Diving in the Dark - Don't Fear it

If you have been diving for a while and have never been on a night dive, you really don’t know what you’re missing.

 Now I’m not talking about you and a buddy going out after daylight and jumping into a part of the ocean you’re not familiar with, but joining an organized dive operation where there may be 8 to 10 divers all diving in an area they just dove during the daytime.

 This type of diving is more prevalent on liveaboards but it is also done by off island charters that take the group out on a late afternoon dive and once the daylight dive is finished the next dive is made, at the same site, after dark.  The main reason for diving the same area is that the divers are familiar with their surroundings from the day dive.

 Before going in the water the boat will drop a light of some sort, either a 360 degree white light or a strobe light to identify the boat for the divers return.  When the divers enter the water they should have a good main dive light as well as a backup one in case the main one falters.  Another item is a compass in case the diver wanders too far from the boat to assist in their return.

 What you mainly find is that the divers will form a close knit group and most will stay together not only for safety but also to view an interesting find that another diver has located.

 Now for the reason and fun part of this type of diving.  If you thought you saw everything on your day dive you will soon learn that there are various creatures that didn’t show themselves during the day that come out after dark.

Basket Star

 Something as simple as a Basket Star will come out of hiding and climb to the top of a coral head and reach out to capture plankton to feed on.

Another interesting observation will be the Parrot Fish sleeping on the bottom encased in a mucus cocoon for protection.  You had probably seen this species of fish during the day but were unaware what they did at night.  So you see there are things that are hiding or sleeping during the day while others are sleeping at night.

Parrot Fish in Cocoon

 Once again I want to emphasize that this is a protective cocoon that repels predators from harming the Parrot Fish while it rests.  For this reason do not disturbed it because it will have to move elsewhere and begin the process of forming a new safety net leaving it temporarily vulnerable.

 If you have ever had the opportunity to hunt for Lobsters during the day and I mean hunt, because you have to really search for the elusive creatures in holes or under ledges in the reef.

Spinney Lobster                         Slipper Lobsters

 Not so at night because these hiders during the day come out and take a walk.  There are even colonies of them that migrate at night, in a long line, from one major area to another.

 Another creature that tends to hide during the daytime hours is the Moray Eel.  While searching along the reef you will probably only see their head peeking out of a hole where they have taken refuge.  Some of them may come out to confront you.  I had a small spotted one see its reflection in my camera lens and thinking it was a opponent for his hiding place, came right out to attack my camera.  You should have seem me backpedaling to avoid a confrontation.

 Anyway even though they tend to be docile during the day, the real hunt begins after dark.

Movie of Moray hunting at night.

  Some of the bigger creatures you see during the day will sometimes surprise you at night.  I say surprise you because they will appear out of the darkness when you least expect it.

Nurse Shark

However if you know your territory you are familiar with Nurse Sharks and their habits which is normally not aggressive toward divers.  I always tell people when they ask about me being afraid of sharks, “I would rather be underwater with a shark than swimming on the surface”.  You can read them better and know when they might be agitated and unpredictable but I have never been with one who exhibited those actions.  In addition I have never encountered what’s termed an aggressive species of shark which some carry that classification.

 In this next film you are going to see something you rarely see in the daylight.  You very well may have viewed a Star Fish but I’ll bet it was just lying there in the sand or on a reef.  What you missed by not night diving was seeing them hunt.  They are not the fastest creature on the hunt but they do move around during the search.

  Movie of large Starfish hunting at night.

 I really like doing photography at night because you usually can not only capture something different but can also get a great photo with a black background that enhances the picture.  What I don’t like is when the other divers see that you have found a subject of interest and immediately come over and begin showing their spot lights on what you’re filming with a flood light distracting from the main character.  I try to caution them on this before going in the water but it seldom sinks in.

 I did have an uninterrupted filming one night of an octopus that I just happened to catch out in the open and I think we were both surprised by the encounter.  At least the octopus froze for a while before it lost interest and continued its hunt.

  Movie of Octopus

 I have seen an octopus on both day dives as well as night ones however they tend to be more open at night while hunting the reefs.

 Not to repeat myself but somethings you just don’t see during the day what appears at night.  You might see a crab in its hiding place or wandering out of hiding, but I bet you haven’t seen one dining on seaweed out in the open.

  Movie of Crab eating at night.

 We think the creatures of the deep are all sure footed and able to glide along with no mishaps but sometimes they miscalculate their hunting trip and have to be embarrassed when someone is watching them with a camera.

  Movie of Hermit Crab

 This Hermit Crab was really covering its territory checking for something good to eat when it miscalculated where it was walking and took a tumble but I have to give it credit for recovering as fast as it does.

Squid       Octopus

Lion Fish       Hermit Crab

 Well I hope you have enjoyed the movies but I thought I would end it up with a few more still shots.  Hopefully, after reading this blog, it will encourage you to take the plunge into a night dive and a whole new experience in diving.

George