SLSU032413A – Sunday March 31st, 2013

Day 8 – Departure Day

 

The crew had a very early departure today, the earliest I ever had to deal with…2AM. Luckily my sleep is so bizarre it was no problem for me to see them off. I had to do my laundry anyway. I met everyone in the Galley, made sure they had something to eat and found some coffee cups then we said our goodbyes.

This was one of those good crews. We had leaders that had been here before, that we actually remembered. That’s not an easy feat when you realize the number of crews that come through here every year, not to mention in six years. The youth were great to have around, they brought no ‘baggage’ with them (no pun intended Colleen) and they set to every task without any issues or problems…a testimony to great leaders.

Thanks for coming to Florida Sea Base.

diverDave

SLSU032413A – Saturday March 30th, 2013

Last Day On The Water

 

Saturday is the last day out on the water so it’s a get up and go day. Everyone was up and moving right on time. We had a quick cold breakfast, ‘dropped the ball’ (left the mooring) and headed out to the ocean for the last time. On the way out we passed a large cruise ship and raised our sails right beside them, giving those on board a good show.

The winds were back up and the seas were rolling pretty good. We were going to look at a dive site called Toppino’s Buoy, but because there isn’t much protection from the rolling waves there wasn’t much hope of diving there. The winds had caused the seas to increase so Toppino’s was out. We headed back to the Western Sambo complex, back to Wrecker’s Reef. We went to a ball that we had not been to, giving the divers a look at another part of the reef.

With the reef helping to protect us from the waves (we were only being throw around moderately) we were able to dive. The conditions were stellar; 75’ visibility, no current and little surge. The crew made some signs and a flag to take down for photographs. Most of the crew posed for the pictures; some were snorkeling, some stayed on deck. Taking pictures of a group underwater is challenging. You have to get them down on the bottom, lined up, without stirring everything up, and then get them all to stop exhaling (bubbles) at the same time. This group made it harder by trying to use two signs made of floating poster board. All in all I think we pulled it off but we won’t know until we see the pictures. It was so much effort to handle the signs that it winded Bob enough for him to get back on the boat. I took the rest of the divers and we went on a tour of the reef.

After the dive it was time to get to work. On the trip back into the marina the crew had to have lunch and get all of their personal and dive gear packed. This kept everyone’s minds off of the fact that we were still being tossed around. The crew dropped the sails for the last time and the boat was docked. The crew set to the task at hand, removed everything from the boat and cleaned everything inside and out. I must say this was one of the best crews we’ve had when it comes to getting to work without any hesitation. Since the driver had arrived early there was no time for any slacking off. When all was done the boat looked great. The crew loaded everything into the trailer then took their final pictures and said their goodbyes. They’ll be missed by Denny and Holley as no hassles crews are few and far between.

We hopped into the vans and headed back to Florida Sea Base. On the way back one of the vans made one last stop at Baby’s Coffee for some ‘Southern Most Roasted Coffee’. When we arrived at base we unloaded the van and got down to our final push. They cleaned all of the scuba gear then they were turned the crew loose until flags. Flags had a massive attendance. There were about 9 crews there, each with 8 to 20 people. Someone had a birthday so the ceremonial birthday chair was brought out and everyone sang happy birthday.

After flags everyone put on their luau shirts and the luau began. First there were games like Hawaiian Tug-o-war and limbo then there was the luau dinner with a beautiful Florida sunset as the backdrop. After dinner the crews performed skits and songs. When all the fun was over it was back to the dorm to finish packing and get to bed…tomorrow will come quickly.

SLSU032413A – Friday March 29th, 2013

Lobster? What Lobster?

 

This crew has had the pleasure of being on the dock for three of their nights. That’s three nights of no anchor watch. They should be well rested but the diving and rolling seas are still keeping them pretty tired.

