Dive Meeting Report: Gary Goss's Research on Sharks 9/903 at PBCRRT
Professor Gary Goss spoke at the PBCRRT meeting last Tuesday night. He gave a great perspective on sharks over his 30+ years living in Florida.
He spoke about working on a long lining boats and catching sharks and discarding them as by catch. Private boats fished for sharks, took pictures with these huge monsters and then threw the fish away. People thought they were doing good by getting rid of these creatures that could bite you.
As fish stock dwindle, sharks are commercially viable for their skin, oil, meat, and fins. Overfishing is causing decline in populations. Unlike bony fish that release 1000s of eggs per spawn, sharks only live birth a couple of pups per cycle. There numbers will take a lot longer to recover.
15ft sawfish sharks were a common site off Florida. Now they are extremely rare and almost extinct. I just got an email some have been spotted of Jupiter.
How sharks hunt according to Gary Goss:
**Note these are general guidelines. Sharks use a combination of their senses at different ranges in hunting.**
1000 yards away
Sharks have HUGE ears inside their head and they pick up low frequency vibration from fish. Everyone is familiar with the Goliath Grouper's "boom" but Snappers and Grunts were named after the sounds they made when caught out of the water. Most fish make sound from their swim bladder, we just can't hear it. Spearing a fish and not killing it is like ringing a giant gong, "Dinner is served" you just can't hear it!
100 yards away
Sharks rely on smell to pick up blood in the water of hurt fish OR they can smell the slimy fish coating. Schools of fish leave a huge smell trail. Sharks swim in an S pattern to lock in on the smell
100 ft away
Sharks have good eye site and can determine size and shape. Most shark attacks are in Volusia county because there are a lot of swimmers and surfers in turbid water where sharks can't see and have to use their other senses.
10 ft away
Sharks can feel water pressure through their lateral line. Just like other fish, tiny hairs detect changes in the water pressure and alert the fish to danger and lead the shark to prey.
1 ft away
Sharks pick up on electrical fields with their Ampullae of Lorenzini which are all up in their nose. They can pick up the irregular heartbeat of a dying fish. Often sharks "bump" their prey before biting and scientists think this bump is for a close up electrical look at its prey.
- 6 inches
Sharks bite and can "taste" their prey. Scientist believe the Great White can taste the difference between a fatty seal and human meat. They are also not used to the thick arm and leg bones when they take a bite. Most shark "attacks" are actually "bites" and the shark leaves you alone once it figures out you are not on the menu or listed on the marine version of the Atkins diet. Depending on the shark, the "bite" can be fatal.
Categories for Bites and Attacks
1. Resemble Prey (Black wetsuit and fins swimming with seals)
2. Blood in the water (Spearfishing or boating accidents)
3. Turbid Water (swimming among schools of fish in no visibility
That's the highlights I got out of my notes.
--Matt
Thursday, September 11, 2003
Monday, September 08, 2003
Dive Report: Sunday 9/7/03 Blue Heron Bridge PBCRRT Research Diver ITC and Photography
Photographs:
http://www.geocities.com/tiswango/0309blueheron/
How to dive Blue Heron:
http://www.wadespage.com/D800DS06RF01.shtml
Map of bridges:
http://www.pbcrrt.org/Training/Inwater_1.shtml
ITC Report:
Charlie and I showed up at 5:30 PM for the 7 PM high tide. The water was nice and clear, but flowing rapidly in. Snorkelers collecting tropicals were swimming hard to make it back to the entry area. We decided to put our gear together, go for a quick snorkel and then Wade should be there for the class. Our goal was to learn the orientation program Wade has developed from the Palm Beach County Reef Research Team. We want new team members to get a taste of the task loading involved while being in a controlled environment. For this mission we will load up the new diver with three times the tasks of a normal dive to show them how important it is to hear, record, understand, and perform directions underwater.
The key to the dive plan is the briefing, which started at 6:15 PM. Wade handed us our slates, pencils and we stood under the bridge. First we had to demonstrated an understanding of how to use a compass. We pointed to the cardinal directions and matched the map to the layout for the task briefing. All tasked and directions of travel were marked down on the map.
1. Measure the distance and heading between four bridge footers
2. Measure the distance and heading of two sides of the Southern footer
3. Place a fish station marker off the West side of the third footer
4. Navigate to the established fish counting locations
5. Perform 10 minute fish count
6. Inflate safety sausage from 15ft at the end of the fishing pier
7. Tow sausage surface marker to bridge and navigate home through the center footers
We geared up and hit the water. Wade issued the tape for measuring, stake for marking, and hammer. These tools did not come on retractable clips and are not easy to swim around with as they are very negatively buoyant. Charlie and I hit the footer and already there was some confusion on the first task. A little writing on the slates got us squared away and Charlie took the measurement and then I did for steps 1 and 2. We checked our answers in with Wade and moved on. Then we moved to the 3rd footer and found a spot to start hammering away. We passed again.
The navigation for #3 was fun, we left from the correct position, but when we got to the fishing pier it wasn't evident if we hit the 2nd or 3rd row of pilings. The map wasn't identical to the location, or we might have swam at more of an angle. This is true to real life were our maps are Good, Ok, hand drawn guestimates, to "Well I heard from someone who dove this 3 months ago..." After another discussion, we started our count and swim out the pier to the 6th row and headed for the fish counting location. We both got on-site and passed. Since Charlie and I are both fish counters, we fast forwarded 10 minutes and moved on.
The sausage deployment was a bit tricky. You have to unwrap 20ft of line before you can inflate the sausage. In the real word you could let the line dangle below you at the 15ft safety stop. We had to be careful to pull the line out and not get it tangled. I choose to "hand fan" the line away. Charlie, being much smarter, put the clip on the bottom and unwrapped the line out as he swam away. One good breath sent the sausage up. I didn't leave any gas in my lungs for the reg purge, but a quick block and tap on the purge button got me gas again.
I wrapped the extra line around my left hand and started the last navigation exercise home. I wanted to keep the line tight so we wouldn't get tangled. But my compass was on the left forearm and I didn't check it on the way in. Halfway between the rows of bridge footers I switched the line to the other hand and checked my heading, almost North, I was supposed to be going East. Charlie and I hit the next set of footers and regrouped. We made it back to the exit in good fashion and only lost a couple of points off navigation.
We passed! Currently there are over 10 people waiting for orientation so now we four trainers we can start knocking the classes out.
Fun Dive Report:
We still had 20 minutes of diveable conditions before the current started ripping. Wade is a pro at the bridge and I wouldn't try to guess how many dives he has under it. Charlie and I decided to tag along while Wade shot some photos.
