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It was awesome! Good weather, great diving in 79 degree F clear water, the best boat crew on the Emerald Coast, wonderful innkeepers, super friends new and old, on board sandwiches and snacks, and more. I further indulged myself with hot coffee on the way out each morning, milk and cookies between dives, and lager beer on the way back. Life is for living, and we were on top of it. And then there was Red Wet and Blues Kamala and her extra touches !!
I well remember the good times and dives I had there Memorial Day Weekend, even with the reduced viz of the time, and how I thought Id have to come back again in a year or two. And Ive enjoyed great diving at Cozumel, the Florida Keys, Roatan Honduras, and Catalina Island this year, but then after recommending the trip to others on the Scuba Board time and again, I talked myself into going back less than five months later.
Getting there is half the fun NOT!! :fly:
I not a morning person, and 2:30am to me is a great time to go to bed, not for an alarm clock to ring, but this was a special day. An hour to ingest coffee and stop bumping into doorways, an hour plus to the airport with the brief stop at my office to pick up something I always forget to take, an hours advance check-in, and I was on the 6am flight for a nap to DFW. There was to be a quick break in Deltas VIP Lounge, then the 8am non-stop nap to Raleigh-Durham (RDU), but when I glanced at the monitors to see where my flight would load I saw the dreaded advisory: CANCELLED. Now I was sprinting to the Crown Room, presenting my card and plight to the receptionist before asking the bartender for a morning toddy, and she got me rerouted okay. Jog to another gate, sleep to Atlanta, then sleep to RDU, and arrive an hour or so later. She even got me First Class on one flight, and she was working on locating my bags when I killed my beverage and headed out.
I was going to be the first of the Van bunch to arrive, with instructions to find Ron and Cynthia, then wait for Kamala and Mike to arrive, rent van and swing around to pick us up, but now I was going to be last. So, I phoned ahead, left the Voice Mails, and rode along with the new plan, earning a few extra Frequent Flyer miles for my experience. Finding Ron & Cynthia at RDU was easy enough, and Delta worked wonders with my bags, transferring them to American in record time, getting them there ahead of me, and advising everyone to watch for me. Gawd, but I love it that Delta thinks that Im important. We were all loaded with all bags within 30 minutes of my arrival. Lunch, shopping, errands and a roadblock for an awful wreck on the hiway extended our land trip time a bit, but we got there soon enough. Soon we were greeting friends from Texas, Missouri, and California, as well as North Carolina and nearby seaboard states and preparing to turn out for early boarding the next morning.
Special Caps Would Be Fun ? :mickey:
I knew that RWB and Diver Down would be offering souvenir T-shirts at reasonable prices, but a cap to warm ones head before and after diving and a bill to shade the sun is always a good idea. I decided to have a Stars & Stripes cap so compatible with Kamalas projection - made up with Red Wet and Blue Diving on the front and Dandy Don on the back as a salute to a great operation. Then I thought about making one personalized for Kamala, and one for Capt. Bobby whom I also admired so, and maybe one for Billy whom I know to be a really great motel proprietor. Last time I was there, he let me know he was leaving to take his delightful wife Barbara to dinner and when hed be back! Then I thought of the West Texas couple who were going because I told them they should, and the lady diver whod been so nice to me on my last visit, and the idea almost took on a life of its own, turning into a $100+ frivolous project. But if I had it to do over, Id probably order twice as many, as they were fun and worth it all.
Up, Up and Away
I was up and out of the room at 5 the next morning a good four hours before I generally bother to greet the world, and still 30 minutes before anyone else, but I wanted to be sure I was ready, without last minute rushing. Our Fishermens Inn rooms were but stumbling distance from the Diver Down, but it was still the usual first day fire drill shoving off. I was impressed that we were only a few minutes late with our scheduled 6:30am departure, and soon we were down the channel and out on the wide blue sea. Yeah, it takes an hour or two to get to the best wreck sites, but it was worth it. And with Red Wet and Blue, you get breakfast snacks and juices in the dry lounge, and the dolphins were nice to escort us out the first day.
