Jesuit Marine Biology awakes at 7:00 A.M. to the beautiful morning in the Caribbean. We ate a delicious breakfast of sausage and eggs then promptly left at 7:30 A.M. for the docks where the trusty boat Twin Sister was moored and our dive masters and captains Bernie and Curtis were waiting to take us diving. We boarded then prepared for ride to the sunken remains of the U.S.S. Kittiwake. The Kittiwake was a submarine rescue vehicle that was launched on July 10, 1945 and it was sunk as an artificial reef in January 2011. The 251ft ship is now home to many different species of fish. For example, my dive partner and friend, Aidan Patrick Hoofard, pointed out several species of fish such as the midnight parrotfish and the sergeant major. The midnight parrotfish is a deep navy blue with two large front teeth that they use to chip off pieces of coral that they eat. The sergeant major is distinguishable due to their yellow upper bodies and black stripes down their whole body. Smaller fish like the sergeant major are very common amongst the reefs and can be seen on most reefs near in the Caribbean. While swimming near the boat, we observed how the wildlife had taken over and grown around the different parts of the boat. We were able to swim behind the 7ft propeller and look down the 40ft smoke stack. We were also able to steer the steering wheel took pictures with it. We then surfaced and were off to our next dive site called which was another sunken boat named the Doc Pulson. The dive site is named after Doc Pulson who was a doctor on the island that gave the dive masters in the 70s free checkups. The Doc Pulson sunk in the 80s and has significantly more growth than the Kittiwake. We dove under and saw many different parrotfish species such as the stoplight parrotfish and rainbow parrotfish. Something interesting that I noticed was that the parrotfish at this specific dive site were significantly larger than others that we had seen. This could be attributed to the large growths of coral on the sunken boat. Around the ship, there were hundreds of small, green garden eels that bury in the sand and wait for food. These garden eels are quite timid and quickly duck into their tunnels if a diver gets too close. We stayed around the boat and the reef near it for around 45 minutes then surfaced. While surfacing, we saw a large barracuda waiting in the water while its silvery body reflected the sun about 5ft below the surface. While diving at both wrecks, I realized that while humans have many negative impacts on the ocean, that humans can also help by creating and protecting artificial reefs that are able to sustain more marine life. As we learned in class, shipwrecks can become protected marine sanctuaries by the NOAA as the wildlife takes over and makes a reef on the sunken boats. After the Doc Pulson, our group went back to the resort for lunch and we got ready for the beach cleanup. At 1:30, our group, piled into the cars and were off to the beach to clean up. We found lots of trash including things like chairs and flip flops. Unfortunately my group did not win, but in my opinion everyone won as we were cleaning up the Earth. After our beach cleanup. We went back to the resort for a delicious dinner and relaxation. Dinner concluded our day and we went back to our rooms for bed. I can’t wait for the activities planned tomorrow!