First improvement was following the seawall from the entry point to the debris under the fishing bridge. That is where the striated Frogfish was spotted the day before, but we didn't have any luck. There was a ton of fish packed under that wall. The current had reversed and we were swimming in to the warmer freshwater as it mixed with colder seawater making for some interesting visibility. We headed West under the bridge and that cleared up the visibility problem.
We got back to the rubble field and there was were all the action was. I got out the camera and snapped a Hairy Blenny, Arrow Crab, Blue Crab, and some garbage. I noticed Wade's modeling light being waved up and down and went over to check it out. Wade found an Octopus out in the open posing. I fought off the urge to jump in and waited for him to shoot a few photos before I got mine. Wade's buddy Pam likes to play with the critters. She tried to get the Octopus on her hand, but it was feeling shy. These creatures amaze me in how they change color and move. There's nothing to them! They can contort into any shape and their very strong and intelligent. Pam got two tentacles wrapped around her hand and tried to coax it out before it holed up under a ledge. Play time was over.
I found a few more good critters, with the exception of a Sharpnose pufferfish that would not pose for me. I was able to get me finger within a inch of the hogfish and then take a photo, Eric's technique for night hunting works wells! We decided to exit and found a horseshow crab scampering across the bottom. I headed it off and turned it towards Wade, but he was out of juice for the camera. I got a few shots. These things look like little tanks. Now I have to find a the website to report the mating observation.
Blue Heron could sure use a cleaning crew. There was crap all over the place. I found a Barracuda head near the rubble pile that was disgusting. There is glass all over and I found a bike chassis on the way out.
Overall it was another great dive in the wacky world living underneath Blue Heron Bridge.
Want to dive Blue Heron for fun? Here's a great "how to" page:
http://www.wadespage.com/D800DS06RF01.shtml
Photographs:
http://www.geocities.com/tiswango/0309blueheron/
How to dive Blue Heron:
http://www.wadespage.com/D800DS06RF01.shtml
Map of bridges:
http://www.pbcrrt.org/Training/Inwater_1.shtml
ITC Report:
Charlie and I showed up at 5:30 PM for the 7 PM high tide. The water was nice and clear, but flowing rapidly in. Snorkelers collecting tropicals were swimming hard to make it back to the entry area. We decided to put our gear together, go for a quick snorkel and then Wade should be there for the class. Our goal was to learn the orientation program Wade has developed from the Palm Beach County Reef Research Team. We want new team members to get a taste of the task loading involved while being in a controlled environment. For this mission we will load up the new diver with three times the tasks of a normal dive to show them how important it is to hear, record, understand, and perform directions underwater.
The key to the dive plan is the briefing, which started at 6:15 PM. Wade handed us our slates, pencils and we stood under the bridge. First we had to demonstrated an understanding of how to use a compass. We pointed to the cardinal directions and matched the map to the layout for the task briefing. All tasked and directions of travel were marked down on the map.
1. Measure the distance and heading between four bridge footers
2. Measure the distance and heading of two sides of the Southern footer
3. Place a fish station marker off the West side of the third footer
4. Navigate to the established fish counting locations
5. Perform 10 minute fish count
6. Inflate safety sausage from 15ft at the end of the fishing pier
7. Tow sausage surface marker to bridge and navigate home through the center footers
We geared up and hit the water. Wade issued the tape for measuring, stake for marking, and hammer. These tools did not come on retractable clips and are not easy to swim around with as they are very negatively buoyant. Charlie and I hit the footer and already there was some confusion on the first task. A little writing on the slates got us squared away and Charlie took the measurement and then I did for steps 1 and 2. We checked our answers in with Wade and moved on. Then we moved to the 3rd footer and found a spot to start hammering away. We passed again.
The navigation for #3 was fun, we left from the correct position, but when we got to the fishing pier it wasn't evident if we hit the 2nd or 3rd row of pilings. The map wasn't identical to the location, or we might have swam at more of an angle. This is true to real life were our maps are Good, Ok, hand drawn guestimates, to "Well I heard from someone who dove this 3 months ago..." After another discussion, we started our count and swim out the pier to the 6th row and headed for the fish counting location. We both got on-site and passed. Since Charlie and I are both fish counters, we fast forwarded 10 minutes and moved on.
The sausage deployment was a bit tricky. You have to unwrap 20ft of line before you can inflate the sausage. In the real word you could let the line dangle below you at the 15ft safety stop. We had to be careful to pull the line out and not get it tangled. I choose to "hand fan" the line away. Charlie, being much smarter, put the clip on the bottom and unwrapped the line out as he swam away. One good breath sent the sausage up. I didn't leave any gas in my lungs for the reg purge, but a quick block and tap on the purge button got me gas again.
I wrapped the extra line around my left hand and started the last navigation exercise home. I wanted to keep the line tight so we wouldn't get tangled. But my compass was on the left forearm and I didn't check it on the way in. Halfway between the rows of bridge footers I switched the line to the other hand and checked my heading, almost North, I was supposed to be going East. Charlie and I hit the next set of footers and regrouped. We made it back to the exit in good fashion and only lost a couple of points off navigation.
We passed! Currently there are over 10 people waiting for orientation so now we four trainers we can start knocking the classes out.
Fun Dive Report:
We still had 20 minutes of diveable conditions before the current started ripping. Wade is a pro at the bridge and I wouldn't try to guess how many dives he has under it. Charlie and I decided to tag along while Wade shot some photos.
First improvement was following the seawall from the entry point to the debris under the fishing bridge. That is where the striated Frogfish was spotted the day before, but we didn't have any luck. There was a ton of fish packed under that wall. The current had reversed and we were swimming in to the warmer freshwater as it mixed with colder seawater making for some interesting visibility. We headed West under the bridge and that cleared up the visibility problem.
We got back to the rubble field and there was were all the action was. I got out the camera and snapped a Hairy Blenny, Arrow Crab, Blue Crab, and some garbage. I noticed Wade's modeling light being waved up and down and went over to check it out. Wade found an Octopus out in the open posing. I fought off the urge to jump in and waited for him to shoot a few photos before I got mine. Wade's buddy Pam likes to play with the critters. She tried to get the Octopus on her hand, but it was feeling shy. These creatures amaze me in how they change color and move. There's nothing to them! They can contort into any shape and their very strong and intelligent. Pam got two tentacles wrapped around her hand and tried to coax it out before it holed up under a ledge. Play time was over.
I found a few more good critters, with the exception of a Sharpnose pufferfish that would not pose for me. I was able to get me finger within a inch of the hogfish and then take a photo, Eric's technique for night hunting works wells! We decided to exit and found a horseshow crab scampering across the bottom. I headed it off and turned it towards Wade, but he was out of juice for the camera. I got a few shots. These things look like little tanks. Now I have to find a the website to report the mating observation.
