SmokeAire
Contributor
I was impressed with your Scuba Ducks. Especially the one who was a bit queasy and still did her dive. She should be proud. And you.
Now, when do WE get our duckys?
Now, when do WE get our duckys?
ScubaDucks set to take over "Splash Down Divers"...
- Thread starter The Chairman
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Weeeeeeeeee! I finally am getting online to read things 
The short of it is I had a really good time diving with fellow SBer's as usual. It was good to finally meet BIGSAGE as well. Overall, we had two fantastic dives with an excellent host and fantastic dive buddies!!
I can't wait to see all of the pictures that sage and peter took
The short of it is I had a really good time diving with fellow SBer's as usual. It was good to finally meet BIGSAGE as well. Overall, we had two fantastic dives with an excellent host and fantastic dive buddies!!I can't wait to see all of the pictures that sage and peter took
Great trip, the drive was a bit long, thanks for putting in your caffine drip Pete to drive both ways - i know that trip in a day has killed me before
Kev, nice DM, boat and nice cut and paste or Pete onto the other photo
Good to see some of the other regulars out there and a few new faces, although i didnt formally intro myself to Joe or Sage, sorry about that guys - i guess you could tell who i was by the English accent!
Looking forward to the big trip next month and seeing you all there again.
Kev, nice DM, boat and nice cut and paste or Pete onto the other photo
Good to see some of the other regulars out there and a few new faces, although i didnt formally intro myself to Joe or Sage, sorry about that guys - i guess you could tell who i was by the English accent!
Looking forward to the big trip next month and seeing you all there again.
SmokeAire
Contributor
Or by the traditional English pasty white complexion usually observed in Blackpool.simbrooks:
Ok. I'm going stop now.
Time for bedybye
Some photos are up of a few of us who dove with Peter: http://www.splashdowndivers.com/photo_gallery/people.htm
OP
I posted this on www.ScubaDucks.com... A Perfect Day!
The day started for me at 4:30 am when the alarm went off. I quickly showered and left for St Andrew's Presbyterian Church to meet the ScubaDucks. By 5:30 6 of us, 11 tanks, 6 BCs, 7 regulators, and 6 sets of dive gear were all crammed into a Chrysler mini-van headed to Boynton Beach. The van handled very poorly, I might add since it was WAY over weighted.
We pulled into the parking lot at 8:25 and joined 8 members (out of 27,000+) from my online community www.ScubaBoard.com for a dive on Splashdown Divers. One of the members was the Dive Master on this boat. Soon the kids had all the tanks and gear loaded on the boat. Everyone was impressed at how our President took control and handled this while I was handling finances for ALL of us. Even my dive gear made it all on board, and my tanks were placed right by the dive platform. I love these kids! A brief safety orientation from our DM and we were on the water.
Our first dive was on a B-E-A-Utiful reef in about 60 ft of water. The Ducks and I descended in a group (tougher than it sounds). At depth we find a ton of fish, a couple of moray eels and all sorts of barrel sponges and coral. I had one student who was paired with a new duck who had never dove with us. I emphasize the need to take care of your buddy underwater and THEY DID GREAT. The girls gave them an awesome demonstration of underwater skills as they glided over the reef, albeit just a tad on the fast side. 35 minutes into the dive and our student is now low on air... we give the thumbs up and ascend to 15 ft to do our safety stop. The new duck is too light and floats to the surface. After three minutes the girls go up with him and my student and I just hang tight for a full five.
On the boat everyone is all smiles. The dive went as planned though, our new Duck's knee is hurting a bit (he hurt it in soccer last week) and he decides to sit the next dive out. Since I have barely made a dent in my tank, I decide to do the second dive on it, as the kids "swap tanks" to get ready for the second dive. Our hour surface interval goes quickly as the captain has allowed the kids to jump into the ocean from the fly bridge while they keep picking up the other divers. Where DO they get this energy from???
The second dive was even better. As the four of us are grouping together near the sea floor, I hear our president scream through her reg! SHARK! It wasn't a scream of fear, but of elation. Behind us is a 8-10 foot Bull shark, checking us out and then getting out of there as fast as he can. How cool! God has blessed us with experiencing this apex predator up close and personal. The kids are pumped but are now taking their time. Hey it's a big ocean and we aren't going to see it all on one dive! Soon Sam is pointing wildly under a ledge... hey it's our old friend "Lobzilla". These big lobsters only seem to come out when they know they are NOT in season. A few minutes later, and our president spies a 5-6 ft nurse shark cruising the reef. Two sharks in one day! What could cooler? Well, how about a SECOND Bull shark? This one was a bit further away and definitely smaller. They move so quickly and gracefully! 25 minutes into the dive and the ScubaDucks are out of time and low on air, we ascend for another safety stop and I get the Ducks on the boat. But hey... I still have a TON of air left in my only tank of the day. I ask the captain and he waves "bye" as I descend once more beneath the waves.
