SLSU040713A – Friday April 12th, 2013

Day 6 – a day of good stuff

 

I was up early, like always, but this time I had a new purpose. I was listening to the weather radio to see if the winds had dropped and changed direction so that we could get in some diving at a new location. Yes! With news that the weather had changed in our favor the crew was awakened early. This time less gently. I usually play ‘quiet’ music to wake everyone. Today it was my ‘motorcycle’ mix, rock n’ roll played loud. The crew was up and moving. We had a quick breakfast and it was off the ball, out of the harbor and out to sea. We were headed east to Looe Key, a great dive spot. It takes about three hours to get there so time and weather had to be in our favor.

We arrived at Looe Key to find great conditions; at least great in comparison to our previous dives. There was no current, little surge and visibility was about 50 feet. We did three dives with a lunch break between dives two and three. The dives were great…the crew saw lots of animals; sharks, rays, etc. There were even three Golioth Groupers that had started hanging under the boat at the end of dive three…very cool. We’re lucky if we see one but to see three at once is really special. Other things happened during dive three. When Jenna jumped in to do the conditions check she found a Sony underwater digital camcorder. Sweet…pirate treasure! I also had a great encounter with a very large, old loggerhead turtle. I was out in the sandy area of the reef, face down poking around in the sand looking at shells and stuff when I felt someone pushing down on my leg. I thought it was a diver but when I turned I saw this large turtle holding down my leg! It was freaky!!! I startled the turtle at first but then we swam around in circles together, the turtle pushing against my outstretched hand. Again…very cool.

Since conditions were just right we stayed out on the ball for dinner and a night dive. For the night dive we enter the water at sunset so that it isn’t quite dark underwater to start and then it gets dark during the dive. Another bonus was that the three Golioth Groupers were still under the boat. We split into two groups for the night dive. Jenna took one group, I took the other. It started as a led dive but about a third of the way into the dive we give the divers the opportunity to go off into the dark on their own. About half did. The others stayed with us.

At the end of the dive most of the divers blocked their lights so that it was totally dark so that they could see the bioluminescence in the water…glowing organisms. I was the last one out which has advantages. Once I turn my light off it’s dark. After you let your eyes adjust for a few minutes you can see a whole new world of glowing critters, blobs and strings floating through the water.

We dropped the ball and headed for the anchorage behind Key Lois…Monkey Key. Most of the crew stayed on the deck for the ride in.

SLSU040713A – Friday April 12th, 2013

Day 6 – a day of good stuff

 

I was up early, like always, but this time I had a new purpose. I was listening to the weather radio to see if the winds had dropped and changed direction so that we could get in some diving at a new location. Yes! With news that the weather had changed in our favor the crew was awakened early. This time less gently. I usually play ‘quiet’ music to wake everyone. Today it was my ‘motorcycle’ mix, rock n’ roll played loud. The crew was up and moving. We had a quick breakfast and it was off the ball, out of the harbor and out to sea. We were headed east to Looe Key, a great dive spot. It takes about three hours to get there so time and weather had to be in our favor.

We arrived at Looe Key to find great conditions; at least great in comparison to our previous dives. There was no current, little surge and visibility was about 50 feet. We did three dives with a lunch break between dives two and three. The dives were great…the crew saw lots of animals; sharks, rays, etc. There were even three Golioth Groupers that had started hanging under the boat at the end of dive three…very cool. We’re lucky if we see one but to see three at once is really special. Other things happened during dive three. When Jenna jumped in to do the conditions check she found a Sony underwater digital camcorder. Sweet…pirate treasure! I also had a great encounter with a very large, old loggerhead turtle. I was out in the sandy area of the reef, face down poking around in the sand looking at shells and stuff when I felt someone pushing down on my leg. I thought it was a diver but when I turned I saw this large turtle holding down my leg! It was freaky!!! I startled the turtle at first but then we swam around in circles together, the turtle pushing against my outstretched hand. Again…very cool.

Since conditions were just right we stayed out on the ball for dinner and a night dive. For the night dive we enter the water at sunset so that it isn’t quite dark underwater to start and then it gets dark during the dive. Another bonus was that the three Golioth Groupers were still under the boat. We split into two groups for the night dive. Jenna took one group, I took the other. It started as a led dive but about a third of the way into the dive we give the divers the opportunity to go off into the dark on their own. About half did. The others stayed with us.

At the end of the dive most of the divers blocked their lights so that it was totally dark so that they could see the bioluminescence in the water…glowing organisms. I was the last one out which has advantages. Once I turn my light off it’s dark. After you let your eyes adjust for a few minutes you can see a whole new world of glowing critters, blobs and strings floating through the water.

We dropped the ball and headed for the anchorage behind Key Lois…Monkey Key. Most of the crew stayed on the deck for the ride in.

SLSU040713A – Thursday April 11th, 2013

Day 5 – the wind’s a blowin’

The crew had a slow wake up, still on the dock for their mid-week break. Half of the crew slept on deck rather than below decks where the air conditioner was cranking away. It was chilly down there. It was a slow morning; we had a full, cooked breakfast for the mid-week break, we were in no hurry because we knew it was very windy out on the ocean and we also had to drop Ken and Mitch off at the military hotel in town.

Breakfast was great; pancakes, sausage and eggs all served on dry land…no motion of the ocean. While clean-up was going on Jenna and I ran Ken and Mitch into KW and stopped at the grocery store for a few items. When we returned the crew was ready to go. Regardless of the impending ocean conditions, they wanted to go out and at least take a look.

We left the dock, put up the sails and headed out. As promised it was quite ‘sporty’ out on the ocean. The water had a milky color to it which indicated that we were in for bad visibility. We made our way out to Wreckers Reef, took a mooring ball and discussed the situation. From the surface our assessment was maybe a little surface current, lots of surge and maybe 10-15 ft. of visibility. It was decided that I would hop in and take a closer look so I got into my gear and in I went. Our surface assessment was spot on. Now the decision had to be made…should we let them dive or not? It’s not just the diving conditions; if they got disorientated (lost) and were far from the boat at the end of the dive a surface swim would be extremely difficult in these conditions. Also, if any sort of assist or rescue needed to be done it would also be treacherous. After some discussion it was decided to let the crew dive. Only seven divers wanted to go, so in they went. For the most part everyone stayed close to the boat and the dive went well. On the surface the Conch Pearl was rockin’ and rollin’. I think we got the better deal being under water.

