Tales of the Brass Bottle Opener
Short stories by Tom Smedley
One of the things that I look forward to on any dive trip is that feeling of adventure. Sometimes its hard to find and sometimes its not. Excitement always abounds when mysteries evolve into pleasant discoveries. Such a place and time was Panama City in the early spring.
This wasnt an ordinary trip but an all-inclusive package. An eight-hour boat on Saturday with three dives and lunch, dinner at world famous Captain Andersons, rooms at the Holiday Lodge, breakfast at Shoneys, and a six-hour trip on Sunday with yet another box lunch. We got all this and a weekend of fun and frolic for one low price.
On Saturday we stretched out comfortably on the Island Diver, a rather large and roomy vessel, under the steady hand of Captain Jeff. The wind blew and the seas were choppy and not formed making the water look something like that in a washing machine. Our folks proved themselves to be true sailors and some were queasy but none really sick.
After breakfast on Sunday morning all stood ready and waiting to go in search again for the elusive hoodoo that may have been hiding yesterday. This time we rode the Reef Runner with Elmo as our Captain. Conditions turned out to be not too difficult but not too easy either. During the night the seas settled into four-foot formed swells, water temperature 75 degrees and a wonderful 60 to 80 foot visibility. As we sailed through the pass, salt spray burned our faces and anticipation burned our souls.
In the 1920s folks got tired of going all the away around St Andrews Bay to get from Panama City to the area known now as Panama City Beach. Most people just associate the whole place as Panama City or PC, better known as the Redneck Riviera. They dont realize that Panama City and Panama City Beach are two entirely different places and were once miles apart by car or on horseback. The original St Andrews Bay Bridge opened to traffic in 1929. It must have been an impressive sight as it gleamed in the sunlight. There were sixteen Parker through-truss spans each 225 feet long, 38 feet tall, and the two-lane roadway only 20 feet wide. A single Warren through-truss swing span 200 feet long turned on a center pier to allow boats through. The St Andrews Bay Bridge was later named Hathaway Bridge in honor of Franz Hathaway, head of the organization that would become the Florida Department of Transportation.
The second Hathaway Bridge opened to traffic in 1960 and the third in 2004. The spans and approaches of the old bridge remained in place until the mid 1980s when they dismantled it and the Parker spans became part of the artificial reef program. Because of the large variety of marine life that hangs out there, the group voted to dive two bridge sites today instead our usual wreck and bridge. Our first target was bridge span number twelve.
A rating of good visibility for Panama City is around 40 feet. Sometimes its less and on occasion some phenomenon just opens it up and on this dive we enjoyed almost 80 feet on top of the structure. From the surface I spotted the yellow sponge covered girders and could see over half the length from a single vantage point. How wonderful it is to swim thirty feet above the bottom and survey the entire site, seeing things that you didnt know were there, and making mental notes for future dives.
The large bait balls that we are used to on these sites had not returned, however colonies of gobies, blennies, drum and good size pelagic fish, along with the already warm water, promised to make this a great dive season. One beautiful thing I noticed was a large population of tube dwelling Anemone. Natures own colorful flower gardens that are in fact voracious predators. Foghorn like calls of the toadfish crackles from shrimp and the distant thump from a jewfish resonated in a perfect symphony. Toward the end of the dive there were only three of us left Stan, Alice, and I. The two of them finished and began their ascent. I decided to do one more trip around the site to make sure that there were no more divers in the water. Sort of a mother instinct thats hard to turn loose of even on a trip with all experienced folks.
I felt it initially at the far end of the span, almost like an electrical shock that permeated my body. I shrugged it off but then felt it four more times before reaching the anchor, each episode progressively stronger. What foul tricks was my body playing? I ascended slowly to fifteen feet where Stan and Alice were just about ready to finish their safety stop. I wanted to ask them if they felt it too but didnt want to run the risk of them thinking me crazy. The anchor line danced smartly as the Reef Runner strained against wind and swells. My Jon line let me hang motionless in the slight current waiting hesitantly for my turn to surface. As always, I didnt want to break my intimate contact with the sea. Then it started again, time after time. Those electric sensations pulsed throughout my body. I felt pressure in my ears sometimes gentle and sometimes more intense. Sound echoed in my head but it didnt get there through my ears. My bones seemed to vibrate. I almost convinced myself that something horrible was in the making when I finally heard it: A series of clicks, a squeal, a series of clicks again, and then that tell-tale laugh. I recognized a soundtrack straight out of Flipper.
