At Sea
We must have looked like a small invading party, Zodiacs cruising along the coast of Ascension Island, closely looking at the coastline and how the water was breaking against the lava born cliffs that line it. In the boats: tanks, masks, and flippers lined the bottoms, and the “frogmen” in the Zodiacs were none other than the SCUBA divers from MS Endeavour, looking for a place to jump in the water, at this virtually unexplored dive friendly island. Finding a “calm” spot was not as easy as some might think, but we all settled on a very picturesque inlet, which was subjected to very little swell.
After donning our equipment, the Endeavour’s Undersea Specialist, Dennis Cornejo, and three other crew members, tumbled into the crystal blue water. One might think this would bother the fish, perhaps scaring them behind a rock or two, but not these fish. As our Undersea Specialist, descended the anchor line, he was swarmed by the sergeant majors that inhabit this region of the Atlantic. There were even the unfortunate few divers whose hair were mistaken for food, and were nibbled on. Other fish were not quite as friendly, but certainly not invisible. There were such a variety it was difficult to figure out where to look. You could peer into the water column and see grouper, amberjack, and the endemic Lubbock’s damselfish; or you could look in the cracks of the rocks and see spotted, broadband, and goldentail moray eels, soldierfish, and the ascension triplefin blenny. It was a divers paradise, warm water, clear seas, and LOTS of underwater life.
One of the highlights of the dive was a St. Helena flounder (pictured here). This particular flounder is only known to Ascension and St. Helena. Flounder have amazing capability of blending in with their surroundings, so much so that divers have been known to put their hands on what they think is the sea floor, and suddenly the sea floor moves! You may notice the strange appearance of this fish, as flounder actually lie on their sides and not their stomachs. Within in a few weeks of birth, the eye that was located on the bottom side, slowly starts to migrate to the exposed side, and soon both eyes are protruding from the exposed side very noticeably. This proturding eye is quite helpful, as the flounder often buries itself in the sand with only the eyes sticking out. With the exposed pectoral fin, looking like a dorsal fin, and the anal and dorsal fins running around the body, these fish glide over the ocean floor.
That night at re-cap all were astonished at the footage of the dive. After a full day onshore, exploring the inside of the island, the guests on MS Endeavour also had an understanding what was in the water surrounding the island. What an way to experience Ascension above and below the water!
We must have looked like a small invading party, Zodiacs cruising along the coast of Ascension Island, closely looking at the coastline and how the water was breaking against the lava born cliffs that line it. In the boats: tanks, masks, and flippers lined the bottoms, and the “frogmen” in the Zodiacs were none other than the SCUBA divers from MS Endeavour, looking for a place to jump in the water, at this virtually unexplored dive friendly island. Finding a “calm” spot was not as easy as some might think, but we all settled on a very picturesque inlet, which was subjected to very little swell.
After donning our equipment, the Endeavour’s Undersea Specialist, Dennis Cornejo, and three other crew members, tumbled into the crystal blue water. One might think this would bother the fish, perhaps scaring them behind a rock or two, but not these fish. As our Undersea Specialist, descended the anchor line, he was swarmed by the sergeant majors that inhabit this region of the Atlantic. There were even the unfortunate few divers whose hair were mistaken for food, and were nibbled on. Other fish were not quite as friendly, but certainly not invisible. There were such a variety it was difficult to figure out where to look. You could peer into the water column and see grouper, amberjack, and the endemic Lubbock’s damselfish; or you could look in the cracks of the rocks and see spotted, broadband, and goldentail moray eels, soldierfish, and the ascension triplefin blenny. It was a divers paradise, warm water, clear seas, and LOTS of underwater life.
One of the highlights of the dive was a St. Helena flounder (pictured here). This particular flounder is only known to Ascension and St. Helena. Flounder have amazing capability of blending in with their surroundings, so much so that divers have been known to put their hands on what they think is the sea floor, and suddenly the sea floor moves! You may notice the strange appearance of this fish, as flounder actually lie on their sides and not their stomachs. Within in a few weeks of birth, the eye that was located on the bottom side, slowly starts to migrate to the exposed side, and soon both eyes are protruding from the exposed side very noticeably. This proturding eye is quite helpful, as the flounder often buries itself in the sand with only the eyes sticking out. With the exposed pectoral fin, looking like a dorsal fin, and the anal and dorsal fins running around the body, these fish glide over the ocean floor.
That night at re-cap all were astonished at the footage of the dive. After a full day onshore, exploring the inside of the island, the guests on MS Endeavour also had an understanding what was in the water surrounding the island. What an way to experience Ascension above and below the water!
