Meet Boris

Kevin Green

Boris is a subject I believe requires a page just on him. Boris is very famous and a sweetheart to those that have meet him. Boris is a grouper, a very large Cod. There are not many places in the world a diver can get literally face to face with a 200 kg (440lb) grouper, and not just for a fleeting glance. Boris lives on site at the President Coolidge and spends much of his time following divers around the wreck. Decompression is not uncommon and allot of time can be spent at the coral reef decompression stop. While waiting for the time to pass by you will be caught in awe watching Boris swimming about the divers in as shallow as 3m (10').

Boris uses the wreck as a home, for protection, and as the wreck has created an artificial reef system with an abundance and variety of fish life it's provides him with food. The President Coolidge is a famous wreck dive and Boris is well known as the Coolidge mascot. Each year Boris goes on vacation for about three months. He generally departs late September to early October and returns almost exactly three months latter. Nobody really knows where he goes but as it's the same time each year we all assume he's off on a date with his girlfriend. For the rest of the year Boris can be found every day on the Coolidge and Boris has become an attraction to the area in his own right.

As a photographic model Boris is the subject you always wanted. You don't need any zoom lenses wide-angle is fine. Some of the best photos taken of Boris have been with 15mm - 24mm lenses (All photos of Boris on this web site have been taken using 15mm lenses.) Boris also entertains for video cameras and he is not scared away by camera flashes or video lights.

One of the real thrills involving Boris is mealtime. Divers are positioned so everyone has a good view then pieces of fish are timely held out for Boris to swallow. Boris knows when food is about as he becomes much more interested and swims in amongst the divers. Boris is quite harmless and it is only his shear size that initially frightens divers. It can be a little disturbing to turn around underwater and find a 200kg Boris a half meter away from your shoulder smiling at you.

If you are very patient and move very slowly Boris may even allow you to tickle him under his chin. He will not bite but he needs to know you are not a threat to him before he will allow you to get closer than arms length. Often we see two more grouper around the wreck, one smaller and another larger than Boris, but neither of the other two are tame or will come very close to divers.

If you're into up close big fish, Boris will impress you. Some divers spend their entire dive just with Boris. Some photographers have won international photographic competitions with shots of Boris.