What a wonderful solution to an exciting mystery. It felt good, being studied by sonar and I wanted to see them. I searched to the limits of visibility and glimpsed a fleeting shadow once but no clear shapes. A feeling of deep sadness clouded my mind when I cut loose and started drifting toward the stern knowing my dive had to end. I finally gave up and climbed the ladder. Everyone asked excitedly, Did you see the dolphins? I smiled inside and said, No, I didnt see them but they saw me.
Dolphins are truly amazing, their brains average 500 grams more then ours. They breathe air and nurse their young, just like us. They are thought to have the ability to think and reason, remember their pasts, and plan their futures. They can read the emotions of other dolphins and see through the bodies of other animals with pulses much like a medical sonogram. They can locate a large predator half a mile away and tell if its stomach is full or empty, giving clues as to whether or not it might be feeding or resting. My Shoneys breakfast was probably boring but they must have been curious about the solid aluminum tank. Dolphins have a wide repertoire of sounds ranging from audible to twenty times above what the human ear can hear. Lower frequency clicks aid in echolocation while higher frequency clicks gather information at close range. They can send as many as 2000 clicks per second that start in the air sacks of the nasal cavity and move to a structure on the dolphins forehead known as the melon. Sort of like the radar dome on an aircraft. Dolphins produce an intense amount of energy. It resonates in your bones and leaves you with an incredible soothing feeling.
I found a comfortable spot and began enjoying my box lunch, a hoagie sandwich (mystery meat at its finest), a bag of chips, a piece of fruit, and a cookie. I leaned back and let the warm sun gently touch my face as I drifted into a short nap. Drifting in dreamland, somewhere with palm trees and sand, I awoke to Elmos shouts that the surface interval was long enough and the pool open. I thought to myself, another dive another adventure, life was good!
Short stories by Tom Smedley
One of the things that I look forward to on any dive trip is that feeling of adventure. Sometimes its hard to find and sometimes its not. Excitement always abounds when mysteries evolve into pleasant discoveries. Such a place and time was Panama City in the early spring.
This wasnt an ordinary trip but an all-inclusive package. An eight-hour boat on Saturday with three dives and lunch, dinner at world famous Captain Andersons, rooms at the Holiday Lodge, breakfast at Shoneys, and a six-hour trip on Sunday with yet another box lunch. We got all this and a weekend of fun and frolic for one low price.
On Saturday we stretched out comfortably on the Island Diver, a rather large and roomy vessel, under the steady hand of Captain Jeff. The wind blew and the seas were choppy and not formed making the water look something like that in a washing machine. Our folks proved themselves to be true sailors and some were queasy but none really sick.
After breakfast on Sunday morning all stood ready and waiting to go in search again for the elusive hoodoo that may have been hiding yesterday. This time we rode the Reef Runner with Elmo as our Captain. Conditions turned out to be not too difficult but not too easy either. During the night the seas settled into four-foot formed swells, water temperature 75 degrees and a wonderful 60 to 80 foot visibility. As we sailed through the pass, salt spray burned our faces and anticipation burned our souls.
In the 1920s folks got tired of going all the away around St Andrews Bay to get from Panama City to the area known now as Panama City Beach. Most people just associate the whole place as Panama City or PC, better known as the Redneck Riviera. They dont realize that Panama City and Panama City Beach are two entirely different places and were once miles apart by car or on horseback. The original St Andrews Bay Bridge opened to traffic in 1929. It must have been an impressive sight as it gleamed in the sunlight. There were sixteen Parker through-truss spans each 225 feet long, 38 feet tall, and the two-lane roadway only 20 feet wide. A single Warren through-truss swing span 200 feet long turned on a center pier to allow boats through. The St Andrews Bay Bridge was later named Hathaway Bridge in honor of Franz Hathaway, head of the organization that would become the Florida Department of Transportation.