After the dive we headed in to Key West Harbor, past a large Royal Caribbean cruise ship, to get fuel, then further into the harbor, to anchor near the mangrove shore so that the  crew could go snorkeling and swimming. It wears me out watching these young men go, go, go. I can dive all day long but when it comes to jumping, swimming and ‘fender rodeo’ I get worn out just watching. When all the fun was over the crew started ‘yo yo’ fishing. Tonight’s contest turned into seeing who could catch the most pin fish. The fishing was interrupted by a great spaghetti dinner then it was back to fishing. The crew finally settled down when the sun was gone and then suddenly everyone was gone and in bed.

Out of Order

Because of events and limited bandwith the next few posts will be out of order and there will be not pics. I will try to post a page of pics later today when we're back on base.

SLSU040713A – Sunday April 7th, 2013

Day 1 – Arrival Day

 

Hello readers…I’m diverDave and I’ll be the crew’s on board PADI Scuba Instructor for their adventure aboard the Conch Pearl. I will be joined by PADI Divemaster Jenna Burton. (see previous post)

I met the crew on the Quarterdeck after being awakened by Alex Bergstedt. I guess I was out cold because I hadn’t heard my phone. I introduced myself and asked if they had seen a little, blonde haired girl. Not yet. We had to wait on one of the leaders who was checking in so we talked about their trip in, etc. Jenna soon appeared along with the missing leader. The crew presented Jenna and myself with crew t-shirts which we put on immediately. Nice touch. Jenna collected all of the diver certification cards and ran off to make copies. With everyone together we went over the ‘Rules of Engagement’ with the Crew Leader, Jason, then had the crew’s photo taken. Since there were no questions the crew grabbed all of their gear and it was off to the Scuba Dorms.

The crew was checked into one of the larger dorm rooms. They would only be there overnight so I asked them to please not make a mess. Jason is a pretty good crew leader so I think he’ll keep them in line. I had everyone change into bathing suits and it was off to the swim area for the swim review; three lengths of the swim area in the lagoon and a float. Everyone passed easily. Surprisingly, that isn’t always the case. From the swim area we went to gear issue where we signed out BCDs and regulators for just about everyone. From gear issue it was back to the dorm for any dive gear they had with them; fins, masks, etc. We next met at the Scuba Area.

The Scuba Area has two pools; a shallow pool and a deep pool. We would only be using the deep pool. We completed the equipment assembly and briefing then headed up to the deep pool for a scuba skills review. The review refreshes everyone’s skills and gives us a chance to look the divers over for any issues. After we finished the skills review, which went quite well, we packed up the scuba gear and headed to flags.

Flags was crowded with lots of crews…business is good at FSB. After flags we had dinner then headed over to the classroom for the first of many orientations. There is this first orientation which is an overview of the week, the boat and diving in the Keys. There will be an orientation when they arrive at the boat, another before diving, another for sailing and another for the night dive. If you include the pre-dive information that I send out then they hear just about everything at least three times which is what it takes to ‘stick’. After orientation the crew was turned loose for the evening. I went back to the room to do paperwork and pass out.

SLSU033113A – Sunday April 7th, 2013

Day 8 – Departure Day

 

Time to say goodbye. It’s always hard to say goodbye to a good crew. I try to avoid it but it’s something that has to be done. We met for an early breakfast. At breakfast we chatted about the trip and plans for going home. Later the crew went to the Chapel for a service and there I bid them farewell. I get another crew in five hours….

 

SLSU033113A – Saturday April 6th, 2013

Day 7 – Last Day On The Boat

 

Saturday was the last day on the boat. We had to get out to the reef early if they wanted to get in a dive and go sailing. Everyone had to be up at 06:30, which was hard for this group. It was quite cool up on deck. The coldest morning so far…a balmy 65. A bit cool when there’s a good breeze blowing. We had a quick cold breakfast then headed out. The deck crew got the sails up in the channel and we headed out into the ocean under sail. We sailed around while Captain Denny filled tanks for our dive. We ended up at the Haystacks of Western Sambo. The difference this time was the fair visibility; about 20 ft compared to the 50-60 ft. before. The crew got in and they all met me on the bottom where I awarded them with their High Adventure Patches. Jenna was snorkeling with Patrick and later he dove down to meet me to receive his patch.

On the ride back in from the dive the crew busied themselves with packing their personal and dive gear. Usually crew slow down at this point because they’re going home but this bunch stayed on task. We docked the boat and immediately began unloading everything; personal gear, scuba gear, tanks, ice chests…just about anything that wasn’t tied down, and even some things that were. Captain Denny likes the Conch Pearl to get a thorough cleaning after each trip. The same thing was happening below decks with Captain Holley. The van and trailer arrived to take us back to FSB so as soon as the boat was clean the crew busied themselves with loading the trailer. When everything was packed the crew took a few photos, said their final goodbyes to the boat and crew and loaded the vans for the 1 ½ hour trip back to FSB. On the way back we once again made a required stop at Baby’s Coffee.

As soon as the trailer made it back to FSB Jenna had the crew start unloading. There was still a lot to do. The scuba was cleaned and hung up to dry and then the crew was turned loose for a few hours. Right before flags we met at the scuba area to gather up all of the gear to be checked back in.

Flags was very crowded. It was the busiest week of the Spring season. After flags the departing crews played Luau games then had Luau dinner. After dinner the crews all presented a skit, except for our crew. I’ll let the leaders of the crew tell that story.

SLSU033113A – Friday April 5th, 2013

Day 6 – Key West

 

Weather…our master when it comes to diving. It was predicted that a strong storm front would hit us overnight with continuing bands of rain and storms throughout the day. With a forecast like that nobody wants to go diving. Luckily the crew had another activity on their to-do list; the crew wanted to visit Key West (KW). With the weather the way it was we decided that it wouldn’t be a bad idea so we packed them a lunch and off to KW they went.

First it was they went to the Eco-Center, an environmental educational facility. It’s really nice, very well done and it’s free. That’s rare in Key West.  Jenna and I met them for lunch in the small park outside the Eco-Center. Luckily we were between rain bands and the sky looked like it was lightening up. During lunch we gave them a few ideas on what to do in KW; Mel Fischers, the Aquarium, the Wrecker Museum, t-shirt shops and the Duvall Crawl (people watching and shopping, not drinking). They put lunch away and against Jenna’s and my better judgment they also put their jackets away in the van. The sky was getting very light but this is the Keys and they had predicted strong rain bands all day.

Jenna and I (wearing our raincoats) led the crew up to Duvall Street and turned them loose. We were to meet them in front of Sloppy Joe’s at 17:00 to go to dinner then to the sunset festival. Jenna and I set off to run our errands in KW. We ran into the crew in various places but didn’t see them after the Harley-Davidson Store. Besides the H-D store we had stops to make at the Hard Rock Café, the Rum Barrel, Diver’s Direct, Walgreens and of course the absolutely required stop at the Key West Ice Cream Factory where we got a locals discount because we work on a boat here in the Keys. We have to take of advantage of opportunities to run errands because on the live-aboard program the staff doesn’t really get a day off.

