Welcome to Total Bottom Time!
Total Bottom Time is my online personal dive log. A place where I can share my dives with friends, family, other divers, and the world. You can find out a bit more about me and see my full log of dives by clicking on my profile on the right. Feel free to subscribe to my dives via email or RSS.
Below are just some of my latest dives.
Latest Dives
Crayfish feast |
March 30, 2019 |
It was such a beautiful day and the tide was so cooperative that we were able to do a second dive for crayfish. Apparently that's quite a rarity at Toms Rock.
We had even less luck the second time around. My buddy found a small nest and managed to grab a few. I couldn't find any crays but I did discover a crab that I was able to snag after a couple of attempts. It did managed to give me a good pinch on my index finger for the trouble.
While we searched around we did come across one peculiarity. It was a dead crayfish (or perhaps it was the empty exoskeleton of a cray that had molted) surrounded by a large starfish to form a bizarre ball. I wasn't even aware that starfish are scavengers and include shellfish in their diet.
After we ascended and got back on the boat with our small catch we discovered that some of the other divers faired much better. Some had returned with as many as ten crayfish! However not all of the crayfish were keepers. All of them were measured to ensure they met the central New Zealand area ...
Click here to continue reading...Crayfish dive |
March 30, 2019 |
My first dive for crayfish ever. We took the Dive Wellington boat out to Toms Rock off of Karori Lighthouse. The site has a depth of 80-90 ft.
Being my first crayfish dive ever, I may have been a bit underprepared. Who goes on a crayfish dive without crayfish bags? Rookie move on my part. Thankfully my buddy was willing to share one of her bags so I had somewhere to put my catch.
No underwater pictures! When my buddy saw my GoPro, she made an off hand comment to the effect of "You're bringing a GoPro on a crayfish dive?" I took the hint and left it behind. Much better to focus on the catch.
The first dive started off slow. We descended and began to search but didn't find much besides a beautiful reef and plenty of fish. However, that's not what we were there for.
About half way through the dive my buddy happened upon a nest of crays and began grabbing what she could reach. I searched the reef in the same area and found a smaller nest. My first attempt at grabbing a crayfish was futile. It squirmed out of my grasp ...
Click here to continue reading...Camofish |
March 26, 2019 |
I did not expect to go diving this evening. There were gale force northerly winds in central Wellington. However, out on the south coast things were relatively calm. Whatever the reason, it still meant we got a dive in.
Blue moki
Blue moki
We even saw some species of fish I hadn't seen before. One that I manage to capture was this camouflaged looking fish. Deep green and black with fliecks of yellow. Difficult to spot, sizable, and fast.
Click here to continue reading...