The second Hathaway Bridge opened to traffic in 1960 and the third in 2004. The spans and approaches of the old bridge remained in place until the mid 1980s when they dismantled it and the Parker spans became part of the artificial reef program. Because of the large variety of marine life that hangs out there, the group voted to dive two bridge sites today instead our usual wreck and bridge. Our first target was bridge span number twelve.
A rating of good visibility for Panama City is around 40 feet. Sometimes its less and on occasion some phenomenon just opens it up and on this dive we enjoyed almost 80 feet on top of the structure. From the surface I spotted the yellow sponge covered girders and could see over half the length from a single vantage point. How wonderful it is to swim thirty feet above the bottom and survey the entire site, seeing things that you didnt know were there, and making mental notes for future dives.
The large bait balls that we are used to on these sites had not returned, however colonies of gobies, blennies, drum and good size pelagic fish, along with the already warm water, promised to make this a great dive season. One beautiful thing I noticed was a large population of tube dwelling Anemone. Natures own colorful flower gardens that are in fact voracious predators. Foghorn like calls of the toadfish crackles from shrimp and the distant thump from a jewfish resonated in a perfect symphony. Toward the end of the dive there were only three of us left Stan, Alice, and I. The two of them finished and began their ascent. I decided to do one more trip around the site to make sure that there were no more divers in the water. Sort of a mother instinct thats hard to turn loose of even on a trip with all experienced folks.
I felt it initially at the far end of the span, almost like an electrical shock that permeated my body. I shrugged it off but then felt it four more times before reaching the anchor, each episode progressively stronger. What foul tricks was my body playing? I ascended slowly to fifteen feet where Stan and Alice were just about ready to finish their safety stop. I wanted to ask them if they felt it too but didnt want to run the risk of them thinking me crazy. The anchor line danced smartly as the Reef Runner strained against wind and swells. My Jon line let me hang motionless in the slight current waiting hesitantly for my turn to surface. As always, I didnt want to break my intimate contact with the sea. Then it started again, time after time. Those electric sensations pulsed throughout my body. I felt pressure in my ears sometimes gentle and sometimes more intense. Sound echoed in my head but it didnt get there through my ears. My bones seemed to vibrate. I almost convinced myself that something horrible was in the making when I finally heard it: A series of clicks, a squeal, a series of clicks again, and then that tell-tale laugh. I recognized a soundtrack straight out of Flipper.
What a wonderful solution to an exciting mystery. It felt good, being studied by sonar and I wanted to see them. I searched to the limits of visibility and glimpsed a fleeting shadow once but no clear shapes. A feeling of deep sadness clouded my mind when I cut loose and started drifting toward the stern knowing my dive had to end. I finally gave up and climbed the ladder. Everyone asked excitedly, Did you see the dolphins? I smiled inside and said, No, I didnt see them but they saw me.
Dolphins are truly amazing, their brains average 500 grams more then ours. They breathe air and nurse their young, just like us. They are thought to have the ability to think and reason, remember their pasts, and plan their futures. They can read the emotions of other dolphins and see through the bodies of other animals with pulses much like a medical sonogram. They can locate a large predator half a mile away and tell if its stomach is full or empty, giving clues as to whether or not it might be feeding or resting. My Shoneys breakfast was probably boring but they must have been curious about the solid aluminum tank. Dolphins have a wide repertoire of sounds ranging from audible to twenty times above what the human ear can hear. Lower frequency clicks aid in echolocation while higher frequency clicks gather information at close range. They can send as many as 2000 clicks per second that start in the air sacks of the nasal cavity and move to a structure on the dolphins forehead known as the melon. Sort of like the radar dome on an aircraft. Dolphins produce an intense amount of energy. It resonates in your bones and leaves you with an incredible soothing feeling.
I found a comfortable spot and began enjoying my box lunch, a hoagie sandwich (mystery meat at its finest), a bag of chips, a piece of fruit, and a cookie. I leaned back and let the warm sun gently touch my face as I drifted into a short nap. Drifting in dreamland, somewhere with palm trees and sand, I awoke to Elmos shouts that the surface interval was long enough and the pool open. I thought to myself, another dive another adventure, life was good!
