This was an awesome trip that will go down in the history books. The weather was awesome. The diving was awesome. And the people were awesome. It was a fun bunch with great attitudes and I was fortunate to meet everyone.
The air temps were in the mid 80s with the water temp right at 72f at depth.
Here are some of my comments that seemed to pin the original Zendiving group on the trip.
Zendiver - "Video Man" His cam knows he loves video so much it turns on all by itself and takes u/w footage without him knowing.
Packman - "Swim Through Bob" Bob loves those swim throughs.
Babyduck - "Dive Goddess" Watch out! This girl knows her sheet and is an awesome diver.
Pickens - "South Florida Man" Dave knows everything about South Florida. He was our guide to the ins and outs. Excellent job Dave!
jhelmuth & wife - "The Dive Couple" Jim is very lucky to have such an adventerous and great dive buddy as his wife.
Tiggrr - "The Prankster" ...what an evil little monster..hehe...kiss, kiss lightweight
SaltySue - "Wild Woman" If Karen is on your trip, it will not be dull. I promise. Hehe
Kay - "Can you lick this?" Hehehe
Stu_in_fl - "The Receiver" Stu seemed to be the receiver of a lot of Tiggrr's pranks
Walter - "Wacky Walter" Don't let Walter's online persona fool ya. He really is funny in person. LOL
ScubaJenny "I-Drink-on-Special-Occasions Jenny" Let Jenny near the alcohol and you'll get more laughs than you thought were possible. Hehe
Zendiva - "All 'Bout the Bizness" She was sellin' Zendiving every chance she got
Marvel - "The Angel" What can ya say?
Packetsniffer - I was nominated "Flag B.I.T.C.H.". (everyone was sooo nice to volunteer me to carry the flag on the drift dives.. )
We also met up with "Mike" (jhelmuth's friend), "KBeck", "Padipro", and "Dennis". More great people from the FL area.
The dive operators were simply spectacular.
South Florida Diving - Capt. Mike and DM Brian were an awesome crew. Brian is a hoot. We have to get these guys on some of our trips. I would recommend SFD for Ft. Lauderdale diving.
Diver's City USA - For diving the deep wrecks in Key Largo, I don't think I would trust anyone except Capt. Bob and Barbara. They do an out-of-this-world job on making sure everyone has great dives. Safety is paramount with them. They really look after you. Ya gotta love that. Their level of service is truly outstanding. I can't stress that enough. At the end of the day, they have a wash tub, water hose, and lots of drying racks to clean up gear. They're a really nice couple too. I would highly recommend them if heading to the Keys.
Pranks - Well, some of my very own prank materials were used against me by that wicked little Tiggrr. I'm sure THOSE pictures will turn up at some point since Tiggr coordinated the photography with SaltySue.
-Three man sling shot at midnight: We were sleepless and decided to lob a water balloon across the street. Our room served as the launch pad.
-Squirt guns: Used to combat the fart machine
-"Fish Frenzy": Hamburger bun inside perforated ziploc baggy. Unfortunately, I missed my intended target (Tiggrr) due to splash down timing and got "Kay" instead. Hi Kay!
Since the, uhhmm, lightweights missed some afternoon dives and didn't go to the Keys with us, I didn't get to launch my remaining bag-o-tricks. I'll save these for another trip. I don't dare say what they are for fear of competitive advantage. Tiggrr's hardcore and I must not take my eye off the ball.
The dives in Ft. Lauderdale included Anciet Mariner, Lighthouse Ledge, Lauderdale by the Sea shore dive, Sea Emperor, Abbey Too, Scutti / Tracey, and Turtle Trench. Zendiving owned half the boat on Saturday with 18 of 35 divers. The boat was packed to the gills. On Sunday, we had 8 divers from Zendiving but the boat was maybe half full.
The highlight of the trip for me was definitely the wreck diving in Key Largo. The current was little to very tame. We definitely lucked out. We did the Duane, Bibb, a double on the Speigel Grove, and a double on the Eagle. They're fabulous wrecks and I could have spent hours down there checking them out. These dives confirm my desire for a rebreather. I'm eager to do those wrecks again. Is anyone doing anything next week? LOL
Marvel's side yard was a great highlight as well. I did a night dive there with Walter, Zendiver, and Packman. I saw some strange things down there. Great dive. Marvel's lucky to live where she does.
Thank you to...
Marvel - for letting us hang out at your place, the excellent dive op recommendations, and hotel accomodations
Walter - for providing the excellent dive op recommendations
Pickens - for the excellent hotel accomodations and all around S. FL guidance
Who am I missing?
Oh, duh, a huge thank you to Zendiver for his hard work on the phone and endless hours of ironing the details. It was Zendiver who made this trip a "go".
There are tons of pictures posted here. Enjoy!
Group shot on Sunday from left to right: Kay, Stu_in_fl, Tiggrr, Packetsniffer, Packman, Zendiver, jhelmuth, Babyduck, and SaltyKSue.