We started the day with a cold breakfast so that we could get going quickly. We were going lobstering. We got off the dock early and headed for Pelican Shoals. This used to be a small island that has been worn down over the years so that it is all pretty much under water. It slopes down to around 20 feet so there is plenty of 8 -12 ft. deep areas for skin diving for lobsters. Scouts aren’t allowed to scuba for lobster due to risk management issues. The crew received a briefing from Captain Denny on the best methods for catching lobster using a net and a tickle stick. Everyone geared up in their snorkeling gear and off they went, being led by Divemaster Paul. The seas were really choppy adding to the difficulty but the crew really went at it. We call it 'sporty'; when the boat is being tossed back and forth and you don't walk around, you throw yourself from place to place and grab on. After about and hour they had had enough and everyone returned to the boat. The reward for their efforts was one lobster that was too small. Sometimes there are lots of lobsters at Pelican Shoals and sometimes there are none. Being the end of the season may have had something to do with it.

 

We left Pelican Shoals and had lunch on the way to the dive site. The seas were really rolling so any movement was a real challenge. We arrived at the dive site hoping that the reef would protect us from the large swells, which it did, with little effect. The dive site was Wrecker's Reef, a reef in the Western Sambo group. The visibility was great. When I jumped in to do conditions and got down to around 30' it was so peaceful, especially compared to being on the surface. There was no current, very little surge and fantastic visibility. The dive was great. Steven even spotted an octopus and we watched it race across the bottom, changing colors as it went.  Everyone made it back on to the rocking boat. That's not easy when it's really rocking bad.

 

The crew voted to do another dive which was led by Paul. Again they had a great dive. After the dive we headed to the mooring in Key West Harbor.

 

Dinner was our traditional last night dinner of steaks,mashed potatos and green beans. Too bad we couldn't have Surf & Turf.

SLSU032413A – Thursday March 28th, 2013

A very full dive day

 

No sleeping in this morning. This was a full dive day. We had a ‘cold’ breakfast so we could get up and out to the reef. We pulled up the anchor and off we went, back to Looe Key. This time there were already several dive boats at the site. The temperatures had come up just a bit and the sun was shining so we hoped for a much warmer day. By the time we were on the mooring ball the seas had become pretty sporty. Even though the winds had dropped a bit, the seas had become bigger, rolling the boat back and forth. This is great incentive to get off the boat and into the water.

We did one dive with the visibility being about the same as the day before. I went out with the two Jr. Divers, Aiden and Alex, and we saw a couple of reef sharks. While we were under the water the folks on the boat were getting beaten up by the rockin’ and rollin’. Denny decided with the marginal visibility and the sea conditions that we would move back West in search of better conditions; especially since we were hoping to do a night dive.

We made the long trip from Looe Key to Western Sambo (2 ½ hours) to find clear water and calmer seas. Denny is rarely incorrect when it comes to matters of the sea and weather and this time he was once again right on the mark. We did two more dives at Western Sambo, first at the East end then at the West end or  ‘Haystacks’ as it is known. There is a grouping of large haystack shaped coral heads that give the site its name. Since everyone liked Haystacks we stayed there to do our night dive. First we had a great dinner of chicken patties, corn and stuffing then we were treated to a beautiful Key West sunset as we geared up for the dive.

Night dives are a little different than day dives so we had to do an extensive briefing before getting in. We get in while it is still a bit light, to get the divers used to the low light, then do our dive as it gradually gets dark. The moon was rising late so we had a ‘dark’ night dive; lights from dive lights only. The dive went very well although there were reports that I was going a little fast while leading. I thought I was going too slow. Go figure. Anyway, everyone returned to the boat without incident and we headed back to the marina for the night...woo hoo!...hot showers and no anchor watch.

SLSU032413A – Wednesday March 27th, 2013

Is this Key West?

