seadoggirl
Guest
H2O Below Newsletter February 2008
:14: Hoping for an early spring
We have been lucky to have a relatively mild winter so far. The waves have not behaved themselves but the water temps have been great. After a couple trips in January - February has been great. Ive noted that a number of previous customers are already booking for this year. Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! There is no better way to tell us that you had a great time than to come see us again.
The water temps are high 60s on the surface and low 60s at 130 feet. Most of my customers are comfortable in 5mils with hoods but we are also seeing a lot of dry suits. If you have a special date planned or need open dates for an upcoming trip, now is the time to call Captain Douglas at (850) 291-3501 or MBT at (850) 455-7702 to reserve the date.
What are we seeing on the Oriskany?
OCTOPUS. Again this year we are seeing our friendly little buddies - the Octopus. My crew had as much fun last year visiting the Octopus as our customers did. There was a great deal of discussion last year about Octopus after the appearance of Gracie and Charlotte sparked an interest for everyone. My deckhand - Donna did some research of Octopus and these are some of the interesting facts she found.
*An Octopus has three hearts. Two hearts pump blood to the gills to collect oxygen. The third heart then pumps this blood throughout the body.
*Every Octopus lives alone in a small den. But if you see one Octopus be sure to look around for others. Octopuses are solitary but social creatures. They like to live near each other but never in the same den. So they dont like roommates but they do like neighbors.
*Octopus change colors in a flash. They take on the colors of their surroundings for safety but they also have some colors that define their moods. Scientists say an angry octopus turns dark red. A frightened one turns pale and if they are enjoying a meal they change colors to show pleasure. Better than a seventies mood ring! Remember those.
*Crabs are the Octopus favorite food, but it also likes lobster, clams and other shellfish. How does it get those open? An Octopus has a beak that is sharp and hard like a parrot beak. And they bite! So remember before you stick your hand in their home, you might not want anything that can bite through a clam biting through your finger.
*The common octopus has 240 suckers on each arm. The suckers are used as a major sense. When an octopus touches you with his arm/sucker, he may be trying to see if you taste good.
*An octopus can give off an ink-black liquid. The ink forms a blob that has the shape and smell of the octopus. The enemy attacks the blob and the octopus escapes. If an enemy manages to get a hold of an arm, the octopus can disengage the arm and grow another one later.
*A female octopus mates when she is one or two years old. A few weeks after mating she finds a den and starts to lay her eggs. A common octopus lays thousands of eggs, perhaps 200,000. It takes her a week or more to lay the eggs and then she is in for a long wait.
*Each egg is the size of a half a grain of rice and has a stem which mom weaves and glues together. These stems hang in her den to grow while mom watches over them every minute.
*The female spends all her time taking care of her eggs and she does not hunt or eat during that time
* The eggs take four to six weeks to hatch depending on the temp of the water. The mom guards them and keeps the water around the eggs fresh and clean by blowing them off with the valve on her nose. When the eggs hatch, the moms job is done and she dies.
*Octopus are very smart and can solve problems like mazes. They are capable of opening jars after only a few tries if there is a crab inside. If the maze is changed, the Octopus will problem solve and find a new way to get at the prize.
*If they cant get a clam open they will wait for the clam to open itself and place a pebble between the two shells, then they can get at the food.
The point my deckhand wishes to make is take care of our Octopus friends and leave them alone if they have eggs. The more Octopus we have around, the more that will come to live here.
An Oriskany history lesson in 2008
Have you taken the Oriskany class offered by MBT? Jim has created a highly informative class to help us understand the life and times of the Mighty O. For example which Presidential Candidate crashed a plane and caught on fire on board the Oriskany while serving our country? The class is a great way to get to know a lot more about the wreck both before and after you dive it. If you are from out of town, you can schedule to take the class before or after diving the wreck, then dive with a lot more insight.
Dive Masters Needed
Its that time of year again to start putting together my crew for the year. I have a couple of opening for dive masters and deckhands. Dive Masters must be certified and have 02 training as well as a basic love of serving the customer. A deckhand tank lugging monkeys as Donna calls them - is a thankless job and you dont get to dive like the Dive Masters so they get paid. All crew must be drug tested and O2 certified including deck hands. If you are interested in a fun filled spring and summer give me a call and well discuss schedules and requirements.