Blue Heron could sure use a cleaning crew. There was crap all over the place. I found a Barracuda head near the rubble pile that was disgusting. There is glass all over and I found a bike chassis on the way out.
Overall it was another great dive in the wacky world living underneath Blue Heron Bridge.
Want to dive Blue Heron for fun? Here's a great "how to" page:
http://www.wadespage.com/D800DS06RF01.shtml
Dive Report: Saturday 9/6/03 PBCRRT dives Boynton Cooridors and Delray Ledges on Lady Go
Photographs:
http://www.geocities.com/tiswango/0309pbcrrt/
Report:
At 7:30 AM the majority of the team was loaded and ready to go. 16 people on that boat makes for a very comfy trip considering the long ride we have up to Delray. We left right at 8 AM and started working on our dive plan and teams.
Dive one on Boynton Corridors was perfect, we had a great drop into the rockpile with a moderate current of .6 knot. I had to work up to the South end and begin the trip. I had my choice of fish stations so I made sure teams hit the first two stations and then went to the third one on the North end to count fish for 10 minutes.
On the drift North I was surround by a squadron on of Rainbow Parrotfish dive bombing the limestone boulders for algae. They moved off as I approached and didn't let me snap a good photo. We hit station 3 and I hovered to count all the Striped grunts, Gray and Mahogany Snappers, a Bi-color Damselfish.
Water was 60ft vertical and 50ft of horizontal visibility. We tried to swim to the Bud Bar which is just NE of the last rock pile, but my buddy was low on gas and drifted our ascent. Bottom time of 27 minutes at 87ft max depth on 32% Nitrox and a water temp of 84 degrees.
After a 45 minutes surface interval we started the challenging dive. We always try to have a marked starting place in which people can navigate to fish counting locations. On a wreck or this rock pile its easy, on Del Ray Ledges its a problem. We only put down 1 out of 4 marks last time and that mark, #4, was on the back side of the reef. I'm sure you've heard of finding a needle in a haystack, well we needed to find a 4 inch square piece of bright orange plastic, nailed to bottom, with 6 months of growth on it. What we did have was accurate GPS numbers, which are great for the boat, but weren't much help underwater. We put together a team of 6 who would spread out and drift the backside looking for this marker. After 7 minutes of search time we would do a three minute ascent. Lady Go gave us a bigger lead into the numbers and we searched. The problem was the current wasn't as strong and as we surfaced we were just over the numbers, meaning we drifted over the spot while ascending. Life goes on!
This time the Lady go set us up for a drop on the Delray Ledge just south of the GPS mark. The ledge is easy to find and we placed markers 3, and 5 on the ledge 75ft or so apart and GPS'd them. Then we went due East from #5 and swam a good 4 minutes and placed #6 down. I stuck around and counted fish at this distant spot and by the end of my count the photo team and second assigned fish team drifted in to the location which gives me hope it can be found again.
There were cute little Purple Reefish, Sunshinefish, and Striped Parrotfish. I nice sized lobster was holed up near the mark and there were several others on the trip.
In the photos you can see Lin shooting invert photos near the orange square, that's the mark we were looking for. In 6 months when we return we can scout for 4 again, but we consider it lost after year of growth and we'll place a replacement off #3 on the ledge so that it can be found as well. I dove for 45 minutes at 65ft with a 8 minute ascent.
Another mission accomplished! If you see our orange markers on DelRay Ledges, please leave them alone. If you find someone has pulled it up and brings it on the boat, please let me know!
--Matt
Photographs:
http://www.geocities.com/tiswango/0309pbcrrt/
Report:
At 7:30 AM the majority of the team was loaded and ready to go. 16 people on that boat makes for a very comfy trip considering the long ride we have up to Delray. We left right at 8 AM and started working on our dive plan and teams.
Dive one on Boynton Corridors was perfect, we had a great drop into the rockpile with a moderate current of .6 knot. I had to work up to the South end and begin the trip. I had my choice of fish stations so I made sure teams hit the first two stations and then went to the third one on the North end to count fish for 10 minutes.
On the drift North I was surround by a squadron on of Rainbow Parrotfish dive bombing the limestone boulders for algae. They moved off as I approached and didn't let me snap a good photo. We hit station 3 and I hovered to count all the Striped grunts, Gray and Mahogany Snappers, a Bi-color Damselfish.
Water was 60ft vertical and 50ft of horizontal visibility. We tried to swim to the Bud Bar which is just NE of the last rock pile, but my buddy was low on gas and drifted our ascent. Bottom time of 27 minutes at 87ft max depth on 32% Nitrox and a water temp of 84 degrees.
After a 45 minutes surface interval we started the challenging dive. We always try to have a marked starting place in which people can navigate to fish counting locations. On a wreck or this rock pile its easy, on Del Ray Ledges its a problem. We only put down 1 out of 4 marks last time and that mark, #4, was on the back side of the reef. I'm sure you've heard of finding a needle in a haystack, well we needed to find a 4 inch square piece of bright orange plastic, nailed to bottom, with 6 months of growth on it. What we did have was accurate GPS numbers, which are great for the boat, but weren't much help underwater. We put together a team of 6 who would spread out and drift the backside looking for this marker. After 7 minutes of search time we would do a three minute ascent. Lady Go gave us a bigger lead into the numbers and we searched. The problem was the current wasn't as strong and as we surfaced we were just over the numbers, meaning we drifted over the spot while ascending. Life goes on!
This time the Lady go set us up for a drop on the Delray Ledge just south of the GPS mark. The ledge is easy to find and we placed markers 3, and 5 on the ledge 75ft or so apart and GPS'd them. Then we went due East from #5 and swam a good 4 minutes and placed #6 down. I stuck around and counted fish at this distant spot and by the end of my count the photo team and second assigned fish team drifted in to the location which gives me hope it can be found again.
There were cute little Purple Reefish, Sunshinefish, and Striped Parrotfish. I nice sized lobster was holed up near the mark and there were several others on the trip.
In the photos you can see Lin shooting invert photos near the orange square, that's the mark we were looking for. In 6 months when we return we can scout for 4 again, but we consider it lost after year of growth and we'll place a replacement off #3 on the ledge so that it can be found as well. I dove for 45 minutes at 65ft with a 8 minute ascent.
Another mission accomplished! If you see our orange markers on DelRay Ledges, please leave them alone. If you find someone has pulled it up and brings it on the boat, please let me know!
--Matt
Dive Report: Tuesday 9/2 St. Henry off Miami
Photos:
http://www.geocities.com/tiswango/0309sthenry/index.htm
Why does the work day slow down when you have a fun dive scheduled after work? We showed up at the boat at 6:30 to make our 7 PM departure. Watching the sunset over Miami and seeing the lights on the way back makes for a great evening. Add a little diving in the middle and its all good!
