Friday, I had the pleasure of being invited by Stuart Scuba to participate in the "Reel it in for the Reefs" Clean-Up Dives which were sponsored by the National Save the Sea Turtle Foundation.
It was amazing to see so many charters out of Riviera Beach participating in this event.
I was on Little Deeper. We had 16 divers. Out of the inlet we ran south to the Breakers area and dove a site named Horseshoe Reef. Within a few minutes I see divers picking up an anchor, chain, and rope. They were carrying it! I have a lift bag in my butt pack, so I approached to assist. We floated the anchor and its line. About 30 ft away, I found an anchor on my own. I used my 8ft XScuba DSMB to float it up. After that, I retrieved a can and lots of fishing line, hooks, weights, etc. A boat engine cowl was floated by another diver (I think Sheeper).
Dive 2 we went to Paul's Reef. Ironically, we had 3 divers on the boat named Paul, so it was appropriate to visit the site
. This reef was just beautiful. The reef was full of healthy sea fans, sponges, corals, and lots of fish. I couldn't find any trash at first. Eventually I found a lot of trash about 20 minutes in. I found a 25 ft rope, a speargun shaft, a LOT of fishing line, a small metal grate, and some misc trash. Other trash found was this pole foundation, think of a cross where in the middle you can put a vertical pole. The legs were like 10ft long.
It was a lot of fun! I can't wait to do it again next year.
Water temp on both dives was 76 degrees. Seas were small but bumpy.
One event to note, after the 2nd dive, when I surfaced, there was a large yacht feet away from hitting the dive boat. This yacht must have been on autopilot and it was heading straight over the dive site with us divers still in the water towards the end of our dives. The dive boat put itself in danger, blaring the horn, and yelling on the radio. Fortunately the yacht stopped before actually hitting the dive boat. They were told to find another way around.
It was amazing to see so many charters out of Riviera Beach participating in this event.
I was on Little Deeper. We had 16 divers. Out of the inlet we ran south to the Breakers area and dove a site named Horseshoe Reef. Within a few minutes I see divers picking up an anchor, chain, and rope. They were carrying it! I have a lift bag in my butt pack, so I approached to assist. We floated the anchor and its line. About 30 ft away, I found an anchor on my own. I used my 8ft XScuba DSMB to float it up. After that, I retrieved a can and lots of fishing line, hooks, weights, etc. A boat engine cowl was floated by another diver (I think Sheeper).
Dive 2 we went to Paul's Reef. Ironically, we had 3 divers on the boat named Paul, so it was appropriate to visit the site
. This reef was just beautiful. The reef was full of healthy sea fans, sponges, corals, and lots of fish. I couldn't find any trash at first. Eventually I found a lot of trash about 20 minutes in. I found a 25 ft rope, a speargun shaft, a LOT of fishing line, a small metal grate, and some misc trash. Other trash found was this pole foundation, think of a cross where in the middle you can put a vertical pole. The legs were like 10ft long.It was a lot of fun! I can't wait to do it again next year.
Water temp on both dives was 76 degrees. Seas were small but bumpy.
One event to note, after the 2nd dive, when I surfaced, there was a large yacht feet away from hitting the dive boat. This yacht must have been on autopilot and it was heading straight over the dive site with us divers still in the water towards the end of our dives. The dive boat put itself in danger, blaring the horn, and yelling on the radio. Fortunately the yacht stopped before actually hitting the dive boat. They were told to find another way around.
