Night Snorkeling

hoosierdaddy · Post by **hoosierdaddy** » Fri Mar 06, 2009 12:56 am

Has anyone ever tried it.
I have read about it briefly in a couple of books.
Where, When, and With whom (Guide or not)?

Joshie · Post by **Joshie** » Fri Mar 06, 2009 2:10 am

mahojim · Post by **mahojim** » Fri Mar 06, 2009 2:48 am

hoosierdaddy wrote:Has anyone ever tried it.
I have read about it briefly in a couple of books.
Where, When, and With whom (Guide or not)?

Thanks for bringing this up!
I've heard/read some great info in the past, but a quick 'briefing' would be delicious!
I'm in, and I think My Sweet Amy would dig it , as well.
So?...
Smiles-
MJ

DaveS007 · Post by **DaveS007** » Fri Mar 06, 2009 6:25 am

Delicious? Oh yea, sharks feed at night. Forgot.

waterguy · Post by **waterguy** » Fri Mar 06, 2009 7:10 am

I lkie to do hawknest reef is close to shore. make sure you hang a light in a tree so you can find your way back in I like glow sticks for this.

snorkles · Post by **snorkles** » Fri Mar 06, 2009 7:46 am

We like to night snorkel from Little Maho over to Big Maho. It is really cool. The sea urchins start moving at night. We plan on doing this on our May trip and that is one of the highlights for the week.

jerseyjay · Post by **jerseyjay** » Fri Mar 06, 2009 8:06 am

What type of light do you all use, while actually in the water? Is there any place to rent one for a night?

snorkles · Post by **snorkles** » Fri Mar 06, 2009 8:18 am

We have underwater flashlights we bring with us but you can rent them at the dive shop at Maho Bay and I'm sure any dive shop.

RickG · Post by **RickG** » Fri Mar 06, 2009 8:24 am

Love it! Devers, Frank Bay, Hawksnest, the Maho/Lille Maho that snorkels mentioned. It's better with a moon, so that you can see your entry point on the way back.

We bought inexpensive dive lights that take 4 c-cells. Everready makes a 2 AA cell light that is waterproof and ok. I put silocone grease on the seals my lights before we head down, when I do my underwater camera. I've never taken a decent underwater pic at night, so I don't take the camera in with me anymore.

Cheers, RickG

loria · Post by **loria** » Fri Mar 06, 2009 10:13 am

little maho is a good start (over towards big maho, the rocks right there) that's an easy intro. salt pond is good but the hike down and up is a bit creepy....

AquaGirl · Post by **AquaGirl** » Fri Mar 06, 2009 11:31 am

In May 2006, we did a night snorkel at Trunk Bay. We had snorkeled there during the day and it was so full of life, especially out past the snorkel trail along the little island, so we wanted to do our night snorkel there. You don't have to go too far out to see stuff there. Plus the ease of getting in the water on sand instead of rocks, close parking, etc. We waited until the sun was almost setting, then geared up. We wear dive skins to provide a little warmth and safety vests. That water is cold for me, especially since we stay in for quite a while.

We use small underwater dive lights that we bought at a dive shop. They are very bright and great for the night snorkels. You can probably rent them from a STJ dive shop. We have done several night dives and snorkels over the years. I always keep looking around - the darkness makes me feel like there could be some big scary thing lurking behind me, although we've never had a problem.

As we were getting into the water, I saw a couple who had been strolling on the beach watching us. They had an expression of "what are these crazy people doing?". I waved to them and they smiled and waved back. We immediately saw an octopus hiding in the big brain coral that is close to shore. Watched him (her?) for quite a while. I love to see them - they are such fascinating creatures. We saw a big lobster who was quite busy moving around, and some fish, but not as much sea life as I was expecting. Some nice coral there too.

The last part of a night snorkel is the part I hate. It was cool (well, relatively speaking) and windy when we got out, so I got chilled (ok, I know its not THAT cold, but I get chilled very easily). The no-see-ums were biting like crazy, so we hurried to get everything together and get off the beach.

I would highly recommend a night snorkel on one of the beaches where the reef is very close to shore. Its a great experience.

mahojim · Post by **mahojim** » Fri Mar 06, 2009 1:44 pm

B7J-
Aside from any chill we might find, the 'noseeums' are another concern of mine.
How do you get around that?
Smiles-
MJ

ScubaGirl · Post by **ScubaGirl** » Fri Mar 06, 2009 2:22 pm

For someone who loves the water, as much as I do, I have never had the guts to do a night dive. I don't think I want to know what goes on down there in the dark. I don't like, what I can't see.

I know people say it's a totally different world at night, but I think I'll stay on top in the dark. (oops...I guess that could be taken one of a few ways

)

AquaGirl · Post by **AquaGirl** » Fri Mar 06, 2009 2:49 pm

Yes, the night world underwater is different. Some of the coral "comes alive" and its really cool to see.

Jim - we didn't realize how bad the noseeums would be at night, so we didn't have any bug spray with us. We hopped around and swatted our legs and feet while hurriedly getting our gear off and packed up. Then we ran (well, sort of a walk-run dragging all our stuff) to the car. I wonder if you left gear bags and towels in the car, then went back to the car and stood on pavement to dry off and change, maybe it would be better. I don't know if they are primarily in the sand or everywhere. Definitely take bug spray.

waterguy · Post by **waterguy** » Fri Mar 06, 2009 3:01 pm

I never take anything but my mask, fins and towel
When I hang my glow sticks I hang one in front of the other so I line them up to make sure I'm coming out where I came in grab my towel and beat it to the jeep.

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