Happy 2007

Today I took my gear out for the first time, going snorkeling in Tai Au Mun. I wore a 3mm full suit, hood, warm gloves. Still, even though it was noontime, water was freezing. I did not bring a thermometer, but reckon it was around 16C.
Water was clear, inside the bay, and turbid on the outside. I stayed mostly in areas of 4-5 meters depth, at the edge of the bay. However there was almost no wildlife. Besides a few bait fish, HK waters seemed deserted. However, it seemed that coral growth was improving, with more and more coral spots inside the bay. Also, on the sandy parts of the bay, there were large colonies of brown algae, growing 1-2 meters in height. After 45 min I was visibly freezing and left. If the suit had been semi-dry, I would have been much warmer. Still it was nice to be back.

Longlining in Montauk

I found an old newspaper article about Dave Krusa, my friend Lee's dad. He is retired now, but used to be one hell of a fishing captain out of Montauk. Obviously he only told the reporters harmless stories about giant rats. If you ever meet him in real life, ask him about getting lost inside(!) a basking shark, or about men with three testicles, or about people getting high on horse tranquilizers. Bring some time.

Rare Shark in Japan