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Experiencing the Solomon Islands a Scuba Diving Trip Aboard the Bilikiki

Beginning in the Solomon’s

 

Bikikiki
Photo by James Burton
Let’s just get this over with at the beginning.  The Bilikiki is an old vessel that is not as well appointed as many other modern live aboard diving and touring vessels.  The dining area has plastic lawn chairs and the tables are simple.  The main salon is not air conditioned and there is no wet head on the dive deck.  But, the crew on this vessel is second to none.  The newest member of the crew has only been on the vessel for two years but spent seven years on the Spirit of the Solomon’s, the sister ship to the Bilikiki.  Most of the remaining crew members have been with the vessel for more than seven to twenty-years.  The on-board diving managers have been here a year and come from extensive ship management in the Red Sea.  Needless to say, they all know how to make your life aboard special!

 Bilikiki CrewEvan, the shore based manager met us at the airport and like the crew on board the boat, Evan has been a part of the operation for a long time (I can attest that he was here in 2006 when we last visited the Bilikki.)  Amazingly, all of our luggage arrived with us and we were promptly taken to the Kitana Medano Hotel to wait for our time to board.  To capitalize on our available time, Ann had arranged for a tour of Honiara and some of the sights that made Guadalcanal such a memorable location in World War II.  There is a beautiful tribute to the men who died in the Pacific defending our freedom and bringing it to others.  This war memorial sits atop a hill above Henderson field and has multiple marble carvings highlighting the battles in this region of the Pacific.  So many men died here that the locals are still finding mess kits and other personal items scattered throughout the jungle.

20130906-_MG_0838The ships scattered on the bottom of Iron Bottom Sound even now contain the remains of American, Australian, British and Japanese sailors.  The majority of these wrecks lie well beyond the range of recreational scuba divers in over 240 feet of water.

Our tour also encompassed Henderson field (we landed here), the river near Red Beach, and a stop at the statue of  Sir Jacob Vouza, the Solomon Islander who alerted the allies to the advancing Japanese troops despite being tortured, stabbed and left for dead.  He survived, was Knighted by the Queen of England and even renamed his village to California so he could tell his friends in America that he was in California.

As our tour ended, our diving adventure was about to begin.  Csaba, on of the on-board boat managers met us at the hotel and transported us to the Honiara Yacht Club – a stuffy name for a simple location with small boats and a nice bar.  Here we joined our luggage which had already been loaded by the crew.  We were met by Daniela, the lively Venezuelan on-board manager.  She is also married to Csaba and no, he is not from Venezuela but rather hails from Hungry and Eastern Europe.

Equipment
Photo by James Burton

The first day on a live aboard is always busy with everyone scurrying around trying to assemble their dive equipment which is scattered around various bags necessitated by the airline luggage rules.  Only after everything is reassembled, tested and stored is there time to relax.

It was soon after dinner that the boat set sail for the beginning of our ten-day cruise through the Solomon Islands.

 

The adventure continues…

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Underwater Scientists Discover Camouflage Techniques

Photo by: Milla-Maria Salo
Photo by: Milla-Maria Salo

Scientists at the University of Texas at Austin recently found that some open water fish such as the Lookdown have a way of camouflaging themselves by reflecting polarized light at different angles. Polarization of light occurs when light waves are aligned parallel to one another. Humans are not able to see polarized light well; however, many types of fish can. Most fish use their scales as mirrors to reflect the color and intensity of the light hitting them, which then gets distributed evenly into the water surrounding the fish. This serves to camouflage the fish, and has been thought to be the major way that fish avoid detection. However, some fish have evolved to reflect polarized light such that it matches the majority of light polarization found in the water at a specific time. As the sun moves throughout the sky, the polarized light field is constantly changing, which could make fish vulnerable to predators that can detect polarized light. Lookdown fish use their scales to change angle of the polarized light hitting them, to match the angle of light found most in the water at that time. Scientists are not sure how the lookdowns do this; however, they think that understanding the process could be useful in future technology such as camouflage for boats that travel in open water.

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ROV Follows an Elusive Oarfish in the Gulf of Mexico

United States servicemen holding a 23-foot (7.0 m) Giant Oarfish, found washed up on the shore near San Diego, California in 1996 (c) US Navy
United States servicemen holding a 23-foot (7.0 m) Giant Oarfish, found washed up on the shore near San Diego, California in 1996 (c) US Navy

Scientists accidentally took a video of the elusive oarfish. This video is the best quality and longest video that has ever been shot of an oarfish in its natural habitat. This video also appears to show a parasitic isopod attached to the fish’s dorsal fin. The mysterious oarfish lives about a mile deep in the ocean and it can grow to be 50ft long. Oarfish look like giant eels, with their head pointing toward the surface and the rest of their body hanging down below. The oarfish is also believed to be the largest bony fish in existence. The one in this video is only eight feet long. This video was shot while researchers were investigating the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. A camera was sent down to look at the oil pipes and figure out how to fix them. However, the camera stumbled upon this oarfish.

