I saw those shorts but didn't know they were new.
I had a blast this weekend. We should all have blank faces today since WE DOVE OUR FACES OFF!
Friday: Ken, Jaye, Simon, and Charlie did 2 dives on the Rampage in West Palm Beach.
Friday night: Ken, Jaye, Simon, and I did a beach dive at the Yellow Brick Road in Hollywood. I brought the lobster gear, just in case, and released 2 shorts, missed a couple and brought 3 home. HID lights are great for catching lobster. Fun!
Saturday we were split up on two boats, with Simon, I, Marc and Melissa, Charlie, and a guy named Jeff (soon to be a member of SB, perhaps) on one boat, and everybody else on the bigger boat.
Dive 1: Spiegel Grove. Good current. We were dropped on the stern. Decided against dropping over the side since the upwelling was so strong, so we grabbed ahold of the railing and hung on, flapping in the upwelling for 10 minutes. It was incredible seeing the fish have almost no problems just hanging, while we were flapping like flags. Fun. Eddy the DM was in the water helping us back on the boat, right there every dive to assist with whatever needed done. Good Job Eddie!
Dive 2: French Reef. Very pretty.
Brian and Island Ventures is the best! He dropped us as a drift dive, picking us up over an hour later. We got to explore the reef, see the usual critters.
Then back to the dock for a lunch. I opted to stay on the boat and grabbed some shut eye.
Dive 3: The duane. Awesome Dive! I am looking so forward to doing this one again. The coral growth is beautiful, Ken got some really nice shots of it. I looked over the bow at 100ft and could see the bottom.
Dive 4: Molasses Reef. This reef is so beautiful. It is like swimming in an aquarium with the crushed coral base, prolific sealife and just plain pleasing to the eye to see.
Post dive we ate at Hobos, sharing the adventures of the day.
Simon and I headed back to Hollywood.
Sunday: Bright and early, or should I say while it was still dark out, K, J, S, and I hit Douglas Street in Hollywood for a sunrise dive. We missed getting in the water in the dark, but it was a good effort, especially considering the previous days activities. I didn't have my license with me. Bummer. The vis was way down from Friday night, but still relativelly calm seas.
We all then headed up to Lauderdale By The Sea for a beach party. Rain and thunder cleared the beach of most folks and calmed the waters down. Once it cleared up, we headed out. I buddied with Kevin and Justin, and headed for the second reef. Vis was way down and there was a good surge. Oh well. Ken, Jaye, and Simon followed Marvel out to the ledges where the vis cleared up nicely.
Marvel provided a dunk bucket for gear. Then it was off to Mulligans for a bit to eat before saying out goodbyes. Awesome weekend everybody. Very nice seeing everybody, and meeting new folks, Toby and family, Justin, Charlie, Ken, Jaye, Kevin, Jeff. Hopefully I didn't miss any one. ken and Jaye, I am so glad to have met ya'll. Ya'll are more than welcome here anytime, even got a couch, er, ok an airbed to sleep on! Good seeing everybody else also. Andy, wish we coulda dived a bit more together. You are so fun. OH, I think I have a Tshirt of yours. Chuck, the hat was perfect for the weekend, but I really missed the smell of flowers
, of course nice seeing ya again. Krista, always good seeing ya. Marvel, you were a wonderful host, as always. Simon, my bud, you know where the couch is, you are welcome. Good diving with ya and chatting (what did you say?) with ya.
Angie and Rick, next time we shall do a dive or two.
Ok, if I missed anybody, my sincere apologies. I am still trying to recover from the boat, and its early in the morning, sans coffee..
When is the next party?
