A long time Coral Color Crusader becomes a SCUBA diver

Katy just celebrated her 12th birthday underwater during her openwater SCUBA certification dives with Greg Buxton at Suva Scuba.  She has been looking forward to this day for a long time.  Loving the ocean, she started snorkeling in Timor-Leste at a young age.  Three year old Katy is seen below enjoying the beaches just outside of Dili in Timor.  

An avid snorkeler, Katy loved to check out the vibrant reefs in East Timor.  Some of the wondrous reef inhabitants that intrigued her can be seen on the ReefView blog here  and on the UWET blog here. 

Katy has already put her critter spotting skills (inherited from her mom) to the test during her first certification dives.

With a sharp eye, Katy was able to find this cool nudibranch hiding in the coral rubble on the sea floor.  The bottom image zooms in,  showing the bright orange and black sea slug.

Katy was also able to visit with a little reef shark who has taken residence under a coral formation at the mouth of Suva Harbor. 

Keep an eye on this space and on TerREEFic.com for more Coral Color Crusader Chronicles.