SLS033112A - Tuesday



Gustavo Jr.

 We stayed overnight out on the ocean at Looe Key. Conditions are fantastic. You could almost see a penny on the bottom; it's that still and clear. Here'a a picture of yesterday's fish. Unfortunately it's the only fish caught so far; a large Wahoo. Very tasty.
We started the day with a quick cold breakfast and then hit the reef for the first dive. It was great. There was a group of five large Eagle Rays swimming around which most of the divers got to see. Then there was a large Blacktip Shark swimming about.

We moved on to Sombrero Reef just outside of Marathon, FL. It is marked by a 142' tall lighthouse, the tallest in the Keys. I'll post a pic tomorrow. It was a trip of several hours which gave us a chance to refill tanks and do some more fishing and of course napping. Sombrero was crowded. It's a very popular spot, my favorite dive spot in all the Keys.

Pillar Coral in the backround

The dive conditions were still fantastic. Visibility was around 100' with no surge and no current. The coral, especially the soft corals, are very health here and the sand between the channels of coral is very clean and well defined. There are also many, many types of fish here. There was even a group of five Permit swimming about. We finished the dive and moved down to the other end of the reef to do a second dive. This end is marked by a large Pillar Coral formation. Again the conditions were great.

After diving we headed in for the anchorage outside of Boot Key. We're still out in the ocean but now we're protected by the islands. The crew did a little fishing with 'Cuban Yo-Yo's to catch some bait fish for a shark line we would be putting out at night. Dinner was brautwurst and beans. Denny started the generator so we could run the fans to cool off the cabin before going to bed.

Here's a pic of a diver entering the water:

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