thevalkyry
Queen of the Turtles
I just got back late Sunday night from a fabulous weekend in the Gulf. I spent the weekend on the M/V Fling diving in the Flower Gardens Marine Sanctuary. This is about 100 miles out from shore. First let me say that we have had a very soggy spring and that I have been rescheduling this trip, as some of you know, FOR WEEKS!!! It was great to finally be able to go out. And let me say it all worked out because the weather was PERFECT!!! Flat seas and bright sun for the whole weekend.
Check it out here: Flower Garden - a set on Flickr
The problem with showing up for one of these trips solo is that you never know what scary buddy you might get teamed with. I am quite pleased to say that my stellar record for getting fabulous insta-buddies continues.
I ended up adding on to a group of 4 from Austin: 2 guys and a girl. One of the guys was an instructor with a kajillion dives and was a wizard with a compass (unlike some readers of this dive report who shall remain nameless So I was in good hands. Its always nice to be able to relax and enjoy the dive and just know you only have to keep someones fins in sight
Dive 1: West Bank
7 AM dive. Lovely dive over the coral heads in early morning light. There was an algae bloom during the first 20 feet or so that gave everything a kind of dusky quality. But still, lots of fish and I found a huge spotted eel sticking his head out of a rock. There was a bit of a current that threw us off course, but we made it back to the boat OK. So glad I went diving last weekend and got the kinks out - I surfaced with 1400 PSI and everyone else was under 1000. So I got to make snide remarks about air hogs when we got back to the boat
Dive 2: West Bank
Amazing how light can change the whole thing. Much better lit this go 'round. And we saw a ray. Got a good pic of him too. Pesky thermocline - I kept bouncing up to stay where it was a little warmer. The weird thing about the Gulf is that even though you are 100 miles from shore all those oil rigs make you feel like you are not that far from civilization. At night its kind of like being in an airplane and seeing all of the lights of the cities. Safety stop were wild - we were hanging on the guidelines and while you could barely feel the boat move when you were on it, riding the line is akin to being on a bronco. Hold on and and get into a starting contest with a baracuda
Dive 3: Oil Rig Hi-A 389
This, for me, was the coolest dive of the trip. We didnt see anything way cool like a shark or a turtle, but it was very cool. The structure of the rig is very interesting to dive in and is covered with sea life on a kind of microcosm level. I got some good fish pix here. Our group stuck in the 50 - 65 ft level above the thermocline (because its not about depth - its about duration Very satisfying dive.
Dive 4: East Bank
I started to freeze on this dive. I guess all that time in the water does start to have an effect. Even with all the sunning on the top deck I was chilly! But who can think about being cold when you find a 4 ft ray in the sand? I got a good pic of him. But I ended up going ahead and going up early because I was getting too cold. The Fling feeds you weel and it was so nice to chow down on barbeque after this dive.
Dive 5: Night Dive on the East Bank
And this is where things got interesting. Our dive master's brief was essentially, "Don't shine your light on anything too long or it will attack you". I wasnt planning on puting any fish under an interogation spotlight, but it wasnt the most reassuring way to start the dive. Anxiety levels are now a pastel orange. After gear up, John had a problem with an o-ring and by the time that was situated, I was first in line to stride off the boat. Fun. Especially since you could see all the baracuda underneath. Nothing to do but go and I did take one out on my way in. Luckily he didnt take exception but as I grabbed on to the guide line anxiety levels were definitely hitting a stronger shade of orange. After we got into the water I headed down the guideline. Hands down, this was the most terrifying thing I have done in my life. Cozumel waters have a obsidian blackness that tells you that you are still in clear water. I was halfway down and still not able to see the strobes and a fish swam in front of my mask and he was murky! Ugh!! Finally hit the strobe and waited for everyone to get down the line. Was just about to finally try and relax into the dive now that I had dive buddies around me when I realized that Mark was billowing air bubbles. ACK! His o-ring blew out at 65 feet. Ay yi yi. Anxiety levels now RED!!! :shocked2:
Honestly, how scary - trying to keep your light on someone while trying to locate someone else. Luckily, I finally got Johns attention and we sent Mark scurrying back to the boat. Honestly, I was right behind him. My hands were shaking so much by the time I got to the ladder that I could barely get my fins off. Very educational experience though. Getting to de-brief with someone as experienced as John was also nice. I could have done some things differently that would have allowed us to make a more controlled ascent. But as I told the guys - I really didnt need to go through it again just to practice. The important thing was that we all made it back to the boat and since we were coming off an almost 3 hour surface interval, diving nitrox, and it happened at the start of the dive, we didnt have to worry that our precipitous ascent was going to get us bent.
Needless to say, after about an hour my adrenaline levels crashed and I hit my bunk and barely moved until the 6 AM call to dive.
Dive 6 - called the dive due to feeling sandy headed and just not ready to face the water without plenty of sunlight. I hit the sundeck instead.
