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.
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