How to Contact us
Email h2obelow@cox.net
Captain Douglas Cell - (850) 291-3501 or
MBT - (850) 455-7702
:14: Hoping for an early spring
We have been lucky to have a relatively mild winter so far. The waves have not behaved themselves but the water temps have been great. After a couple trips in January - February has been great. Ive noted that a number of previous customers are already booking for this year. Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! There is no better way to tell us that you had a great time than to come see us again.
The water temps are high 60s on the surface and low 60s at 130 feet. Most of my customers are comfortable in 5mils with hoods but we are also seeing a lot of dry suits. If you have a special date planned or need open dates for an upcoming trip, now is the time to call Captain Douglas at (850) 291-3501 or MBT at (850) 455-7702 to reserve the date.
What are we seeing on the Oriskany?
OCTOPUS. Again this year we are seeing our friendly little buddies - the Octopus. My crew had as much fun last year visiting the Octopus as our customers did. There was a great deal of discussion last year about Octopus after the appearance of Gracie and Charlotte sparked an interest for everyone. My deckhand - Donna did some research of Octopus and these are some of the interesting facts she found.
*An Octopus has three hearts. Two hearts pump blood to the gills to collect oxygen. The third heart then pumps this blood throughout the body.
*Every Octopus lives alone in a small den. But if you see one Octopus be sure to look around for others. Octopuses are solitary but social creatures. They like to live near each other but never in the same den. So they dont like roommates but they do like neighbors.
*Octopus change colors in a flash. They take on the colors of their surroundings for safety but they also have some colors that define their moods. Scientists say an angry octopus turns dark red. A frightened one turns pale and if they are enjoying a meal they change colors to show pleasure. Better than a seventies mood ring! Remember those.
*Crabs are the Octopus favorite food, but it also likes lobster, clams and other shellfish. How does it get those open? An Octopus has a beak that is sharp and hard like a parrot beak. And they bite! So remember before you stick your hand in their home, you might not want anything that can bite through a clam biting through your finger.
*The common octopus has 240 suckers on each arm. The suckers are used as a major sense. When an octopus touches you with his arm/sucker, he may be trying to see if you taste good.
*An octopus can give off an ink-black liquid. The ink forms a blob that has the shape and smell of the octopus. The enemy attacks the blob and the octopus escapes. If an enemy manages to get a hold of an arm, the octopus can disengage the arm and grow another one later.
*A female octopus mates when she is one or two years old. A few weeks after mating she finds a den and starts to lay her eggs. A common octopus lays thousands of eggs, perhaps 200,000. It takes her a week or more to lay the eggs and then she is in for a long wait.
*Each egg is the size of a half a grain of rice and has a stem which mom weaves and glues together. These stems hang in her den to grow while mom watches over them every minute.
*The female spends all her time taking care of her eggs and she does not hunt or eat during that time
* The eggs take four to six weeks to hatch depending on the temp of the water. The mom guards them and keeps the water around the eggs fresh and clean by blowing them off with the valve on her nose. When the eggs hatch, the moms job is done and she dies.
*Octopus are very smart and can solve problems like mazes. They are capable of opening jars after only a few tries if there is a crab inside. If the maze is changed, the Octopus will problem solve and find a new way to get at the prize.
*If they cant get a clam open they will wait for the clam to open itself and place a pebble between the two shells, then they can get at the food.
The point my deckhand wishes to make is take care of our Octopus friends and leave them alone if they have eggs. The more Octopus we have around, the more that will come to live here.
An Oriskany history lesson in 2008
Have you taken the Oriskany class offered by MBT? Jim has created a highly informative class to help us understand the life and times of the Mighty O. For example which Presidential Candidate crashed a plane and caught on fire on board the Oriskany while serving our country? The class is a great way to get to know a lot more about the wreck both before and after you dive it. If you are from out of town, you can schedule to take the class before or after diving the wreck, then dive with a lot more insight.
Dive Masters Needed Its that time of year again to start putting together my crew for the year. I have a couple of opening for dive masters and deckhands. Dive Masters must be certified and have 02 training as well as a basic love of serving the customer. A deckhand tank lugging monkeys as Donna calls them - is a thankless job and you dont get to dive like the Dive Masters so they get paid. All crew must be drug tested and O2 certified including deck hands. If you are interested in a fun filled spring and summer give me a call and well discuss schedules and requirements.
How to Contact us
Email h2obelow@cox.net
Captain Douglas Cell - (850) 291-3501 or
MBT - (850) 455-7702
