Flower Gardens March 20-21 Trip report

[TwoBitTxn]

Here is my trip report from my trip on the Spree March 19-21. It may get lengthy. I am willing to admit the mistakes I made on this trip for the reasons that others may learn from them.

The trip boarded at 8:30 pm on the Spree after a plesant road trip down from Dallas. The dive briefing went as normal. Its long, but in my opinion thorough.

I was diving dry and 32% nitrox.

The wake up call at 6am came quickly. I had already woke up from the engines shutting off about 20 minutes earlier when we tied up to the bouy. The gulf was a magnificent deep blue, the salt air was a brisk mid 60's*F, and the waves were 2' or less. Awesome conditions. Short brifing consisting of conditions of currents and wind. The boat was swinging on its moorings around 90* or so. This is, in my experience, normal. I quickly finished gearing up and my buddy and I were the second team in the water. This was my first time diving dry in salt water. The water temp was 70*F and I was weighted about right.

The most notable thing on this dive was a large Tiger Grouper at a cleaning station. No sharks. Some others saw Eagle rays.

Note: Transdermal Scop. gives me SERIOUS cotton mouth. Blech.

Buddy was excited and burned his air fairly quickly so this was our shortest dive. 2 1/2 hours later we were back in the water. Dive two brought very friendly Amber Jacks. I got almost close enough to touch. I have never seen them so fearless of divers. Most of them were over 32".

Dive three: How many mistakes can I make on one dive and not get hurt...

We moved to the East bank between dive 2 and 3. We didn't get to do a rig dive. My buddy and I got to the bottom, I got oriented and went out in search of a sand patch that the logger heads like to hang out around. We did get to see two Eagle Rays, but next thing I know.... Where is the boat... ummmm buddy where is the boat? Buddy: I dunno... I was following you. Oooops. I have never gotten lost out here before. We searched for a little bit longer the it was really time to surface. I went to shoot an SMB so we could do a safety stop on a line and hit the surface to a dinghy close by. I was totally focused on shooting the SMB when I realized I had at some point lost control of my bouyancy. I had started at bout 60'. I was now at 5'. I think I had several factors in my favor.. 32% nitrox, 2.5 hour surface intervals, and luck. I didn't get bent.

At least we weren't the only buddy pair that got a dinghy ride that dive.

I need to practice shooting my SMB at CSSP for a little while before I try that again.

Much of this trip I couldn't seem to get out of my own way. If there was a rope I would manage to tie myself up. All this and I'm a divemaster (?) Hey I'm human too.

I only did two more dives. I did get to see a hammer head from a distance on dive 4. The group did a night dive. No Tiger sharks.

Stetson was 68*. Much of the usual stuff on Stetson. The King Mackerals that had been there were gone. There were fishing boats all over the banks all weekend. Divers from the Fling found a freshly filleted spinner shark on Stetson

We had one fishing boat split the Sea Searcher and us twice with divers on the reef below. Well inside the 300' mark on the East bank.

If you go out on the Spree be sure to sign the petition to ban ALL fishing on the banks. We need your help.

TwoBit

 

[Cudabait]

Two Bit,

Good report...Right to the point. No punches pulled. Hey, Sh*t happens!!

Regards,

 

[TwoBitTxn]

A couple other side notes:

A distinct advantage to skipping the night dive.... I got to lick the batter bowl from the chocolate brownies.... YUM

I really enjoyed diving dry the whole trip. I didn't get cold on the fourth dive like many others did.

My major mistake on shooting the SMB was I tried to free spool it instead of pealing off enough line for it to reach the surface on its own. I probably should have vented some air from my BC and became a little negative too.

TwoBit

 

[Dee]

Thanks for the report. Cut yourself some slack and count your blessings! You identified the problem and you'll correct it...it's all we can do!

 

[ScubaTexan]

Good report, TwoBit....glad it went well for the most part. Two-foot waves??? Why couldn't we have had those before???

LOL

 

[thetash]

Hi,

I was on same trip past weekend. I guess I got lucky not getting canceled on first try. I have seen several posts saying FG should not allow newer divers.

I had fun, dove my limits, did not go deco, had plenty of air, and did not get picked up by the dingy. I was cold so skipped night dive. Might get 7MM suit next time.

You could cut the tension with a knife on the dive at dusk because they were so worried about Tiger sharks. Is that normal or just a result of recent sightings.

As a newer diver, I thought the most difficult part was navigation and currents. I was talking to one of the people on the boat during the night dive and he though a schematic of the reef area would help.

I AGREE!

Regards,
Jim

 

[TwoBitTxn]

Hi,

I was on same trip past weekend. I guess I got lucky not getting canceled on first try. I have seen several posts saying FG should not allow newer divers.

I am one of those who feel that way. We got extremely lucky. The conditions we encountered are more normal for August than March. I am glad you had a good time though.

You could cut the tension with a knife on the dive at dusk because they were so worried about Tiger sharks. Is that normal or just a result of recent sightings.

This is due to the recent sightings. There have been very recent problems with the Tigers getting aggressive. One of the other divers on that trip was on the receiving end of that aggression about two weeks before our trip.

As a newer diver, I thought the most difficult part was navigation and currents. I was talking to one of the people on the boat during the night dive and he though a schematic of the reef area would help.

Who is going to draw it? How will it have enough detail to tell which coral head is which? Neat idea, I don't think its practical.

I'm glad your first FG trip was a good one. Hopefully you will have many more. The conditions out there can be much better, but as those who were out there the previous weekend found out, they can be much worse.

TwoBit

 

[thetash]

Who is going to draw it? How will it have enough detail to tell which coral head is which? Neat idea, I don't think its practical.
TwoBit

Something like this http://www.cozumeldiveguide.com/ would be cool. I am thinking about purchasing a copy. Anyone already have one? Thumbs up / down?

Jim

 

[ScubaTexan]

I could use a new Cozumel Blue Book, but I don't think that's what you're talking about.

 

[Cave Diver]

My major mistake on shooting the SMB was I tried to free spool it instead of pealing off enough line for it to reach the surface on its own. I probably should have vented some air from my BC and became a little negative too.

TwoBit

Could you elaborate on "free spool?" My assumption is that you are talking about letting the spool "dance" freely while the bag goes up.

I would really recommend against peeling off a enough line for it to reach the surface. There is too much potential for the line to drift in to you or your buddy, get tangled up and drag one of you with it.

Glad you had a good trip.


A few tips for other readers who may be contemplating the use of lift bags:

1) Practice in a pool or some other controlled environment before attempting in "big water."

2) Make sure your spool has sufficient line for the bag to reach the surface. Keep in mind that it may need extra scope if there is a current present.

3) When deploying the bag, practice keeping it below body level. This forces you to look down and allows you to see the bottom or some other stationary reference point as you work.

4) Remember, air expands as it goes up. There is no need to try to fill the bag on the bottom. Just add enough to get it rising.

5) Hold the spool lightly between two fingers. If the line snags, be prepared to let go of the spool. You don't want to get dragged to the surface.

6) It's much easier to do with a buddy. At the very least your buddy should be watching you to ensure you maintain position and free of entanglements. It's even better when two well trained and practiced buddies share the responsibilities. One deploys the bag and ties the spool off, the other fills while the first holds.