Divers descend to commence another surveyThe team has settled into a diving routine over the last couple of days. Generally we have been boat diving in the mornings and then shore diving in the afternoon. The weather has continued to be highly changeable, alternating between brilliant sunshine and torrential rain.
Loading the boats at the Georgetown pier can be challenging in a swell. The exposed site makes passing gear over a matter of careful timing as the boat rises or drops several meters. However once loaded and away the seas on this side of the island have been mild and we've been able to access some good sites along the north-west coast. Windy weather has kept us to this section of coastline until now but hopefully over the next few days we'll be able to push further around the island.
Dives here are utterly dominated by countless black triggerfish (Melichthys niger). While sheer numbers impressed all the divers at the beginning, now they are simply getting in the way of photographs we'd like to take of other species! The only challenge to the abundance of black triggerfish comes from the creolefish (Paranthias furcifer), but even in their vast numbers they can only manage a distant second place.
So far all is going very smoothly, but logistics are made a little more complicated by roadworks on one of the main roads linking different regions of the island, necessitating long detours for what normally be a short drive. Some team members swear certain offroad shortcuts can cut journey times but this is still under considerable debate.
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One of the team vehicles departs Georgetown on a short-cut through the lava fields on the way to English Bay, location of the Ascension Island Dive Club facilities and one of our bases of operation.
