helper a few times, but this time was different – this time I had my own spear gun and I was diving only for me.  Before the dive I felt a heightened buzz, which was a result of the anticipation for embarking on something unknown.    In addition to the usual considerations when diving, such as my depth, no decompression time limit, actual bottom time and air consumption, now I will be on a mission to also discover, uncover and target the invasive Lionfish species not native to the Atlantic ocean where I dive.  I will need to travel underwater with spear and catch bag in hand taking into account my position in the water in relation to those items and any other divers and sub aquatic plants and animals.  I was so excited!

Descending along the line at the dive site “Tunnels” along the Airport Wall, I adjusted myself so I was in a comfortable and streamlined position and began to swim hard!  I knew there was a bit of a swim in 70-80ft of water towards the cliff overhangs, swim throughs, and crevices where I knew we would locate our targets.  Sure enough, our hopes were realized.  Ensuring the safety on the gun, I loaded the spear gun with two hands pulling the rubber band while holding the butt against the cummerbund of my BCD.  I released the safety and took careful aim while controlling my position in the water with precise breathing.  I pulled the trigger and scored my goal!  The bag that I borrowed is ideal for holding my catch as it has a spring handle.  With one hand I can open the bag, put the Lionfish, who is still on my spear, into the bag, close the bag and draw out my spear leaving the fish safely inside.  By tying a long rope and a small bottle to the bag, it can easily be towed behind me staying above the bottom of the ocean and avoiding any contact with me as I swim.

Paul, who was also Lionfish hunting, snared one himself only to entice an insistent Spotted Moray Eel out for lunch.  This whole component of how the bionetwork functions is so curious to me!  How is it that the eel only hunts the Lionfish once the Lionfish has been injured?   How is he not stung by the Lionfish’s venomous spines?  Either way, it certainly puts on a live National Geographic type performance for us divers as the eel gobbles the Lionfish up in one bite!

Looking forward to the Lionfish Hunt this coming Sunday!

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Invasive Species Lionfish caught in Sosua, DR

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Claustrophobia vs. Freedom

February 17, 2012 By Dive With Mia

Time and time again, when people discover I am a scuba dive instructor, many respond with “Oh, I would love to try it, but I am claustrophobic”.  For many who haven’t experienced it, scuba diving instills a feeling that they are trapped, confined and restricted.  They see diving as being trapped under so many feet of water and confined behind their mask and their movements restricted.  Diving is a sport that is fundamentally psychological where your mind is actively involved in all the physical components as well.

For me, as soon as I enter the water and begin to descend below the surface, air slowly being released from my lungs in the form of bubbles, I am embraced by a gentle sense of peace.  Movements are slow underwater and the hectic sounds of the day are removed and engulfed by my everlasting companion, the water.  Even when the ocean is rough and seems to be pushing me around, I give myself to him and trust my experience and instinct to move with him and vow not to fight him and the encounter is always better below the surface.

At the bottom of the ocean, hovering just above the sea bottom, a new and fascinating world is exposed.  Colours that don’t exist on the surface with animals seemingly hand-painted by some concealed artist flick in and out of coral crevices oblivious to my unseemly presence.  In pairs, butterfly fish dart over the reef in a life they will live together forever.  Opposite to feeling entrapped, a sense of freedom is unleashed upon me as I glide through a medium others believe to be inhibiting.  Drifting through water is what I imagine a bird feels like who soars through the sky, but only slower and more meditative.

When you learn to dive, for many, there can be overwhelming feelings of excitement, apprehension, exhilaration and even downright fear.  Not to mention, there tends to be an added dose of adrenaline thrown into the mix.  These can be alleviated significantly when you take your dive training with someone you trust and who is attentive to your learning.  The more you dive, the more tranquil the experience will be and the trust that, in the beginning, you give to your instructor or guide becomes the trust you have in yourself.

 

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Judy and Mia at Canyon

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PADI Advanced dives with Marcus

June 5, 2011 By Dive With Mia

Diving and kiting seem to go hand in hand in a way…at least on the north coast of the Dominican Republic they do!  Generally the diving around here is a two tank dive in the morning that finishes around 12:30pm.  And the kiting starts when the wind begins to blow blow blow usually around 1pm.  So the super adventurous water sport enthusiasts who come to Cabarete and Sosua can be both underwater and gliding the surface of the Atlantic Ocean all in one day!  And with Marcus not having dived in quite a number of years, I recommended the PADI Advanced Open Water diver course, which included 5 Adventure dives with yours truly (me!).  We even enticed his lovely girlfriend, Viera, to give diving another go with the Discover Scuba course.  While Marcus and I practiced superb buoyancy control as we swam through the awesome canyon at the same-named dive site Canyon, Viera was practicing in the pool.  For our second dive, Marcus did the Boat Adventure dive and we went to one of my favourite dive sites – Three Rocks; Viera looked on from above as a snorkeler and Marcus spent his time carefully capturing the underwater world with his camera!  These great shots can be found on my website and Facebook page!  We enjoyed a nice and slow dive and the company of a very special Yellow-tail Snapper who followed us along for our entire dive like a love-sick puppy!  The next time I see Marcus and Viera, I think she will be ready to take a deeper plunge and join us below the surface!

