When August arrives, away goes all the wetsuits; water temperatures are in the 82 to 84 degree range. Weather is typically calm, winds light with predictable scattered afternoon thunder storms. Visibility is 100 plus feet! This is fabulous for taking photographs in the morning before the afternoon thunder storms pop up. August is typically a slower month for diving, as folks start to get ready for school to start. We are still seeing schools of grey snapper and lots of large schools of cero mackerel patrolling the walls and reefs along with spotted eagle rays on the wall. Lobster are back on the reefs but not as much out in the open as the season opened until August 1st.. Please note, you are not allowed to take lobster, or any species of fish while using artificial air, i.e. scuba tanks; exception being lionfish with a Hawaiian sling or the ELF tool (Eliminate Lion Fish). Continuing to sight spotted eagle rays down on the walls below 100 feet where the water is several degrees cooler.
Safety tip for August: A Safety Stop is a decompression stop that is not required by either the dive tables or your computer because you are still within model limits. Studies have shown that a stop of as little as two minutes reduces detectable bubbles in the body by a factor of five.
Fun tip for August: Review the coral tab under the library tab on the Ocean Fox website and see who can identify the most species of coral.
Diver tip for August: Too long a surface interval is not good for your health, dive early and dive often. August is uncrowded diving, uncrowded beaches and endless dive sites on South Eleuthera, a great time to squeeze in some vacation time before school starts.