Tuesday started out with the winds down a bit...but not much; down enough to dive. We headed out after a quick cold breakfast of cereal, pop-tarts, oatmeal and fruit.
Our first dive was at Sand Key. The conditions weren't terrible but it was a bit sporty. There were only a few 'wardrobe malfunctions' and the dive went well. Some divers even saw a reef shark.
Next we moved over to Rock Key. The conditions had improved slightly but it was still sporty and some of the divers were starting to feel the 'motion of the ocean'. The dive went well again.
We took a break for lunch as we headed for Toppino's Buoy. The winds were picking up and lunch was not sitting well with some more of the divers. The conditions at Toppino's did not look great so we moved on to Western Sambo. By now most of the divers had opted to sit out the dive so in we went with five divers. Again, the dive went well and we headed in to the dock for our mid-week break.
For the break we return to the dock where we started where there are real toilets, showers and no anchor watch. The crew took a walk after dinner to a local store for a little after dinner treat and then had their discussion afterward. Me....I passed out as usual.
Wednesday, February 29, 2012
Tuesday, February 28, 2012
SLS022512A - Monday...dive day
Monday was our first full day out on the water. The winds were still up, still blowing about 25 knots, when we got up so the days activities were still unknown. We had a slow wake up and a cooked breakfast. After everything was cleaned up we left the mooring ball and headed out.
We decided to head out to the bay side rather than the ocean side. The water is shallow on the bay side so the waves can't build. The site we were headed to was Cottrell Key. It is a shallow site where most of the snorkel boats go when the ocean is too rough. We had to get our initial dive out of the way. The first dive is always a led dive where the divers stay with the divemaster/instructor. This gives us a chance to look over the divers in the water. It's a two stage process. First we had them in the pool where they go through a scuba skills circuit then we take them on their first dive where we watch them dive, check their buoyancy aand make sure that they are comfortable in the water.
The conditions at Cottrell were marginal but still diveable. The bottom is all sand and about 15ft. deep. Visibility was about 10 ft. and there was no current. We did the usual dive briefing then put everyone in the water. Divemaster Mike was sitting out because of an ear problem so I took all 12 of the divers myself. We went to the bottom and met under the boat. Once everyone was together we went for a short tour of the bottom to the reef line and back. The dive went quite well. With the led dive out of the way they were now free to go diving on their own in buddy teams.
After the dive we had lunch then the crew opted to go snorkeling.
We headed back to the mooring ball in Key West harbor for the night. Once we were on the mooring ball a few of the crew fished with Cuban Yo-yos while dinner was prepared. We had crazy dream burgers with mac& cheeze. Then is was off to bed for me.
We decided to head out to the bay side rather than the ocean side. The water is shallow on the bay side so the waves can't build. The site we were headed to was Cottrell Key. It is a shallow site where most of the snorkel boats go when the ocean is too rough. We had to get our initial dive out of the way. The first dive is always a led dive where the divers stay with the divemaster/instructor. This gives us a chance to look over the divers in the water. It's a two stage process. First we had them in the pool where they go through a scuba skills circuit then we take them on their first dive where we watch them dive, check their buoyancy aand make sure that they are comfortable in the water.
The conditions at Cottrell were marginal but still diveable. The bottom is all sand and about 15ft. deep. Visibility was about 10 ft. and there was no current. We did the usual dive briefing then put everyone in the water. Divemaster Mike was sitting out because of an ear problem so I took all 12 of the divers myself. We went to the bottom and met under the boat. Once everyone was together we went for a short tour of the bottom to the reef line and back. The dive went quite well. With the led dive out of the way they were now free to go diving on their own in buddy teams.
After the dive we had lunch then the crew opted to go snorkeling.
We headed back to the mooring ball in Key West harbor for the night. Once we were on the mooring ball a few of the crew fished with Cuban Yo-yos while dinner was prepared. We had crazy dream burgers with mac& cheeze. Then is was off to bed for me.
Monday, February 27, 2012
SLS022512A - Sunday...off to the boat
Sunday started very early for me, like most days, somewhere around 05:00. The wind had come up overnight and was blowing somewhere around 25 knots at the buoys. We were in the pool until about 21:00 last night so there was still a few things to get to.