 

Here we are in the southernmost part of the continental US and it’s 50 degrees and windy. Not exactly what everyone was prepared for. These temps don’t go well with bare feet and wet bodies. This is supposed to be the coldest morning but that is little comfort right now. The crew will be getting up soon, climbing out of their cozy bunks…surprise! It was the new record low for Key West for this date.

It was another slow wake up because of the weather. We stayed on the dock and had a nice cooked breakfast of pancakes, eggs and sausage. That’ll be the last cooked breakfast for the week. After breakfast we said our goodbyes to dry land, put up the sails and headed out to sea to go to Looe Key. It was quite ‘sporty’ out on the ocean but not as bad we thought it would be. The ride to Looe Key was about 2 ½ hours so most of the crew just stayed below out of the wind and spray. A few braved the cool temps and bitter wind on deck, bundled up in their rain gear. We had lunch on the way and surprisingly everyone ate. When we’re rockin’ and rollin’ on the ocean a lot of people don’t like to eat.

We arrived at Looe Key to find the place empty. There are usually plenty of boats here because it is such a popular dive site. During our dives one other commercial boat and a couple of private boats did show up.

It was finally time to dive. We usually dive everyday but day 1 and 2 were ‘dry’ days because of the late arrival and the Key West weather day. First we had everyone take down the sails. With the wind blowing that’s no easy feat. Next everyone got into their wetsuits. Brrrrrrrrrr. Denny gave a long and detailed briefing on the procedure for gearing up and getting into the water then I gave a dive briefing. We hit them with a lot of information at first….some is new and some is just reinforcement of things they’ve done before or learned while getting certified.

I went in first. I go in first to do a ‘conditions check’; I go to the bottom and check the depth, current, surge and visibility then I return to the surface and report my findings. This time both I and Divemaster Paul hopped in. Everything was good except for the marginal visibility. We could dive but we prefer much better visibility, especially at a site like Looe Key. The first dive is a led dive. The divers stay with the Instructor and Divemaster so that we can address any issues that might crop up and to assess the diver’s skills and abilities. It was a rocky start as a few divers were a little slow getting their ears to clear and there was also a weight issue. After that it was all good. The first dive went very well. We returned to the boat, everyone boarded and we got ready for the next dive.

On dive two Paul went snorkeling with Brian while I took the rest of the divers on a tour. A few people opted out due to being cold. Dive two also went well. There was a large Golioth Grouper waiting to greet us back at the boat which was a pleasant surprise for the divers. For dive three we moved the boat to a different part of the reef. Looe Key is quite large so we can do multiple dives without repeating a location. Dive three went well and we returned to find the same Golioth Grouper waiting for us. It had followed the boat from the previous location. Everyone stowed their dive gear and proceeded with my favorite part of the day…drying off and getting into dry clothes.

We headed in for the day to anchor behind Key Lois. The rumor is that Key Lois once had a research facility that used monkeys as test subjects. When the facility was closed down many of the monkeys were somehow turned loose so now the island is home to wild monkeys. Anyway, we dropped the anchor far enough away from the Key so as not to hear the monkeys and proceeded to have a dinner of what we refer to as ‘crazy dream burgers’. They are called that because people are known to have crazy dreams after eating them. I sure did.

SLSU032413A – Tuesday March 26th, 2013

A Key West Day

 

We woke to a rather blustery day. The winds were up and it was a bit cool. Too cool for the Florida Keys. With the wind blowing the way it was we knew that diving would be out so the crew made the decision to have their mid-week break and go to Key West for the day. We had a nice cooked breakfast of scrambled eggs then everyone got dressed for a day on the town and off we went.

Key West is a nice little town, full of interesting people and things but it is little. Once you’ve walked across it once or twice you realize how small the Old Town section really is. The crew spent the day poking in and out of t-shirt shops, going to museums and soaking up the ‘local color’. We all met for dinner at Jack Flats where the food was good but they just couldn’t get Mike’s order right.