During our errands the rain fell on and off, sometime pretty hard. We kept wondering what the crew was doing to stay dry until we ran into them huddled in the doorway of a shop trying to stay dry. They hadn’t been very successful at that. Jenna and I continued on until the sky started to open up. We ducked into Irish Kevins with a lot of other folks trying to get out of the rain. There was a performer on stage working the crowd, zeroing in on a young lady that wouldn’t stop talking on her cell phone during his song. Poor girl.

It poured. During a short break in the rain we ran down to the meeting place in front of Sloppy Joe’s. In the mean time it started pouring again. When it pours in KW you can’t see across the street, the streets flood and everyone turns it into a party. Hey, it’s KW. We found out how the crew stayed dry…they didn’t. They came from across the street, wading through the ‘flood’ waters.

The rain had finally started to slow so we headed out to Turtle Krawls for dinner. Tom wanted to go there because he had been there years before and I hadn’t heard anything bad about the place; it’s very popular. They pushed a few tables and seated us together. The food was pretty good, they did a fair job getting the orders right but overall the service was sub-par. I won’t be recommending that place again. The crew covered Jenna’s and my dinner…thank you very much! We sincerely appreciate it.

After the bill was finally settled we headed out for the Sunset Festival at Mallory Square. On the way we stopped at the Gellato shop for dessert. Yummy! We finally made it to the Sunset Festival area to find that all of the acts had either packed up or didn’t bother showing up. The weather was bad and there was a cold wind coming from the water…not great conditions for ‘Flying Cats’. We called Captain Denny to meet us at the Eco-Center and headed there for the ride back to the boat, stopping at the mile marker zero sign for pictures.

Back at the boat the crew bedded down inside. It’s a bit tight but there’s twelve bunks (well two are hammocks).

SLSU033113A – Thursday April 4th, 2013

Day 5 – Some New Sites

 

The crew went diving on some new sites today…new for Divemaster Jenna and the crew. Since we were on the dock we had a big cooked breakfast of pancakes and sausage. After breakfast the crew cleaned up and readied for another day of diving.

We headed out from the marina, put up the sails and hit the ocean. It was a bit ‘sporty’ but everyone handled it well. Motion Sickness Medicine, regardless of brand, works miracles. We put out fishing lines but had no luck so far. It was looking like a repeat of last week. We hit our first dive site, Toppino’s Buoy. The conditions were great despite the surface being rough. The dive went well. Our second dive was at a site called Nine Foot Stake. Apparently at one time there was a big stake marking the nine foot depth over the reef. Just about everyone saw a large nurse shark here. While on the tag line, after everyone was back on the boat (first in, last out) I was surrounded by lots of clumps of Sargasso Grass. In the clumps were tiny fish called Pygmy File Fish. Then a clump came along with a seahorse in it. We never see seahorses; especially out in the open ocean. Everyone grabbed their snorkel gear and jumped in to check out the seahorse. Jenna was especially excited. After everyone was back on board we headed for Eastern Dry Rocks. On the way we put out the fishing rods only this time a tuna hit. Jenna and Adam brought the fish in. The fish was filleted and but in the fridge until dinner. The last dive was great. We saw lots of animals including two turtles.

After the dive we headed back into the marina. We were going to spend the night on the mooring ball but the weather predicted a bad squall line sometime overnight. In the marina we had a great dinner of bratwurst and tuna. Yummy!

After dinner the crew took another walk to the ‘Stop and Rob’ for more ice cream. This time Jenna and I went along for the walk.  When we returned everyone pretty much went to bed. Because of the impending storm, everyone slept below decks.

SLSU033113A – Wednesday April 3rd, 2013

Day 4 – Another Beautiful Day

 

I’m really having trouble keeping track of days and time this week.

We had spent the night on Conch Pearl’s mooring in Key West Harbor. It had been a beautiful night and the crew seemed to have gotten a little rest. We had a cold breakfast so we could get up and get going. As soon as we had breakfast cleaned up we dropped the ball (left the mooring), put up the sails and headed out to the dive site. Captain Denny still had a few tanks to fill so we spent some time sailing around. We were heading to the Western Sambo Reef complex again as it offered protection from the waves that had developed overnight. The tanks still weren’t all filled to we opened the gate and allowed everyone the opportunity to go swimming and to play ‘fender rodeo’. I’ll let the crew explain that when they get home but let’s just say everyone was having a blast.

The tanks were finally filled so we changed tanks and went diving again, this time at a site we call Wrecker’s Reef, named for the wrecking activity that used to take place during Key West’s past. At that time the residents had the highest per capita wealth in the US. After the dive we had a late lunch and readied for a second dive.

The Captain’s moved the boat to the far end of the reef where we did our second dive. The reef structure here is really great and with the bright sun and great visibility we had a great dive. I took Duane and Chris (with camera) on a tour of the area where we saw lots of large lobsters,  a green moray eel, plenty of colorful fish and even a very large nurse shark. Hopefully Chris got plenty of good pictures.

For dinner we had steak night. It’s usually the last night of the trip but because of the weather predictions we were changing the schedule up a bit. Steak night is great because we have steak (duh), mashed potatoes, green beans, salad and dessert, all served on real plates, eaten while sitting at real tables. 

After the dinner the crew took a walk to the ‘Stop N’ Rob’, the name we give to the little convenience mart a few blocks from the Conch Pearl. It gave the crew a chance to stretch their legs and get some ice cream or other snacks. Of course the ice cream there can’t match the quality and deliciousness of the ice cream from the Key West Ice Cream Factory. I was asleep before they returned but I assume they enjoyed their little adventure.

SLSU033113A – Tuesday April 2nd, 2013

Day 3 – “Are you sure it’s Tuesday?”

 

As I said before, I’m never sure what day of the week or what date it is. They say it’s Tuesday, I have to believe them. I’m an extremely early riser. I get up during the night and check on the anchor watch and to write this blog. I haven’t caught the anchor watch sleeping in  a long time. I guess Denny’s orientation speech does a good job of getting through to them.

The crew woke up to an absolutely gorgeous morning. It was looking like a great day for diving. It was a comfy, slow wake-up; not like the old days where we came down and did the “wake up, we’re going diving today!” thing. We finished breakfast, dropped the ball, put up the sails and headed for Sand Key. On the way out of the hardor we passed two cruise ships moored at the Key West piers. It would be a long ride to Sand Key giving Captain Denny the opportunity to fill tanks while the crew fished.