Last time we tried to dive the St. Henry we ended up on a 75 steel dive boat that's about 150ft away. This time we tried the GPS #s for the dive boat to see if we hit our original target, the St. Henry. Laying in 110ft of water, this 110ft steel freighter was put down in 1997. The sounder hit the wreck on the first pass and the anchor grabbed on the first drop. I paired up with Steve and we worked out our plan. I would lead, 25 mins bottom time on 32%, 1 min per 10ft ascent starting at 80ft and I would switch to my 50% bottle on the fly at 70ft with no additional stop since my buddy was on 32% the whole way up.
Seas were choppy 3-4 with a few rollers spilling over the bow. I just got my camera in the housing before a big wave rained down on me, the saltwater electronic gods were smiling on me. Surface current was slight, so we jumped in for the line. Anchor diving always has the mystery of "where's the wreck" the whole way down. Seeing the anchor in the sand always makes me wondering, "Where is it?"
Fortunately with sunset there was a dark shadow just ahead. I tied off my reel and Steve and I headed off. The water was clear blue so the stern appeared to us. I tied in and we headed off towards the bow. There was a thermocline at 60ft. On the deck there was cold water 76-78 degrees washing over us in waves. Steve kept sticking his head into the cargo hold, he told me on deck it because it was full of warm water!
Besides the big school of jacks that met us at the anchor, there wasn't many fish on the wreck. Only a hundred or so grunts (that's not a lot, really), a few Redband Parrotfish and the traditional Sharpnose Pufferfish. On the second lap around I realized there wasn't much growth on the wreck for 5 years of sitting on the bottom and the surfaces were smooth. The deck covered the cargo hold except for two openings big enough for divers to go through single file. There were no fish inside. The most unique thing about this wreck were the sea slugs everywhere.
We circled the wreck twice in 15 minutes and I shot some photos of what I could find. We left the reel in for the second team. On the ascent, we noticed the current had picked up to about a knot or so. I grabbed the anchor line and relaxed on the trip up. Steve runs a mean, well timed deco. I made my gas switch and kept the pace right up to the surface. The 10ft stop was not fun, but manageable. I just relax and go with the flow of the line. Steve gave me the thumbs up and I let go to drift to the boat. As soon as I let go the peace and joy of diving returned.
We reported conditions to the next team who also noticed the current and they put a granny line (Anchor to stern of boat) out for them. After their dive they reported no cold water and 1 knot current on the bottom over the wreck. It was amazing how fast conditions can change!
Now that we have been there and dove that wreck, I don't think we'll be going back anytime soon. This is one of wrecks you dive just to say, Yeah, I dove that.... don't bother.
--Matt
Photos:
http://www.geocities.com/tiswango/0309sthenry/index.htm
Why does the work day slow down when you have a fun dive scheduled after work? We showed up at the boat at 6:30 to make our 7 PM departure. Watching the sunset over Miami and seeing the lights on the way back makes for a great evening. Add a little diving in the middle and its all good!
Last time we tried to dive the St. Henry we ended up on a 75 steel dive boat that's about 150ft away. This time we tried the GPS #s for the dive boat to see if we hit our original target, the St. Henry. Laying in 110ft of water, this 110ft steel freighter was put down in 1997. The sounder hit the wreck on the first pass and the anchor grabbed on the first drop. I paired up with Steve and we worked out our plan. I would lead, 25 mins bottom time on 32%, 1 min per 10ft ascent starting at 80ft and I would switch to my 50% bottle on the fly at 70ft with no additional stop since my buddy was on 32% the whole way up.
Seas were choppy 3-4 with a few rollers spilling over the bow. I just got my camera in the housing before a big wave rained down on me, the saltwater electronic gods were smiling on me. Surface current was slight, so we jumped in for the line. Anchor diving always has the mystery of "where's the wreck" the whole way down. Seeing the anchor in the sand always makes me wondering, "Where is it?"
Fortunately with sunset there was a dark shadow just ahead. I tied off my reel and Steve and I headed off. The water was clear blue so the stern appeared to us. I tied in and we headed off towards the bow. There was a thermocline at 60ft. On the deck there was cold water 76-78 degrees washing over us in waves. Steve kept sticking his head into the cargo hold, he told me on deck it because it was full of warm water!
Besides the big school of jacks that met us at the anchor, there wasn't many fish on the wreck. Only a hundred or so grunts (that's not a lot, really), a few Redband Parrotfish and the traditional Sharpnose Pufferfish. On the second lap around I realized there wasn't much growth on the wreck for 5 years of sitting on the bottom and the surfaces were smooth. The deck covered the cargo hold except for two openings big enough for divers to go through single file. There were no fish inside. The most unique thing about this wreck were the sea slugs everywhere.
We circled the wreck twice in 15 minutes and I shot some photos of what I could find. We left the reel in for the second team. On the ascent, we noticed the current had picked up to about a knot or so. I grabbed the anchor line and relaxed on the trip up. Steve runs a mean, well timed deco. I made my gas switch and kept the pace right up to the surface. The 10ft stop was not fun, but manageable. I just relax and go with the flow of the line. Steve gave me the thumbs up and I let go to drift to the boat. As soon as I let go the peace and joy of diving returned.
We reported conditions to the next team who also noticed the current and they put a granny line (Anchor to stern of boat) out for them. After their dive they reported no cold water and 1 knot current on the bottom over the wreck. It was amazing how fast conditions can change!
Now that we have been there and dove that wreck, I don't think we'll be going back anytime soon. This is one of wrecks you dive just to say, Yeah, I dove that.... don't bother.
--Matt
Dive Report: Sunday Aug 31: Noula Express, Ancient Mariner, and Berry Patch on Lady Go
At 8 AM we all meet at Datura Street for a beach dive. Terrance wanted to practice with reels and he kept saying, "you guys have it too easy down here." After a delightful breakfast at Mulligians discussing the local Malaysian diving and 3.8 to 1 exchange rate, Andrea and I think we need to pop over there sometime.
We geared up at 9:30 AM and the seas were still 4ft breaking into surf. Charlie and I plowed right through and watched Terrance and Ralph make a run for it. Both lost their masks, Terrance made a behind the back save on his mask. Ralph popped a thumb and headed out to enjoy the morning with Andrea. We kicked out to the buoy and descended. It was dizzy in the zero vis. I hand to put my hand down in the sand to feel the bottom. We got settled and head out over the reef. The vis opened up to 5 ft. This makes for good conditions to test buddy and team skills. We all stayed together and didn't loose the guy in 3rd place.
