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.
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