Sand Key is a key (island) that is almost completely washed away. It is marked by a large, Civil War era light house.  We switched tanks, geared up and got ready to splash. The ball we usually tie up to was gone so we took the next ball. This is significant because the missing ball is over a huge cluster of coral heads with a nice deep channel running through the middle. The next dive was also at Sand Key, but at a different ball. Different ball, different reef.

For the next dive we moved to a reef called Western Dry Rocks, not to be confused with Rock Key or Eastern Dry Rocks. They weren’t real creative when naming these keys. The visibility was holding and it was another nice dive; lots of structure here. The day was getting on so we finished the day dives and went about planning for a night dive. Night Dive! Woo Hoo!!!We moved back to Sand Key. You always do night dives at a site which you had seen during the day.

We did on orientation, fitted everyone out with lights and got in. It was just after sunset and still a little light underwater. We enter at dusk and dive as the night settles in and makes everything dark.

The night dive went well, without a catch. We went in, went on a tour and made it back to the boat without surfacing for direction.

After the dive we had a long ride back. A lot of the crew started on the deck, watching the stars, but that didn’t last long as one by one everyone ended up in bed.

SLSU033113A – Monday April 1st, 2013

Day 2 – April Fool’s Day

 

Down here in the Keys you lose track of time, day of the week, dates…it’s the Keys Disease creeping in. We didn’t celebrate April fool’s Day here; actually it’s odd that I missed it as I’m known as a bit of a joker around here. We did however go diving, and that’s no joke…but first we had to take care of business.

This is going to be a long post…they get shorter as the week goes along.

It was the crew’s first full day at FSB (Florida Sea Base). Everyone was up and at flags on time at 07:45. Unfortunately Aaron was sick and throwing up…not good. Flags went on, we sang ‘Froggy’ and then it was off to breakfast. At breakfast Aaron was still feeling sick so we started considering our options with him.

After breakfast the crew joined Jenna and me in the scuba classroom for a thorough (and often boring) orientation about the trip and the Conch Pearl. Most of the crews receive my 5 page ‘diverDave’s Unofficial Leader’s Guide’ at least two months before arrival at FSB. (I sent it to this crew but somehow it ended up in the wrong hands and never got distributed). That’s their first barrage of information from us. The second is this orientation and the third is the Captain’s orientation when the crew arrives at the boat. Captain Denny and I believe that the crews have to hear things three times before the information sinks in. During the orientation I received a call from a very concerned Captain Denny regarding Aaron’s current state. Seems that during the first trip of the season a scout was sick before boarding the boat, then during the week proceeded to pass a stomach bug around to the whole crew, including the staff. It wasn’t pretty as there is only one tiny bathroom for 14 people. In the mean time, given the option, Aaron had decided that he would rather not be out on a boat in his current state. Tom ran around, in what I found out to be his usual, efficient manner, and arranged for a ‘swap’ to replace Aaron, giving another scout the opportunity to join us out on the Live Aboard. So ends the saga of Aaron as far as the Conch Pearl goes, we thought.

After the orientation the crew met at the Commissary to inventory and load a week’s worth of food and ice. It takes a lot of food and a ton (well almost a ton) of ice to support 16 people for a week of diving. That went very well. The crew set about the task with great efficiency…a good sign for the week to come. Everything was loaded into the trailer then we moved over to the scuba area. Here we loaded the scuba gear and personal gear into the trailer. We had a set a target of 11:00 for ‘wheels up’ to depart for the boat and we were right on time…until…Tom had become tied up in the process of switching Robert for Aaron. I took the opportunity to take the van I would be driving to get fuel. The rest of the crew waited. Finally, at about 11:15 everything was done, ready and we were loaded to go. We waved goodbye to Divemaster Paul as he saw us off (he had been on the Conch Pearl with me the week before) and we hit the highway. Whew!

At this point everything changes. We throttle back and begin to relax. We have an almost two hour drive to Stock Island (right next to Key West) where the Conch Pearl lives. The drive is mostly on a two lane road where being in a hurry is useless. In the Keys you realize that being in a hurry is usually just frustrating so it’s best to enjoy the view and take your time. We made some stops along the way. First it was Publix Grocery story for some avocados then Baby’s Coffee for some ‘Southernmost Coffee’. Baby’s Coffee is the best around so it is a regular stop for me.

We finally arrived at the marina to be greeted by Captains Denny and Holley. The boat was ready, the Captains were ready and the crew was ready…it’s a wonderful thing. The crew set about transferring all of the gear, food and ice to the boat and stowed it all in proper manner in accordance with instructions from myself and the Captains. Because this was Jenna’s first trip on the Conch Pearl she mainly stepped back and watched…for awhile. It wasn’t long before she jumped right in and picked up on the operation.

Now that everything was stowed we were ready for the Captain’s orientation. The Captain’s go into great detail on matters concerning the boat, including a show and tell on the operation of the marine toilet. With that out of the way we had lunch and headed out to sea. What a beautiful day; warm and sunny. At the same time last week we were dreading the thought of bouncing about on the ocean while being bundled up to stay warm.

We headed out to Toppino’s Buoy, the first dive site. When we got there Denny observed that there could be some current and that the visibility was not the best so we moved on to our next site, Western Sambo. We moored in the Western Sambo reef complex at an area called ‘the Haystacks’, named after the large, haystack like, formations of coral. It was going to be the first real dive so Denny did another thorough orientation, this time on how we gear up and get into and out of the water.  Next I gave a dive briefing on the site and how the dive was going to go. The first dive is always a led dive. It gives us a chance to look the divers over again and to address any issues that may arise. Jenna and I got in first then all of the divers followed. We did a buoyancy check, adjusted some weights and down we went. Two of the divers had trouble clearing their ears so they went back to the boat. We’ll work with them later.

The dive went as expected…divers were all over the place, running into each other, running into us, floating up, dropping down…as expected. The first dive is always a little rough. We circled a few coral heads, went up into one of the fingers between rows of coral and then returned to the boat; about a half hour dive. Overall the dive went well. There were no real issues that we couldn’t correct and everyone made it back on the boat ‘without incident’. That’s always a good feeling…being responsible for 11 divers, some of them OPKs (other people’s kids) can weigh heavily on you sometimes.

We said goodbye to Western Sambo and headed for Key West Harbor to moor for the night. We sailed in past Mallory Square where they hold the nightly Sunset Festival, having our picture taken by lots of tourists. The Conch Pearl is a very pretty boat, especially under sail. By the time we reached the mooring ball we had taken down the sails and were ready to eat. Diving makes people hungry and this crew was a prime example of that.

Dinner was crazy dream burgers and mac  n’ cheese. After that I don’t know what happened…I was asleep in seconds.

