Today was another early start. We began the day with, yet again, another early morning. We took a taxi to the marina where we enjoyed another great breakfast. After breakfast we hopped on the boat immediately to head over toward Cooper Island. Our first dive at Cooper Island was Wreck Alley, which includes four purposely sunk ships. We descended down about sixty feet above a reef. From there, we swam along a reef to our first wreck, the Beata. We swam around the wreck where we could see into the different rooms along the ship. As we swam along, we saw another ship that was sunk upside down, which was 84 feet down. We were able to go under the boat where we saw different types of fish. As we started to return to the boat, we swam above a reef where we watched Jeff Jr. shoot a lion fish. As we kept moving, we saw lots of sea fans, and even a porcupine fish, which was awesome. We then ascended to the surface where we ate some snacks and were briefed for the next dive, which was again with our buddy pairs. On this dive we were supposed to lay a weighted line down along the surface of Shallow Chromis, our dive spot. We then were supposed to count the amount of hard coral underneath the rope, then measure the amount of rope that was touching the coral. After the briefing, Tucker and I descended about 30 feet and laid down a line and counted and measured the hard coral underneath it. After this we returned our materials to the surface and again descended and swam along the shoreline of Cooper Island. This is where we saw many different types of fish hiding underneath the rocks. After traveling further than anywhere else, we returned back to the boat where I was able to show off some of my pretty sweet dives. After everyone had ascended to the boat we actually went to the Cooper Island resort where we got lunch; however, prior to lunch, Tucker, Gavin, Alex, and I swam to the beach where where we threw the frisbee on the beach, then we were joined the one and only Dr. Guninger (that I know of). We then enjoyed a very delicious fish and chip lunch from Cooper Island, which we have been pumped for all week. We returned back to the marina where we started to design our coral bases. To do this, we took cinder blocks and filled some of the holes with concrete and put wooden dowels sticking out of the concrete in order to attach new coral. The cinder blocks allow for a base under water that will keep the coral upright. In some cases, the different holes in the cinder blocks can provide a shelter for fish. The cinder blocks provide a stable base for the different corals in the Jesuit Reef. Our plan is to keep about three groups of five cinder blocks together to keep some corals in the same place so they are easier to find and so they are able grow together. We then headed back to the resort where we cleaned up and got ready for dinner at Mad Dogs. Dinner at Mad Dogs was delicious, where we enjoyed nachos and quesadillas. After we ate we threw the football for a little, then thanked Inga, the owner of Mad Dogs, for allowing us to use her restaurant this week and all of last summer also. In all, today was just another great day, and I am looking forward to improving our reef, and helping some more coral survive.