On the back side of the third reef I pointed out a nice rock to make a primary tie. We ran the line out and made a couple of wraps. Then Terrance tied the reel off. Working in 3 ft surge is very hard but Terrance figured out his timing between the waves of surge. Now I couldn't find Charlie. I asked Terrance and he didn't know where he was? We were bumping into each other like the three stooges, but Charlie got away from me. I pulled out my spool, tied into the line and started off looking for him. After about 10 ft I turned Terrance around to go the other direction and there was Charlie following us! He moved off while Terrance was tying and he light was pointed at us so he disappeared in the foggy water. We "ok-locked" the line and followed it back, I pulled off wraps on the way back. Then we continued to swim in after 30 minutes. There just wasn't anything to sightsee and our mission was accomplished.
We rushed over to Fill Express for a fill and ordered lunch to make the boat at 12:30 PM. We ran into Marv G. and Christos K getting a top off before heading to Dania. Once they drove down they found the boat cancelled so they drove back up to Lady Go to join our hearty group.
Cliff did a good job getting this trip together and talking to Pavan, owner of Lady Go to make this dive, Diver's Choice, meaning we wouldn't have to pay to go due to weather. We lost a few and gained a few more as many boats cancelled their trips. It just plain nice to have the choice! After yapping on the dock we got a late start at 2:30 PM for our trip. This time we brought Ralph along to buddy up with Andrea so Charlie, Terrance, and I could dive as a three person team.
We planned, checked and jumped in the water with our own flag instead of being tied in, much nicer for rough seas. The last thing I heard from the captain was "swim West" to the wreck. We landed in 85ft of patch reef. I listened, swam, and ran into JC. "Wait, DON'T Shoot!" I put my hands on my head. "Darn, now were lost!" I kept swimming West and hit the stern section. Multiple teams with flags is tough to navigate. We should have said to tie the flags off to the wreck and not drift around with them.
Andrea and Ralph were leading so we headed over to the bow as Christos and Marv were coming back. Christos armed and loaded and me with my sawed off knife didn't seem like much of a fight so we steered clear of them as well. By then we almost had the wreck to ourselves. I pointed out the drug sub and what looks to be a H bottle lying next to it. Wonder if its still pressurized? I also found 3 yellowheaded Jawfish in the sand by the bow. I love those little guys!
After admiring the wreck we drifted off to the reef. There were lots of Deep Water Seafans and Tobbacofish in the sand channels. Andrea and Ralph ran low on gas first and followed the flag line up to surface by the flag.10 minutes later we headed up with another practice gas switch.
After a nice 1 hour SI, we got ready for the double header. First a drop on the Ancient Mariner and then a swim over to the Berry Patch taking a 150 degree heading off the bow. We were the last team in and hit the bottom to find sand. There were no "final words" before I jumped and I had a 30% chance of going the right way. Once everyone was on the bottom I found a skeleton of a small boat. From there I saw a shadow in the distance and swam for it. It was a small tug boat, the Berry Patch.
What a great little wreck. It was all grown over and looked like it wasn't dove that much. In fact the school of grunts looked at me like, "hey the tourist boat is over there, leave us alone." We swam into the stern section and out through the bridge. I told Terrance to run OOA with Charlie and I hoped they would share on the way out as it was single file. Terrance spun around, didn't silt out and everything went well, but they didn't share on the way out, oh well.
After 10 minutes I had to figure out where the Ancient Mariner is? I reverse course from 150 would be 330 degrees, but off the bow or stern of the Berry Patch? The Bow had patch reef and the Stern was sand. I decided to head for the stern. Right then Eric and Nancy were pulling up out of the blue. We were 15ft apart, but I looked up and saw they had a lot of flag line out and I didn't as I just untied from the wreck. I swam off and prayed. Then it got tougher, and tougher and I knew there was no reason to play Flag-o-war. Usually the boat will pull them apart. I turned the group and headed back for the Patch. I wound the flag tight and couldn't see the other divers line. We started back across and I was free.
The Bow of the AM came out of the haze. I have never swam up to a ship from that angle. It looked huge! I ascended and tied the flag to the port cleet. I took Terrance and Charlie inside to swim through the center and Ralph and Andrea circled the outside. In the middle I ran an OOA with Terrance and we shared gas on the way out. On the deck he thumbed me and we started back to the flag. Once clear, we saw the resident Green Moray swimming out to the huge dead HorseEye Jack and try to drag it back into the ship for dinner.
We ascended, switched gasses and floated in the rough seas for a couple minutes before getting picked up.
Walter was asking for the number to Fill Express during the Surface Interval. He was kind enough to tell Mark we were not going to make VIP E-Hour at Fill Express. Mark was cool enough to go have dinner and we gave him another call when the boat got back. Thanks to Walter for bringing the cooler of tasty beverages and Jeff ect who brought chips to munch on.
From there we invaded piranha Pat's Flanagan's and took over the three tables in the back. We were expecting 10 and 15 showed up! I've never laughed so hard, especially at some of Cliff's jokes that were on their 2nd round!
--Matt
At 8 AM we all meet at Datura Street for a beach dive. Terrance wanted to practice with reels and he kept saying, "you guys have it too easy down here." After a delightful breakfast at Mulligians discussing the local Malaysian diving and 3.8 to 1 exchange rate, Andrea and I think we need to pop over there sometime.
We geared up at 9:30 AM and the seas were still 4ft breaking into surf. Charlie and I plowed right through and watched Terrance and Ralph make a run for it. Both lost their masks, Terrance made a behind the back save on his mask. Ralph popped a thumb and headed out to enjoy the morning with Andrea. We kicked out to the buoy and descended. It was dizzy in the zero vis. I hand to put my hand down in the sand to feel the bottom. We got settled and head out over the reef. The vis opened up to 5 ft. This makes for good conditions to test buddy and team skills. We all stayed together and didn't loose the guy in 3rd place.
On the back side of the third reef I pointed out a nice rock to make a primary tie. We ran the line out and made a couple of wraps. Then Terrance tied the reel off. Working in 3 ft surge is very hard but Terrance figured out his timing between the waves of surge. Now I couldn't find Charlie. I asked Terrance and he didn't know where he was? We were bumping into each other like the three stooges, but Charlie got away from me. I pulled out my spool, tied into the line and started off looking for him. After about 10 ft I turned Terrance around to go the other direction and there was Charlie following us! He moved off while Terrance was tying and he light was pointed at us so he disappeared in the foggy water. We "ok-locked" the line and followed it back, I pulled off wraps on the way back. Then we continued to swim in after 30 minutes. There just wasn't anything to sightsee and our mission was accomplished.
We rushed over to Fill Express for a fill and ordered lunch to make the boat at 12:30 PM. We ran into Marv G. and Christos K getting a top off before heading to Dania. Once they drove down they found the boat cancelled so they drove back up to Lady Go to join our hearty group.
