It was another hot weekend in Hong Kong but no one realized that the mercury would hit 35 degrees on Sunday - it was the hottest recorded day this summer! So it was a perfect day to be out at sea with calm seas and soft winds greeting us at Tai Mei Tuk.
Sandra and Stephen, who used to dive with the Club in the 90s, are now back in town. They were pleasantly surprised to find Lemondrop (Denvy's beagle) on the boat which reminded them of the days when families turn up for dives with babies, children and dogs in tow. We also had several new members, Riccardo, Per and Krisy who joined us on the boat.
Paul, the DM, decided to have the dives at Dragon's Teeth. Sarah and myself found the visibility surprisingly good at 8+ metres and were delighted with the abundance of marine life - octopus, pufferfish, filefish, juvenile cleaner wrasse, fusilers, goatfish, nudibranchdamselfish, rabbitfish, butterflyfish, stripey, drummers, honeycomb cod, gobyfish, a school of juvenile catfish, moray eel, and... a ringed pipefish! We could hardly believe it but there it was, on the seabed looking at us. We probably spent a good five minutes staring at it and grinning like idiots.
The fusiliers and damselfish added much life to the reefs and with the sun shining through to the waters, the submerged rocks made spectacular backdrops. It was quite stunning to see the volcanic-formed basalt rocks underwater especially with the great vis, and it made me love Hong Kong a little bit more. This city sure has places to escape from the hubbub of the crowds.
All divers had a fantastic time including Krisy, who with less than 10 dives found assurance from Andreas, a very experienced diver. Sarah and I saw them underwater and pointed out an octopus to them.
After two dives we chilled out on the sundeck and basked in the sun, complete with hot noodles, sandwiches and salads - and not to forget, ice-cold Asahi beer - before heading home. We are now looking forward to the diving trip when Bruce is back, because it means we will have cake for tea!
Denvy Lo
11 August 2011