All the tiles are back on the reef

Today we had two remaining tiles to re-deploy which first required new holes be drilled. We started out at FR9 and set up the GoPro camera to take photos every 5 seconds. The set up looked like this:

GoPro camera on a stick to monitor caged and uncaged tiles

Paul then drilled the hole while I was nearby taking photos of plates, etc. I clearly wasn't paying enough attention since a large manta was swimming right toward me. Paul and Sabina were pressing the underwater horn they attach between your tank and your BC trying to get me to look up. When I finally heard it and turned around, I managed to get a couple of decent photos of the manta before it flew off.

manta passing between me and my dive buddies

large manta cruising the reef

Our next task was for me to take a photo of a sign Paul made for his friends whose wedding he was missing by being here on Palmyra. Last year Francesco had the same situation where he was missing a wedding. Francesco wrote a message on a slate and I took a picture for him. Paul always wants to do things bigger and better as you can see here.

message painted on a sheet for a wedding Paul will miss tomorrow

All this was accomplished in a short 36 minute dive. We then moved on to FR3 where we had the second hole to drill. This time Paul let Sabina give it a try.

Sabina drilling under Paul's tutelage 

We then headed back to the station to eat lunch and pick up the tiles to be re-deployed. Paul decided to sit the afternoon dives out, so Sabina and I did two quick dives. The first was to install the tile at FR3. As we entered the water, there were several gray reef sharks circling around, but they soon scattered. We were done in 14 minutes including our safety stop. Then it was on to FR7 to install the last tile and to retrieve the GoPro on a stick we had set up on our morning dive. It look us a couple minutes to find the exact site, but I had written down notes and knew it was near a very large table top coral that is tagged with #56. This dive lasted just 18 minute including our safety stop.

Here are a few photos I managed to take on today's dives. The first one is a butterflyfish species I didn't see last year. This fish just kept swimming away from me, so it is not my best shot.

teardrop butterflyfish

Chaetodon unimaculatus

racoon butterflyfish

Chaetodon lunula

I still can't get a blacktop reef shark to let me get close enough for a good photo

Carcharhinus melanopterus

To celebrate the 4th of July, dinner was moved tonight from the Galley to the deck at the swimming hole. After dinner we moved to north beach for a bonfire.

4th of July dinner on the swimming hole deck