Yesterday had an early start. The generator started, everyone jumped up (yeah, right) and we had a cold breakfast, cereal and pop tarts, and off we went. We started out under full sail, heading east for Looe Key. All of the way to Looe Key we were sailing through water that had a 
milky, green color which didn't give us hope for a good dive. Most of the crew slept on the way because it was a restless night for most of them. Not only did they have anchor watch but the boat was also rockin' and rollin' due to the way it was sitting on the mooring and how the wind was blowing. When we arrived at Looe Key the visibility was awful; 10 ft. at best. There were only one or two other boats on the moorings, unusual for Looe Key as it is a very popular dive site. We made the decision to move on to Marathon in search of better visibility. While we are moving from site to site we usually troll for fish. On the way to Mara
thon we moved further off shore into 'blue water' to better our fishing chances. We caught two nice dolphin fish. For a small fish they are lively fighters. We had a third fish on the line but it got off right next to the boat. As we got closer to Marathon a front developed and was moving from the west that looked on the radar to be nasty. As the front neared the sky quickly turned dark. We decided to go in to Poncho's to get fuel and let the crew buy ice cream and soda while the front passed. Everyone got off the boat for some sort of treat. After the boat and crew were fueled up and the front had passed we headed out to the reef to dive. We were pleasantly suprised to find the visibility at the reef to be pretty good, 20-30 feet so we jumped for a nice dive. While we were diving another front approached. At the first rumble of thunder Captain Denny put the recall siren in the water and had everyone return to the boat. The recall siren is a device we can put in the water to transmit sounds, like a siren, underwater. It can be heard quite far away. We moved the boat to a bigger mooring ball and decided to have dinner while we waited for this front to pass and to prepare for our night dive. Ah, bratwurst, beans, rice and salad...yum. After dinner we moved back to the previous mooring ball and prepared for the night dive by attaching marker lights to the tanks and having a night dive briefing. The visibility held and the night dive was beautiful. The crew saw all sorts of creatures; rays, turtles and an octopus. After the dive we motored in to Boot Key where we anchored for the night.
milky, green color which didn't give us hope for a good dive. Most of the crew slept on the way because it was a restless night for most of them. Not only did they have anchor watch but the boat was also rockin' and rollin' due to the way it was sitting on the mooring and how the wind was blowing. When we arrived at Looe Key the visibility was awful; 10 ft. at best. There were only one or two other boats on the moorings, unusual for Looe Key as it is a very popular dive site. We made the decision to move on to Marathon in search of better visibility. While we are moving from site to site we usually troll for fish. On the way to Mara
thon we moved further off shore into 'blue water' to better our fishing chances. We caught two nice dolphin fish. For a small fish they are lively fighters. We had a third fish on the line but it got off right next to the boat. As we got closer to Marathon a front developed and was moving from the west that looked on the radar to be nasty. As the front neared the sky quickly turned dark. We decided to go in to Poncho's to get fuel and let the crew buy ice cream and soda while the front passed. Everyone got off the boat for some sort of treat. After the boat and crew were fueled up and the front had passed we headed out to the reef to dive. We were pleasantly suprised to find the visibility at the reef to be pretty good, 20-30 feet so we jumped for a nice dive. While we were diving another front approached. At the first rumble of thunder Captain Denny put the recall siren in the water and had everyone return to the boat. The recall siren is a device we can put in the water to transmit sounds, like a siren, underwater. It can be heard quite far away. We moved the boat to a bigger mooring ball and decided to have dinner while we waited for this front to pass and to prepare for our night dive. Ah, bratwurst, beans, rice and salad...yum. After dinner we moved back to the previous mooring ball and prepared for the night dive by attaching marker lights to the tanks and having a night dive briefing. The visibility held and the night dive was beautiful. The crew saw all sorts of creatures; rays, turtles and an octopus. After the dive we motored in to Boot Key where we anchored for the night.
So exciting!
ReplyDeleteWe are wondering if the fish that are caught are returned to their friends in the sea or if they are going to make a yummy dinner?
Also, is there a picture of the entire boat? One of my coworkers keeps asking what the boat looks like.
Have a Wonderful Day! Tell the crew to enjoy the sunshine because we had snow flurries yesterday and rain this morning.
Kate U.