SLSU033113A – Sunday March 31st, 2013

Day 1 – Arrival Day…Happy Easter

 

The crew arrived on a bus…with whole lot of other people. We love it when lots of Scouts arrive…really. But when they all arrive at once it creates and air of urgency and chaos, but somehow we get everything sorted out. What made it difficult for our crew, the Live-Aboard Crew, was that our leader was the leader for the whole group. It didn’t slow us down much but it did put us behind for the rotation of check-in activities.  This week the crew will have the pleasure of having PADI divemaster Jenna Burton working and diving with us.

The first thing we did was collect certification cards to make copies. That alone slowed us down more…’Semper Gumby’. We next went to the T-Dock to have the group photograph taken. The base photographer gets very testy if you don’t do this right after arrival. Then it was off to the dorm to put up gear and get ready for the swim review. We were originally assigned to the San Pedro room but it was full. Luckily we ran into Luke, the Sailing Director, as he was coming to tell us to switch into the San Francisco room. Again, ‘Semper Gumby’.

When everyone was ready for the swim review we did a quick base tour from the dorm railing and then headed off to the swim area. There was another crew in the swim area so we switched tacks and issued dive gear instead. Flexibility is the key when so many crews arrive at once. We finished issuing gear and headed off to the swim area.  Because of the backup we shared the swim area with another crew and completed the swim review doubled up. Hooray, everyone can swim!

We sent everyone back to the dorm to retrieve any and all equipment that they would be diving with and had them meet at the scuba area. Here at the FSB scuba area we train some of the most conscientious divemasters around at our annual Divemaster Academy. We also certify hundreds of divers every year. FSB is one of the largest scuba operations in the world. Today was just a scuba review for the crew. We issued wetsuits and weights but time was against us so we had to stop for flags and dinner. Easter dinner was good…ham, potatoes, green beans, etc. and most of the crew went back for seconds.

After dinner we met back at the scuba area to finish our scuba review. We did a thorough verbal review of the skills then had everyone don their wetsuits, weights and gear and get into the ‘deep’ pool to perform their skills. We do a complete review of skills in the pool for a few reasons. It’s a refresher for those that have not dived a lot or have not dived in a long time. It also gives the divemaster and instructor a chance to look the crew over in the water to see how comfortable the divers are and to see how well they do. For the most part the crew did quite well…as well as is expected. A few bumps but nothing to be too concerned about so forward we went. We wrapped up the gear for transport and turned everyone loose for the night.

SLSU032413A – Sunday March 31st, 2013

Day 8 – Departure Day

 

The crew had a very early departure today, the earliest I ever had to deal with…2AM. Luckily my sleep is so bizarre it was no problem for me to see them off. I had to do my laundry anyway. I met everyone in the Galley, made sure they had something to eat and found some coffee cups then we said our goodbyes.

This was one of those good crews. We had leaders that had been here before, that we actually remembered. That’s not an easy feat when you realize the number of crews that come through here every year, not to mention in six years. The youth were great to have around, they brought no ‘baggage’ with them (no pun intended Colleen) and they set to every task without any issues or problems…a testimony to great leaders.

Thanks for coming to Florida Sea Base.

diverDave

SLSU032413A – Saturday March 30th, 2013

Last Day On The Water

 

Saturday is the last day out on the water so it’s a get up and go day. Everyone was up and moving right on time. We had a quick cold breakfast, ‘dropped the ball’ (left the mooring) and headed out to the ocean for the last time. On the way out we passed a large cruise ship and raised our sails right beside them, giving those on board a good show.

The winds were back up and the seas were rolling pretty good. We were going to look at a dive site called Toppino’s Buoy, but because there isn’t much protection from the rolling waves there wasn’t much hope of diving there. The winds had caused the seas to increase so Toppino’s was out. We headed back to the Western Sambo complex, back to Wrecker’s Reef. We went to a ball that we had not been to, giving the divers a look at another part of the reef.

With the reef helping to protect us from the waves (we were only being throw around moderately) we were able to dive. The conditions were stellar; 75’ visibility, no current and little surge. The crew made some signs and a flag to take down for photographs. Most of the crew posed for the pictures; some were snorkeling, some stayed on deck. Taking pictures of a group underwater is challenging. You have to get them down on the bottom, lined up, without stirring everything up, and then get them all to stop exhaling (bubbles) at the same time. This group made it harder by trying to use two signs made of floating poster board. All in all I think we pulled it off but we won’t know until we see the pictures. It was so much effort to handle the signs that it winded Bob enough for him to get back on the boat. I took the rest of the divers and we went on a tour of the reef.

After the dive it was time to get to work. On the trip back into the marina the crew had to have lunch and get all of their personal and dive gear packed. This kept everyone’s minds off of the fact that we were still being tossed around. The crew dropped the sails for the last time and the boat was docked. The crew set to the task at hand, removed everything from the boat and cleaned everything inside and out. I must say this was one of the best crews we’ve had when it comes to getting to work without any hesitation. Since the driver had arrived early there was no time for any slacking off. When all was done the boat looked great. The crew loaded everything into the trailer then took their final pictures and said their goodbyes. They’ll be missed by Denny and Holley as no hassles crews are few and far between.

We hopped into the vans and headed back to Florida Sea Base. On the way back one of the vans made one last stop at Baby’s Coffee for some ‘Southern Most Roasted Coffee’. When we arrived at base we unloaded the van and got down to our final push. They cleaned all of the scuba gear then they were turned the crew loose until flags. Flags had a massive attendance. There were about 9 crews there, each with 8 to 20 people. Someone had a birthday so the ceremonial birthday chair was brought out and everyone sang happy birthday.

After flags everyone put on their luau shirts and the luau began. First there were games like Hawaiian Tug-o-war and limbo then there was the luau dinner with a beautiful Florida sunset as the backdrop. After dinner the crews performed skits and songs. When all the fun was over it was back to the dorm to finish packing and get to bed…tomorrow will come quickly.

SLSU032413A – Friday March 29th, 2013

Lobster? What Lobster?

 

This crew has had the pleasure of being on the dock for three of their nights. That’s three nights of no anchor watch. They should be well rested but the diving and rolling seas are still keeping them pretty tired.

We started the day with a cold breakfast so that we could get going quickly. We were going lobstering. We got off the dock early and headed for Pelican Shoals. This used to be a small island that has been worn down over the years so that it is all pretty much under water. It slopes down to around 20 feet so there is plenty of 8 -12 ft. deep areas for skin diving for lobsters. Scouts aren’t allowed to scuba for lobster due to risk management issues. The crew received a briefing from Captain Denny on the best methods for catching lobster using a net and a tickle stick. Everyone geared up in their snorkeling gear and off they went, being led by Divemaster Paul. The seas were really choppy adding to the difficulty but the crew really went at it. We call it 'sporty'; when the boat is being tossed back and forth and you don't walk around, you throw yourself from place to place and grab on. After about and hour they had had enough and everyone returned to the boat. The reward for their efforts was one lobster that was too small. Sometimes there are lots of lobsters at Pelican Shoals and sometimes there are none. Being the end of the season may have had something to do with it.