Cliff did a good job getting this trip together and talking to Pavan, owner of Lady Go to make this dive, Diver's Choice, meaning we wouldn't have to pay to go due to weather. We lost a few and gained a few more as many boats cancelled their trips. It just plain nice to have the choice! After yapping on the dock we got a late start at 2:30 PM for our trip. This time we brought Ralph along to buddy up with Andrea so Charlie, Terrance, and I could dive as a three person team.
We planned, checked and jumped in the water with our own flag instead of being tied in, much nicer for rough seas. The last thing I heard from the captain was "swim West" to the wreck. We landed in 85ft of patch reef. I listened, swam, and ran into JC. "Wait, DON'T Shoot!" I put my hands on my head. "Darn, now were lost!" I kept swimming West and hit the stern section. Multiple teams with flags is tough to navigate. We should have said to tie the flags off to the wreck and not drift around with them.
Andrea and Ralph were leading so we headed over to the bow as Christos and Marv were coming back. Christos armed and loaded and me with my sawed off knife didn't seem like much of a fight so we steered clear of them as well. By then we almost had the wreck to ourselves. I pointed out the drug sub and what looks to be a H bottle lying next to it. Wonder if its still pressurized? I also found 3 yellowheaded Jawfish in the sand by the bow. I love those little guys!
After admiring the wreck we drifted off to the reef. There were lots of Deep Water Seafans and Tobbacofish in the sand channels. Andrea and Ralph ran low on gas first and followed the flag line up to surface by the flag.10 minutes later we headed up with another practice gas switch.
After a nice 1 hour SI, we got ready for the double header. First a drop on the Ancient Mariner and then a swim over to the Berry Patch taking a 150 degree heading off the bow. We were the last team in and hit the bottom to find sand. There were no "final words" before I jumped and I had a 30% chance of going the right way. Once everyone was on the bottom I found a skeleton of a small boat. From there I saw a shadow in the distance and swam for it. It was a small tug boat, the Berry Patch.
What a great little wreck. It was all grown over and looked like it wasn't dove that much. In fact the school of grunts looked at me like, "hey the tourist boat is over there, leave us alone." We swam into the stern section and out through the bridge. I told Terrance to run OOA with Charlie and I hoped they would share on the way out as it was single file. Terrance spun around, didn't silt out and everything went well, but they didn't share on the way out, oh well.
After 10 minutes I had to figure out where the Ancient Mariner is? I reverse course from 150 would be 330 degrees, but off the bow or stern of the Berry Patch? The Bow had patch reef and the Stern was sand. I decided to head for the stern. Right then Eric and Nancy were pulling up out of the blue. We were 15ft apart, but I looked up and saw they had a lot of flag line out and I didn't as I just untied from the wreck. I swam off and prayed. Then it got tougher, and tougher and I knew there was no reason to play Flag-o-war. Usually the boat will pull them apart. I turned the group and headed back for the Patch. I wound the flag tight and couldn't see the other divers line. We started back across and I was free.
The Bow of the AM came out of the haze. I have never swam up to a ship from that angle. It looked huge! I ascended and tied the flag to the port cleet. I took Terrance and Charlie inside to swim through the center and Ralph and Andrea circled the outside. In the middle I ran an OOA with Terrance and we shared gas on the way out. On the deck he thumbed me and we started back to the flag. Once clear, we saw the resident Green Moray swimming out to the huge dead HorseEye Jack and try to drag it back into the ship for dinner.
We ascended, switched gasses and floated in the rough seas for a couple minutes before getting picked up.
Walter was asking for the number to Fill Express during the Surface Interval. He was kind enough to tell Mark we were not going to make VIP E-Hour at Fill Express. Mark was cool enough to go have dinner and we gave him another call when the boat got back. Thanks to Walter for bringing the cooler of tasty beverages and Jeff ect who brought chips to munch on.
From there we invaded piranha Pat's Flanagan's and took over the three tables in the back. We were expecting 10 and 15 showed up! I've never laughed so hard, especially at some of Cliff's jokes that were on their 2nd round!
--Matt
Thursday, September 04, 2003
Dive Report: Aug 30th, Capt Dan and Sunkist Reef on Fathoms
I showed up 15 minutes early to the boat to find it half loaded already. Darn E-divers, always early. I was happy to find Charlie beat them to the punch and had the port side reserved for us. Terrance show up right at 8:30 AM and we helped him get his gear loaded up on the boat for the trip out.
We worked up out plan for the Dan, 30 minutes bottom time on 32%, 1 team of Charlie, Terrance, and myself. And then there wan Andrea. I didn't have anyone for her to team up with so I said I would be a team of 2 with her and 3 with the other guys. The rules say we should have broken into two teams of two, but what fun would it be to follow the rules? Terrance and Charlie worked their equipment checks and Andrea and I did as well. Its so cool to meet someone off the web from a 1000 miles away and dive together on the same page instantly.
The DM said there was current teams would be dropped up from the ball on the wreck, then pull yourself down. I splashed, dropped 10 ft and did a mad swim for the line. Once I hit it I looked for Andrea and the rest of the team. Andrea dropped to 20 ft and was next to the line, but not grabbing on. Cliffy reached out and pulled her on the line. We started the hand over hand down to the Dan. On the bottom the current was light. The hard descent gave me a CO2 head ache and I don't remember "seeing" much on the wreck. I did notice the corridors at the stern calling me to tie off my reel and head inside. My team wasn't ready for that, but I'll remember it for next time.
We worked up to the bow platform and ran a valve drill with Terrance and myself. We started heading back to the line and I learned after the dive, Andrea told Charlie she was low on gas. A little later she told me, "1000 psi" and we still were not at the line. At the line Andrea "thumbed" the dive and started up. The dive should have ended after Andrea told Charlie she was low. This was about 25 minutes into the dive.
The current was strong 1.5 knots and I cancelled the stage switch at 70ft and we continued up at 10ft per minute. At 50 ft I felt a tug on my fin and got an OOA. I shared with Andrea, surprised, and checked her gauge. She was at 500 psi and I had plenty so it was good she should save her gas for getting on the boat. People look at you strange for diving doubles on recreational dives, but having more than you need for your plan is a very comforting factor.
On the boat we talked about how we didn't set the teams up properly in the plan and they fell apart underwater. Teams need to 2 or 3 divers max. We planned 2 and 2 on the same flag for the reef drift dive. Terrance was heavy on gas diving wet in warm water for the first time, he is from NYC. Instead of playing with deco bottles, he practiced stage diving. First he would breath the 40cuft of 32% from his stage bottle and then go to his back gas. At 500 psi he would end the dive. Charlie and I used our back gas and would switch to the deco bottle at 70ft or 10 ft off the bottom and continue up with a regular ascent.
