Jenny, great summary. I have had 3 "bad" dives lately and I have been pondering why. Mostly, I think it's because I was so comfortable diving in the frigid, calm waters of the North. I thought because I am a good diver and have a lot of dives, that I could dive anywhere. That's just not true. I am learning so much after each dive. I'm so glad I've found such a wonderful group of people to dive with and "teach" me how to dive S.Florida style! I feel like I am improving and adding more skills to dive record. It's great being the student for a change. What an awesome group of folks to learn from! Thanks everyone! XXXOOO
Beach Dive in Ft Lauderdale this week??????
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Hey Rebecca, you are not alone in learning something new on every dive. I don't ever want to dive with anybody who already knows everything. Its so good to have a very diverse group of divers here and the experience levels are very different, not just in logged dives, but also in prior experience. We all can learn from each other. I am so grateful to ScubaBoard for providing this service so I can dive!
And Chris, thanks for the ID of the turtle. That was a real pleasure seeing it. Every turtle (except one when I was snorkeling while pregnant ) I have ever seen has taken off as soon as I got close. Refreshing to know I am not a big bad monster! I was even surprised that it did hang around with all of us trying to get a closer look. I was able to get very close before everybody else showed up and we looked into each others eyes! Now, how cool is that?
And Chris, thanks for the ID of the turtle. That was a real pleasure seeing it. Every turtle (except one when I was snorkeling while pregnant ) I have ever seen has taken off as soon as I got close. Refreshing to know I am not a big bad monster! I was even surprised that it did hang around with all of us trying to get a closer look. I was able to get very close before everybody else showed up and we looked into each others eyes! Now, how cool is that?
Scuba_Jenny:
Jenny, you're dead, really dead. You'd better not come anywhere near Hibiscus again....
Seriously, really fun day with all of you guys! Walter & I paired up on the first dive & went right for the 2nd reef- much better visability out further.
The second dive was a learning experience for all- conditions were lousy that close in & it was too big a group in poor viz with 2 flags but we managed to lose & find each other a couple of times. Didn't see the sea turtle- Walter & I got caught up in trying to double-handedly clean up all the fishing lines & weights around the pier- we just couldn't seem to help ourselves! Somehow, Nathan & I wound up going in together with all the finding & losing going on.
Pineapple & grapes hanging out afterwards- it truly was hard to call an end to such a wonderful day! We have to do this again soon!
algal bloom
Contributor
...and you guys thought I was crazy calling that turtle a Green! I knew I saw the two plates in between the eyes! Of course, we could have just cut him open and looked at the color of his fatty tissue... (Bad Nathan! Bad Nathan! That sounds like something Grier would say. Must have spent too much time with him getting those tanks filled! Bad Nathan!....)
I really enjoyed swimming with a large school of fish toward the end of the first dive. It was just a school of several hundred doctorfish, ocean surgeonfish and a few trumpet fish. They were going all around grazing as a group and had no concern that I was in the middle of it all. Of course, I wonder how easy it is to get them to "scalpel" me? I guess I don't want to know!
I really enjoyed swimming with a large school of fish toward the end of the first dive. It was just a school of several hundred doctorfish, ocean surgeonfish and a few trumpet fish. They were going all around grazing as a group and had no concern that I was in the middle of it all. Of course, I wonder how easy it is to get them to "scalpel" me? I guess I don't want to know!
algal bloom
Contributor
BTW, I found it funny how any time someone got separated, the tank bangers would start going! May be it we stayed down long enough and did that the whole time, our ears would adjust to the change in speed of sound underwater!
Of course, sound signals could be useful. Like three quick bangs means "meet me at the surface to regroup" or some system like that.
Of course, sound signals could be useful. Like three quick bangs means "meet me at the surface to regroup" or some system like that.
LOL...but how true!algal bloom:
Nathan, that's a great idea about having certain sounds mean certain things. Although I wonder if I'd forget it underwater hehehe. It was amazing how easily my buddy forgot the rule of "searching for one minute and surfacing". Anyway, it was good seeing everyone. Especially Mr. GREEN Turtle.
[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...."[/QUOTE]
Don't EVER let Jenny sing to you before diving. I've had that song in my mind for two days!