 

We left Pelican Shoals and had lunch on the way to the dive site. The seas were really rolling so any movement was a real challenge. We arrived at the dive site hoping that the reef would protect us from the large swells, which it did, with little effect. The dive site was Wrecker's Reef, a reef in the Western Sambo group. The visibility was great. When I jumped in to do conditions and got down to around 30' it was so peaceful, especially compared to being on the surface. There was no current, very little surge and fantastic visibility. The dive was great. Steven even spotted an octopus and we watched it race across the bottom, changing colors as it went.  Everyone made it back on to the rocking boat. That's not easy when it's really rocking bad.

 

The crew voted to do another dive which was led by Paul. Again they had a great dive. After the dive we headed to the mooring in Key West Harbor.

 

Dinner was our traditional last night dinner of steaks,mashed potatos and green beans. Too bad we couldn't have Surf & Turf.

SLSU032413A – Thursday March 28th, 2013

A very full dive day

 

No sleeping in this morning. This was a full dive day. We had a ‘cold’ breakfast so we could get up and out to the reef. We pulled up the anchor and off we went, back to Looe Key. This time there were already several dive boats at the site. The temperatures had come up just a bit and the sun was shining so we hoped for a much warmer day. By the time we were on the mooring ball the seas had become pretty sporty. Even though the winds had dropped a bit, the seas had become bigger, rolling the boat back and forth. This is great incentive to get off the boat and into the water.

We did one dive with the visibility being about the same as the day before. I went out with the two Jr. Divers, Aiden and Alex, and we saw a couple of reef sharks. While we were under the water the folks on the boat were getting beaten up by the rockin’ and rollin’. Denny decided with the marginal visibility and the sea conditions that we would move back West in search of better conditions; especially since we were hoping to do a night dive.

We made the long trip from Looe Key to Western Sambo (2 ½ hours) to find clear water and calmer seas. Denny is rarely incorrect when it comes to matters of the sea and weather and this time he was once again right on the mark. We did two more dives at Western Sambo, first at the East end then at the West end or  ‘Haystacks’ as it is known. There is a grouping of large haystack shaped coral heads that give the site its name. Since everyone liked Haystacks we stayed there to do our night dive. First we had a great dinner of chicken patties, corn and stuffing then we were treated to a beautiful Key West sunset as we geared up for the dive.

Night dives are a little different than day dives so we had to do an extensive briefing before getting in. We get in while it is still a bit light, to get the divers used to the low light, then do our dive as it gradually gets dark. The moon was rising late so we had a ‘dark’ night dive; lights from dive lights only. The dive went very well although there were reports that I was going a little fast while leading. I thought I was going too slow. Go figure. Anyway, everyone returned to the boat without incident and we headed back to the marina for the night...woo hoo!...hot showers and no anchor watch.

SLSU032413A – Wednesday March 27th, 2013

Is this Key West?

 

Here we are in the southernmost part of the continental US and it’s 50 degrees and windy. Not exactly what everyone was prepared for. These temps don’t go well with bare feet and wet bodies. This is supposed to be the coldest morning but that is little comfort right now. The crew will be getting up soon, climbing out of their cozy bunks…surprise! It was the new record low for Key West for this date.

It was another slow wake up because of the weather. We stayed on the dock and had a nice cooked breakfast of pancakes, eggs and sausage. That’ll be the last cooked breakfast for the week. After breakfast we said our goodbyes to dry land, put up the sails and headed out to sea to go to Looe Key. It was quite ‘sporty’ out on the ocean but not as bad we thought it would be. The ride to Looe Key was about 2 ½ hours so most of the crew just stayed below out of the wind and spray. A few braved the cool temps and bitter wind on deck, bundled up in their rain gear. We had lunch on the way and surprisingly everyone ate. When we’re rockin’ and rollin’ on the ocean a lot of people don’t like to eat.

We arrived at Looe Key to find the place empty. There are usually plenty of boats here because it is such a popular dive site. During our dives one other commercial boat and a couple of private boats did show up.

It was finally time to dive. We usually dive everyday but day 1 and 2 were ‘dry’ days because of the late arrival and the Key West weather day. First we had everyone take down the sails. With the wind blowing that’s no easy feat. Next everyone got into their wetsuits. Brrrrrrrrrr. Denny gave a long and detailed briefing on the procedure for gearing up and getting into the water then I gave a dive briefing. We hit them with a lot of information at first….some is new and some is just reinforcement of things they’ve done before or learned while getting certified.

I went in first. I go in first to do a ‘conditions check’; I go to the bottom and check the depth, current, surge and visibility then I return to the surface and report my findings. This time both I and Divemaster Paul hopped in. Everything was good except for the marginal visibility. We could dive but we prefer much better visibility, especially at a site like Looe Key. The first dive is a led dive. The divers stay with the Instructor and Divemaster so that we can address any issues that might crop up and to assess the diver’s skills and abilities. It was a rocky start as a few divers were a little slow getting their ears to clear and there was also a weight issue. After that it was all good. The first dive went very well. We returned to the boat, everyone boarded and we got ready for the next dive.

On dive two Paul went snorkeling with Brian while I took the rest of the divers on a tour. A few people opted out due to being cold. Dive two also went well. There was a large Golioth Grouper waiting to greet us back at the boat which was a pleasant surprise for the divers. For dive three we moved the boat to a different part of the reef. Looe Key is quite large so we can do multiple dives without repeating a location. Dive three went well and we returned to find the same Golioth Grouper waiting for us. It had followed the boat from the previous location. Everyone stowed their dive gear and proceeded with my favorite part of the day…drying off and getting into dry clothes.

We headed in for the day to anchor behind Key Lois. The rumor is that Key Lois once had a research facility that used monkeys as test subjects. When the facility was closed down many of the monkeys were somehow turned loose so now the island is home to wild monkeys. Anyway, we dropped the anchor far enough away from the Key so as not to hear the monkeys and proceeded to have a dinner of what we refer to as ‘crazy dream burgers’. They are called that because people are known to have crazy dreams after eating them. I sure did.

SLSU032413A – Tuesday March 26th, 2013

A Key West Day

 

We woke to a rather blustery day. The winds were up and it was a bit cool. Too cool for the Florida Keys. With the wind blowing the way it was we knew that diving would be out so the crew made the decision to have their mid-week break and go to Key West for the day. We had a nice cooked breakfast of scrambled eggs then everyone got dressed for a day on the town and off we went.