The following day we finished with 3 more Adventure dives – Wreck, Deep, and Underwater Navigation.  We headed out to the Zingara Wreck for a great swim around that gorgeous sunken treasure and followed with Mini Wall and Larimar I for Navigation.  I was so impressed with Marcus’ swift handling and problem-solving of all the compass and natural navigation skills we had to do!    Not to mention a cutie-pie moray eel popping his head in and out of rocks with a friendly smile to say ‘hi!’.

I loved spending time with this couple as despite the lack of wind for a vacation meant for kite surfing, they were able to capture the essence and endless appeal of the Dominican Republic.  They enjoyed a bit of grey weather, a gorgeous ocean, and spontaneous roadtrips and ended their vacation with words that they would be back and for long term!  This wasn’t the first time I had heard these comments :D

Can’t wait to see you guys again!!

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Yellow Tail Snapper at Three Rocks in Sosua, DR

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Night Dive

May 26, 2011 By Dive With Mia

Have  you done a night dive before?  The first dive I ever did following my PADI Open Water Diver course back in 2001, or thereabouts, in Guam, USA, was a night dive.  It was a bit of a nutty experience for me as there were a million people on the boat and it was Christmas time; each person was given a glow stick and then at some point underwater, you had to line-up with your buddy and when it was your turn, swim to an underwater Christmas tree, put your glowstick on the tree and then smile for a photo.  Your 5th dive after the 4 in the course can generally be a bit topsy-turvy, but mine, well, that was a lot topsy-turvy!!

The night dive I had the other night with Merijn was the complete opposite.  We met just after 7pm despite threatening rumbles of an afternoon thunder cloud.  I had taken the carrito over from Cabarete and could see a rainbow meshed into a beauitful glowing pink sunset through the clouds.  In the parking lot, we prepared our gear, did our buddy checks and walked into the quiet waters of Sosua Bay just as the sun went down.  We enjoyed our surface swim out to the dive site while curious tourists looked out from their hotel balconies.  As we descended, I suddenly remembered something I will, from now on, never forget when preparing for a night dive – you absolutely need defogger for your mask, be it retail types or just hand soap.  I used the traditional saliva method and a slightly foggy mask on a night dive, just won’t do!  Don’t forget your de-fogger, folks.

We swam along the inside of West Wall and then to the wall and we were not disappointed!  With so many awesome caves and crevices that look pretty cool in the day, turned into something spectacular while illuminated with a flashlight.  The first one held a stunning octopus that glided along the back wall in a luminescent green colour that just cannot be compared with any other animal.  You have to see it to believe it.  Merijn and I continued together, but in our own exploratory worlds as we swam back to shore.  Merijn found a beautiful Snake Eel, which many people had told me were around here, but I had yet to see.  Then we both found one of the strangest animals both of us had ever seen.  Imagine a cross between an octopus tentacle, a sea cucumber, topped with the tentacles of a squid!  Ew!  Not so handsome!  Truly alienesque!   Merjin later learned this is a “Sticky Snake Sea Cucumber” or something along those lines.

All in all, we had a gorgeous relaxing night dive from the shores of Sosua with some refreshing beers to follow at the Jolly Roger.  Thanks Merjin for a great night!

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Night Dive with Merijn from Sosua Bay, DR

 

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Dive with Joe

May 19, 2011 By Dive With Mia

I woke up bright and early after what sounded like a monsoon thunderstorm last night and met Joe for our next two dives.  I knew that I wanted to show him the Zingara Wreck as he had never dove on a wreck before.  The conditions yesterday were beyond spectacular, so I felt confident it was a good day to venture eastwards along the northern coast of the Dominican Republic.  With Joe being super good on air, we thoroughly enjoyed the wreck even with a swim through and a quick peek at the coral-encrusted toilet (hehe – I love it!).  We then decided to explore the reef that lies next door; this was my first time to see that and I was really in awe at the expanse garden of healthy soft corals.  We peacefully glided over the reef all of us within our own zone of underwater appreciation and enjoyment.  Joe spotted a moray eel and a couple of big lionfish in some barrel corals.  I will definitely be doing the wreck/reef combo dives at the Zingara from now on!

Our second dive and Joe’s last dive for this trip was at my all-time favourite Mini Wall, just outside of Sosua Bay.  I think Matt from Northern Coast Diving had replaced the old mooring line, which brought us down to 14m and two perfect shimmering squid.  We gazed at those for awhile as you can get really close if you move verrry slowly towards them.  They never cease to amaze me.  On the way back to the boat we encountered one of the biggest schools of fish I had ever seen!  A complete wall of shiny silver fish and suddenly I saw Joe swimming like mad towards them.  It was like a moving picture as the fish divided and spread and we each were held within a perfect protected circle, waving to each other through the moving walls of fish that had established themselves between us.  What an experience and a fab way to end a great two days diving with my new favourite Mexican diving buddy, Joe!

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Enjoying an underwater park bench with Joe

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