CajunDiva
Contributor
[FONT=&]So the 3rd Annual Cajun Invasion is now in the history books…and what a history we are building! Each year our event gets better and better. I just can’t say enough about the amazing staff at Rainbow Reef Dive Center. We felt so spoiled by the end of the week and it seemed as if we left part of our family behind when we departed. They are a truly special operation.
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[FONT=&]The 2015 Invasion provided the best weather conditions possible for our diving itinerary. Our first dive day was Sunday, May 17th. On this day only, winds were approx. 15 knots and the seas were heaving. The seas were not the only thing heaving...I thought I had things under control with my seasickness medicine, but unfortunately the pills I was taking were a lower dose. I was supposed to take 3, but just took 1. [/FONT][FONT=&]Needless to say, the fish were very happy with me that day! But I still managed to eek out 4 dives.[/FONT] [FONT=&]Thankfully the next day was much calmer and the seas began to settle. By Tuesday I was calling it the Atlantic Lake![/FONT][FONT=&] Visibility began to improve and by the end of the week conditions were the best I have ever experienced in Key Largo – absolutely glorious.
We took advantage of the dive opportunities every single day from Sunday thru Friday. All of us completed 7 or 8 two-tank boat trips during our dive week.
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[FONT=&]As if all of the diving didn’t keep us busy enough, we still found time to host our gumbo dinner party on Wednesday night. This year we entertained over 20 folks. It was quite a task, but we had the opportunity to[/FONT][FONT=&] visit with so[/FONT][FONT=&]me[/FONT][FONT=&] very special friends and really enjoyed the good[/FONT][FONT=&] times. At this rate, we will have to start hosting an annual “Cajun Festival” in the parking lot at Rainbow Reef so we have enough parking for everyone![/FONT]
[FONT=&]Although the morning after our gumbo dinner proved to be a difficult time to rise to the occasion, we somehow managed to get to the dock in time for our morning dives. It was a little tough at times…
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but I’m so glad we stuck it out, because it turned out to be one of my favorite experiences of [/FONT][FONT=&]the week. Reefman and TimG decided to rendezvous with us during our dive at the Spiegel Grove. They met us on the deck and Tim graciously snapped a beautiful photo of our group: [/FONT]
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What a way to celebrate Memorial Day! I am thankful for the growing friendship of our ScubaBoard buddies.[/FONT]
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I guess we must have been a little narked, but when the captain turned up the Cajun music during the ride home, we couldn’t resist doing the happy dance! [/FONT]
[FONT=&]Our last trip on Friday proved to be one of my best dive days ever. As mentioned, the weather was absolutely perfect. Our dive trip was enhanced when the guys at Rainbow Reef moved us onto the Tropical Explorer – a private trip just for our group!
As if to celebrate, dolphins came to escort us out to our chosen dive site – Conch Wall. Our giant stride entry put us right over a majestic nurse shark, and it only got better from there. The gentle drift brought us over beautiful coral formations and sponges we had not seen before in Key Largo. We had encounters with turtles, eels, juvenile spotted drum and numerous other critters. Our second drop was on the south end of Molasses Reef. We drifted from a site called Kevin’s Castle and explored for over an hour as the squadrons of spotted eagle rays gracefully flew through. [/FONT]
[FONT=&]Our group consisted of brand new divers, experienced divers, and very experienced divers. But every diver was equally impressed with the quality of the trip we experienced this year. I can’t imagine having our trip work out any better. Now all we can do is look forward to the 4th Annual Cajun Invasion on June 11th-18th, 2016![/FONT]
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This year’s movie is currently being composed and will be added upon completion [/FONT]
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[FONT=&]The 2015 Invasion provided the best weather conditions possible for our diving itinerary. Our first dive day was Sunday, May 17th. On this day only, winds were approx. 15 knots and the seas were heaving. The seas were not the only thing heaving...I thought I had things under control with my seasickness medicine, but unfortunately the pills I was taking were a lower dose. I was supposed to take 3, but just took 1. [/FONT][FONT=&]Needless to say, the fish were very happy with me that day! But I still managed to eek out 4 dives.[/FONT] [FONT=&]Thankfully the next day was much calmer and the seas began to settle. By Tuesday I was calling it the Atlantic Lake![/FONT][FONT=&] Visibility began to improve and by the end of the week conditions were the best I have ever experienced in Key Largo – absolutely glorious.
We took advantage of the dive opportunities every single day from Sunday thru Friday. All of us completed 7 or 8 two-tank boat trips during our dive week.
[/FONT]
[FONT=&]As if all of the diving didn’t keep us busy enough, we still found time to host our gumbo dinner party on Wednesday night. This year we entertained over 20 folks. It was quite a task, but we had the opportunity to[/FONT][FONT=&] visit with so[/FONT][FONT=&]me[/FONT][FONT=&] very special friends and really enjoyed the good[/FONT][FONT=&] times. At this rate, we will have to start hosting an annual “Cajun Festival” in the parking lot at Rainbow Reef so we have enough parking for everyone![/FONT]
[FONT=&]Although the morning after our gumbo dinner proved to be a difficult time to rise to the occasion, we somehow managed to get to the dock in time for our morning dives. It was a little tough at times…
[/FONT]
but I’m so glad we stuck it out, because it turned out to be one of my favorite experiences of [/FONT][FONT=&]the week. Reefman and TimG decided to rendezvous with us during our dive at the Spiegel Grove. They met us on the deck and Tim graciously snapped a beautiful photo of our group: [/FONT]
[FONT=&]
What a way to celebrate Memorial Day! I am thankful for the growing friendship of our ScubaBoard buddies.[/FONT]
[FONT=&]
I guess we must have been a little narked, but when the captain turned up the Cajun music during the ride home, we couldn’t resist doing the happy dance! [/FONT]
[FONT=&]Our last trip on Friday proved to be one of my best dive days ever. As mentioned, the weather was absolutely perfect. Our dive trip was enhanced when the guys at Rainbow Reef moved us onto the Tropical Explorer – a private trip just for our group!
As if to celebrate, dolphins came to escort us out to our chosen dive site – Conch Wall. Our giant stride entry put us right over a majestic nurse shark, and it only got better from there. The gentle drift brought us over beautiful coral formations and sponges we had not seen before in Key Largo. We had encounters with turtles, eels, juvenile spotted drum and numerous other critters. Our second drop was on the south end of Molasses Reef. We drifted from a site called Kevin’s Castle and explored for over an hour as the squadrons of spotted eagle rays gracefully flew through. [/FONT]
[FONT=&]Our group consisted of brand new divers, experienced divers, and very experienced divers. But every diver was equally impressed with the quality of the trip we experienced this year. I can’t imagine having our trip work out any better. Now all we can do is look forward to the 4th Annual Cajun Invasion on June 11th-18th, 2016![/FONT]
[FONT=&]
This year’s movie is currently being composed and will be added upon completion [/FONT]