After dinner we headed to the Sunset Festival at Mallory Square. It’s a collection of street performers that gather on the waterfront to entertain the crowds and beg for money. There are acrobats, jugglers, singers, statues and the famous Cat Man. The crew went directly to the Cat Man to catch his rather unique show. You can see acrobats anywhere but you can  only see the Cat Man and his trained cats in Key West. After the show the crew met with the Cat Man to take pictures and get autographs.  Wait until you see the pictures of this character.

By the time we were done with the Cat Man it was quite cool and everyone had seen enough so we headed back to the boat.

I don’t know about everyone else but I went out as soon as my head hit the pillow.

SLSU032413A – Monday March 25th, 2013

And so it begins…

This is going to be a short post…I’m losing power and I already lost most of what I typed for today.

Today is going to be a very, very hectic day. The pace will have to be fast and furious. We will be competing with quite a few other crews for space in the swim area, the pool and for dive gear. Paul and I prepared as much gear and paperwork as possible to make the process go as smoothly and quickly as possible. We have flags, breakfast, swim test, gear issue, skills review in the pool then pack ice and food for the trip. If they already have their personal gear packed we may get out of here before noon…a very aggressive target. I have been up since 4am finalizing a few things so it’s going to be tough on me as well. Everyone, except the drivers, will have the opportunity to sleep on the way down to the Conch Pearl, which is at the dock in Stock Island (Key West).

We all met for flags at 07:45. Because of the lightning and rain in the area we had the flag ceremony under the scuba dorms. The base is very crowded right now, lots of crews. While everyone was in line for breakfast we used the time to have our pictures taken. After breakfast we prepared for the swim review but because there was still some lightning in the area we switched gears and did our gear issue instead. ‘Semper Gumby’…always flexible…the Sea Base motto. Now was time for the swim review. Everyone passed with an ‘excellent’. Now it was off to the dorm to grab any dive equipment still stored there then to the scuba pools. There we issued wetsuits and weights to complete our gear issue. Everyone assembled their gear with little incident then it was off to the small pool to begin our skills review. The skills review allows the instructors and divemasters the opportunity to assess the diver’s abilities and comfort level in the water. Once the deep pool was cleared we moved to it to complete our deep water skills. The crew completed all of their skills well, giving us a good comfort level for the dives to come.

We weren’t supposed to have lunch on base but because we were running so late Captain Steve (ScubaSTEVE) Willis arranged to have us fed. Otherwise we would not have eaten until around 15:30 (3:30pm).

We packed up the scuba gear, packed up the personal gear and headed over to the commissary to inventory and pack the food and ice for the trip. Moving the coolers full of ice is one of the hardest jobs and requires a few strong backs. Once everything was loaded into the trailer and vans we were ready to hit the road for the 1 and 1/2 hour drive to Stock Island, home of the Conch Pearl.

There were a few stops on the way. Colleen had to stop at K-Mart to buy some clothes due to her luggage being lost somewhere in the land of airports. The other van stopped at Walgreens and Baby’s Coffee for much needed coffee supplies. They wouldn’t let Pat out of the van due to some prior history at Wal-Mart (I still don’t know what that was about).

We arrived at the Conch Pearl to be met by Captains Denny and Holley. The hardest job of the whole trip is to move all of the gear and food from the vans to the ship. The crew did it efficiently and quickly. One the best efforts I had ever seen. Denny and Holley gave the crew a thorough briefing then it was off to the open sea. The front that had brought us the rain and lightning earlier in the day was now giving us a driving wind which caused the ship to be washed with a cold spray. Most of the crew spent the trip from the marina to the mooring spot below decks.

When we arrived at the mooring spot we discovered another boat had taken the Conch Pearl’s mooring ball so Denny dropped the anchor. Once we were settled on the mooring we cooked a great dinner of spaghetti and meat sauce.

At this point I was down for the night so I’m not sure what else took place but I imagine after cleaning up dinner the crew all went to bed. It had been a long, busy day.

