We have rounded the southern tip of the island and are heading north with 4 days of diving under our belt. Due to the watch schedule on the ship, we tend to deploy the zodiac and dive at either 6AM or 6PM. So we are out at crack of dawn before breakfast or finishing up in the dark. Ah well we are having the best midday naps. And its a bit surreal to be on the water at these times!
The weird thing about the coast here is it slopes so gradually away from land. We can be 10 km away from shore but only 50 m depth. It means our dive sites feel like they are in the open ocean because they are so far offshore. It also means the kelp forests are really extensive (4 km across sometimes). At the bottom, instead of the patchy mix of sand and bedrock that most of us are familar with, it is a uniform bed of small cobbles.
In addition to the three divers our dive team also includes James and Logan. They are both pretty happy to get off the ship and explore with us. And they even help us measure kelp for hours. Wouldn't get it done without them!
