SLS032611A Followers

I understand we have a few folks following the blog now. If there is anything specific you would like to hear about or see just let me know. I'll try to post more pictures. Please comment on the blog after you read it. diverDave

SLS040211A has a tough day

Yesterday we woke up to a pretty good breeze. We had a cooked breakfast then headed out under full sail. The stiff wind had us heeling over and the waves were bouncing us around; a little sporty but not too bad. We headed west hoping to find some decent visibility. We stopped at Sand Key where conditions weren't too bad. There was little or no current, some surge and about 25+ feet visibility. The ride had alot of divers, including Jess our other DM, feeling pretty bad as we had been bouncing around since we left Key West, so a few divers sat out the dive. It was a nice dive for me. I ran into almost all of the divers and I saw a large reef shark swimming around the large coral head. We left the ball and had lunch on the way over to Western Dry Rocks. By the time we got to WDR only four of us were up to diving. We went on an excursion. During the dive I checked the distance from the boat and tried to turn the group around...and they lost me. I surfaced, they didn't and took a compass bearing to the boat. I returned to the boat and the others soon followed. We headed back to KW to the relief of most of the people on board. I went to sleep for another (3rd?) nap. There were some other activities yesterday. Kyle caught a mackeral while we were trolling between dive sites. They also caught alot of pinfish in the anchorage. Jess and Ian went kayaking and most of the day's zombies came back to life. Dinner was the predictable chicken patties, green beans and stuffing. Not bad for dinner on a boat. Tomorrow we'll probably head east. I hope the winds lie down a bit for those who suffered yesterday.

SLS040211A goes diving

I woke up early yesterday and got started with my morning routine feeling fairly rested. I was still feeling pretty good from my last crew with hopes of the same for this crew. We were taking along a new divemaster, Jess, to see how she would like the live aboard. We met for flags and breakfast then off to the commisary to start the 'process'. We loaded the usual 5 coolers of ice and the rest of the food then off to the scuba area to load everything else. We were 'wheels up' before 10am...pretty good! We arrived at the boat nice and early and started loading the boat with a brief interruption for a passing rain shower. There's hope for this crew; they got to work and actually listened! They did their orientation and set up their bunks as I caught my first nap. We had lunch and it was off to the reef. We went to Western Sambo for our first dive, a lead dive, in conditions that weren't great but do-able. That went well with the exception of a little manatee action over a shallow part of the reef. Jess brought up the rear of the bunch, 'herding the cats'. We let the group go free for their second dive; Jess took a diver on a one-on-one led dive. A late day but not a bad one. The burgers were good and delivered a crazy dream as promised...lobsters, lobsters Walt!

SLS040211A arrives

Yesterday I said goodbye to SLS032611A at breakfast, after receiving a crew t-shirt and a nice tip. I spent the morning doing laundry, re-packing, getting a haircut and finishing up a history test and assignment. Alex Bergstedt arrived Friday so I have someone to talk to and hang out with now. He's a good friend. We had hamburgers for lunch, my saturday favorite, then it was off to have a nap before the crew arrived. I had about an hour nap before I got the call that my new crew was here. I met them at the program office, arranged for our photo and started the check-in process. The swim went well, equipment issue then the pool. Set-up took a little time but we got in the pool and finished in good time. Everyone, for the most part, did well in the pool. After the pool the crew left to go get dinner at Whale Harbor. When they finally arrived back from dinner (9:00pm) we did a hurried orientation. Jess was present since she will be going with us this week. I'm looking forward to her being on board. She may be doing the live-aboard this summer so we're giving her a trial by fire.

SLA032611A Final Day, Final Dive

Last day on the water for this crew. We're really going to miss them. They didn't need a crew leader as they all pitched in and they LISTENED! The morning started early. Denny was up and the boat was off of the mooring right away. We headed out to Western Sambo but conditions were awful. It was bumpy and there was no visibility. We moved over to Toppino's where things were better; fair visibility but still bumpy. The dive was good; they saw rays, eels and a large nurse shark. At the end of the dive the last two divers were waaaaaay off. They gave the sign that they were ok but couldn't make it back to the boat. So far so good. I climbed on board and we moved the boat to pick them up. Mistakes: they were way too far from the dive area, they didn't keep track of the boat, they used all of their air swimming on the surface...new divers! I hope I don't have to fill out an incident report...Steve? I pick up a new crew today. Wow, about five hours off. Good thing I got up at 5am to do my laundry; even though inconsiderate staff members left their laundry in the machines.

SLS032611A Windy Day...Let's Go Sailing

It was another windy day here in the Keys. The winds have been up over 20 knots. We left Stock Rock hoping to beat the winds but the ocean was angry so we went out back, up the NW channel. We headed to Cottrell Key and the Amesbury (Alexander?) wreck hoping things would be better bayside. It gave the crew the chance to experience the Pearl under full sail. By the time we got to Cottrell Key the winds were really blowing but we were protected a bit by the key. The crew went diving and snorkeling in the 15 ft water. Some of the crew saw lobsters and even some octopus so they went back out to lobster, catching 5 undersized bugs. By now the winds were howling and another dive boat reported conditions at the Amesbury were bad so we headed back to 'the barn'. Once we were on the mooring the crew started fishing for bait fish with Denny's summer sausage. After they caught a few bait fish they started fishing for sharks. They caught a few sharks, one even on a yo-yo. It was great fun and the crew was really up.

SLS032611A Windy Day

We started the day early. Denny was up and he and Holley got the boat moving by 07:15 while I got breakfast up. The winds were blowing about 20 and it was quite bumpy. We were headed to Looe Key for a dive then off to Pelican Shoals for some lobstering. The tanks were full so we changed them with the crew staggering all over trying not to fall with their tanks. We had fishing lines out and caught a few fish including a large barracuda that got off right at the boat. When we got to Looe it was blowing 20+ out of the south...bad direction, too rough and it looked like crap so it was off to the dock at stock. At the dock the crew took showers and called cabs to go into Key Wierd. While they were gone Denny, Holley and I enjoyed some quiet, some pizza and root beer floats. The crew returned about 8:15pm with the usual stories of t-shirt shops, cats and escape artists. After a loud game of Yatzee they finally went to sleep. Tomorrow we're going 'out back' to try 'the wreck' and Cottrell for some lobster.