The crew was up on time and flags was uneventful. After breakfast we met at the Quarterdeck for the 'fast track' version of the orientation. We usually do a powerpoint orientation in the Chart Room that takes about 45 minutes but because of time constraints it was a quick read through that took about 20 minutes. It's not the same without the pictures and videos.
Next it was off to the Commisary to load 5 large coolers with ice and inventory the small mountain of food we would be taking with us. The inventory was a bit difficult as no one was there from the Commisary and some of the portions seemed a little large. Oh well, extra is good...too little is bad.
We managed to get all of the food into the trailer and headed over to the scuba area to load the remaining gear. We somehow managed to add 15 scuba tanks, all of the dive gear and some of the personal gear. The rest of the personal gear was loaded into the back of the vans. That was one heavily loaded little trailer. AQll of the tasks went very well. It's nice having a crew that listens and gets down to business.
With the trailer loaded we loaded the crew into the vans and headed for Stock Island, right outside of Key West; Conch Pearl's home. It was almost 2 hours, with Sunday traffic slowing us down. When we arrived at the boat the crew unloaded the trailer with the same efficiency as they loaded it. Like I said, a pleasure. The crew had everything to the boat and loaded in the same amount of time that most crews take just to unload the trailer and move the gear. We had lunch, untied the boat and headed out. Because of the high winds, and the LDS's crew desire not to dive on Sunday, we went out sailing. With the stiff 25 knot wind the Conch Pearl moves quite well under full sail, something we don't do very often. We made into Key West harbor around 17:30, took down the sails, and headed for our mooring for the night. The Conch Pearl has it's own permanent mooring in the harbor.
While we waited for dinner to cook most of the crew went about fishing with Cuban Yo-yo's, catching plenty of Pinfish to use as bait later on. Dinner was spaghetti, cooked below. Fighting the wind on the grill would have been impossible.
After dinner we put out a 'shark line' with one of the Pinfish as bait. It wasn't too long before we were suprised with a rather large Tarpon, which Tim brought up to the boat. We don't bring a large fish like that on board. After that it was off to bed. Early morning tomorrow. Maybe we'll get to dive.
The crew was up on time and flags was uneventful. After breakfast we met at the Quarterdeck for the 'fast track' version of the orientation. We usually do a powerpoint orientation in the Chart Room that takes about 45 minutes but because of time constraints it was a quick read through that took about 20 minutes. It's not the same without the pictures and videos.
Next it was off to the Commisary to load 5 large coolers with ice and inventory the small mountain of food we would be taking with us. The inventory was a bit difficult as no one was there from the Commisary and some of the portions seemed a little large. Oh well, extra is good...too little is bad.
We managed to get all of the food into the trailer and headed over to the scuba area to load the remaining gear. We somehow managed to add 15 scuba tanks, all of the dive gear and some of the personal gear. The rest of the personal gear was loaded into the back of the vans. That was one heavily loaded little trailer. AQll of the tasks went very well. It's nice having a crew that listens and gets down to business.
With the trailer loaded we loaded the crew into the vans and headed for Stock Island, right outside of Key West; Conch Pearl's home. It was almost 2 hours, with Sunday traffic slowing us down. When we arrived at the boat the crew unloaded the trailer with the same efficiency as they loaded it. Like I said, a pleasure. The crew had everything to the boat and loaded in the same amount of time that most crews take just to unload the trailer and move the gear. We had lunch, untied the boat and headed out. Because of the high winds, and the LDS's crew desire not to dive on Sunday, we went out sailing. With the stiff 25 knot wind the Conch Pearl moves quite well under full sail, something we don't do very often. We made into Key West harbor around 17:30, took down the sails, and headed for our mooring for the night. The Conch Pearl has it's own permanent mooring in the harbor.
While we waited for dinner to cook most of the crew went about fishing with Cuban Yo-yo's, catching plenty of Pinfish to use as bait later on. Dinner was spaghetti, cooked below. Fighting the wind on the grill would have been impossible.
After dinner we put out a 'shark line' with one of the Pinfish as bait. It wasn't too long before we were suprised with a rather large Tarpon, which Tim brought up to the boat. We don't bring a large fish like that on board. After that it was off to bed. Early morning tomorrow. Maybe we'll get to dive.