There is a lot to be said about being alone on the bottom of the sea. You are not at the top of the food chain any more, and you are really NOT alone. The clicking of crustaceans and bi-valves can be almost deafening. I head west over a rise in the reef, and discover a grotto of sorts... teaming with bugs (lobsters)! I play with one for a while and he manages to draw blood. They are not called "spiny lobster" for nothing! Now I am going really slow... I have no one to watch over. I get to see the little stuff. Christmas tree worms abound, there is a 10-12" clam, I find a barrel sponge that has an arrow crab in it. I run across a lone cobia, another moray and a large Eagle ray. This last dive (including the Duck time) now goes past an hour. I only have a couple minutes before I would enter a required decompression obligation and I don't have enough gas in reserve to feel comfortable with that, so I head up. I do a full five minute safety stop at 15 ft. Some it watching the reef pass below me and some of it just watching the waves on the surface. Incredibly peaceful. Somehow a couple of needle fish find me and keep me company. At the end I surface, completely refreshed. We get back, and the Ducks get the gear stowed back in the van.
Lunch is at the 2 Georges and the Ducks play a trick. Somehow I get stuck with their tab. Bwahaha! The president presents the plastic Rubber Duck key chains we give to new ducks and newly certified ducks. The boys look happy to get them. The friends from ScubaBoard look just a little jealous though. Too funny. The trip home sees them sleeping most of the way, but they are awake during the last hour or so, and we get the benefit of a ScubaDuck serenade. By 6:30 pm we are back in the parking lot and heading on our separate ways. What a perfect, perfect day. Thanks God! I needed that!
The day started for me at 4:30 am when the alarm went off. I quickly showered and left for St Andrew's Presbyterian Church to meet the ScubaDucks. By 5:30 6 of us, 11 tanks, 6 BCs, 7 regulators, and 6 sets of dive gear were all crammed into a Chrysler mini-van headed to Boynton Beach. The van handled very poorly, I might add since it was WAY over weighted.
We pulled into the parking lot at 8:25 and joined 8 members (out of 27,000+) from my online community www.ScubaBoard.com for a dive on Splashdown Divers. One of the members was the Dive Master on this boat. Soon the kids had all the tanks and gear loaded on the boat. Everyone was impressed at how our President took control and handled this while I was handling finances for ALL of us. Even my dive gear made it all on board, and my tanks were placed right by the dive platform. I love these kids! A brief safety orientation from our DM and we were on the water.
Our first dive was on a B-E-A-Utiful reef in about 60 ft of water. The Ducks and I descended in a group (tougher than it sounds). At depth we find a ton of fish, a couple of moray eels and all sorts of barrel sponges and coral. I had one student who was paired with a new duck who had never dove with us. I emphasize the need to take care of your buddy underwater and THEY DID GREAT. The girls gave them an awesome demonstration of underwater skills as they glided over the reef, albeit just a tad on the fast side. 35 minutes into the dive and our student is now low on air... we give the thumbs up and ascend to 15 ft to do our safety stop. The new duck is too light and floats to the surface. After three minutes the girls go up with him and my student and I just hang tight for a full five.
On the boat everyone is all smiles. The dive went as planned though, our new Duck's knee is hurting a bit (he hurt it in soccer last week) and he decides to sit the next dive out. Since I have barely made a dent in my tank, I decide to do the second dive on it, as the kids "swap tanks" to get ready for the second dive. Our hour surface interval goes quickly as the captain has allowed the kids to jump into the ocean from the fly bridge while they keep picking up the other divers. Where DO they get this energy from???
The second dive was even better. As the four of us are grouping together near the sea floor, I hear our president scream through her reg! SHARK! It wasn't a scream of fear, but of elation. Behind us is a 8-10 foot Bull shark, checking us out and then getting out of there as fast as he can. How cool! God has blessed us with experiencing this apex predator up close and personal. The kids are pumped but are now taking their time. Hey it's a big ocean and we aren't going to see it all on one dive!
Soon Sam is pointing wildly under a ledge... hey it's our old friend "Lobzilla". These big lobsters only seem to come out when they know they are NOT in season. A few minutes later, and our president spies a 5-6 ft nurse shark cruising the reef. Two sharks in one day! What could cooler? Well, how about a SECOND Bull shark? This one was a bit further away and definitely smaller. They move so quickly and gracefully! 25 minutes into the dive and the ScubaDucks are out of time and low on air, we ascend for another safety stop and I get the Ducks on the boat. But hey... I still have a TON of air left in my only tank of the day. I ask the captain and he waves "bye" as I descend once more beneath the waves.There is a lot to be said about being alone on the bottom of the sea. You are not at the top of the food chain any more, and you are really NOT alone. The clicking of crustaceans and bi-valves can be almost deafening. I head west over a rise in the reef, and discover a grotto of sorts... teaming with bugs (lobsters)! I play with one for a while and he manages to draw blood. They are not called "spiny lobster" for nothing! Now I am going really slow... I have no one to watch over. I get to see the little stuff. Christmas tree worms abound, there is a 10-12" clam, I find a barrel sponge that has an arrow crab in it. I run across a lone cobia, another moray and a large Eagle ray. This last dive (including the Duck time) now goes past an hour. I only have a couple minutes before I would enter a required decompression obligation and I don't have enough gas in reserve to feel comfortable with that, so I head up. I do a full five minute safety stop at 15 ft. Some it watching the reef pass below me and some of it just watching the waves on the surface. Incredibly peaceful. Somehow a couple of needle fish find me and keep me company. At the end I surface, completely refreshed. We get back, and the Ducks get the gear stowed back in the van.
