Last Saturday I had the pleasure of going on my first boat dive off the coast of Monterey. I was on board the Monterey Express with my scuba instructor and a class of Advanced Open Water divers. We left shore around 1:30pm and found a dive spot that had great anemones at the bottom and hundreds of jellyfish.
What's it like to swim among jellyfish the size of dinner plates you ask? Well, quite wonderful actually. As their looming jello-like heads get closer and closer, there's only one thing to do--make sure you have the right lens.
They were so numerous it was like swimming in the Monterey Bay Aquarium's jellyfish exhibit. Thankfully my wet suit provided protection against their stinging
tentacles. I took my first underwater photos of the jellies and was so blessed that my camera was in good working order--no floods in the housing or malfunctions.
These are the first photos to get me ready for shooting underwater in the middle of the Pacific--something that's incredibly challenging while watching your air levels, making sure you don't sink to the bottom and equalizing your ears (by moving your jaw and swallowing, much as you'd do on an airplane).
Overall a great dive--I made it to 80 feet which is considerable since most beginning divers stay above 60 feet. Expect more photos while I'm in Hawaii next week. I leave for Hawaii on August 31, so the countdown begins...