Dive 7 - Stetson Bank
This was another really great dive. I think I really like wall dives - they are so interesting. Although I could have done without the thermocline at 90 ft. Brr... Lots of small things to look at here as well as ray swimming about. A really nice dive to erase the stresses of the aborted night dive.
So that's it folks. Hope I havent gone on for too long. Questions, comments, & feedback always welcome
Check it out here: Flower Garden - a set on Flickr
The problem with showing up for one of these trips solo is that you never know what scary buddy you might get teamed with. I am quite pleased to say that my stellar record for getting fabulous insta-buddies continues.
I ended up adding on to a group of 4 from Austin: 2 guys and a girl. One of the guys was an instructor with a kajillion dives and was a wizard with a compass (unlike some readers of this dive report who shall remain nameless So I was in good hands. Its always nice to be able to relax and enjoy the dive and just know you only have to keep someones fins in sight Dive 1: West Bank
7 AM dive. Lovely dive over the coral heads in early morning light. There was an algae bloom during the first 20 feet or so that gave everything a kind of dusky quality. But still, lots of fish and I found a huge spotted eel sticking his head out of a rock. There was a bit of a current that threw us off course, but we made it back to the boat OK. So glad I went diving last weekend and got the kinks out - I surfaced with 1400 PSI and everyone else was under 1000. So I got to make snide remarks about air hogs when we got back to the boat
Dive 2: West Bank
Amazing how light can change the whole thing. Much better lit this go 'round. And we saw a ray. Got a good pic of him too. Pesky thermocline - I kept bouncing up to stay where it was a little warmer. The weird thing about the Gulf is that even though you are 100 miles from shore all those oil rigs make you feel like you are not that far from civilization. At night its kind of like being in an airplane and seeing all of the lights of the cities. Safety stop were wild - we were hanging on the guidelines and while you could barely feel the boat move when you were on it, riding the line is akin to being on a bronco. Hold on and and get into a starting contest with a baracuda
Dive 3: Oil Rig Hi-A 389
This, for me, was the coolest dive of the trip. We didnt see anything way cool like a shark or a turtle, but it was very cool. The structure of the rig is very interesting to dive in and is covered with sea life on a kind of microcosm level. I got some good fish pix here. Our group stuck in the 50 - 65 ft level above the thermocline (because its not about depth - its about duration
Very satisfying dive. Dive 4: East Bank
I started to freeze on this dive. I guess all that time in the water does start to have an effect. Even with all the sunning on the top deck I was chilly! But who can think about being cold when you find a 4 ft ray in the sand? I got a good pic of him. But I ended up going ahead and going up early because I was getting too cold. The Fling feeds you weel and it was so nice to chow down on barbeque after this dive.
Dive 5: Night Dive on the East Bank
And this is where things got interesting. Our dive master's brief was essentially, "Don't shine your light on anything too long or it will attack you". I wasnt planning on puting any fish under an interogation spotlight, but it wasnt the most reassuring way to start the dive. Anxiety levels are now a pastel orange. After gear up, John had a problem with an o-ring and by the time that was situated, I was first in line to stride off the boat. Fun. Especially since you could see all the baracuda underneath. Nothing to do but go and I did take one out on my way in. Luckily he didnt take exception but as I grabbed on to the guide line anxiety levels were definitely hitting a stronger shade of orange. After we got into the water I headed down the guideline. Hands down, this was the most terrifying thing I have done in my life. Cozumel waters have a obsidian blackness that tells you that you are still in clear water. I was halfway down and still not able to see the strobes and a fish swam in front of my mask and he was murky! Ugh!! Finally hit the strobe and waited for everyone to get down the line. Was just about to finally try and relax into the dive now that I had dive buddies around me when I realized that Mark was billowing air bubbles. ACK! His o-ring blew out at 65 feet. Ay yi yi. Anxiety levels now RED!!! :shocked2:
Honestly, how scary - trying to keep your light on someone while trying to locate someone else. Luckily, I finally got Johns attention and we sent Mark scurrying back to the boat. Honestly, I was right behind him. My hands were shaking so much by the time I got to the ladder that I could barely get my fins off. Very educational experience though. Getting to de-brief with someone as experienced as John was also nice. I could have done some things differently that would have allowed us to make a more controlled ascent. But as I told the guys - I really didnt need to go through it again just to practice. The important thing was that we all made it back to the boat and since we were coming off an almost 3 hour surface interval, diving nitrox, and it happened at the start of the dive, we didnt have to worry that our precipitous ascent was going to get us bent.
Needless to say, after about an hour my adrenaline levels crashed and I hit my bunk and barely moved until the 6 AM call to dive.
Dive 6 - called the dive due to feeling sandy headed and just not ready to face the water without plenty of sunlight. I hit the sundeck instead.
Dive 7 - Stetson Bank
This was another really great dive. I think I really like wall dives - they are so interesting. Although I could have done without the thermocline at 90 ft. Brr... Lots of small things to look at here as well as ray swimming about. A really nice dive to erase the stresses of the aborted night dive.
So that's it folks. Hope I havent gone on for too long. Questions, comments, & feedback always welcome