Key West is a nice little town, full of interesting people and things but it is little. Once you’ve walked across it once or twice you realize how small the Old Town section really is. The crew spent the day poking in and out of t-shirt shops, going to museums and soaking up the ‘local color’. We all met for dinner at Jack Flats where the food was good but they just couldn’t get Mike’s order right.

After dinner we headed to the Sunset Festival at Mallory Square. It’s a collection of street performers that gather on the waterfront to entertain the crowds and beg for money. There are acrobats, jugglers, singers, statues and the famous Cat Man. The crew went directly to the Cat Man to catch his rather unique show. You can see acrobats anywhere but you can  only see the Cat Man and his trained cats in Key West. After the show the crew met with the Cat Man to take pictures and get autographs.  Wait until you see the pictures of this character.

By the time we were done with the Cat Man it was quite cool and everyone had seen enough so we headed back to the boat.

I don’t know about everyone else but I went out as soon as my head hit the pillow.

SLSU032413A – Monday March 25th, 2013

And so it begins…

This is going to be a short post…I’m losing power and I already lost most of what I typed for today.

Today is going to be a very, very hectic day. The pace will have to be fast and furious. We will be competing with quite a few other crews for space in the swim area, the pool and for dive gear. Paul and I prepared as much gear and paperwork as possible to make the process go as smoothly and quickly as possible. We have flags, breakfast, swim test, gear issue, skills review in the pool then pack ice and food for the trip. If they already have their personal gear packed we may get out of here before noon…a very aggressive target. I have been up since 4am finalizing a few things so it’s going to be tough on me as well. Everyone, except the drivers, will have the opportunity to sleep on the way down to the Conch Pearl, which is at the dock in Stock Island (Key West).

We all met for flags at 07:45. Because of the lightning and rain in the area we had the flag ceremony under the scuba dorms. The base is very crowded right now, lots of crews. While everyone was in line for breakfast we used the time to have our pictures taken. After breakfast we prepared for the swim review but because there was still some lightning in the area we switched gears and did our gear issue instead. ‘Semper Gumby’…always flexible…the Sea Base motto. Now was time for the swim review. Everyone passed with an ‘excellent’. Now it was off to the dorm to grab any dive equipment still stored there then to the scuba pools. There we issued wetsuits and weights to complete our gear issue. Everyone assembled their gear with little incident then it was off to the small pool to begin our skills review. The skills review allows the instructors and divemasters the opportunity to assess the diver’s abilities and comfort level in the water. Once the deep pool was cleared we moved to it to complete our deep water skills. The crew completed all of their skills well, giving us a good comfort level for the dives to come.

We weren’t supposed to have lunch on base but because we were running so late Captain Steve (ScubaSTEVE) Willis arranged to have us fed. Otherwise we would not have eaten until around 15:30 (3:30pm).

We packed up the scuba gear, packed up the personal gear and headed over to the commissary to inventory and pack the food and ice for the trip. Moving the coolers full of ice is one of the hardest jobs and requires a few strong backs. Once everything was loaded into the trailer and vans we were ready to hit the road for the 1 and 1/2 hour drive to Stock Island, home of the Conch Pearl.

There were a few stops on the way. Colleen had to stop at K-Mart to buy some clothes due to her luggage being lost somewhere in the land of airports. The other van stopped at Walgreens and Baby’s Coffee for much needed coffee supplies. They wouldn’t let Pat out of the van due to some prior history at Wal-Mart (I still don’t know what that was about).

We arrived at the Conch Pearl to be met by Captains Denny and Holley. The hardest job of the whole trip is to move all of the gear and food from the vans to the ship. The crew did it efficiently and quickly. One the best efforts I had ever seen. Denny and Holley gave the crew a thorough briefing then it was off to the open sea. The front that had brought us the rain and lightning earlier in the day was now giving us a driving wind which caused the ship to be washed with a cold spray. Most of the crew spent the trip from the marina to the mooring spot below decks.

When we arrived at the mooring spot we discovered another boat had taken the Conch Pearl’s mooring ball so Denny dropped the anchor. Once we were settled on the mooring we cooked a great dinner of spaghetti and meat sauce.

At this point I was down for the night so I’m not sure what else took place but I imagine after cleaning up dinner the crew all went to bed. It had been a long, busy day.

Now it was time to begin anchor watch.

SLSU032413A – Sunday March 24th, 2013

Day 1 – Arrival Day

 

I contact all of my crews before they arrive; first by email a few months before arrival then I call a week before scheduled arrival. This crew was no different except when I received the confirmation return email from their leader it stated that they had been here 5 years before. When I called the week before I was told that they had been here 5 years before, on board the Conch Pearl, with me. Since I really never had a bad crew I became very curious as to which crew it was; there have been a lot of crews since then.

 

I was also told that they would be arriving a little late. Since they had been here before I was hoping that their prior experience here would make check-in and preparation to go to the ship that much easier, and speedier.

 

The other crew member this trip will be divemaster Paul Mangone. He’s my age and a graduate of the Divemaster Academy that I taught two years ago.  He’s an excellent divemaster and brings a skill set of teaching methods that widens the abilities of the Florida Sea Base Staff.

 

I just spoke with the crew’s leader. It’s almost 6pm and they’re just leaving the Miami airport. I don’t think we’re going to get much done tonight. We still have to feed them so all we’ll get done is orientation…maybe gear issue. It’s really going to effect tomorrow. “it is what it is” as Denny says.

 

The crew finally arrived a little after nine. A lost bag had delayed them even more. Upon meeting them it was good to see some familiar faces. There was the leader Bob, a ‘retired’ dive instructor and Mike, a firefighter. They had both been with me on the Conch Pearl six years ago and if I remember correctly, we had a pretty good time. The rest of the crew seemed like a good bunch of folks; a good first impression.

 

Paul and I fed the crew with leftovers the Galley had left for us, ravioli and vegetables, and then it was off to the dorms. We put the crew in one of the big crew rooms and left them for the evening. It had been a long day for them so it was no use torturing them with the orientation presentation. Tomorrow will be a longer day with a very fast pace.

SCSU031713A Arrives - Day 1

Today my first crew of 2013 arrived. It's a certification crew. I will be team teaching with new instructor David Kirkiner. Sharp guy...he has to be; he was taught by Burt Hubby. The crew is made up of six people; two adult females, three youth females and one youth male. The two adults are not diving. They're going to ride around on the boat and maybe snorkel. Of the youths, one of the girls, may not be diving. She is taking a medication that may disqualify her from diving. Captain Steve is going to talk with the dive doctor tomorrow to see if anything can be done but it doesn't look good.

