Conch Pearl Vacation - Day 4

Yesterday was another slow start. This boat stuff really wears you out. We kept it simple with a breakfast of bagels. Denny also had a couple of small projects to take care before we could leave for the day's diving. It was a hot, sunny day needing plenty of sunscreen. We have a sun shade on the boat but it doesn't cover everywhere.

We had lunch and started out to the Vandenberg again. We couldn't believe the conditions when we got there. There was no current and the water was very clear! We were working on Alicia's Advanced Open Water Certification and this was her wreck dive. What a nice dive. Next we moved onto a site called Nine Foot Stake. It's only about 25 feet deep so it's a relaxing dive. We saw one lionfish (I didn't have my spear) and a very friendly Southern Stingray. Alicia used this dive for her Fish ID training dive. We did one more dive at Nine Foot Stake so that Alicia could finish her Advanced work by doing navigation skills. This finished the diving portion of her Advanced Open water. Once she finishes the bookwork she'll be done.

We finished off the dive day by motoring in during sunset and having a nice chicken dinner on deck.

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diverDave

Conch Pearl Vacation - Day 3

Yesterday was a slow start. Everyone used the opportunity to sleep in a bit, then we had a great breakfast of ham and cheese omelets. We were going to go diving so we had to get all of the equipment and tanks loaded and prepared.

We headed out to the reef. The water was a little green but the surface was very smooth and there was almost no wind. When we got to the reef we could see the bottom clearly...not too shabby. Heather took some pictures of fish. The picture is of a school of Sgt. Majors.

Next stop was the Vandenberg; a large wreck off of Key West. http://www.keywest.com/vandenberg There was absolutely no current and visibility was about 40 feet. We followed the mooring line down to the wreck then explored a bit. Like all tourists, everyone wanted their picture taken...in the radar dish. It's at about 80 feet. We completed the dive without incident (the way we like it) and headed back to the dock.

At the dock we had a great spaghetti dinner then headed into Key West to watch the Phillies game (they lost, boo) and have ice cream. After that it was back to the boat where everyone passed out.

Conch Pearl Vacation - Day 2

Yesterday was a big day for the Conch Pearl. Every five years they have a rather thorough inspection by the US Coast Guard for the renewal of their COI; Certificate of Inspection. Being an 'Inspected' vessel is very important. It certifies the safety of the vessel and qualification of captains and crew. I was the trained crew for this inspection which primarially involved performing a man overboard drill. I didn't do much else as Denny and Holley had to prove that they could handle the vessel themselves, just the two of them, from leaving the dock, putting up the sails, taking down the sails and docking. Needless to say, they did quite well and passed the inspection. Yeah!

Everyone got up early so that they could get off the vessel for the inspection...and they wanted to go to Key West for most of the day. http://www.keywesycity.com/

Barbara, Heather, Chris and Alicia spent most of the day shopping and doing the things most people do in KW. Heather, Chris and Alicia even went parasailing. They had a blast.

They returned to the boat with the usual souviniers; t-shirts. Key West has some of the most interesting and provocative t-shirts I have ever seen.

Barbara and Holley went food shopping while Chris, Alicia and I set up scuba gear. It's a chore setting up gear for five divers. We had a small bump in the road with the regulators but e overcame that.

Dinner was great...grilled pork chops. It's great sitting down to a nice meal with friends.

Heather, Chris and Alicia went back into KW while the rest of us relaxed with chocolate cake then it was off to bed...before the kids returned home.

What's this all got to do with diving....not much except today we go diving!

Conch Pearl Vacation - Day 1

Yesterday was the first day of our vacation aboard the Conch Pearl. http://www.schoonerconchpearl.com/ Barbara and I were already in the Keys, having worked the Tarpon Tournament at FSB the week before. We got up early to leave for the airport to pick up Chris and Alicia then Heather at Fort Lauderdale. It was an uneventful ride to the airport, something that isn't always the case on the roads around Miami and Fort Lauderdale. We arrived at the airport at just the right time to pick up Chris and Alicia. Heather's flight wasn't going to arrive for a few more hours so we went to the Hard Rock Casino. We settled in to mess around with the slots and right away Chris wins over $100. Nice start for vacation. We threw away a few more bucks (real big spenders) then headed to Johnny Rockets for milkshakes; yummy! We returned to the airport to pick up Heather then it was back to FSB to pack up the rest of the gear. On the way we stopped at Divers Direct, the diver's toy store, to pick up a few things. You can't go in there without buying something.

We stopped at FSB to pack up the rest of the gear that we needed for the trip. You would be suprised how much room is needed for five people's dive gear and personal gear. We had purchased a hitch receiver cargo carrier just for this and it was badly needed. We packed every inch available, including space between feet.
We left FSB and finished the last leg of our trip to Stock Island (Stock Rock). The drive was nice. The traffic wasn't too bad and the oceana and bay were beautiful. It was great arriving at our destination...we could get out of the car. We met Denny, Holley and Hermes the wonder dog and headed off to the Hogfish http://hogfishbar.com for dinner. It's one of my favorite places to eat here in the Keys. It's kind of 'earthy'.
After dinner we went back to the Conch Pearl and unloaded our stuff from the car. It was nice being on the boat again. It had only been a couple of weeks for me but almost a year for Barbara.

Tarpon Tournament `11

It may seem strange to write about a Tarpon Tournament on a blog that is primarially about scuba diving but in this case it's very relevant. The majority of my diving is done through the BSA Florida High Adventure Sea Base in Islamorada, Florida. Every year they hold an invitational tarpon tournament where some very affluent folks come to fish for tarpon and have a good time. They are very generous when it comes to the Sea Base.
My wife Barbara and I have the job of managing the hospitality suite at the hotel where the anglers stay. It's not a bad job. We serve drinks to the anglers and their spouses for a few hours a day ( 7 yesterday) and get to stay in the suite.
This is our fourth year doing this and we've met some pretty nice people. They really have Scouting in their hearts.