Monterey Bay Aquarium New Year Charter
What a great adventure: New Year on NAI'A in Fiji with my family and a great group of people!
Steve Webster and ten other return passengers joined Cat, me and our girls to welcome renowned filmmaker and conservationist Mark Shelley (Strange Days on Planet Earth, The Shape of Life) and his family aboard NAI'A to celebrate the New Year and learn about conservation film making. With so many trained fish-heads from the Monterey Bay Aquarium aboard, all with three or more NAI'A charters under their weightbelts, we couldn't help but find neat critters and rare beasties. And the three girls, aged 5, 6 and 9, bonded immediately and took to the water like fish. All three snorkeled with grownups Cat, Mark and Ann while Lucy even completed some open-water dives under Steve's supervision.
Eye in the Sky by Art
Endemic Fiji Flasher wrasse by Bob
Sea Snake by Art
Plurobranch by Tami and Billy
Rufous Ghost pipefish by Bob
Scorpionfish by Darlene
Night crab by Tami and Billy
Pygmy seashorse by Bob
Anemone Fish by Art
Lizardfish by Darlene
Eel and pals by Tami and Billy
Pirates by Cat
Noddy Tern by Dave
Cat with injured tern by sarah
Injured Tern by Cat
Whip coral shrimp by Dave
Coral battle by Julie
Gorgonian by Karl
Jellyfish and friend by Dave
Cling fish by Julie
Nudi by Sarah
Booby by Cat
Turtle by Karl
Cleaner shrimp by Julie
Whip coral by Karl
seakreit illustration by Kirsten
Mermaids by Cat
Mark and Lucy
Village kids by Sarah
Garden eel by Steve
Meanwhile, during our rare dry moments, Steve taught us all there is to know about various non-fish with radial symmetry while we gave him our strictest attention. (note the bubble wand in Malia's hand!)
Kirsten put pencil to paper to sketch and paint her dive discoveries, while Mark regaled us with screenings from his films. Heidi, mentally exhausted from naming every fish in the sea, relaxed by cribbing the cadence of Robert Frost's Stopping By Woods on a Snowy Evening:
Mainly, though, we tried to act serious and pretend we weren't having so much fun.
For more great photos by Bob and Darlene, visit http://www.seashots.com
Comments
“I'm sure that it's very difficult for the Nai'a establishment to solve this thorny situation. But, be assured that we, your Nai'a family in a small way, are sympathetic. We realize that the reason we love your trips is that you spend what it takes for a quality voyage. That's why we come back. And that's why we plonk down $10K to sail with you. We know it's worth it.”
~ Steve