As today was our last day of scuba diving in the Cayman Islands, we were excited for hopping back in for the last two times; however, many of us were exhausted from the many dives this past week. We had a delicious buffet breakfast at 7 and gathered our gear to board the boat around 7:50. The two dives had some of the most excited and anticipated marine life of the entire trip. Not too far from the hotel, the dive sites, “Sand Hole” and “Ocean Pointe”, were extremely lively as they were full of coral and animals.
After a five minute boat ride, we arrived at the site “Sand Hole”, a reef full of bright coral fingers and exciting animals. As I looked off the side of the boat, I could see the ocean floor already as the water was perfectly clear. All optimistic and excited for the dive, we jumped right in with our gear and quickly descended with Curtis, one of the dive masters. I was in the water for roughly 35 minutes while reaching a maximum depth of 75 feet. During the dive, I swam over a ledge and to my disbelief encountered a Hawksbill sea turtle eating almost on top of the coral. Immediately, it began to swim away; however, it allowed me and other divers to swim with it for around 30 seconds. It was the most serene and graceful part of all the dives I have experienced this week as the turtle swam slowly and peacefully. It’s sharp, curving black with a notable tomium and the saw-like appeared for its shell margins distinguish the Hawksbill from other sea turtles. It spends the majority of its time in coral reefs and shallow lagoons. Recently, it has been classified as a critically endangered species as a result of human fishing practices, such as using their shell material for decorative purposes. Additionally, throughout the entire first dive, I came across many blue striped grunts. Their have almond shape bodies have yellow with blue horizontal stripes. Every time I came across one of them, there was always a lot close to it as they are often in schools. Moreover, they prefer reefs and sea grass areas as they can feed on crustaceans, various small fish, and bivalves. The name derived from the grunting noise they make when grinding their teeth. Overall, definitely one of the top dives as I got to experience swimming with a turtle.
We then hopped back into the boat, road for 5 minutes to the next site “Ocean Pointe”, and waited for 45 minutes to allow for our bodies to decompress. During the time, we all jumped and dove into the water while having a lot of fun. The dive lasted 45 minutes while I reached a maximum depth of 55 feet. With Bernie, we all descended to the ocean floor where life was full of life. There was many types of fish, but only stood out to me as I have seen the others many times during the other dives. Shortly after reaching the floor, I quickly came across multiple Trumpet fish. Noticing the fish was extremely easy as their elongated, rigid, and skinny pike-shaped body distinguishes them from every other fish I saw. Unlike the other times I encountered trumpet fish on the trip, there was multiple of them, which contradicting my initial belief on their solitude nature. This type of fish is highly carnivores as they stalk their prey and then performing a sneak attack. Luckily for them, they have no commercial fishery value, so they are not endangered. Additionally, near the end of the dive, Bernie, the dive master, pointed out a lemon ray, or a yellow ray to some, laying on the ocean floor under a coral ledge. Reaching up to a foot across, the yellow stingray has a short tail and a round lector fin disc. It can rapidly change the tone of its color to improve its camouflage. This dive was an awesome end to the week as it was long and full of amazing fish.
I am extremely honored to go on this trip and lucky Jesuit offers a course that allows a student to learn in a class and utilize the classroom knowledge in the real world. Growing up going to the ocean often, I never has the opportunity to truly see the life beyond the shore. However, this course and trip enabled me to learn marine biology and have experiences I will never forget. Unlike ever before, I experienced God through scuba diving and seeing the life under the sea while contemplating the effects of humans activities in the sea. I would like to now thank Dr. Gruninger, Dr. Kirby, Mr. Marr, and Ms. Mathews for an amazing trip that I will always remember.