The reef was covered with the red algae. Its such a mess! We were on the top and I headed West to the ledge. Found a Jack knife drum among other fish. At the end there were large schools of snappers and grunts. At one point I tried to sneak up on Charlie and "air gunned" him to simulate a blown burst disk. Charlie shut down the post, switched regs and then went for the isolator. He was calm and cool through the whole thing and I gave him no warning, except my presence above him.
We stopped while Terrance switched from stage to back gas. I offered him my 70ft bottle since we were at 50ft and solid bottom beneath us. He declined and called the dive at 40 minutes. Charlie and I switched gases at 30ft and continued our normal ascents. It was a perfect drift dive. Charlie and I stored our stage regs on the surface and waited for the boat.
--Matt
I showed up 15 minutes early to the boat to find it half loaded already. Darn E-divers, always early. I was happy to find Charlie beat them to the punch and had the port side reserved for us. Terrance show up right at 8:30 AM and we helped him get his gear loaded up on the boat for the trip out.
We worked up out plan for the Dan, 30 minutes bottom time on 32%, 1 team of Charlie, Terrance, and myself. And then there wan Andrea. I didn't have anyone for her to team up with so I said I would be a team of 2 with her and 3 with the other guys. The rules say we should have broken into two teams of two, but what fun would it be to follow the rules? Terrance and Charlie worked their equipment checks and Andrea and I did as well. Its so cool to meet someone off the web from a 1000 miles away and dive together on the same page instantly.
The DM said there was current teams would be dropped up from the ball on the wreck, then pull yourself down. I splashed, dropped 10 ft and did a mad swim for the line. Once I hit it I looked for Andrea and the rest of the team. Andrea dropped to 20 ft and was next to the line, but not grabbing on. Cliffy reached out and pulled her on the line. We started the hand over hand down to the Dan. On the bottom the current was light. The hard descent gave me a CO2 head ache and I don't remember "seeing" much on the wreck. I did notice the corridors at the stern calling me to tie off my reel and head inside. My team wasn't ready for that, but I'll remember it for next time.
We worked up to the bow platform and ran a valve drill with Terrance and myself. We started heading back to the line and I learned after the dive, Andrea told Charlie she was low on gas. A little later she told me, "1000 psi" and we still were not at the line. At the line Andrea "thumbed" the dive and started up. The dive should have ended after Andrea told Charlie she was low. This was about 25 minutes into the dive.
The current was strong 1.5 knots and I cancelled the stage switch at 70ft and we continued up at 10ft per minute. At 50 ft I felt a tug on my fin and got an OOA. I shared with Andrea, surprised, and checked her gauge. She was at 500 psi and I had plenty so it was good she should save her gas for getting on the boat. People look at you strange for diving doubles on recreational dives, but having more than you need for your plan is a very comforting factor.
On the boat we talked about how we didn't set the teams up properly in the plan and they fell apart underwater. Teams need to 2 or 3 divers max. We planned 2 and 2 on the same flag for the reef drift dive. Terrance was heavy on gas diving wet in warm water for the first time, he is from NYC. Instead of playing with deco bottles, he practiced stage diving. First he would breath the 40cuft of 32% from his stage bottle and then go to his back gas. At 500 psi he would end the dive. Charlie and I used our back gas and would switch to the deco bottle at 70ft or 10 ft off the bottom and continue up with a regular ascent.
The reef was covered with the red algae. Its such a mess! We were on the top and I headed West to the ledge. Found a Jack knife drum among other fish. At the end there were large schools of snappers and grunts. At one point I tried to sneak up on Charlie and "air gunned" him to simulate a blown burst disk. Charlie shut down the post, switched regs and then went for the isolator. He was calm and cool through the whole thing and I gave him no warning, except my presence above him.
We stopped while Terrance switched from stage to back gas. I offered him my 70ft bottle since we were at 50ft and solid bottom beneath us. He declined and called the dive at 40 minutes. Charlie and I switched gases at 30ft and continued our normal ascents. It was a perfect drift dive. Charlie and I stored our stage regs on the surface and waited for the boat.
--Matt
Tuesday, September 02, 2003
Dive Report: Friday Aug 29th Night dive Pompano Beach using a Scooter
First let me begin with: "Forgive me father as I have sinned, its been 2 weeks since my last stroke dive."
It was nice knowing that I had $3500 clipped to my crotch and Cliff didn't let me get too far from his sight. After the dive I went over a few observations with Cliff on the scooters that I had picked up from the net.
1. My scooter would got nose down when I stopped. It wasn't weighted properly. I had to lift it up to start off and keep tension in my arm to leverage it up and keep it going straight. My arm was sore after the dive.
2. He said my arm should be bent in a 90 degree angle and kept close to my body. My hand on the handle was under my chin. Most DIR pics I've see shows the arm out comfortably with the motor in front and below the diver. I asked if the too cord was too short, and he thought it might be too long for me. I let that on drop.
3. Scooters make buddy separation exponentially greater. Having a HID light is a must! His light only gave him about 5 feet on me. I really see where rock solid team skills are a must when you bring in this advanced tool. Its not just a play thing or a rule #6 accessory.
4. Cliffy tuned my props back to a slower speed and I was still blowing him off with a single 80 compared to the *&^^% (insert word) he had on his back.
5. My light cord was vibrating at full speed. I could find a way to keep it closer to my body. I'm still thinking that keeping the light cord under the long hose has some advantages.
6. I can see where a thicker suit or a dry might help relieve the problems I had, the .5 mil didn't give me any padding for my sensitive area.
7. Swimming isn't so bad for right now! :)
Photos at:
http://www.geocities.com/tiswango/0309edivers/
#3-12
I met Cliffy at his condo after work for a long a waited test drive of one of his Silent Submersion scooters. After my boat fiasco of last year, I have dreamed of two scooters to extend my shore diving range and increase the fun of the boat dives. Unfortunately the wedding has soaked up my "fun" income, I could still see if the fever would bite me after a dive.
Cliff and I cruised over to the 12th in Pompano to check out the site and have a mental map to share with E-divers wanting to shore dive during or after the party.
The 3-4 ft crashing waves were a good warning, but we decided to go for it anyway. Cliff was also testing his new super flag marker with heavy float and extended flag pole complete with helium balloon to keep it up and in front of any passing boats.
I set up my single tank AL80 rig and Cliffy prepared his Dolphin rebreather modified for 100% O2 use (Kids, don't try this at home!) Next we put together the scooters and tested them near the dive bus. As bargained, I would have carry the scooters to near the ocean so that we would have a short walk to the ocean in full gear.
"Oh my back!" 97 lbs is a lot of scooter! We set them up on some beach chairs near the waters edge. We went back and geared up, we through some checks, overviewed out bail out gas for this shallow night dive.
