flyingsherpa
Registered
So I just got back from my first (pseudo) dive trip! I say 'pseudo' because it was originally planned as a dive vacation, but them my friend found out she was pregnant so we had to do some adjusting. We all finally agreed to still do some diving w/o her, but also to mix it up with other things so she wouldn't feel left out. So off to Florida we went...
Three of us arrived in Orlando on August 24th and headed over to my friend's uncle's place in St. Petes for a free place to sleep. Early the next morning we drove up to Crystal River in search of the elusive manatee. We jumped on a charter and he took us out into the bay... five mintues later we had found 3 manatees. I was a tad apprehensive about getting in the water with such large creatures, but once you see how docile they are you really can't be wary of them. I ended up playing around with a calf while the mother ate a ton of seaweed. The calf was very curious and would swim right up to my face, then roll over while I scratched its belly. Very cool. Our guide (who snorkels with manatees every day) said that the mother usually likes people to play with the calf because then it leaves her free to eat without interruptions. Kind of like we're babysitters.
Then he took us to the Three Sisters; my first experience with Florida springs. We still had only snorkel gear but thats really all you need for this location. The water was, of course, 72F... I'm glad I had on my brand new Bare 5/3, its my first wet suit and it was enough for that water for short periods of time. The viz there floored me! I've snorkeled many places in the world, but the endless viz there was completely new to me.
Next we headed up to Ginnie Springs. I heard so many good things about it on this board that I thought I should check it out while I was in the area. We got there late in the afternoon so we decided to snorkel that day to get our bearings of the place and leave diving for the next day. After pitching our tent on the shore of the Sante Fe river, we ventured off with snorkel gear. We surveyed Little Devil, Devil's Eye and Ear and then did a 'drift snorkel' down the river to Ginnie. Viz in the springs was of course endless. I was a little cold, even in my 5/3. There were lots of people swimming around w/o any exposure protection... I thought they were nuts! We were the only ones snorkeling the river, though many were tubing down it. At one point, a woman asked us if we'd seen a shirt anywhere on the bottom... her sister had dropped it a few hours ago. "Where" we asked. "Oh, around here I think" she said. One mintue later, my friend emerged from a free dive with her soggy shirt! She was very grateful... I was astounded at the pure luck of us being in the right place at the right time. Viz in the river is not that great and with the current you can't really stay in one place very easily. My friend commented that his search and rescue training had finally come in handy
The next morning we saw a small alligator swimming down the river... we decided to just stick to the springs that day.
So here was the moment I was waiting for... my first post-checkout dives! And at this location it would also be my first: warm(er) water dive, high viz dive, freshwater dive, deep-ish dive (around 50 ft, I've never been below 25), AL tank dive, and cavern dive (the Ballroom... for those who don't know, this cavern is considered 'safe' even for those not cavern certified). Whew, with all these firsts I was a bit apprehensive, but my buddy was my good friend from TX who is also a DM and we agreed to let me get used to everything before entering the Ballroom... and to only proceed if I felt comfortable. Well, it all went great! With viz like that, I had no fear of losing my buddy, and I was doing quite well in the buoyancy control dept that day. So we decided to enter the Ballroom. It was a blast! Shining our lights around in the dark... the water was as clear as air so I felt like I was floating in space. I almost forgot I was in the water, though the 40 lbs of gear on my body kept me in check. We swam down to the grate where the spring comes in and grabbed on. The flow was strong enough to keep me horizontal. The best part was leaving the ballroom... the view from just inside is breathtaking. You're in the dark looking out into the bright crystal blue spring.
We dove in the Devil's body parts area and then started to get cold. We both still had almost 1000 psi left in our tanks after all that.... not because we have good consumptions rates, just because its shallow there and you can't really play around anywhere for too long because its so small. I see why its mostly cavers who go there. It was a great experience but I doubt I would dive there again unless I wanted to train for caves some day. Its also pretty decent for camping and tubing.
Then we packed up and headed south to Marco Island, where my parents are building their retirement home. Its still in construction, but no one was around so I let myself in for a quick tour. Can't wait until its done December 1st. My folks were jealous that I saw it... they've only seen pictures.
We stopped off for an airboat tour in Everglade City... that was a trip. We flew through mangroves and saw wild alligators, pigs, and even an ostrich (don't ask, I don't know why it was there either). Then we drove over to Ft. Lauderdale to pick up some more friends who didn't have as many vacation days as we did. My cousin took us out charter fishing the next day, which I thought might be boring but it was actually a lot of fun. We caught 7 blackfin tuna and 2 dolphin fish and ate them all that day. Best fish I ever had. Then it was off to the keys for more diving.
