SLS080611A - day two

Yesterday started like most days. The crew woke slowly when the generator started at 07:30. Some early risers were already up along with the last anchor watch shift. We had a 'cold' breakfast; fruit, cereal, pop tarts, etc. We eat a cold breakfast because it is quick so that we can get going.


We motored down to our first dive spot, Looe Key. Looe Key is a very famous dive spot. (google Looe Key for more information). The visibility was better than the day before at Western Sambo so the divers really enjoyed it. The were sightings of all sorts of fish.
We left Looe key and headed for Sombrero Reef. When we are motoring from spot st spot we usually troll with one or two poles. This time it paid off. Phil caught a HUGH wahoo (which was delicious) and Kent caught a barracuda. Wait until you see the pictures! Check www.schoonerconchpearl.com for pics. Along the way a few storms started popping up around us. Welcome to summertime in the Florida Keys. Captain Denny does a great job of steering around the storm cells but we still got rained on for a bit.
When we arrived at Sombrero Reef it was still cloudy. There was only one boat there (usually there are quite a few) so we had our pick of mooring balls. Sombrero Key is my favorite place to dive in all of the Florida Keys. We did two dives here; one at each end of the reef. The visibility was not great, 15-20 ft. but it was still nice. Again there were lots of animals spotted including a turtle and some lionfish.
When the dives were finished everyone (well almost everyone) washed up using the hose/shower and settled in for the ride into the mooring. We dropped anchor off of Boot Key, right outside of Marathon FL. We were next to a super yacht. Megan looked it up on her cell phone and we found out it was worth almost 20 million. wow!
Once the anchor was dropped the crew started fishing for baitfish using 'cuban yoyos'. These are hoops with line wrapped around them that are used as hand lines. At first they didn't have much luck but then they caught a few. The baitfish is used to bait a shark line that is left out overnight. Dinner was next. Capt. Denny grilled the yahoo along with some chicken patties. We also had stuffing, corn and salad. We eat well on the Conch Pearl.
Dinner was a little late so the sun set soon after. The crew started staking claim to sleeping spots on the deck and soon turned in for the night.