27 Jan 2025
Last night’s crossing was surprisingly smooth. I mean, I still didn’t sleep well, but it was way less rocky than I expected!
Dive #15 – North Horn Sharknado
Our first dive is a baited shark dive… again, not something I knew about before I booked this trip.
Apparently, they’ve got special permits to do this too, but I’m still not a fan.
They have us sit in a ring, on the coral, around this structure:
While they pull the bait cage down:
Unfortunately, there was a decent current and it took longer than normal to get the cage down, by which time the sharks had managed to pop it open and take the snacks out. Kind of a bummer that we sat around wasting air, though it neat seeing so many sharks at once.
Here’s how it should have gone down: bait cage is dropped into the water by the dinghy, attracting all the sharks:
Photo by Anton
It is rapidly pulled down to the viewing pinnacle, where one of the guides uses a knife on a stick to cut the zip-ties holding it shut:
Photo by Anton
and we get a great view of lots of sharks as they feed. I counted 18+ sharks circling, though it’s hard to keep track of them when they keep moving!
This puffer was chilling right under where I was perched:
Regal angelfish:
Longnose butterflyfish:
Purple anthias:
Eel:
eels were strangely uncommon on my dives here
Pseudoceros dimidiatus:
and another, more active, one!
Darkfin hind:
Lined surgeonfish:
Yellowfin surgeonfish:
So occasionally, our schedule would change a bit, and when it did, Trip Director Leo would put this on the TV in the dining room:
and it made me laugh every time I saw it! I mean, look at his face! HA! Love it!
Dive #16 – Admiralty
Jewel damselfish:
Eyestripe surgeonfish:
Pyramid butterflyfish:
A little school of chromis:
Unicornfish without his horn 🙁
Anemonefish:
Blackspot puffer getting his gills cleaned:
Dive #17 – False Entrance
Freckled hawkfish:
Cresent-tail bigeye:
Holy school of fish!!!
Christmastree worm:
Bigeye getting his gills cleaned:
Goldtail chromis:
Masked bannerfish:
Pennant bannerfish:
Dive #18 – False Entrance
While the first dive was only mediocre picture-wise, this second trip to the reef turned up so many fishes for me to photograph!
Brown tang:
Bignose unicornfish, who oddly enough doesn’t have a nose…
Pyramid butterflyfish:
Arrowhead soapfish:
Half and half chromis:
Golden damselfish:
Anemonefish:
These little Threespot damselfish were hiding out with the anemonefish:
Finally! some soft corals!
The prettiest fish ever!
the Sunburst anthias:
Anton was out taking pictures again, and snapped this one of me:
Photo by Anton
Clown triggerfish:
Masked puffer being cleaned:
Coral beauty angelfish:
Singular bannerfish:
Blacklip butterflyfish:
Teardrop butterflyfish:
Yellow-edged lyretail:
Cresent-tail bigeye:
Freckled hawkfish:
Me and my buddy, Ryan:
Photo by Anton
The original plan was for the boat to stay here for 2 days, but it looks like the storm is shifting and diving here tomorrow might not be possible, so tonight, we’ll be headed back across the Coral Sea, to Ribbon Reef, where we’ll be more protected. Fingers crossed for another calm-enough crossing!