We dove with Horizon Divers in Key Largo (at the recommendation of someone on this board) and they were great. Of course this was my first boat dive so I have nothing to compare it to, but they were still great. Only problem was the stormy seas. Half the boat was throwing up at some point during the trip, including my 4 friends. I was nauseous but was spared anything worse. Our first dive was the wreck of the Benwood. The swells were the largest I've ever been in (but my boating experience is mostly Lake Michigan), probably 5-6 ft. Quite a challenge for my first giant stried entry! But it went well and I descended with my two buddies. Our 2 girls stayed on the boat... they were supposed to be able to snorkel, but Viz was disappointing at maybe 15 ft and the sea was so rough that our captain advised them to stay on. This was my first wreck but I honestly didn't find it all that interesting... maybe the low viz was part of that, it was hard to tell what I was looking at. Plus the surge from the waves above still moved us around, even at 30-40 ft, so our nausea did not get much of a break. Next we went to the French Reef, which had a little better viz, though the surge at the bottom seemed even stronger. The girls actually snorkeled a bit and saw a little, though they were so seasick that it wasn't the best time they've ever had. One of my buddies threw up through his reg as we were descending... a first for him in 8 yrs of diving. I REALLY wish he would have told me this happened as later in the dive I swam up to him and asked to try breathing off his reg so I could see how it compared to my rental regs. Course I didn't notice anything at the time but he told me later and I was a little grossed out by that. Oh well. Anyway, we saw a fair amount of sea life, but not nearly as much as in the videos playing in the shop that morning. I think the stormy seas made a lot of critters call in sick that day. Still good experience for me to dive on a reef though, so I enjoyed it. After we got back on land, we all ate a quick lunch and passed out in our hotel room for about 3 hours. Felt much better when we woke up! Getting bounced around on that boat was very tiring.
Next day we drove to Key West, stopping at every beach on the way (note: there are about 2). We snorkeled a bit at Bahai Honda and saw a sting ray, which promptly swam away. Next day we did a very touristy thing by taking a trip to the Dry Tortugas. It was actually pretty cool. The history of the place was fascinating (who could believe that so much fuss had been made out of this little island in the middle of nowhere?) and there was pretty good snorkeling too. I saw more fish there than on the French Reef and viz was about 20 ft. It was here that I figured out I need to learn the names of more fish. I saw so many, but don't know any names so its hard to share the experience. Anyone know any good websites where I can learn to ID some fish? I swear I saw a fish with fangs but it wasn't a barracuda (thats the one fish i do know), I'd like to know what it was. Vampire fish?
ut:
So overall it wasn't really a dive trip, but I did manage to log 4... which doubles the number I had before the trip. And we were all able to have a good time together, so it was well worth it.
chris
Three of us arrived in Orlando on August 24th and headed over to my friend's uncle's place in St. Petes for a free place to sleep. Early the next morning we drove up to Crystal River in search of the elusive manatee. We jumped on a charter and he took us out into the bay... five mintues later we had found 3 manatees. I was a tad apprehensive about getting in the water with such large creatures, but once you see how docile they are you really can't be wary of them. I ended up playing around with a calf while the mother ate a ton of seaweed. The calf was very curious and would swim right up to my face, then roll over while I scratched its belly. Very cool. Our guide (who snorkels with manatees every day) said that the mother usually likes people to play with the calf because then it leaves her free to eat without interruptions. Kind of like we're babysitters.
Then he took us to the Three Sisters; my first experience with Florida springs. We still had only snorkel gear but thats really all you need for this location. The water was, of course, 72F... I'm glad I had on my brand new Bare 5/3, its my first wet suit and it was enough for that water for short periods of time. The viz there floored me! I've snorkeled many places in the world, but the endless viz there was completely new to me.
Next we headed up to Ginnie Springs. I heard so many good things about it on this board that I thought I should check it out while I was in the area. We got there late in the afternoon so we decided to snorkel that day to get our bearings of the place and leave diving for the next day. After pitching our tent on the shore of the Sante Fe river, we ventured off with snorkel gear. We surveyed Little Devil, Devil's Eye and Ear and then did a 'drift snorkel' down the river to Ginnie. Viz in the springs was of course endless. I was a little cold, even in my 5/3. There were lots of people swimming around w/o any exposure protection... I thought they were nuts! We were the only ones snorkeling the river, though many were tubing down it. At one point, a woman asked us if we'd seen a shirt anywhere on the bottom... her sister had dropped it a few hours ago. "Where" we asked. "Oh, around here I think" she said. One mintue later, my friend emerged from a free dive with her soggy shirt! She was very grateful... I was astounded at the pure luck of us being in the right place at the right time. Viz in the river is not that great and with the current you can't really stay in one place very easily. My friend commented that his search and rescue training had finally come in handy
The next morning we saw a small alligator swimming down the river... we decided to just stick to the springs that day.
