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.