SLS022512A - Wednesday...fully rested

Yesterday was a lazy, late wake up. Everyone was well rested from a night on the dock without anchor watch. We had a great breakfast of pancakes and sausage, then it was off to the ocean for another day of diving. The winds were still up so we decided to start local at Western Sambo. Conditions were a little sporty but the reef blocked most of the wave action. Everyone dove and things went without incident. This group has been better than most. It's a pleasure to get a crew that has the ability to listen; especially on 'forget everything Wednesday'.

After the dive Denny made the decision to go east, into the wind, to Looe Key. "No guts, no glory". The waves and wind weren't as bad as expected and no one 'blew chunks', unlike yesterday. It was a long ride to Looe Key so we put out the fishing lines and enjoyed the ride. Unfortunately the fish weren't cooperating.

We arrived at Looe Key and there were no other boats there. It was a little rough for some and late in the afternon so we had the place to ourselves. It was a good dive. There was also a purpose to the dive. It is the same place we were doing the night dive. We dive our night dive site during the day that so we get to see where we will be diving at night in the light. Looe Key is a beautiful dive site. Everyone enjoyed it and a few even saw some sharks.

We finished the dive, had dinner then prepared for the night dive. The dive lights were prepared and we did a dive briefing. It was near dark so we geared everyone up and got in. The crew was divided into two teams, one team for Dave one team for Mike. We took our teams out as a led group and turned them loose as soon as we saw that they were comfortable in the dark. It was another nice dive. The visibility was a little off but still good enough for a good dive.

After the dive we stowed our gear and headed to Key Lois to anchor for the night. The ride was beautiful. Once we turned off the lights the stars came out. Even the half moon was so bright it lit up the ocean. When we arrived at Key Lois we dropped the hook, started the first anchor watch and settled in for the night.

SLS041611A nice dive day

Yesterday was an average, nice dive day. We woke up to have a relaxed, cooked breakfast. We usually have a quick, cold breakfast so that we can get up and go quickly but we had a little extra time. After breakfast we weighed anchor and headed off for Looe Key. The winds were up and it was a bit 'sporty' but it was a nice day. We filled all of the scuba tanks, changed out the empties and napped. We fill the scuba tanks on the back deck of the Conch Pearl using a diesel powered compressor. It's a bit noisy but a necessary evil as it it the life blood of the dive program. The water was beautiful on the way which gave us hopes of great dive conditions. When we arrived at Looe Key we weren't disappointed; the water looked the best it had all week. I jumped in to do a conditions check. The conditions check is when the Divemaster jumps in to check the dive conditions; depth, surge, current and visibility. I was very happy to report visibility of about 50-60 feet!

The dive was great. The crew saw all kinds of animals. We saw rays, sharks and lots of Golioth Groupers, which are very large fish, turtles and lionfish. We moved the boat to a different mooring ball and did our second dive. It was more of the same, a great dive. After the dives we headed back to Stock Island, the dock where we started. We were going in for our mid-week break.

Both the legs from Boot Key to Looe Key and Looe Key to Stock Island take several hours. On the way we fish, eat and nap. The napping is a necessity as everyone gets tired from diving, being on a boat, being in the sun and anchor watch and because we can. We fished along the way and several fish were caught. Some of the boys also took the opportunity to jump into the pilot house to drive the boat for awhile.

We arrived at the dock at Stock Island (sometimes called Stock Rock) ready to get off of the boat. The crews enjoy being on the boat but they also enjoy getting off the boat during the mid-week break. The big deal with the mid-week break is they get to use real

toilets, take real showers, they have A/C in the cabin and there's no anchor watch. They also take a walk to the local convenience store for ice cream and sodas. In addition it's steak night! This high adventure stuff is really tough.

We had a visitor for dinner too. Kyle Moran, a Florida Sea Base staffer dropped by to say hi. Kyle works as a sea exploring mate; another job that keeps the staffer out at sea during the week,like me.

SLS041611A On the boat...first dive

The following page is a description of what the crew went through on their first full day, which is pretty much what all crews go through.

The crew had a very, very busy morning. They got up and packed most of their gear for the boat before breakfast. After breakfast it was off to the pool. Every crew has to get into the pool, in full scuba gear, to do a complete scuba review. There are about 20 skills that are reviewed. Everyone did ok which means we take them diving without any remedial training. They packed up their scuba gear and off to the commisary we went. At the commisary we loaded ice (5 LARGE coolers), and all of our food for the week. After that it was back to the scuba area to load all of the scuba gear and personal gear. Now we're ready to depart for the Conch Pearl; about a two hour drive. We stopped at Walgreens on the way to pick up a few necessary items.

We arrived at the Conch Pearl and it was time to unload the trailer and move everything about 50 yards to the boat. This crew did it very quickly; not an easy task. With everything on the dock we loaded all of the food and set up the scuba gear on the boat. Next Captain Denny sat everyone down for a thorough orientation. (see photo) The orientation covers alot of information, including some of what was covered the night before. Captain Denny believes that info. doesn't stick until it has been heard three times. After the orientation the crew loaded their personal gear and picked out their bunks. Finally, lunch time.

We departed the dock and headed out into the ocean. We were on our way to the first dive site, Western Sambo, for the first dive. I did my dive briefing then an in-water conditions check. Unfortunately the visibility was only 10-15 feet which is marginal. The first dive is a lead dive where the divers follow me around the reef. It gives me a chance to look the crew over in the open water. They did fine. We didn't lose anybody and we made it back to the boat. They saw a few animals which is rare on the lead dive because they are focused on staying with the group. They saw an eel, a ray and sea urchins. Tommorow I'll turn them loose to dive on their own.

After the dive we headed back to our mooring right off of Key West. We immediately set up for dinner...'crazy dream burgers'. I don't know what took place after dinner as I fell asleep, something I do quite often. Napping is a big part of the trip.

For those that are concerned, Squirt made it on-board.

diverDave

Tomorrow there will be more pics.

SLA032611A Finally in the water

After Sunday's fiasco I didn't know how yesterday would go. We put them in the water to try the lead dive again at Looe Key. This time I had them all follow the mooring line down to meet me in the sand at the bottom. So far so good. One diver had to return to the boat because of ear problems. I lead the group up a sand channel to the shallows, stopping to do a head count. When we got to the shallows there was a Southern Ray that stuck around so everyone could get a good look. The group looked good, no bouncing off of the bottom, no breaking the surface so I turned them loose to have a dive. They all made it back to the boat on time. We moved on to Sombrero for the first 'buddy dive'. It too went well so we had dinner then did their first night dive. Two divers sat this one out. The conditions were great. I lead one pair of divers on a tour while all of the others were turned loose. We saw nothing of note except a lobster and a large coral crab in a barrel sponge. At the end of the dive I sat on the bottom with my light off to enjoy the bioluminescense .