Now it was time to begin anchor watch.

SLSU032413A – Sunday March 24th, 2013

Day 1 – Arrival Day

 

I contact all of my crews before they arrive; first by email a few months before arrival then I call a week before scheduled arrival. This crew was no different except when I received the confirmation return email from their leader it stated that they had been here 5 years before. When I called the week before I was told that they had been here 5 years before, on board the Conch Pearl, with me. Since I really never had a bad crew I became very curious as to which crew it was; there have been a lot of crews since then.

 

I was also told that they would be arriving a little late. Since they had been here before I was hoping that their prior experience here would make check-in and preparation to go to the ship that much easier, and speedier.

 

The other crew member this trip will be divemaster Paul Mangone. He’s my age and a graduate of the Divemaster Academy that I taught two years ago.  He’s an excellent divemaster and brings a skill set of teaching methods that widens the abilities of the Florida Sea Base Staff.

 

I just spoke with the crew’s leader. It’s almost 6pm and they’re just leaving the Miami airport. I don’t think we’re going to get much done tonight. We still have to feed them so all we’ll get done is orientation…maybe gear issue. It’s really going to effect tomorrow. “it is what it is” as Denny says.

 

The crew finally arrived a little after nine. A lost bag had delayed them even more. Upon meeting them it was good to see some familiar faces. There was the leader Bob, a ‘retired’ dive instructor and Mike, a firefighter. They had both been with me on the Conch Pearl six years ago and if I remember correctly, we had a pretty good time. The rest of the crew seemed like a good bunch of folks; a good first impression.

 

Paul and I fed the crew with leftovers the Galley had left for us, ravioli and vegetables, and then it was off to the dorms. We put the crew in one of the big crew rooms and left them for the evening. It had been a long day for them so it was no use torturing them with the orientation presentation. Tomorrow will be a longer day with a very fast pace.

SCSU031713A Arrives - Day 1

Today my first crew of 2013 arrived. It's a certification crew. I will be team teaching with new instructor David Kirkiner. Sharp guy...he has to be; he was taught by Burt Hubby. The crew is made up of six people; two adult females, three youth females and one youth male. The two adults are not diving. They're going to ride around on the boat and maybe snorkel. Of the youths, one of the girls, may not be diving. She is taking a medication that may disqualify her from diving. Captain Steve is going to talk with the dive doctor tomorrow to see if anything can be done but it doesn't look good.

The crew is somewhat familiar to me. One of the adults was here last year with a certification crew. She had some issues in the pool so she did not finish certification...SCUBA's not for everyone. I don't remember alot about that crew except that they were a fun bunch.

The crew arrived right on time, about 4pm. Check-in was held up while Captain Steve dealt with the medication issue. Once that was settled, for the time being, we met with the photographer and had our picture taken at the Sea Base entrance. Next it was off to the dorms. The crew dropped of their luggage and then we headed to the classroom. We needed to do paperwork and review the upcoming week. We discovered that the students had not filled out their knowledge reviews. This was a problem so they have to make it up on their time.

We finished up in the classroom for the day, went to flags and had dinner.

After dinner we headed to the classroom for the welcome presentation. Divemaster Scott Patton ran through the presentation and got us out of there in about a half hour. After that the crew was on their own, hopefully to go back to their dorms and complete their knowledge reviews.

I'm here, the gear's here...now what

I'm here, the gear's here...now what? That's what I'm asking myself. I want to get in the pool to check it all out but I can't seem to get myself to do it. Now's not the time to get complacent. I know all the gear has to be checked thoroughly, in the water, before my certification crew gets here. I went over it all at home but it's not the same as a 'wet test'. I haven't been diving since April 6th, 2012. I need to weigh my self out too. The new wetsuit may be more buoyant than I'm used to and I've put on some weight which will effect how much weight I need to carry.