The crew is somewhat familiar to me. One of the adults was here last year with a certification crew. She had some issues in the pool so she did not finish certification...SCUBA's not for everyone. I don't remember alot about that crew except that they were a fun bunch.

The crew arrived right on time, about 4pm. Check-in was held up while Captain Steve dealt with the medication issue. Once that was settled, for the time being, we met with the photographer and had our picture taken at the Sea Base entrance. Next it was off to the dorms. The crew dropped of their luggage and then we headed to the classroom. We needed to do paperwork and review the upcoming week. We discovered that the students had not filled out their knowledge reviews. This was a problem so they have to make it up on their time.

We finished up in the classroom for the day, went to flags and had dinner.

After dinner we headed to the classroom for the welcome presentation. Divemaster Scott Patton ran through the presentation and got us out of there in about a half hour. After that the crew was on their own, hopefully to go back to their dorms and complete their knowledge reviews.

I'm here, the gear's here...now what

I'm here, the gear's here...now what? That's what I'm asking myself. I want to get in the pool to check it all out but I can't seem to get myself to do it. Now's not the time to get complacent. I know all the gear has to be checked thoroughly, in the water, before my certification crew gets here. I went over it all at home but it's not the same as a 'wet test'. I haven't been diving since April 6th, 2012. I need to weigh my self out too. The new wetsuit may be more buoyant than I'm used to and I've put on some weight which will effect how much weight I need to carry.

I haven't taught Open Water since last March, in Port Antigua. That was fun (not). I need to review all of my teaching materials tonight so that I'm familiar with it all again; don't want to look too stupid. I'm teaching with a brand new instructor which means he should be right on top of everything. At least that's what I'm hoping...old dog, new tricks. I've probably forgotten more than he knows right now.

New Stuff

It seems every time I come to Florida Sea Base I end up with some new gear. This year it's a new wetsuit. I had a few glitches getting it but it all worked out.

First I waited and waited for LeisurePro to put the Pinnacle Wetsuits on sale. They usually put them on sale in late Winter. As the time for me to leave neared I decided to go ahead and order the wetsuit. I hadn't gotten around to trying it on yet when, lo and behold, the wetsuits went on sale. Since the prices had dropped  I was now able to afford what was their top of the line wetsuit. I boxed up the first suit I received to return then went to order the new wetsuit. Suddenly the price changed back to the MSRP. WTF? I fired off an email to customer service and was promptly answered with the offer from them to honor the sale price if I called Customer Service. I called and ordered the wetsuit at the sale price.

What made this wetsuit different was a front zipper that went across the front. I thought that might be more convenient than the conventional back zipper. When the wetsuit arrived I tried it on. First, it was too small. I thought a Large Medium might fit since my last suits were the same size. Wrong! Over the past nine months or so I had gone off of the grid and off of my diet, and it showed. Secondly, the front zipper design was not as easy to get on and very difficult to get off. In fact, I couldn't get it off. I got it pulled down around my shoulders and it got stuck. Here I was home alone, stuck in this heavy wetsuit, dancing, jumping and gyrating around trying to get it off. I thought I would pass out before I got it off but with enough movement I eventually slipped out of it. Lessons earned...I didn't like the front zipper and I needed a bigger suit. I checked the wetsuit prices again and they were back on sale so I ordered another wetsuit, like the first one, in a bigger size. I boxed up the one I had and returned it.

I expected the newest wetsuit to arrive in two days like the others had, giving me enough time to try it on before leaving for Florida. Even though free shipping states a 7-10 day delivery time I live close enough to LeisurePro to expect items to take only two days. Wrong again. When I checked the tracking information I found out that the wetsuit was drop shipped from the factory, in California. That gave it a delivery date two days after I was leaving for Florida. Once again I emailed LeisurePro Customer Service and asked if they could redirect the package. They said they could for $12 so after a few more emails the wetsuit was on it's way to me here in Florida.

The wetsuit arrived yesterday, as promised by UPS. Now all I have to do is try it on. Well the new wetsuit fits...barely. It's a good thing I'm losing some weight because it's going to be tight until it's broken in a bit. I don't want it to stretch out too much or else it won't fit properly once I lose this weight.

Another goody I purchased was reading lenses for my mask. Although the water magnifies things a bit I still need lenses to see small stuff properly. Now I just have to get off of my butt and install them.

It's that time again...

Well it's that time of year again, time to get my dive gear ready and packed up to return to the Florida Keys for my annual stint as a volunteer SCUBA instructor at the Boy Scouts Of America High Adventure Florida Sea Base. I think this is my 9th year. I'm leaving about a month later than usual as there would have been a four week gap between assignments.

Most of the gear is ready to go. Everything looks good. I even have a new wetsuit on the way. I did maintenance on the lights, tested the BCD and made a list that I checked one, two, three times. I'm sure I'll unpack and re-pack everything at least one more time. (that's my OCD kicking in)

I wish I was in better shape for this year's session but I'll have a week of a certification class to get the muscles broken back in again before I get on the Live Aboard. Hopefully I'll be able to watch what I eat and lose 5-10 lbs. while I'm down there.

This year should be interesting as we take two Divemaster / Instructors on board now and they're giving me a brand new divemaster to 'mentor'. We do far less than we used to but I plan to get back to helping more; filling tanks, mooring, etc. It's boring, sitting around between dives (except when I nap).

Oops..there goes the logbook!

I had an unfortunate incident happen with my computer the other day, The hard drive decided to hiccup and I had to re-format the drive. Luckily I backup 98% of my data so I didn't lose much. I did lose my address book which was a major loss, but I have rebuilt most of it.
Although I didn't lose my logbook the only backup I had, even on my external drive, was from dive 996. It was the same for my paper logbook. I was on dive 1009 which meant I had to dig up data on the 13 missing dives. I know "...a good dive logs his dives daily...".

The first thing I did was to check my dive computer. When I tried to turn it on it didn't respond...the battery was dead. I feared that all of the data was lost but after installing a new battery I was able to acces my dive log. I filled in the dive data for the dives I was missing but I still didn't have the dive site information.

I sent an email to the Conch Pearl but they didn't have any information on the dive sites we had visited for that time period. I was at a loss for ideas. Then I started reading this blog, checking to see if I had documented the activities for the dates that I was missing. Success! I had.

From the blog entries I was able to complete the missing information for the dive log. I used the information to bring my computer dive log and my paper dive log up to date.

This incident showed me that I had lost some of the discipline that I had for scuba diving. I will take some time and examine other areas of my diving to see if I have become as lax in any other areas.