Anchor and Squirrel

The left photo has an old encrusted anchor, lumpy with coral, standing right in the middle of the image. There's a Blue Chromis fish above the anchor, swimming in front of a tangle of Rope Sponges. Many divers go right past without seeing the anchor. Mostly visible is the crossbar and shaft, at a slight angle. This is in about twenty five feet depth, or roughly seven meters.

This anchor is in Cane Bay, on St. Croix where I do most of my diving. There are lots of anchors in this bay because this was an easy stop for the old sailing ships to get their cargoes of rum. Thus avoiding the Customs Man, who couldn't get there quickly enough from town to collect taxes. Unfortunately for the ships, sometimes their anchors became hopelessly stuck in the reef, and the ship would have to cut the rope and leave the anchor behind.

The fish is a Longspine Squirrelfish. Fearfully regarding me, trying to decide if he needs to run for his life. Or her life. There are six different kinds of Squirrelfish. This kind is the most often seen here in the sea around St. Croix. I like the white tips on the dorsal fins, and the 'standard' spikey pose, this is usually their posture by the time a diver is close enough to see the fish.

Another sandy dive---

A quick sketch from memory of a little four inch, ten cm, Jackknife Fish. It-he-she was swimming around just a short way from the safety of a lone coral head that is out in an open sandy area, out of sight of any other coral. He-it-she was nosing in the sand, looking for some tidbit to eat.

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Hmm, looking at the sketch now, a painting would have the coral higher to push it more into the background. The fish looks a lot larger than she-he-it is.

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The dive yesterday was odd. I join all sorts of online sites, just recently one about dive buddies. All of them seem to be in Nevada or Missouri or someplace! But, last week I got an email from a man here on St Croix, saying, "I just love to dive!" We agreed to meet at Cane Bay Beach for a dive.

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I should have known, well, I sort of did ... he was wearing gloves. He just wanted to hunt for lobster. At the end of the dive, he got out of the water before me and waited on the boat ramp. I was poking along looking for what beach goers lose in three feet of water, watches, jewelry, money... When I took off my fins, and started walking toward the ramp, the man turned without saying anything, and started walking to the nearby dive shop where he'd rented his tank.

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I went to my car, and took off my gear and stowed it, not needing to go to the dive shop. I waited about three minutes to see if the guy would reappear, but then figured he was gone, so I came home. Should I apologize for ruining his dive??

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My dive was really good, tho'! I don't usually go half that far in one dive. A big, lone Horse Eye Jack swam by, there were Southern Rays all over the place, must have seen five or six. And now I know where to find a Jackknife fish, and will go back for photos as soon as I sort out a camera. Actually, there were two on that little coral head. I know the area so well that I can go right to it. Oboy!

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Thanks for stopping by!

Reef Scenery

Here's a blue photo for you, this is why I need to paint intead of click a camera.  The water filters most of the colors from the sunlight.  Red is absorbed first, then yellow.  This scene is in about thirty feet, ten meters of depth, off the north shore of St. Croix, US Virgin Islands, in the Caribbean Sea where I live.

These fish, Black Durgons, have a striking white line at the base of their dorsal fin.  The way they swim, going through the water looking for bits of floating things to eat, they undulate their dorsal and anal (top and bottom) fins to move through the sea.  As they slowly swim, they lean over on one side, and then the other.  Dancers, they are.  They usually stay up in the water column, high over the reef.  But I guess on this day, here is where they found their prey, tiny jellyfish?  I don't know what they eat.

At night, they sleep down in crevasses and cubbyholes in the reef.

I'll get back to painting soon.  Thank you for stopping by.