Lunch is at the 2 Georges and the Ducks play a trick. Somehow I get stuck with their tab. Bwahaha! The president presents the plastic Rubber Duck key chains we give to new ducks and newly certified ducks. The boys look happy to get them. The friends from ScubaBoard look just a little jealous though. Too funny. The trip home sees them sleeping most of the way, but they are awake during the last hour or so, and we get the benefit of a ScubaDuck serenade. By 6:30 pm we are back in the parking lot and heading on our separate ways. What a perfect, perfect day. Thanks God! I needed that!
H2Andy
Contributor
sounds like everyone had a blast
i gotta join you guys next time
i gotta join you guys next time
Thanks Pete for setting this trip up. HUGE O THANKS to Oliver for being such a good friend. You 'da best! I love the pic of the CanthelpbutadoreitChickfish. I might just use that as my profile pic!
It was a pleasure diving off a boat. Look! No sand on my gear!
Highlight of the first dive was seeing two turtles. The second one, Joe spotted and I hunkered down next to it for little bit as it nonchalantly chomped on the reef. Two spanish hogfish and a couple French Angels were there waiting for leftovers. Slowly, it looked up, noticing it was being closely watched by a few divers, looked here and there, made a left turn towards me and swam off into the blue. My thoughts as it took off were filled with the turtle scene in Finding Nemo. Totally Rad, Dude. I mean like, Ya Know?
Dive #2, saw a very bland looking blue spotted cornetfish that was changing colors as it swam past.
I really need to get my Nitrox. My computer kept threatening to put me into Deco if I didn't stay shallow enough so most of the dive was quite a few feet off the reef. Not my kind of diving. (I was rewarded later with a night dive, and able to be up close and personal with some critters.)
Post dive was enjoyable outside at the 2 Georges. OH, and if you note, in the pic, I have this really fine hat that I am wearing. I would love to tell you about it in the presence of SmokeAire
Kevin, you rock! Was a pleasure finally meeting you!
Colin, Joe, Simon, Madaline, SmokeAire, Tony, BigSage, NetDoc, thanks for making this a really cool dive. Good diving with ya'll, and Pete for finally meeting you and getting to chat for a couple minutes. And of course the Ducks. Even tho we didn't chat, it was a pleasurse meeting everybody.
It was a pleasure diving off a boat. Look! No sand on my gear!
Highlight of the first dive was seeing two turtles. The second one, Joe spotted and I hunkered down next to it for little bit as it nonchalantly chomped on the reef. Two spanish hogfish and a couple French Angels were there waiting for leftovers. Slowly, it looked up, noticing it was being closely watched by a few divers, looked here and there, made a left turn towards me and swam off into the blue. My thoughts as it took off were filled with the turtle scene in Finding Nemo. Totally Rad, Dude. I mean like, Ya Know?
Dive #2, saw a very bland looking blue spotted cornetfish that was changing colors as it swam past.
I really need to get my Nitrox. My computer kept threatening to put me into Deco if I didn't stay shallow enough so most of the dive was quite a few feet off the reef. Not my kind of diving. (I was rewarded later with a night dive, and able to be up close and personal with some critters.)
Post dive was enjoyable outside at the 2 Georges. OH, and if you note, in the pic, I have this really fine hat that I am wearing. I would love to tell you about it in the presence of SmokeAire
Kevin, you rock! Was a pleasure finally meeting you!
Colin, Joe, Simon, Madaline, SmokeAire, Tony, BigSage, NetDoc, thanks for making this a really cool dive. Good diving with ya'll, and Pete for finally meeting you and getting to chat for a couple minutes. And of course the Ducks. Even tho we didn't chat, it was a pleasurse meeting everybody.
madeline
Contributor
yes that is a lovely hat, some people have realllllly nice friends!! maybe that friend will find another one, not just rusty reels, and hooks, oh well, it was fun meeting all of you, looking foward to the keys trip,
scbababe
Guest
NetDoc:
Thank God for blessing our president with pipes that could be heard through regulators too! I wonder if that was the same 8 ft bull shark at Datura a few months ago sounds like him!
Sounds like a great trip!
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