After a short trip back to Minnesota in late March, I returned to the Keys hoping for some good April diving. Unfortunately, the first nice weekend I was occupied with dock repairs and missed a nice opportunity. Then the wind came up all the next week.
Finally this Saturday there was predicted lull in the strong breezes for the afternoon. Dave R. and I took advantage and waited until the wind subsided around noon and quickly headed out to Molasses Reef. Wind was out of the north and dropped to around 8 knots. Visibility didn't look great on the way out, but with the north direction of the wind, the reef was protected by a shoal and visibility was decent at around 60'.
The reef was VERY busy. Most of the 32 mooring buoys were occupied. Lots of snorkelers in the water. Our 2nd dive at Buoy#16 was the best of the day. 2 encounters with eels out swimming. Lots of fish schooling, but still no stingray sightings For some reason we have seen few this winter.
We probably saw a dozen lobsters. Check out this brief video clip.
For the complete dive video ( 3 minutes) click the YouTube link on the right.