Yesterday I was out doing a little cleaning of the hull to get some of the algae off (I have to do this about once a week, otherwise it gets rather thick with algae, barnacles, etc.) and I noticed these black things in the water. They weren’t swimming like fish, they were more “hovering” (kind of like a hummingbird). They were about 3 inches long, with a point on one half, a “pope hat” shape for the other half, and small eyes in the middle. Also, they didn’t have fins – top, bottom, or sides – per se. They more had these wavy appendages on the sides that just repeatedly created “sine curves” (sorry, the best analogy that comes to mind) that kept them hovering. If they had to move abruptly, it was more of “shooting” motion, rather than a “swimming fast” motion.

In the top pic you can see the shape and kind of see the appendages. The second pic has a bunch of them congregating around the keel. I took this second pic because all their eyes – the light colored spot mid-way down their bodies – stood out in the shadow. It was kind of cool and creepy at the same time.

They are called Caribbean Reef Squid.

The last pic is a sunset.