Fathers Day

Happy June everyone! Can you believe we are already half way through the year - I could have sworn that Christmas was just yesterday! Yes, time waits for no-one, so don't putt off for another day what you can do today! We also find ourselves in the month dedicated to our wonderful and caring Fathers! If you can, do something special for your Dad's on Sunday 16th of June, even if it is just taking him a cup of tea, making a phone call to say you care, or just remembering all the good times that you shared. Happy Fathers Day to all the awesome Dads out there! I hope you get spoiled rotten - and don't forget - you can always spoil yourself and your great wife and kids to a dive! Let us know and we will do the rest! See you soon!

-Clare

The Not So Common, Common Lobster

The lobster that I am writing about here is the Hawaiian Red Lobster (a.k.a Red Dwarf Reef Lobster or Red Reef Lobster).  And for all the ichthyologists out there, you can stop scratching; the scientific name is Enoplometopus occidentalis.

Even though this species is said to be common it is definitely a rare find. If you ask all the old timers who have been diving The Aliwal Shoal for years and years if they have seen one on our reef; they will say ‘No’. Until recently that is. We have found another ‘secret spot’ with four of these little critters.

 

The Hawaiian Red Lobster is nocturnal. So, during the day, when we go diving, the lobsters’ are hiding in cavities and crevices in the rock. This does not mean that you cannot see them.  They are still exposed enough so you can make them out clearly and even see the hairs all over their body. But, they are irritated by light. This can be noticed when a torch is shone directly on to them. When this happens they retreat way back into the rock so that they can no longer be seen. This is why we deter any visiting divers not to shine their torches directly onto them, and rather shine their torches just to the side. We don’t want to scare the lobsters away permanently.

You will notice in my photograph that the lobster only has one pincer. Some of the Hawaiian Red Lobsters have one pincer while others have two. In the “secret spot” one lobster has one pincer; two lobsters have two pincers; and I haven’t been able to get a good look at the fourth one to see how many it has. We are not sure why this is.

When you see the size of the lobsters you will see that they are not worth taking. They are too small to braai. If it is taste that you are after then you must come speak to Dolf. Dolf will take you on a free diving expedition to catch some crayfish. This lobster has no value in the fishing industry but it is said to be highly prized in the aquarium trade industry.

I would like to thank Haakon Saestad and John Dench of the Toti Social Divers for the information they provided on the Hawaiian Red Lobster.

-Matthew

June Newsletter

We’ve had an overwhelmingly positive response from the May newsletter, which is always good, as it was slightly different to the previous ones.  With all of you crawling out of the woodwork, I was surprised to see we actually have a readership of more than 5. How much more I am not at liberty to say or in a condition to hope for.

To be honest, there were negative responses as well.  Exactly two. Obviously the definition of “sense of humour” and “tongue in cheek” is a very subjective one to some.

Just to clarify, I was the unscrupulous author of that newsletter, not Matthew, so he is not to blame. I am of course talking - or should I say writing - to the 2 of you who didn’t like it. I actually don’t know why I am writing this, as after your last unpleasant experience, you won’t even begin to read the newsletter.  If you are reading this sentence right now, then you can colour me confused. What colour that would be, is up to you.

One thing I do realize is that our one overseas reader – yes I am making a huge assumption that the official reader count is now 6 – might not understand some of the South African humour, and for that I have no answer.

Ok, real-time issues: What a wasted month for the diving industry on the Shoal. Never has so many lost out on so much in such a short time. No, no rip off from Winston Churchill.

 The whole of Umkomaas was like a ghost town. Not saying there are ghosts here, although some of the local residents are far advanced enough in years to qualify. And buildings too, for that matter. But I digress.  Those of you that managed to rip yourselves away from your desks will agree.  Not that I am digressing, but about the conditions. Probably one of the best months in years as far as conditions went. We’ve had two weeks straight of no wind (at writing of this, going on week three), flat, glassy sea, and at least 15-20m visibility. Current on a couple of days mid month a bit strong, but mostly light and made for great diving. Temperature still high for this time of year, 22-24 degrees Celsius.

Not boding too well for the Sardine Run at this stage. They need colder water. Which begs the question: Why on earth do they call it the Sardine ‘Run’? How do you run if you have no legs (excluding the recent news headliner athlete off course) AND how do you run on water?? Bit of a silly name for it. Sardine Swim surely sounds better. Wow, all that alliteration in one sentence would have made my English teacher proud. Pity its 30 years too late. And she said I’ll never get it right.. pfft.  I guess we should then call the upcoming Comrades marathon this weekend a “Human Run” to keep it uniform. Sounds like Cuban Rum. Wow, I can talk nonsense.

You can tell my train of thought hasn’t left the station. I feel like I have to tell you something of importance but it is not happening. Maybe next month I’ll remember. Maybe I’m part of the Umkomaas Ghosts already. Residents, not buildings.

 

Enjoy our Oceans!

 

-Basie