Unfortunately, we didn't get a group shot from Saturday's boat which was a boat load (Haha) of people but have several pics from the lunch gathering afterwards.
Richard
The air temps were in the mid 80s with the water temp right at 72f at depth.
Here are some of my comments that seemed to pin the original Zendiving group on the trip.
Zendiver - "Video Man" His cam knows he loves video so much it turns on all by itself and takes u/w footage without him knowing.
Packman - "Swim Through Bob" Bob loves those swim throughs.
Babyduck - "Dive Goddess" Watch out! This girl knows her sheet and is an awesome diver.
Pickens - "South Florida Man" Dave knows everything about South Florida. He was our guide to the ins and outs. Excellent job Dave!
jhelmuth & wife - "The Dive Couple" Jim is very lucky to have such an adventerous and great dive buddy as his wife.
Tiggrr - "The Prankster" ...what an evil little monster..hehe...kiss, kiss lightweight
SaltySue - "Wild Woman" If Karen is on your trip, it will not be dull. I promise. Hehe
Kay - "Can you lick this?" Hehehe
Stu_in_fl - "The Receiver" Stu seemed to be the receiver of a lot of Tiggrr's pranks
Walter - "Wacky Walter" Don't let Walter's online persona fool ya. He really is funny in person. LOL
ScubaJenny "I-Drink-on-Special-Occasions Jenny" Let Jenny near the alcohol and you'll get more laughs than you thought were possible. Hehe
Zendiva - "All 'Bout the Bizness" She was sellin' Zendiving every chance she got
Marvel - "The Angel" What can ya say?
Packetsniffer - I was nominated "Flag B.I.T.C.H.". (everyone was sooo nice to volunteer me to carry the flag on the drift dives.. )
We also met up with "Mike" (jhelmuth's friend), "KBeck", "Padipro", and "Dennis". More great people from the FL area.
The dive operators were simply spectacular.
South Florida Diving - Capt. Mike and DM Brian were an awesome crew. Brian is a hoot. We have to get these guys on some of our trips. I would recommend SFD for Ft. Lauderdale diving.
Diver's City USA - For diving the deep wrecks in Key Largo, I don't think I would trust anyone except Capt. Bob and Barbara. They do an out-of-this-world job on making sure everyone has great dives. Safety is paramount with them. They really look after you. Ya gotta love that. Their level of service is truly outstanding. I can't stress that enough. At the end of the day, they have a wash tub, water hose, and lots of drying racks to clean up gear. They're a really nice couple too. I would highly recommend them if heading to the Keys.
Pranks - Well, some of my very own prank materials were used against me by that wicked little Tiggrr. I'm sure THOSE pictures will turn up at some point since Tiggr coordinated the photography with SaltySue.
-Three man sling shot at midnight: We were sleepless and decided to lob a water balloon across the street. Our room served as the launch pad.
-Squirt guns: Used to combat the fart machine
-"Fish Frenzy": Hamburger bun inside perforated ziploc baggy. Unfortunately, I missed my intended target (Tiggrr) due to splash down timing and got "Kay" instead. Hi Kay!
Since the, uhhmm, lightweights missed some afternoon dives and didn't go to the Keys with us, I didn't get to launch my remaining bag-o-tricks. I'll save these for another trip. I don't dare say what they are for fear of competitive advantage. Tiggrr's hardcore and I must not take my eye off the ball.
The dives in Ft. Lauderdale included Anciet Mariner, Lighthouse Ledge, Lauderdale by the Sea shore dive, Sea Emperor, Abbey Too, Scutti / Tracey, and Turtle Trench. Zendiving owned half the boat on Saturday with 18 of 35 divers. The boat was packed to the gills. On Sunday, we had 8 divers from Zendiving but the boat was maybe half full.
The highlight of the trip for me was definitely the wreck diving in Key Largo. The current was little to very tame. We definitely lucked out. We did the Duane, Bibb, a double on the Speigel Grove, and a double on the Eagle. They're fabulous wrecks and I could have spent hours down there checking them out. These dives confirm my desire for a rebreather. I'm eager to do those wrecks again. Is anyone doing anything next week? LOL
Marvel's side yard was a great highlight as well. I did a night dive there with Walter, Zendiver, and Packman. I saw some strange things down there. Great dive. Marvel's lucky to live where she does.
Thank you to...
Marvel - for letting us hang out at your place, the excellent dive op recommendations, and hotel accomodations
Walter - for providing the excellent dive op recommendations
Pickens - for the excellent hotel accomodations and all around S. FL guidance
Who am I missing?
Oh, duh, a huge thank you to Zendiver for his hard work on the phone and endless hours of ironing the details. It was Zendiver who made this trip a "go".
There are tons of pictures posted here. Enjoy!
Group shot on Sunday from left to right: Kay, Stu_in_fl, Tiggrr, Packetsniffer, Packman, Zendiver, jhelmuth, Babyduck, and SaltyKSue.
Unfortunately, we didn't get a group shot from Saturday's boat which was a boat load (Haha) of people but have several pics from the lunch gathering afterwards.
Richard
