Beach Dive in Ft Lauderdale this week??????

[KBeck]

Can I be a maybe?
I am expecting (finally) my new cabinetry (oh the excitement) in this weekend, in which case I will be handywoman extraordinaire...(yes, not only does she carry her own tanks, she owns her own...gasp!...electric drill set!!).
However, if they don't come in Friday, I'm in....assuming I manage to make it to the dive shop early enough to get fills....haven't managed to get there since (sadly) the Ginnie Springs trip.
Sigh; I think I need to invest in more tanks. Who would've thought the gear would just keep multiplying...????
I'll try to give one of ya a call Friday PM and RSVP officially...enjoy if I don't make it!!

 

[algal bloom]

Mike and Marvel, how are things looking out by the beach today? I'm just really hoping we don't cancel. Sorry to hear you won't be able to dive Mike. Hopefully soon!

Nate

 

[MikeJacobs]

Mike and Marvel, how are things looking out by the beach today?

The wind has died down, and in fact it was downright stuffy this morning when I got up (8am because I was rousted last night by a bunch of hooligans for a turtle watch lol). We still had a lot of surf, however, and it will be a couple of days before the silt settles down. So, I'm not sure how tomorrow morning will be. There's a large sand bar that may be protecting visibility on the reefs... I'll go home early today and see if I can wear a mask to snorkle it. Otherwise, it's up to Marvel or another volunteer.

 

[MikeJacobs]

Can I be a maybe?

Always! But bring the recipe for your salsa!

Congrats on the home improvement project... I have no doubt that you can weild power tools! As far as tank-breeding goes, all you need is space and a lot of money!

 

[algal bloom]

Well, if we are diving tomorrow, those who have my number, please call me since I won't be checking the board until Monday morning. I hope to see some of you tomorrow!

Nathan

 

[CincyDiver]

I just wanted to give a quick update to our shore dive on Saturday at Commercial. Rebecca and I met up with Grier, Jenny, Walter, Marvel, Nathan, and Gary, a nice fellow Grier invited while getting "tanked" at the local scuba shop. Apparently vis was much better for the morning dive because by the afternoon, it pretty much stank. However, we did get to see one animal that made the trip worth it, the much debated Green Sea Turtle. He let us line up and look at him for a moment, however, since visibility was terrible, we had a hard time determining whethere the turtle was a Hawksbill or a Green. I know the attached picture sucks, but you can still make out the single pair of plates between the eyes. A hawksbill has two pairs of plates between the eyes. Our turtle is also missing the beak that gives the Hawksbill its name. Anyway, another mystery laid to rest.

The other highlight of the trip was Rebecca and I finally got to meet Mike. Thanks for the hospitality Mike!

 

[Scuba_Jenny]

Ok...finally a trip report...
After having breakfast at Mulligans with Marvel, Walter, and Grier, the four of us with Nathan geared up and headed for the surf. Grier, Nathan and I headed due east then south against the current on the first line. The algae is pretty much gone, but you can still see some of it here and there. We saw baby highhats, a sharptail eel that allowed close inspection from masked covered eyes, a nice size purple mouth eel, lots of juvenile queen anglefish, bluehead wrasse, and french and grey anglefish. But the highlight of the dive was when a HUGE O Tarpon passed us from behind. I saw him first, he was maybe 5 feet away, I managed to grab Griers fin and alert Nathan who then saw the tail. Its tail was over a foot tall! I estimate this fish to be close to 6ft! Very impressive! The swim back in was going fine until my flag started getting dragged. I looked to the surface and saw fins paddleing the water as fast as they could go...I owe ya one Mike!
After a long surface interval, Chris and Rebecca joined the group, and Gary who Grier found at the shop. So 8 of us with 2 flags took off towards the pier. Vis was considerably worse, maybe only 10 ft instead of the 25-30 on the first dive. The group kept getting seperated, so we stopped quite a bit to regroup. We did find the previously mentioned turtle who seemed unconcerned at all the gawkers. It did leave an escape route, but we were able to watch it for a few minutes chomping on the coral here and there. Finally we made it to the pier and were met by the eerieness of being beneath the pier, low vis and lots of barracudas. Again the group split up and we spent quite a while trying to find our lost buddies. Finally all were accounted for, some on the surface while Grier, Gary and I swam back along the reef.
I was very frustrated by the time I got to shore, mainly because I missed the opportunity to join Hermit Crab at the movies.
Lots of lessons to be learned on this second dive...1. Have enough dive flags for the conditions. 2. Know who your buddy is instead of your buddy being the group. 3. Make sure everybody understands the dive plan. Saying "We're going to the pier." is not enough. 4. Know the skill level of all divers, including the surf entry.
So, the day was a good day. I had a good time seeig everybody, and meeting a couple new faces. Gary should be here on SB in the near future.
And Marvel...I know I am evil, but I just can't help myself....."What if God was one of us? Just a slob like one of us...just a stranger on the bus...Trying to make his way home...."

 

[CincyDiver]

Good summary Jenny. Diving with the same people in the same spots gives a false sense of security. Dives like this are a gentle reminder to always follow the basics. Rebecca and I should have asked more questions when you said we were heading for the pier. We thought it was still off limits!

By the way, does the vis under the pier ever clear up? It was especially bad there. It was kind of cool though, with several Barracuda just hanging in the foggy shadows.

 

[Scuba_Jenny]

Generally, the vis is the same under the pier as they are in the ocean.
I have dived there and had great vis...yesterday was very eerrrrieee tho...seeing shadows moving about and not sure if it was a fish or a buddy!

 

[Scuba_Jenny]

Oh one note to my "special" dive buddy.. Thanks for the computer. It worked great!