I haven't taught Open Water since last March, in Port Antigua. That was fun (not). I need to review all of my teaching materials tonight so that I'm familiar with it all again; don't want to look too stupid. I'm teaching with a brand new instructor which means he should be right on top of everything. At least that's what I'm hoping...old dog, new tricks. I've probably forgotten more than he knows right now.

New Stuff

It seems every time I come to Florida Sea Base I end up with some new gear. This year it's a new wetsuit. I had a few glitches getting it but it all worked out.

First I waited and waited for LeisurePro to put the Pinnacle Wetsuits on sale. They usually put them on sale in late Winter. As the time for me to leave neared I decided to go ahead and order the wetsuit. I hadn't gotten around to trying it on yet when, lo and behold, the wetsuits went on sale. Since the prices had dropped  I was now able to afford what was their top of the line wetsuit. I boxed up the first suit I received to return then went to order the new wetsuit. Suddenly the price changed back to the MSRP. WTF? I fired off an email to customer service and was promptly answered with the offer from them to honor the sale price if I called Customer Service. I called and ordered the wetsuit at the sale price.

What made this wetsuit different was a front zipper that went across the front. I thought that might be more convenient than the conventional back zipper. When the wetsuit arrived I tried it on. First, it was too small. I thought a Large Medium might fit since my last suits were the same size. Wrong! Over the past nine months or so I had gone off of the grid and off of my diet, and it showed. Secondly, the front zipper design was not as easy to get on and very difficult to get off. In fact, I couldn't get it off. I got it pulled down around my shoulders and it got stuck. Here I was home alone, stuck in this heavy wetsuit, dancing, jumping and gyrating around trying to get it off. I thought I would pass out before I got it off but with enough movement I eventually slipped out of it. Lessons earned...I didn't like the front zipper and I needed a bigger suit. I checked the wetsuit prices again and they were back on sale so I ordered another wetsuit, like the first one, in a bigger size. I boxed up the one I had and returned it.

I expected the newest wetsuit to arrive in two days like the others had, giving me enough time to try it on before leaving for Florida. Even though free shipping states a 7-10 day delivery time I live close enough to LeisurePro to expect items to take only two days. Wrong again. When I checked the tracking information I found out that the wetsuit was drop shipped from the factory, in California. That gave it a delivery date two days after I was leaving for Florida. Once again I emailed LeisurePro Customer Service and asked if they could redirect the package. They said they could for $12 so after a few more emails the wetsuit was on it's way to me here in Florida.

The wetsuit arrived yesterday, as promised by UPS. Now all I have to do is try it on. Well the new wetsuit fits...barely. It's a good thing I'm losing some weight because it's going to be tight until it's broken in a bit. I don't want it to stretch out too much or else it won't fit properly once I lose this weight.

Another goody I purchased was reading lenses for my mask. Although the water magnifies things a bit I still need lenses to see small stuff properly. Now I just have to get off of my butt and install them.

It's that time again...

Well it's that time of year again, time to get my dive gear ready and packed up to return to the Florida Keys for my annual stint as a volunteer SCUBA instructor at the Boy Scouts Of America High Adventure Florida Sea Base. I think this is my 9th year. I'm leaving about a month later than usual as there would have been a four week gap between assignments.

Most of the gear is ready to go. Everything looks good. I even have a new wetsuit on the way. I did maintenance on the lights, tested the BCD and made a list that I checked one, two, three times. I'm sure I'll unpack and re-pack everything at least one more time. (that's my OCD kicking in)

I wish I was in better shape for this year's session but I'll have a week of a certification class to get the muscles broken back in again before I get on the Live Aboard. Hopefully I'll be able to watch what I eat and lose 5-10 lbs. while I'm down there.

This year should be interesting as we take two Divemaster / Instructors on board now and they're giving me a brand new divemaster to 'mentor'. We do far less than we used to but I plan to get back to helping more; filling tanks, mooring, etc. It's boring, sitting around between dives (except when I nap).