FKA Kiteboarding Forums - Underwater Photo Of The Day

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Scooter free diving around an unnamed wreck off Abu Galawa in the Red Sea along the Egyptian coast with FII. We did a liveaboard free diving trip with Martin Stepanek last year. It was a great trip, this wreck has the most massive accumulation of coral of any wreck that I recall seeing before. It has been there since the 1950's I understand. Shot with GoPro WIDE camera.

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http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/...y?cat=806&o=40

"...The Whale...

If you read a recent front page story of the San Francisco Chronicle, you would have read about a female humpback whale who had become entangled in a spider web of crab traps and lines. She was weighted down by hundreds of pounds of traps that caused her to struggle to stay afloat. She also had hundreds of yards of line rope wrapped around her body, her tail, her torso, a line tugging in her mouth. A fisherman spotted her just east of the Farallon Islands (outside the Golden Gate) and radioed an environmental group for help. Within a few hours, the rescue team arrived and determined that she was so bad off, the only way to save her was to dive in and untangle her. They worked for hours with curved knives and eventually freed her. When she was free, the divers say she swam in what seemed like joyous circles. She then came back to each and every diver, one at a time, and nudged them, pushed them gently around as she was thanking them. Some said it was the most incredibly beautiful experience of their lives. The guy who cut the rope out of her mouth said her eyes were following him the whole time, and he will never be the same. May you, and all those you love, be so blessed and fortunate to be surrounded by people who will help you get untangled from the things that are binding you. And, may you always know the joy of giving and receiving gratitude. I pass this on to you, my friends, in the same spirit."

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http://www.facebook.com/rick.iossi#!...5606709&ref=nf

Golden cownose rays as far as the eye can see or put another way, skating through group sex? Looks like Photoshopping but understand it is not, this is they way they skated by. Cownose? Who hung that name on this guys?

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"Golden Ray photos of amazing mass migration

By Nick Allen
Published: 4:00PM BST 24 Jun 2008

Looking like giant leaves floating in the sea thousands of Golden Rays are seen here gathering off the coast of Mexico.

The spectacular scene was captured as the magnificent creatures made one of their biannual mass migrations to more agreeable waters. Gliding silently beneath the waves they turned vast areas of blue water to gold off the northern tip of the Yucatan Peninsula.

Sandra Critelli, an amateur photographer, stumbled across the phenomenon while looking for whale sharks. She said: "It was an unreal image, very difficult to describe. The surface of the water was covered by warm and different shades of gold and looked like a bed of autumn leaves gently moved by the wind. "It's hard to say exactly how many there were but in the range of a few thousand. "We were surrounded by them without seeing the edge of the school and we could see many under the water surface too. "I feel very fortunate I was there in the right place at the right time to experienced nature at his best."

Measuring up to 7ft (2.1 metres) from wing-tip to wing-tip, Golden rays are also more prosaically known as cow nose rays. They have long, pointed pectoral fins that separate into two lobes in front of their high-domed heads and give them a cow-like appearance. Despite having poisonous stingers they are known to be shy and non-threatening when in large schools. The population in the Gulf of Mexico migrates, in schools of as many as 10,000, clockwise from western Florida to the Yucatan."

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http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/ear...migration.html

"I'm melting ..." Well, it does look like it!

Diving into an H2S layer in a cenote. Thanks to Roman for passing this along!

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From: http://www.underwatersculpture.com/

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The location in the Yucatan

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"Revealed: Amazing new artificial reef in Mexico made from sculptures of real people

By Richard James
Last updated at 7:13 PM on 11th October 2010

These astonishing images show an extraordinary new artificial reef off the east coast of Mexico made entirely from human statues.

The underwater installation has been created by British artist Jason de Caires Taylor who used real people to create the 'life casts' made from materials which encourage coral to grow.

It is hoped the new sculptures will produce a coral reef system and attract a variety of aquatic creatures to the Cancun and Isla Mujeres National Marine Park.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...#ixzz12Z7liAnQ "

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"MUSA Museo Subacuático de Arte

In 2009 the first steps of a monumental underwater museum called MUSA (Museo Subacuático de Arte) were formed in the waters surrounding Cancun, Isla Mujeres and Punta Nizuc. The project founded by Jaime Gonzalez Cano of The National Marine Park, Roberto Diaz of The Cancun Nautical Association and Jason deCaires Taylor, will consist of over 400 permanent life-size sculptures, becoming one of the largest and most ambitious underwater artificial attractions in the world.

The Museum aiming to demonstrate the interaction between art and environmental science forms a complex reef structure for marine life to colonise and inhabit. Each of the sculptures is made from specialized materials used to promote coral life, with the total installations occupying an area of over 420sq metres of barren sea bed and weighing over 180 tons. The Cancun Marine Park is one of the most visited stretches of water in the world with over 750,000 visitors each year, placing immense pressure on its resources. The location of the sculptures will promote the recovery of the natural reefs, relieving pressure on them by drawing visitors away.

To date the underwater museum comprises of 4 installations; La Jardinera de la Esperanza, Coleccionista de los Sueños, Hombre en Llamas and The Silent Evolution all by Jason deCaires Taylor. The Silent Evolution. His most ambitious work to date, is a collection of over 400 life-size figurative works forming a timeline of the changes both visually and socially in humans over the past centuries. For more information see The Silent Evolution (pdf).

The third stage of the museum commencing in 2011 will involve commissioning local and international artists to contribute further sculptural installations and host special underwater cultural events celebrating the Arts and Science."

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From: http://www.underwatersculpture.com/

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A look along Palancar and Santa Rosa Reefs off Cozumel, Mexico.

When I first saw this I thought it was off South Africa. No a lot closer to home in Baja.

As long as were at it with billfish, lets have a look at some sailfish ...

A quick free diving drop into a grotto filled with horse eye jack in Eden Rock, George Town, Grand Cayman on Christmas Eve 2010. The noise in the background is from a large cruise ship moving into to anchor with a what may be a badly worn cutlass bearing, messed up prop or something.

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A still shot my wife nailed as I moved out of the hole pushing jacks in front of me.

Put your GoPro where no one has gone before (we hope!).