For some reason I woke up this morning thinking about the fact that we didn't see a Spotted Drum during our dives yesterday. We usually see one per dive, and in my morning daze I was concerned that maybe the spotted drums had gone the way of the black tips..... I threw some water on my face, brushed my teeth, and came to the conclusion that it was strictly coincidental that we didn't see any spotted drums.

We rose slightly later than we had planned, but that's what vacations are all about. Leslie opted for cold cereal for breakfast. I was quite stunned - she apparently enjoyed the eggs and ham I cooked for her the previous morning. So why cold cereal this morning when I was volunteering to cook?? Mysterious.....

We drove south and stopped at Tori's Reef. We like the entry, and always enjoy this dive. The swim out to the reef is a good distance, but we try to keep our eyes out for stuff in the shallows.

The dive lived up to our expectations - lush soft corals and tons of active sealife. We were just cruising along at a depth of about 50 feet, with leslie trailing slightly snapping tons of great pictures.

My head was in the reef, scanning the hard corals. Not sure what I was thinking of at the exact time, but low and behold, below a coral overhang, is a spotted drum!! My heart sang. I thought, "Get Lester's (that's what we sometimes call her) attention - we need a picture.

As I raised my head to look around, I realized that I was face to face with a Spotted Eagle Ray! He was coming straight at me and was no further than six to eight feet in front of me. I flinched and he turned slightly towards the deep water. I quickly turned to Leslie and yelled "RAAAAYYYYY" underwater. She quickly spotted it, and the shots quickly followed.

Now, I have seen spotted eagle rays before. A couple I have seen while they were gliding a few feet above the reef, or in the shallows scooping up sand and feeding.

I have never seen one cruising through the deep blue, so close to us. I now know a new definition of grace and beauty. Not one muscle on it moved. The wings were straight out and it was just sliding along, avoiding us just enough for it to feel safe, but close enough for us to appreciate it's beauty and elegance. I can't find the words to describe it.

Well, as it passed, Leslie gave slight chase with the camera. The ray never moved a muscle but did pick up enough speed to keep its required distance from Leslie. When it had had enough, it put some serious distance between us. I imagine it was similar to an F-14 outrunning a Sopwith Camel (with the ray being the F-14).

Two years ago while diving the west side, we did see a black tip reef shark. Its beauty and grace was awe inspiring. But after this encounter with the eagle ray, I am thinking the shark is taking a back seat. Again, words will never do it justice.....

That was the highlight of our day. We dove 1000 Steps. As always, a great dive. Leslie didn't take her camera, and there was a queen angle following us around and posing multiple times. Oh Well.

Last dive was at Karpata. No need to say anything about that dive. Hard to describe perfection.

Grabbed some KFC for dinner - still have some left for lunch tomorrow :-)

A couple of Brights and it's bed. Up at 6:00AM tomorrow for a run.

Thanks for everyone's time.

Dave & Leslie.

Another great report, Dave & Leslie. Awesome encounter with the ray - I'm jealous! Can't wait to see pictures

Gotta love Karpata!!

(Message edited by morgans4me on October 30, 2006)

Dave & Leslie

Sounds like you had a great day & better than great diving! How awesome
Look forward to your Day 3 adventures. Nothing like reporting as you go along when everything is so fresh in your mind.
Looking forward to your pic's
Thanks & enjoy

(Message edited by judytraff on October 30, 2006)

Thanks for OUR time?? Are you kidding me, I waited all day for your post !

Outstanding and I'm so happy you had a great day diving.

Stay safe !

What a great report! Keep 'em coming, as long as you can. What about pics. Got any?

I've been enjoying your posts and I'm definitely looking forward to the next one. Thanks for posting them.

Thanks great report. Eagle Rays are a favourite of mine.

wow face to face thats awesome

Way cool report and the story about the eagle ray is super! Yes, now we want pics! Greedy bunch we are, aren't we?

Hey I got pics of the Ray but then Dave is my boss and I get special attention LOL. looking forward to more trip new because I know next week I'll be there with them for the first time seeing all the sites for ourselves. Jay

Jay,

I hope you did that post during your lunch and not on company time.....

Your Boss.

UMMMMMMMMMM oh ya of course boss definately on my lunch time