Scientists were surprised to see the oarfish since it has rarely been seen in its habitat. Another reason why oarfish are rarely seen is because they live far offshore. The video of the oarfish can be viewed below. The best pictures of the fish are about 6 minutes into the video.

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Rebreather Scuba Diving – Not Just for Technical Divers


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Parrot Fish in Cleaning Station by Robert Hew
Photograph (c) Robert Hew

Imagine just floating and watching a parrot fish or a grouper in a cleaning station. While you are there, you see the little fish swimming in and out of the gills while small shrimp crawl around on the fish; their claws snapping at unseen items and yet content to continue their work. At the same time, there are other fish swimming next to you apparently unaware of your presence or more like unconcerned – except of course for the Damsel fish that keeps swimming around eyeing you like an unwanted visitor to his neighborhood. This entire time, the grouper just sits there waiting for the cleaning process to be complete, never very concerned about your presence. As the grouper swims away you slide your hand into the cleaning station and the shrimp crawl onto your hand for a quick cleaning…

This is a scene experienced by rebreather divers on a regular basis. The fish are less concerned by your presence when the bubbles are eliminated. For underwater photographers, this means that you have new opportunities for exceptional photographs simply because there are more photographic opportunities available to you. Recently, I was talking with Chris Parsons from Nauticam and he was relating a story about one of his favorite local dive sites. He said he gets a lot of strange looks when he jumps in the water with his rebreather… the water depth is only about 20 fsw to 25 fsw. But he said “I just love my rebreather – I can get much closer to the subject.”

One of the things I love to do is swim with a school of fish. Tarpon or snappers will often let me join the school and swim in circles with them. It simply amazes new rebreather divers when I am able to do this. On another dive in Grand Cayman, Dave and I watched mating squid up close and personal. It was a really fun experience (of course I didn’t have the camera then).

A rebreather offers photographers a number of advantages including:

  • ability to get closer to the subject matter,
  • Longer bottom times (i.e. more photographs),
  • Neutral buoyancy even while breathing, and
  • The Marine life behavior is not modified because of the bubbles.
  • And let’s not forget, you look cool in a rebreather!

So, what if you are not a photographer? Can a recreational diver benefit from a rebreather? Remember a rebreather is the great equalizer. A student of mine once commented that the reason he started rebreather diving was so he could stay in the water as long as the better divers. He was a big guy with large lungs. Instead of being the first one back on the boat, he wanted to be the last one on the boat. So, a rebreather enabled him to achieve his goal.

Rebreathers have allowed technical divers to make some incredible dives and participate in some awesome adventures. However, they have also allowed for some not-so-technical divers to achieve their goals and open up new worlds. Some of the photographs taken by rebreather divers rival those made by seasoned professionals and new fish behaviors have been watched and documented.

Rebreathers are here to stay and units like the Pathfinder from Inner Space Systems are making it easier and more affordable for all divers. So what are you waiting for? Come join the revolution before you are left behind!

Eric Keibler
Eric’s Father used to say that Odessa (where Eric grew up) was the hub of water in the state. You can drive 500 miles in any direction and hit water but there was nothing in-between. So it is not surprising that Eric moved to the coast to be nearer to water and trees. An avid diver and sailor, Eric loves being on the water. He serves as the Managing Director for Oceanic Ventures, Houston’s premier Scuba Diving facility where he teaches both recreational and technical diving. He is also an accomplished author, photographer and sailor.

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Scuba Science – Methane Seep Off Coast

NOAA-OER / BOEM / USGS
NOAA-OER / BOEM / USGS
This lithodid crab is perched on a mussel bed at 1 mile (1.6 kilometers) beneath the surface of the Atlantic Ocean

Scientists just found perhaps the largest methane seep in the world (about one kilometer long). Around this seep they discovered a vast ecosystem that was supported by the constant leak of methane. This seep of methane was found in the western part of the North Atlantic Ocean, and it is only the third one to be found off the coast of the United States. Mussels were found covering the seep of methane. Since these mussels were so deep in the sea, the sun’s energy did not reach them, so they relied on bacteria that used the methane to make energy. Researchers also found sea cucumbers squeezing themselves between the mussels. Around this mound of mussels and sea cucumbers, scientists found shrimp swimming around (most likely eating leftover food). Many strange fish were also found circling this ecosystem. It will be interesting for deep sea divers to collect specimens from this methane ecosystem someday to study them in more detail. Since methane is a gas that contributes to the atmospheric greenhouse effect, understanding how these creatures use methane might help us slow global warming.