So here was the moment I was waiting for... my first post-checkout dives! And at this location it would also be my first: warm(er) water dive, high viz dive, freshwater dive, deep-ish dive (around 50 ft, I've never been below 25), AL tank dive, and cavern dive (the Ballroom... for those who don't know, this cavern is considered 'safe' even for those not cavern certified). Whew, with all these firsts I was a bit apprehensive, but my buddy was my good friend from TX who is also a DM and we agreed to let me get used to everything before entering the Ballroom... and to only proceed if I felt comfortable. Well, it all went great! With viz like that, I had no fear of losing my buddy, and I was doing quite well in the buoyancy control dept that day. So we decided to enter the Ballroom. It was a blast! Shining our lights around in the dark... the water was as clear as air so I felt like I was floating in space. I almost forgot I was in the water, though the 40 lbs of gear on my body kept me in check. We swam down to the grate where the spring comes in and grabbed on. The flow was strong enough to keep me horizontal. The best part was leaving the ballroom... the view from just inside is breathtaking. You're in the dark looking out into the bright crystal blue spring.
We dove in the Devil's body parts area and then started to get cold. We both still had almost 1000 psi left in our tanks after all that.... not because we have good consumptions rates, just because its shallow there and you can't really play around anywhere for too long because its so small. I see why its mostly cavers who go there. It was a great experience but I doubt I would dive there again unless I wanted to train for caves some day. Its also pretty decent for camping and tubing.
Then we packed up and headed south to Marco Island, where my parents are building their retirement home. Its still in construction, but no one was around so I let myself in for a quick tour. Can't wait until its done December 1st. My folks were jealous that I saw it... they've only seen pictures.
We stopped off for an airboat tour in Everglade City... that was a trip. We flew through mangroves and saw wild alligators, pigs, and even an ostrich (don't ask, I don't know why it was there either). Then we drove over to Ft. Lauderdale to pick up some more friends who didn't have as many vacation days as we did. My cousin took us out charter fishing the next day, which I thought might be boring but it was actually a lot of fun. We caught 7 blackfin tuna and 2 dolphin fish and ate them all that day. Best fish I ever had. Then it was off to the keys for more diving.
We dove with Horizon Divers in Key Largo (at the recommendation of someone on this board) and they were great. Of course this was my first boat dive so I have nothing to compare it to, but they were still great. Only problem was the stormy seas. Half the boat was throwing up at some point during the trip, including my 4 friends. I was nauseous but was spared anything worse. Our first dive was the wreck of the Benwood. The swells were the largest I've ever been in (but my boating experience is mostly Lake Michigan), probably 5-6 ft. Quite a challenge for my first giant stried entry! But it went well and I descended with my two buddies. Our 2 girls stayed on the boat... they were supposed to be able to snorkel, but Viz was disappointing at maybe 15 ft and the sea was so rough that our captain advised them to stay on. This was my first wreck but I honestly didn't find it all that interesting... maybe the low viz was part of that, it was hard to tell what I was looking at. Plus the surge from the waves above still moved us around, even at 30-40 ft, so our nausea did not get much of a break. Next we went to the French Reef, which had a little better viz, though the surge at the bottom seemed even stronger. The girls actually snorkeled a bit and saw a little, though they were so seasick that it wasn't the best time they've ever had. One of my buddies threw up through his reg as we were descending... a first for him in 8 yrs of diving. I REALLY wish he would have told me this happened as later in the dive I swam up to him and asked to try breathing off his reg so I could see how it compared to my rental regs. Course I didn't notice anything at the time but he told me later and I was a little grossed out by that. Oh well. Anyway, we saw a fair amount of sea life, but not nearly as much as in the videos playing in the shop that morning. I think the stormy seas made a lot of critters call in sick that day. Still good experience for me to dive on a reef though, so I enjoyed it. After we got back on land, we all ate a quick lunch and passed out in our hotel room for about 3 hours. Felt much better when we woke up! Getting bounced around on that boat was very tiring.
Next day we drove to Key West, stopping at every beach on the way (note: there are about 2). We snorkeled a bit at Bahai Honda and saw a sting ray, which promptly swam away. Next day we did a very touristy thing by taking a trip to the Dry Tortugas. It was actually pretty cool. The history of the place was fascinating (who could believe that so much fuss had been made out of this little island in the middle of nowhere?) and there was pretty good snorkeling too. I saw more fish there than on the French Reef and viz was about 20 ft. It was here that I figured out I need to learn the names of more fish. I saw so many, but don't know any names so its hard to share the experience. Anyone know any good websites where I can learn to ID some fish? I swear I saw a fish with fangs but it wasn't a barracuda (thats the one fish i do know), I'd like to know what it was. Vampire fish?
ut:So overall it wasn't really a dive trip, but I did manage to log 4... which doubles the number I had before the trip. And we were all able to have a good time together, so it was well worth it.
chris
