Well, there's not much to add to what's already been said, but I did want to take a second to thank my buddies, Krista and Angie, for making the cleanup dive very enjoyable (Hmmmm, this two-women-in-the-water thing could be habit-forming!)
As the guys already mentioned, Ocean Watch really missed the boat, as far as encouraging future participation goes. Let's write it off to new leadership and having this dropped on them with little warning. Maybe we need to let them know that a "thank you", along with some corporately-sponsored goodies goes a long way. Let's see if their press release mentions our group.
The surface support also left a lot to be desired. Next time we'll have to teach them to be a lot more aggressive in getting buckets down to where they would do some good. The buckets that they had seemed to spend a lot of time in the air, empty. (Colin, we'll have to get those orange bags that you suggested next time!)
As far as the dive goes, We saw a big (3.5' or bigger) southern stingray under the pier in maybe 6' of water. The snook, as has already been mentioned were HUGE, and completely unaffraid. It was amazing to sit on the bottom and have them school around me.
I got 108 minutes out of my 100 and still came up with 400 to spare. Not as good as some, but plenty good enough for me.
Of course, the best thing about the event was hanging out afterward, getting to know some of my neighbors (ReneeC and DennisS), swapping tales, good laughter, opinions about fish IDs and general good times. To our two wounded, Rick and Rebecca, I missed having you underwater and am looking forward to diving with you guys again.
I have way too many nice things to say in the limited time and space here. I can't wait to see the photos, especially the ones of the neoprene cowfolks and our newly-canonized scuba saint, Nuestra Senora de los Salchichones...
Best wishes to all and safe ascents,
Grier
