DuCoMi PierWhen Kim Zudero, one of the local dive guides, asked early in the day if anyone wanted to dive the DuCoMiPier at night if slots were available, several hands shot straight up in the air in the affirmative. One of those hands was mine.
This is an opportunity that rarely is granted, given the strict security measures around the pier. It was a prime chance to do more muck diving.
But capturing images while navigating the narrow spaces between the coral encrusted pillars, dodging other divers, avoiding thumping into the corals that have taken hundreds of years to grow, taking care not to get too close to sea urchins or docile, yet venomous lionfish, holding a dive light and setting the strobe light on your camera for maximum effectiveness proved to be daunting tasks.
Oh, and did I mention keeping track of your dive guide and your dive buddies?
Or that strong current around the second set of pillars?
When it was all said and done, I came away with just a single image -- the one you see above, of a nudibranch. One of the more than dozen divers floated away from the group, but was safely found in good spirits and good humor around the corner of the large pier, where a group of local men had found the diver, who wisely and alertly surfaced and shined a dive light so our bangka captain could make a safe pickup.
Still, if the opportunity again arises, this is a night dive worth doing. But with so many divers simultaneously at this site, it can be a very difficult dive.
Dive Buddies: Paul, Jim, Mike and a cast of thousands
Dive Guide: Kim Zudero
Max depth: 56 feet
Total Bottom Time: 57 minutes
Water temperature: 75 degrees Farenheit
Exposure Protection: 3mm shorty wetsuit
Air source: Enriched Air Nitrox 32% oxygen
Photo Copyright Gil Griffin 2009. Above: Nudibranch at DuCoMi Pier.
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