And did we have the right skipper :medal: whom we knew we could trust to get us out, and not give us jive suggesting we save a bumpy ride (and his fuel) by diving close in after paying for a real trip. We also enjoyed not one but two Coast Guard certified co-captains working as Dive Masters, lettered professionals from the dry world who there for the love of the operation and certainly not for the reduced income theyd get for their kind work, along with Kamala and Dale, the Dive Master she furnished herself. We were there for adventure diving, but we had five pros taking care of 16 others, so the adventure would be as safe and fun as possible, as we nudged the envelope a bit.
The viz reports had not been the best for area waters this summer, but Id enjoyed the dives even when murky, as I could still see fish, parts of the wrecks, and enough to get a real kick from the experiences. This was their best weekend of the season, though, with generally kind weather, warm water with good viz, and diving on wrecks from both World Wars. I remember spotting all sorts of fishes and invertebrates, one really big turtle, and a few things I wasnt sure about.
I gotta brag on Diver Downs manifest security, though! Before Giant Striding from the midship gate, DM Mike-1 (as compared to group member Mike-2) would secure the divers fins to feet, check air valves and pressure gauges during test breaths, then log the divers name and time in on his chart. Wed follow the horizontal hang line to the dive line, then down to the anchor one of the DMs had chained to the wreck for complete site control, and do our thing until time was up. Ending our dives with slow line ascents and safety to decompression stops, wed climb the stern ladder with our fins still own for optimum safety, and DM Kenny would welcome us back after confirming our names against the chart. After a final sweep of the wreck by one of the skippers to confirm we hadnt left anyone down, and Kamala screaming joy from the boarding ladder, Kenny checked one more time with roll call: Answer for yourself only when I call your name, please.
The Diver Down does not condone decompression diving, but they dont play dive cop either. One of my two computers would click off remaining dive time to zero with my tank still half full, and Id start working closer to the anchor line. A short time later with plenty of Nitrox left for a slow and safe ascent, Id ease up to the halfway down point for a one minute stop, then to the 10-20 foot hang line to work off the seven minutes of computer obligation on the more conservative putter plus three to five more for safety. They let us enjoy ourselves safely and learn from the experiences.
Most of us were on 30% EANitrox with a 121 foot soft bottom to match the deepest holes expected, but even the air divers had fun, albeit briefer down times. The first days dives were both on the Shurz after questionable reports on other sites, and Ill agree it was like diving on a bridge wreck, but it was good, nonetheless. Some folks had more difficulty than others acquiring sea legs, but I dont think anyone actually fed the fishes? Id been a little concerned about a couple of the ladies, but they came through every bit as well as the macho divers on board, in some ways better than this former cowboy and Marine. That night we enjoyed a wonderful buffet dinner of steaks and seafood on the F-Inn dock and went on and on about our respective diving experiences. We lost one cute, young lady diver who hadnt yet learned to never let work interfere with a great diving opportunity, but Mike-3 arrived to take the next days opening, his wife waiting on shore for more room to open up the day following.
Then our fearless leader who could also pass for mother hen and cheerleader as well suggested we load the tanks with 28% Nitrox for a little deeper dive on other wrecks ?! There would be a $15 fuel surcharge for each diver, though, and we would be pushing the limits for recreational diving, so the choice had to be unanimous? Many cheered in support, but the final vote was taken in confidence. En route the next day, word was passed that Capt. Bobby didnt think it was such a good day to do those sites after all, and we redirected to the Proteous. Well never know if one or more divers had vetoed the suggested dives, and thats the way it should be. This trip had the right protocols.
We considered staying there for two dives, and it was nice to enjoy lunch on an anchored boat, but some of us wanted a little more variety, so we move on to the Aoleus. Viz reports for it hadnt been the best, but we decided to take a chance. Hurricane Kate the other side of Bermuda was influencing waters a bit, and sure enough, the viz was reduced, but it was still a hoot. I did notice some surges, as well as a stinging on my forehead, but mostly I noticed a fun dive. I felt a strong surge while cutting across one breach in the wreckage, and although my mind knew it was just a swirl, my emotional self had a What was that moment. When I peeked around the corner to an eight foot shark swimming by, my mind knew it was a harmless part of the show, but my emotional self got quite a charge. Just couldnt think of why my face was feeling a little sting?
