February 2026 Sea-gram

The February

Sea-gram

from MilaBooks.com

For ocean lovers, divers,

and "deep-thinkers."

Mayan Moonset! Paul Mila photo, Cozumel, Mexico.

Welcome to the February 2026 Sea-gram

From MilaBooks.com

Cozumel is known for fantastic sunsets. But when a shining light woke me up at 3am, I was treated to something really special: A Mayan Moonset. Amazing!

If you find our headline photo above enticing, visit www.cozumelisparadise.com and see how you can make it happen!

This month's Featured Creature is the Southern Stingray, the same species of ray as Sally Stingray!

in recognition of World Whale Week, this month's Stories Behind the Photos section features my past encounters with humpback whales.

Check out the Stories Behind the Videos section: a compilation of photos and videos assembled by diver Greg Stadter, and also a video encounter I took of our Cozumel dive group with a giant loggerhead sea turtle.

This month's Kids Korner features several young readers definitely enjoying Sally Stingray Finds Her Way Home. The glow on their faces says it all!

As always, don't forget to visit the Author's Corner.

featuring my anti-whaling novel, Whales' Angels.

Please check out our update about Dive Heart's upcoming movie, Sharing Air.

For more fun, search @paulmila5210 on YouTube and enjoy our many videos!

I hope you enjoy this Sea-gram, and share it with your friends and family.

Paul Mila

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Featured Creature

The Southern Stingray

Southern Stingrays are found throught the Caribbean, including the Bahamas and Mexico, as far south as Brazil, and occasionally as far north as New Jersey.

They vary in color from brown to gray or black, with a pointy snout and "wings," ranging from 3 to 4 feet in size, sometimes as large as 5 feet.

They inhabit sandy areas where they can lie on the bottom, occasionally covering themselves with sand.

Watch this ray in Cozumel, Mexico, as it sweeps across the sandy bottom, just like Sally Stingray, using its electro-receptors to locate its favorite food hiding beneath the sand: shrimp, clams, oysters, and crabs.

A barjack hovers over the ray, hoping to snag a free meal.

Notice that the ray's stinger is near the base of the tail, not the tip.

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Stories Behind the Photos

Last week, February 9-16, was World Whale Week.

I reflected on my experiences free-diving (scuba not allowed!) with humpback whales in the Dominican Republic's Silver Bank, and then several years later in Tonga, South Pacific.

Those experiences inspired me to write the novel, Whales' Angels. Scroll down to the Author's Corner for details about the book.

In this photo, a baby humpback in the Silver Bank swims between me and another diver, so close that we could look each other in the eye.

I wondered what he/she thought about our brief encounter.

Then, momma whale decided to get between me and her baby. As she passed me, she drew her long, white pectoral fin back alongside her body so she wouldn't hit me, showing concern for my space in the water. Amazing!

Several years later, I met "The Dancing Humpbacks of Tonga!"

In this sequence a humpback whale arches its back . . .

. . . and then dives for the deep!

I photographed this pair of "Dancing Humpbacks," perhaps practicing their syncronous swimming for the next Olympics?

The most heart-stopping moment was surfacing for air, but having to wait while these two whales passed above me.

Our Tonga trip ended with this "Close Encounter!"

I was resting at the suface, when the sea began to rock & roll, and a giant humpback surfaced right next to me.

We looked each other in the eye. When a whale looks at you it is a surreal experience. It is not like any other eye you have ever seen. You can sense the intelligence and cognition of a very powerful being assessing you.

I had the definite feeling that the whale was not as impressed with me as I was with him/her.

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The Stories Behind the Videos

Undersea Memories, Cozumel

Diver Greg Stadter, who I met for the first time on a recent Cozumel trip, put together this interesting music video, showing some of the fascinating creatures we commonly encounter beneath the sea.

Here is Greg's Story Behind the Video:

"The pics and videos are from trips in November 2025 and February 2026. I put the video together using iMovie project app.

Photos and video courtesy of diving photographers Paul Mila, Larry Cheek, Pat Fitzimmons, and Don Cox. I am a 'photo remora.' I depend on the artistic abilities of people with cameras to take all the pics. I'm too busy site-seeing underwater!"🤣🤣😎

Thanks for sharing, Greg!

A Big Old Loggerhead

In this video, we encountered a big old loggerhead sea turtle on our second dive of the day.

Here's my story:

"I was diving Cozumel's Yucab Reef, 55 feet deep in a strong current, with Greg Stadter, Pat Fitzsimmons and our dive master, Carlos.

As we were passing a large coral head I glanced down behind us and saw a huge loggerhead sea turtle resting, shielding itself from the current by the coral.

Diver Greg Stadter moves closer toward the end of the video, giving a good perspective of the size of the giant loggerhead."

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The Authors' Corner

Celebrate World Whale Week!

Read

Whales' Angels

A husband and wife battle whalers in a seagoing adventure of intrigue and murder!

Reviewer Karen Mack writes:

"This well-written story delivers high-stakes action with heart, proving that courage and conviction can make waves against even the most ruthless opponents.

Let's hear it for the whales!!!"

Click on the cover for details

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For Exciting Beach Reads, click:

PAUL'S TROPICAL AUTHOR PAGE

Click on the Tropical Authors logo below

and dive into adventures

from our other Tropical Authors!

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Kids Korner

Sally Stingray Finds Her Way Home

-- and into the hearts & minds of young readers!

Willa said: "I liked it when the turtle helped the stingray find her way back home!"

For more information about Sally Stingray, just click on Willa's photo!

Willa, working on her Sally Stingray Fun Sheet that you can download for free from: www.milabooks.com

Looks like Savannah, Francesca, and Alex are really having fun reading about Sally Stingray's adventure!

Carter and baby sister Madison had fun visiting the Jenkinson's Aquarium at Point Pleasant NJ recently.

First, they encountered a sand tiger shark in the shark tank, and then Carter found Sally Stingray in the aquarium's gift shop!

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FUN FACT!

A Sea-gram fan sent in this interesting "Fun Fact" from the North Carolina Aquarium at Fort Fisher, about the horseshoe crabs that you might encounter on your beach walks.

I didn't know that these "living fossils," which predate the dinasours by about 200 million years, were so interesting!