Sunday, February 26, 2012
SLS022512A - Saturday, Arrival Day...part two
Well the crew finally arrived at around 16:15. Airline delays as well as south florida traffic delayed their arrival by about 6 hours, which cancelled the possibility of getting to the boat Saturday night. They're a well motivated group. We finished the swim review and gear issue before dinner. After dinner we put them in the pool for the skills review. There were a few small gear issues but otherwise they did as well as expected. As always, weighting and buoyancy will have to be watched on the first dive. We didn't get to the orientation due to being in the pool, so that will be done tomorrow morning.
Saturday, February 25, 2012
SLS022512A - Saturday, Arrival Day...part one
Plans don't always work out the way we want and this crew knows this all too well. The original plan was to arrive about 10:00 but due to airline delays their arrival is postponed until sometime around 15:00. I predict it will be closer to 16:00 but we'll see. We have an awful lot to do in the little bit of time we'll have...and today is the kind of day around here where just getting their picture taken will be a challenge. Unfortunately we won't be able to meet their request to make it to the boat tonight. That will be impossible unless we want to arrive at 22:00; then there's still the matter of stowing all of the gear and provisions on board and sending the drivers back very late. Maybe if we don't do an orientation; but I personally think that would be a BIG mistake.
Goodbye SLS021812A, Hello SLS022512A
Today we stay goodbye to one crew and pick up the next. When you work the live-aboard you don't get much time off. It's 05:00 and I'm doing my laundry. The crew that is arriving today has made a special request. They are primarially an LDS crew (Mormon) and would prefer not to do anything on Sunday. To accomadate their request we're going to try to get them to the boat Saturday night so that they can take Sunday off. That means check-in, photo, swim review, gear issue, scuba pool review, pack up persoal gear for the boat, inventory the food and load the vans and trailers. Somewhere in there we have to have dinner then there's an hour and a half drive to the boat. Once we're at the boat it takes about an hour to stow all of the gear and food. Whew!
I hope we can pull it off. It all depends on the crew; how together and motivated they are.
On another note, the weather has been beautiful.
I hope we can pull it off. It all depends on the crew; how together and motivated they are.
On another note, the weather has been beautiful.
Tuesday, February 21, 2012
SLS021812A Day Three, Monday
Today was the first full day on the boat. Wake up was a little slow and very laid back, as it usually is on the boat. We had a slow start because Captain Denny was hoping the winds would die down a bit from overnight. We had a cooked breakfast since it was a slow start. Once we finished breakfast and cleanup we headed out to the reef. We were headed for Sand Key which is a bit of a ride so on the way we put out some fishing lines to troll for whatever we could get. We don't fish for anything specific, just something good to eat. It took awhile but we got a 'fish on'. Josh ran back and grabbed the rod first which gives him the right to bring the fish in, and what a great fish it was; a 31" Cero Mackeral, That's a big fish, and good to eat too. Unfortunately, that was the only fish for the day, although we had a couple more hits.
We did our first dive at Sand Key, a site marked with an old, out of commission, lighthouse tower. There is also a large coral head to explore too. It was their first dive on their own; no divemaster escort. Again, the dive went without incident. We had lunch and moved over to Western Dry Rocks for our second dive. The third and final dive was at Rock Key. As you can see, they weren't really creative when it came to naming the sites.
We headed back in to the mooring ball outside of Key West for our second night and a dinner of Brautwurst and beans.
We did our first dive at Sand Key, a site marked with an old, out of commission, lighthouse tower. There is also a large coral head to explore too. It was their first dive on their own; no divemaster escort. Again, the dive went without incident. We had lunch and moved over to Western Dry Rocks for our second dive. The third and final dive was at Rock Key. As you can see, they weren't really creative when it came to naming the sites.
We headed back in to the mooring ball outside of Key West for our second night and a dinner of Brautwurst and beans.
