philmottrek99and02
Contributor
Dive Report 8-11-06
My son and I met in Birmingham AL to begin our trip on Thursday afternoon. Our travel plans down on Thursday night did not work out as planned. In between bad weather causing delays in travel, inefficient car rental place in Miami and terror warning level being raised we managed to find our hotel in Key Largo around 4 am on Friday morning. We were not going to make an 9 am dive. I did get up, stumbled to Horizon Divers, informed them of our change in plans and that we would be on the 1:30 boat for 2 dives. After an early lunch snack, we checked in with Horizon Divers; a wonderful shop and we will dive with them in the future! Grabbed our gear and got on-board the CheecaView for a dive at Molasses Reef. Hit a max depth of 27 for a 45 min dive. Water temps were in the high 80s. Visibility was about 60 75 with a mild current and 1 2 waves. We saw loads of fish including Goatfish, 4 Eyed Butterfly, trumpet fish, blue striped grunts, Batfish, a Scorpion Fish and a curious Barracuda. We ended the dive with a visit to the winch hole to check out the windlass. After a brief SI, we dove another section of the reef named Sand Island. This area was also known for its sea life. Again many varieties of Parrot fish and Spades were to be seen. We spent time looking under the ledges for lobster and other aquatic life. The brain coral were spectacular. Saw a small green eel from his hiding place in the coral. We also checked out a trap with about 6 or so lobster awaiting harvest. We ended the dive after about 50 minutes and a max depth of 25.
Dive Report 8-12-06
Only morning dives planned as our flights were planned for the following morning. Once again, we checked in with Horizon Divers aboard the CheecaView. The trip this morning was to Pickles reef and Pillar Coral. We started at the south mooring buoy and headed to the north buoy. The coral was spectacular! We arrived at the north buoy and discovered 2 small rays on the sand floor. We also spied the resident nurse shark nearby. We worked our way around and back to the boat. Ran across a small Hawksbill turtle, hog fish and saw numerous Parrot fish, blue striped grunts, batfish and lobster. Watched a Gold Spotted Eel about 2 long work his habitat in the shade of the dive boat. No current experienced and hit a max depth of about 27 for a 52 minute dive. Again water temps were in the high 80s. After a brief SI, we hit Pillar Coral. Saw some beautiful sponges and brain coral along with the pillar coral. Saw many of the same species of fish as before. Hit a max depth of 36 and spent about 50 minutes on the dive. We arrived home some 4 5 hours later than planned. Again, Horizon Divers made this a wonderful trip despite our air travel problems.
My son and I met in Birmingham AL to begin our trip on Thursday afternoon. Our travel plans down on Thursday night did not work out as planned. In between bad weather causing delays in travel, inefficient car rental place in Miami and terror warning level being raised we managed to find our hotel in Key Largo around 4 am on Friday morning. We were not going to make an 9 am dive. I did get up, stumbled to Horizon Divers, informed them of our change in plans and that we would be on the 1:30 boat for 2 dives. After an early lunch snack, we checked in with Horizon Divers; a wonderful shop and we will dive with them in the future! Grabbed our gear and got on-board the CheecaView for a dive at Molasses Reef. Hit a max depth of 27 for a 45 min dive. Water temps were in the high 80s. Visibility was about 60 75 with a mild current and 1 2 waves. We saw loads of fish including Goatfish, 4 Eyed Butterfly, trumpet fish, blue striped grunts, Batfish, a Scorpion Fish and a curious Barracuda. We ended the dive with a visit to the winch hole to check out the windlass. After a brief SI, we dove another section of the reef named Sand Island. This area was also known for its sea life. Again many varieties of Parrot fish and Spades were to be seen. We spent time looking under the ledges for lobster and other aquatic life. The brain coral were spectacular. Saw a small green eel from his hiding place in the coral. We also checked out a trap with about 6 or so lobster awaiting harvest. We ended the dive after about 50 minutes and a max depth of 25.
Dive Report 8-12-06
Only morning dives planned as our flights were planned for the following morning. Once again, we checked in with Horizon Divers aboard the CheecaView. The trip this morning was to Pickles reef and Pillar Coral. We started at the south mooring buoy and headed to the north buoy. The coral was spectacular! We arrived at the north buoy and discovered 2 small rays on the sand floor. We also spied the resident nurse shark nearby. We worked our way around and back to the boat. Ran across a small Hawksbill turtle, hog fish and saw numerous Parrot fish, blue striped grunts, batfish and lobster. Watched a Gold Spotted Eel about 2 long work his habitat in the shade of the dive boat. No current experienced and hit a max depth of about 27 for a 52 minute dive. Again water temps were in the high 80s. After a brief SI, we hit Pillar Coral. Saw some beautiful sponges and brain coral along with the pillar coral. Saw many of the same species of fish as before. Hit a max depth of 36 and spent about 50 minutes on the dive. We arrived home some 4 5 hours later than planned. Again, Horizon Divers made this a wonderful trip despite our air travel problems.