We hit the water as the sun was setting and there was no vis. I clipped the scooter into the crotch D-ring and put on my fins. We cruised out on the surface, past the buoy and descended. My HID made me easy to find. Cliffy pulled out a c-cell light and I gave myself about 30 seconds to lose him. Before the dive Cliffy asked me if I had the 2 inch or 1 inch webbing on the crotch strap? He never said why?
On the bottom it was time to pull the trigger. I got horizontal, pointed the scooter in the direction of travel and rolled the motorcycle style handle on. "DING!" I just rang my bells! "OUCH!" It lurched forward with a great amount of thrust and the crotch strap gave my manhood an atomic wedgee! These things need to come with a cup!
After I got started things shifted so that I was comfortable letting the scooter drag me through the water. I wasn't as slick as I should be and I felt the prop wash on my body. After a couple of minutes it was time to turn. Cliffy gave me good instruction on how to roll the handle to the 9 O-clock position and push the scooter away to make a turn. I made a couple a circles in each direction and stayed right with Cliff. Every time I stopped he pulled up beside me. Next signaled to head out and back right to head down the reef. I hit and moved out. I learned to get the scooter up on plain and moving with less drag through the water. I stopped to let Cliff catch up and there was no Cliff?
I circled my light out into the black like a light house so he could find me. I heard the wine of his motor start and stop. After 2 minutes I surfaced to hear Cliff calling out like my mother, "Matttheewwww, where are you?" I cruised right over to him and we down to head out over the reef again. This time I got the position better and I was moving! With the HID in front of me I could see the softcorals right before I hit them. This is not good. I hit just right and it stopped me with a piece of octo coral jamming the prop. I stopped to clear it out of the way. After 4 minutes we cruised back east and surfaced.
On the beach our surface support was there to help pull the scooters out of the water and help carry these monsters back to parking lot. I had a BIG smile on my face from a great adventure. I loved it! I'm thinking the smaller, lighter Mako, might be the way to go. Luckily I won't have to worry about making a decision until I have more dinero.
Special thanks to Cliff for letting me play with his toys!
I look forward to going back to this reef and seeing what is there in the day time!
--Matt
First let me begin with: "Forgive me father as I have sinned, its been 2 weeks since my last stroke dive."
It was nice knowing that I had $3500 clipped to my crotch and Cliff didn't let me get too far from his sight. After the dive I went over a few observations with Cliff on the scooters that I had picked up from the net.
1. My scooter would got nose down when I stopped. It wasn't weighted properly. I had to lift it up to start off and keep tension in my arm to leverage it up and keep it going straight. My arm was sore after the dive.
2. He said my arm should be bent in a 90 degree angle and kept close to my body. My hand on the handle was under my chin. Most DIR pics I've see shows the arm out comfortably with the motor in front and below the diver. I asked if the too cord was too short, and he thought it might be too long for me. I let that on drop.
3. Scooters make buddy separation exponentially greater. Having a HID light is a must! His light only gave him about 5 feet on me. I really see where rock solid team skills are a must when you bring in this advanced tool. Its not just a play thing or a rule #6 accessory.
4. Cliffy tuned my props back to a slower speed and I was still blowing him off with a single 80 compared to the *&^^% (insert word) he had on his back.
5. My light cord was vibrating at full speed. I could find a way to keep it closer to my body. I'm still thinking that keeping the light cord under the long hose has some advantages.
6. I can see where a thicker suit or a dry might help relieve the problems I had, the .5 mil didn't give me any padding for my sensitive area.
7. Swimming isn't so bad for right now! :)
Photos at:
http://www.geocities.com/tiswango/0309edivers/
#3-12
I met Cliffy at his condo after work for a long a waited test drive of one of his Silent Submersion scooters. After my boat fiasco of last year, I have dreamed of two scooters to extend my shore diving range and increase the fun of the boat dives. Unfortunately the wedding has soaked up my "fun" income, I could still see if the fever would bite me after a dive.
Cliff and I cruised over to the 12th in Pompano to check out the site and have a mental map to share with E-divers wanting to shore dive during or after the party.
The 3-4 ft crashing waves were a good warning, but we decided to go for it anyway. Cliff was also testing his new super flag marker with heavy float and extended flag pole complete with helium balloon to keep it up and in front of any passing boats.
I set up my single tank AL80 rig and Cliffy prepared his Dolphin rebreather modified for 100% O2 use (Kids, don't try this at home!) Next we put together the scooters and tested them near the dive bus. As bargained, I would have carry the scooters to near the ocean so that we would have a short walk to the ocean in full gear.
"Oh my back!" 97 lbs is a lot of scooter! We set them up on some beach chairs near the waters edge. We went back and geared up, we through some checks, overviewed out bail out gas for this shallow night dive.
We hit the water as the sun was setting and there was no vis. I clipped the scooter into the crotch D-ring and put on my fins. We cruised out on the surface, past the buoy and descended. My HID made me easy to find. Cliffy pulled out a c-cell light and I gave myself about 30 seconds to lose him. Before the dive Cliffy asked me if I had the 2 inch or 1 inch webbing on the crotch strap? He never said why?
On the bottom it was time to pull the trigger. I got horizontal, pointed the scooter in the direction of travel and rolled the motorcycle style handle on. "DING!" I just rang my bells! "OUCH!" It lurched forward with a great amount of thrust and the crotch strap gave my manhood an atomic wedgee! These things need to come with a cup!
After I got started things shifted so that I was comfortable letting the scooter drag me through the water. I wasn't as slick as I should be and I felt the prop wash on my body. After a couple of minutes it was time to turn. Cliffy gave me good instruction on how to roll the handle to the 9 O-clock position and push the scooter away to make a turn. I made a couple a circles in each direction and stayed right with Cliff. Every time I stopped he pulled up beside me. Next signaled to head out and back right to head down the reef. I hit and moved out. I learned to get the scooter up on plain and moving with less drag through the water. I stopped to let Cliff catch up and there was no Cliff?
I circled my light out into the black like a light house so he could find me. I heard the wine of his motor start and stop. After 2 minutes I surfaced to hear Cliff calling out like my mother, "Matttheewwww, where are you?" I cruised right over to him and we down to head out over the reef again. This time I got the position better and I was moving! With the HID in front of me I could see the softcorals right before I hit them. This is not good. I hit just right and it stopped me with a piece of octo coral jamming the prop. I stopped to clear it out of the way. After 4 minutes we cruised back east and surfaced.
On the beach our surface support was there to help pull the scooters out of the water and help carry these monsters back to parking lot. I had a BIG smile on my face from a great adventure. I loved it! I'm thinking the smaller, lighter Mako, might be the way to go. Luckily I won't have to worry about making a decision until I have more dinero.
Special thanks to Cliff for letting me play with his toys!
I look forward to going back to this reef and seeing what is there in the day time!
--Matt
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