Well, Jenny's report was so comprehensive that I have little to add, other than that it was a great pair of dives and a great to spend the day with the group. We learned some important lessons and are actively trying to incorporate a few new safety conventions into our future dives together. And, as always, we all surfaced safely, so I think it was a successful weekend.
Love the photo, Chris. It's nice to see hard evidence of what we were looking at. You know, you see a lot of animals with hooves, manes and tails. And most of the time it's a safe bet that you're seeing a horse, but once in a while, you find a zebra... Great work on the ID.
Rebecca, I sympathize with you so much - I seem to find things that I need to improve on with every dive. The nice thing about our group is that it's a really good group of people to learn with. I like our informal debriefings especially - I always learn something new, if only some new twist on an old skill.
Nathan, it was great getting to know you. Can't wait to do it again.
Gary, if you read this, it was great diving with you. Join us again soon.
Marvel, what can I say - you were a great host, as always.
Mike, you didn't even dive with us and still found a way to harass Jenny! Can't wait to see the photos of us trudging over the beach!
And Walter, I enjoyed our conversations as always. What a wealth of information and great perspective on this thing we do called diving.
BTW, I bumped into Jenny and Hermit Crab at Coastal Marine Supplies yesterday, and we were talking to Mike, who runs the place, about audible signals. Mike said that the convention is usually two bangs for "OK", to be used for finding a buddy or otherwise like you would use an OK signal, or three bangs for trouble. Sounds like a good convention to me. Don't know how many people follow it, but I'm game to start. If nothing else, the banger lets a separated diver know that somebody is looking for him/her.
I'll post my reports separately.
Hope everybody's starting the week well,
Grier
Don't EVER let Jenny sing to you before diving. I've had that song in my mind for two days!
Well, Jenny's report was so comprehensive that I have little to add, other than that it was a great pair of dives and a great to spend the day with the group. We learned some important lessons and are actively trying to incorporate a few new safety conventions into our future dives together. And, as always, we all surfaced safely, so I think it was a successful weekend.
Love the photo, Chris. It's nice to see hard evidence of what we were looking at. You know, you see a lot of animals with hooves, manes and tails. And most of the time it's a safe bet that you're seeing a horse, but once in a while, you find a zebra... Great work on the ID.
Rebecca, I sympathize with you so much - I seem to find things that I need to improve on with every dive. The nice thing about our group is that it's a really good group of people to learn with. I like our informal debriefings especially - I always learn something new, if only some new twist on an old skill.
Nathan, it was great getting to know you. Can't wait to do it again.
Gary, if you read this, it was great diving with you. Join us again soon.
Marvel, what can I say - you were a great host, as always.
Mike, you didn't even dive with us and still found a way to harass Jenny! Can't wait to see the photos of us trudging over the beach!
And Walter, I enjoyed our conversations as always. What a wealth of information and great perspective on this thing we do called diving.
BTW, I bumped into Jenny and Hermit Crab at Coastal Marine Supplies yesterday, and we were talking to Mike, who runs the place, about audible signals. Mike said that the convention is usually two bangs for "OK", to be used for finding a buddy or otherwise like you would use an OK signal, or three bangs for trouble. Sounds like a good convention to me. Don't know how many people follow it, but I'm game to start. If nothing else, the banger lets a separated diver know that somebody is looking for him/her.
I'll post my reports separately.
Hope everybody's starting the week well,
Grier
Would it be fecitious for me to say I'm glad I couldn't make it??? well....maybe, but I'm never glad to have to call a dive. Just ask scbababe about yesterday. BTW, Mike and Marvel, how 'bout you guys policing the beach for spearos? The babe and I couldn't dive Datura yesterday because of an 8' Bullshark lurking in the area, trying desperately to feed on the catch of two spear fishing free divers. Maybe we need to get a sign "NO SPEAR FISHING ALLOWED." LOL
Hey, can we train those bulls to go after the drunks in the boats? That way we'd keep the sharks fed (You know that I'm always thinking about conservation!), we'd dramatically decrease the amount of monofilament and beer cans on the reef, and we'd create a safer dive environment, complete with large animal encounters.
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