April 28, 2007: Boynton Beach, Florida

"Gulf Stream Ledges" - "Delray Ledges"

Diving in the Atlantic Ocean:

• Directions from Tampa: I usually head down HW60 to Yeehaw Junction, then take the Turnpike south. I get off of the Turnpike at Lake Worth Road.
• Conditions on the day of my visit: Partly Cloudy
  
  
• Personal Notes: It had been a long time since I had dived with my sister; longer since I had dived off Boynton Beach. We went out with DCI as was usual. One thing that happened that I've never seen happen before is that one of my tank straps broke as I was putting my gear together for the first dive - not so much the strap itself but the clasp thing that you pop into place to tighten the strap. It held for the first dive but fell apart completely when I switched tanks. Luckily I had two and I was okay to dive the second dive.
  
  Took the camera on the first dive and got some good pictures ... and even some footage that might someday get put up here.
  
  Spent the first part of the second dive fiddling with a fin strap that wasn't working properly. Got it all sorted out though - good thing Boynton is mostly a drift dive location.

Gulf Stream Ledges
These Goby are common - not sure exactly what kind of Goby this is, but they usually sit out near a pile of coral rocks that they can dart into when frightened.
Here's a closeup of some soft coral. My wide angle shot of this was blurry.
Giant Anemonies are rare off of Boynton, but we spotted this one.
I spotted this Juvenile French Angelfish cleaning a Parrot Fish. He was very small (about an inch across) and wouldn't sit still.
The Juvenile French Angelfish also had a Puffer neighbor that was apparently a bit protective!
Here's what the little guy looks like when he grows up, easily growing over a foot long.
Here's a slightly better shot.
I often see French Angelfish in pairs.
This I think is a Brown Fan Worm.
Yellow Headed Jawfish are very rare off Boynton.
They are also very hard to point out to fellow divers because Jawfish tend to back into their holes if divers get too close.
This is a kind of Blenny perched on some coral.
I really couldn't get a good side shot of him without spooking him. This was the best I could do.
Balloonfish. If you ever see these guys puffed up with their spines sticking out, they're scared. I would hope it wasn't because a diver scared them!
If I recall correctly, they have algae that grow in their eyes.