I saw a few jellies on my gentle ascent and 10 minute hang, and it finally dawned on me: I must have had a head-on collision with one of those pretty things when I strided in. The water had been as warm as Roatans had been three months earlier, but while the air was 20 degrees F cooler, I hadnt felt too chilled yet, and Id loaned my beanie to a lady whod forgotten hers that day. Now I had a battle injury to attend, and once aboard it became more evident in as the air dried the wound. I had carried white vinegar in my dive bag for 30 months without ever using it on myself, but I quickly was utilizing it, then the meat tenderizer someone offered, then the calamine I also carried. Since I was diving EAN, I had not carried my generic Sudafed aboard, and had to wait a couple of hours before taking the chemical similar to epinephrine for additional relieve. I now carry it on every boarding, and wear my beanie on every dive, but the mild injury lingered for a week. Something to talk about when I got home.
We hit the Seafood Festival that evening for dinner, then turned in to rest of the final day. We lost three more divers on Monday, but added Mike-3s wife, a British journalist researching the experience, and his cute companion. I guess we catered to the foreigners a bit, but when she asked if she could have some of my coffee, and if I had milk, I simple said: Sure, help yourself. A cup? Just mine, but you can borrow it. That, and the fact that Id been drinking from the milk jug, and she opted for sterile bottles of water. And we had nice dives, first on the junk pile known as the Shurz again, then on to U-352. The sub is a dive everyone has to do if they get a chance, although most of it looks like a big pipe, and it was nice to be able to see the whole thing this time.
Fun times on the side
Capt. Bobbys spear gun got knocked overboard and drifted away on the first day, but he simply tracked it down after the diving secured for the day yes, he is that good. One of my West Texas neighbors finished up a dive solo only to have to do a free ascent and long swim in, but he made it fine. And I gotta tell you about my roommate, while being kind enough to not call him by name :dork:
Hed applied to join our group early on, and he had his AOW but only 20 dives, and was turned down twice. But with daily emails about his abilities as a natural, he was finally allowed on the trip. No way did he belong on that boat, but since we only had one greenhorn, we all pitched in to make it safe and good for him, too. He was diving air, while the very experienced lady whod agreed to buddy him was on Nitrox, so shed take him to the line for a solitary ascent while shed swim with the group a little longer. And, he turned his air off deep on the anchor line?!@#&! Or, thats our guess, as the reg checked out fine later, but he quit receiving air, so we guessed that hed turned his Venturi switch off. He thought about rushing up, but instead did what he was taught sorta. He got to the next diver on the line and initiated a polite signal discussion about the possibility of borrowing some air. Im still screaming at him by email: Next time, grab the alternate second stage and breathe; the diver will understand!
When I caught up to him on the hang line, hed already been passed off to another diver for shared air on decom, and I moved in close to check the donors reserve, in case wed need to do one more exchange. The incident passed almost as a training drill, and we all came to enjoy his difference in the group. He even replaced the beer he stole from me after several of us chided him, and I told him to keep the old gloves and watch Id loaned him. Yeah, its easy to travel light when you own just enough to go snorkeling.
All in all it was one of those imperfect weekends that couldnt have been better. We dined at a pricey place the last night, toured the Maritime Museum the next morning, and said our reluctant goodbyes.
Getting back home
This part was so unchallenging for me in contrast as to be boring, but I needed the sleep. Back in Lubbock though, I stopped by my favorite Honky Tonk for an hour, to brag to the non-divers a bit and heckle the few divers I knew there. I had 70 miles to drive before bed, worked had piled up, and gear would need to be washed and dried, but I couldnt resist. Id enjoyed a wonderful weekend, and I just had to crow a bit
Im going to stay in touch with Kamala and Red Wet and Blue, as next years going to be even better
