My second day on the BVI began rooster-less and beautiful. Hearing the beautiful songs of the tree birds, I got out of bed. After eating breakfast, Laura, a member of Dive BVI, shared her breadth of knowledge on the abundance of marine organisms that can be found on the BVI. Many intriguing facts in her presentation grabbed my attention. I found the zooxanthellae to be interesting. This microscopic organism allows life for coral. Zooxanthellae provides the majority of the energy for coral through the process of photosynthesis. I also found the hard coral to be fascinating because, like the zooxanthellae, they are essential for the prosperity of coral. The hard surface of the large coral acts as a skeleton and a foundation for smaller coral and for fish and other marine life. Following the presentation, we went to Savannah Bay to snorkel. The excitement and fun of snorkeling comes in a close second behind that of scuba diving. Me and my snorkel buddies saw an abundance of colorful and beautiful fish that got progressively bigger as we ventured deeper from the shore. This is because as the reefs deepen, they have more spaces for bigger fish to hid out in. On our swim back to shore, I spotted Jesuit snorkels following meticulously behind a marine creature. Upon a closer investigation, I discovered that they were following a stingray. After lunch on the beach, we examined various species of sea worms and sea urchins. I learned that sea urchins actually move. During the day they hide out under rocks, but at night they move to the tops of the rocks so that they can feed. After our adventures at Savannah Bay, we boarded the Seadragon and headed out to our dive site, the Chimney at Dog Island. Because of Laura’s presentation on fish identification, an abundance of fish and organisms were familiar to me now, including the butterfly fish, the brain coral, elkhorn and stag horn coral, and the trumpet fish. We followed our fearless dive leader, Casey, through an underwater trench. Colorful sponges and coral surrounded me on all sides in the trench, and the close encounters with fire coral during the exit of the trench proved to be nerve racking. Luckily I didn’t touch the fire coral, and after a demonstration with Casey’s spear gun, we ascended to the surface. This dive exceeded yesterdays dive, and I have a feeling that tomorrow’s dive will be even more exciting.
Me and my scuba buddy.
