Amazing baitball!
Monday, 14th of September 2009 - Blog written by Laz
Throughout the month of September we were very fortunate to experience some amazing underwater performances at the Corridor wrecks. Beginning with the aggregation of goliath groupers, many of which weighed over 400 pounds and numbering over 60, they were closely followed by huge baitballs of cigar minnows numbering in the thousands. The schools were so densely packed that they engulfed the wrecks; turning the wrecks into a swirl of living matter.
It isn’t completely certain why the bait fish gather around these wrecks and the predatory groupers. From a personal observation it appears as though the cigar minnows use the groupers as a means of protection from the numerous jacks that are quick to pick off any stray minnow. Staying close to the grouper provides the goliath grouper with the opportunity to prey upon any jack who comes in too close.
Swimming through the school of baitfish quickly turned the hundred feet of visibility into no more than five feet. Most of the dive was spent swimming through this amazing baitball, but there was more to come. As the group drifted along the other wrecks the usual residents of turtles, eels, and large southern stingrays graced us with their presence.
Don’t miss the video from this day’s diving:
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Palm Beach Diving
Tuesday, 8th of September 2009 - Blog written by Laz
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Return of the Camera Guy
Sunday, 6th of September 2009 - Blog written by Laz
Wow! Is the summer over already?!?! Of course, it REALLY isn’t ever over in the state of the eternal summer days. I guess to sum up this summer’s worth of diving into one word: WowHolyCowHolyMackerelHolyMolyWhoaCoolAmazingAwesomeFarOutHotDamnGollyGoshGadzooks!!!
It’s been a summer unlike any I’ve ever seen. The weather Gods were so incredibly gracious to us with an over abundance of glass-calm days. The ocean Gods were just as generous with some amazing underwater encounters under a cloak of crystal-clear blue water.
The goliath grouper aggregation was out of this world! I lost count at over 60 goliath groupers on the Mitzpah and PC1170. The bait ball surrounding the groupers was like a scene out of an underwater Fantasia. Turtles, sailfish, sharks, we saw it all during these summer days. And best of all, the water temperature allowed even the W.I.M.P. (Warm Intelligent Marine Professionals) dive guides to dive in their swimming trunks.
Perhaps the diving on this day can help sum up what it’s been like all summer long:
The good news is it’s still going on as I write this. The water is still a soothing 85 degrees and the seas continue to show their lake-like quality. Come enjoy some diving with us today and check out the dive guides diving in their swimming trunk — it’s a rarer occasion than Haley’s Comet!
PS – For those of you whose life depends on these video blog updates you can stop sending me those threatening letters now (just joking!). I am working through the wee hours of the night to play catch up on a summer’s worth of diving videos. I hope you all enjoy them. 
PSS – We want to wish JD a very happy birthday! He spent his whole day and night diving with us on his birthday. Not to worry folks… In his birthday card we included a 5 hour Divers Anonymous class session. He’ll be okay, although I don’t think he’ll ever recover from Laz’s underwater birthday singing.
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