Monday, February 20, 2012
SLS021812A Day Two, Sunday
Day two is what I consider to be the hardest day. There is so much to do and not alot of time to do it. The crew woke and went to flags at 07:45. Then it was off to breakfast. After breakfast the fun began. They had to clean the dorm they stayed in, pack their gear that they were taking on the boat and stow everything else in lockers. Next was the food and ice. We met at the commisary where they packed 5 large coolers with ice (very heavy) and inventoried a mountain of food. It takes alot of food to feed 16 hungry divers for one week. Thanks to Dave for spearheading the inventory. The inventory sheet doesn't exactly match the items so it can be a bit trying to get it correct. All of the ice and food were loaded into a trailer and it was off to the scuba area to load a second trailer. That trailer was loaded with 30 scuba tanks, the dive gear and all of the remaining personal gear. Once everything was loaded we rounded up all of the stragglers and headed out. It's about a 1 1/2 hour drive to where the Conch Pearl is moored; from milemarker 73.8 to about milemarker 8 down A1A.
Once we arrived at the boat it was time to transfer all of the stuff we brought from the trailers to the boat, about a 50 yard walk and a small flight of stairs. This is the hard part. Once everything is at the boat it all has to be loaded on the boat, everything in it's proper place. All of the ice and food has to be loaded and stowed away, the dive gear and tanks have to be loaded and set up and all of the personal gear has to make it to the bunks. Once all of that is done it's time to slow down and start really enjoying the trip.
We had lunch then headed out to the reef for our first dive. We went to Toppino's Buoy, a nice little reef, good for a first dive. The first dive is a led dive, where the divers stay with the divemaster. Tgis gives them a chance to work on any little problems and also gives the divemaster the opportunity to look the divers over. The visibility was about 50ft. not bad for spring. The dive went quite well without any issues. That's not always the case.
After the dive we headed into the mooring near Key West. As we passed the Key West waterfront all of the people were lined up, waiting for the 'famous' sunset. Once we were attached to the mooring ball we settled down for dinner; burgers.
Once we arrived at the boat it was time to transfer all of the stuff we brought from the trailers to the boat, about a 50 yard walk and a small flight of stairs. This is the hard part. Once everything is at the boat it all has to be loaded on the boat, everything in it's proper place. All of the ice and food has to be loaded and stowed away, the dive gear and tanks have to be loaded and set up and all of the personal gear has to make it to the bunks. Once all of that is done it's time to slow down and start really enjoying the trip.
We had lunch then headed out to the reef for our first dive. We went to Toppino's Buoy, a nice little reef, good for a first dive. The first dive is a led dive, where the divers stay with the divemaster. Tgis gives them a chance to work on any little problems and also gives the divemaster the opportunity to look the divers over. The visibility was about 50ft. not bad for spring. The dive went quite well without any issues. That's not always the case.
After the dive we headed into the mooring near Key West. As we passed the Key West waterfront all of the people were lined up, waiting for the 'famous' sunset. Once we were attached to the mooring ball we settled down for dinner; burgers.
SLS021812A Day One, Saturday
Crew SLS021812A is our first Live-Aboard crew for the 2012 season. They arrived right when they said they would...that's a good sign. They were fairly rested because they has spent the previous night in a hotel in Ft. Lauderdale. Most crews arrive dead tired because they have been traveling since the wee hours of the morning. The check-in went well...pictures, swim test, gear issue and pool skills session. This crew had done a skills review at home before coming here; a real plus for new divers. After the pool was 'flags' We had to go in our swim suits as the pool session ran a little late. Dinner was fried chicken, then it was off to the classroom for an orientation session. It's a bit dry but everyone managed to stay awake. All in all a good group of guys. It's a pleasure when you get that impression right away. Tomorrow it's off to the boat!
Saturday, February 18, 2012
Back in the Florida Keys
Well I'm back in the Florida Keys, volunteering at the BSA Florida High Adventure Sea Base again. The drive down was uneventful except for the price of gas! It's hot and humid but that's supposed to change in the next day or so. We're expecting a front to come through tomorrow and drop the temperature a little and blow 15-20...just enough to make it a bit sporty. The first Live Aboard crew of the season is set to arrive in the next few hours, then the real fun begins. Mike Roesel, the divemaster I'll be working with, did a great job getting stuff ready; lights, fishing gear, etc. I've packed most of what I need to take and my scuba gear is set up so things should go smoothly. All I need to do is find a little time to take a short nap before they arrive or else I'll never make it through orientation tonight.
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