rab
Contributor
Many thanks to DonClaypool with his boat and dive buddies: baitedstorm, murphdivers286, darkmoon3d, MantaRey, ScubaKevDM, and of course JR (what's your screen name again?) for being captain on Sunday.
When most of your diving is in Ohio quarries and the other non-Florida (Lake Michigan and Monterey,CA) sites are just as cold (40s to 60s), having 74F to 77F water is great. And viz beyond 20ft is such a treat that I couldn't imagine complaining. Even the suspended sand and plankton is a much different kind of "low viz" than silt.
On Saturday (11-Dec-04), I met Don at the Phil Foster ramp at the east end of the Blue Heron bridge. Baitedstorm and murphdivers286 met us and we headed out for some 2-up/2-down diving. The surface conditions couldn't have been better. We anchored on the Amarylis (history and dive info), a wreck in 85fsw. Found a Loggerhead turtle resting in the stern section and saw many other fish. (OK, so my ID skills need serious work. I know that I didn't see any Trout or Bluegill!) Second dive to drift the PB Trench. Saw a huge (6-7ft) Southern Stingray and a very large Rainbow Parrotfish (Don said it was the largest he'd ever seen). Also a couble Snowflake Eels. (I put a lot more details into my log book, but these stand out.)
On Sunday (12-Dec-04), we met at the Lananta ramp in Boynton. Don brought his heighbor JR (whose ScubaBoard identity escapes me) to drive the boat. He thought it was too cold to dive. What?! Anyway, darkmoon3d (hey Kev, that's Mark's secret screen name) and MantaRey met us there, too. MantaRey needed a tank, so we headed first to SplashDown Divers to pick one up. We go there just before 9am and the shop wasn't open yet, but we figured a 5min wait was acceptable and a guy rides up on his bike. It was ScubaKevDM! (You can read his trip report, too.) Well it took some serious arm-twisting, but Kev joined us for the day.
We headed out to the M/V Castor in somewhat rough conditions (particularly for Don's boat). On the way we encountered a pod of about 20 Bottlenose Dolphin. The current made finding the wreck a challenge, but Don and Kev got it (barely) on the second descent. I broke a fin strap at the last minute, but since MantaRey had decided that it was too cold for his Florida shorty, he was able to provide a loaner strap! (Thanks again!) We dropped in and I grabbed the line. darkmoon3d missed it. (Hey Mark, are you going to write about your experience?) After a few minutes, I got a signal from JR and MantaRey on the boat to descend -- so I did and met up with Don and Kev in the cargo area behind the wheelhouse. I wrote on my slate that darkmoon3d was on the boat. Don was getting low on his AL80 so he gave me his light (my UK-C8 wasn't working so I left it on the boat) and bid us farewell. The Goliath Groupers were very cool (I wouldn't have estimated their size as large as Kev did, but I believe him!) as were the Baracuda and other schools of fish. It was amazing how much light there was at 100fsw. Much better than typical at 30ffw in a quarry! I really only used the light to look inside some enclosed rooms and holds. When it was time to go, Kev and I ascended coiling the rope as we went. A terrific dive.
After retrieving darkmoon3d, Don, Kev, and I dove at Castle Ledge (Kroenen?, Gazeebo?, what's the real name guys?) where we saw another Loggerhead, some Spiny Lobster, another Snowflake Eel and many other pelagics. And between dives I had an episode of "sudden onset seasickness". Normally, I'm fine, but while I was setting up for the second dive, I leaned over far enough that I lost sight of the horizon and the boat rode a good swell -- that did it. Feed the fish and then finish getting ready for the dive. It was quite strange because I can go below deck and be OK, too. The transition from OK to woozy was surprisingly sudden.
Although he was quite concerned about it, JR handled returning to the inlet just fine. The outflow and the waves required concentration, but the event was, well, uneventful.
I'll definitely be looking you guys up in April and May when I'm back in Flordia.
-Rob
When most of your diving is in Ohio quarries and the other non-Florida (Lake Michigan and Monterey,CA) sites are just as cold (40s to 60s), having 74F to 77F water is great. And viz beyond 20ft is such a treat that I couldn't imagine complaining. Even the suspended sand and plankton is a much different kind of "low viz" than silt.
On Saturday (11-Dec-04), I met Don at the Phil Foster ramp at the east end of the Blue Heron bridge. Baitedstorm and murphdivers286 met us and we headed out for some 2-up/2-down diving. The surface conditions couldn't have been better. We anchored on the Amarylis (history and dive info), a wreck in 85fsw. Found a Loggerhead turtle resting in the stern section and saw many other fish. (OK, so my ID skills need serious work. I know that I didn't see any Trout or Bluegill!) Second dive to drift the PB Trench. Saw a huge (6-7ft) Southern Stingray and a very large Rainbow Parrotfish (Don said it was the largest he'd ever seen). Also a couble Snowflake Eels. (I put a lot more details into my log book, but these stand out.)
On Sunday (12-Dec-04), we met at the Lananta ramp in Boynton. Don brought his heighbor JR (whose ScubaBoard identity escapes me) to drive the boat. He thought it was too cold to dive. What?! Anyway, darkmoon3d (hey Kev, that's Mark's secret screen name) and MantaRey met us there, too. MantaRey needed a tank, so we headed first to SplashDown Divers to pick one up. We go there just before 9am and the shop wasn't open yet, but we figured a 5min wait was acceptable and a guy rides up on his bike. It was ScubaKevDM! (You can read his trip report, too.) Well it took some serious arm-twisting, but Kev joined us for the day.
We headed out to the M/V Castor in somewhat rough conditions (particularly for Don's boat). On the way we encountered a pod of about 20 Bottlenose Dolphin. The current made finding the wreck a challenge, but Don and Kev got it (barely) on the second descent. I broke a fin strap at the last minute, but since MantaRey had decided that it was too cold for his Florida shorty, he was able to provide a loaner strap! (Thanks again!) We dropped in and I grabbed the line. darkmoon3d missed it. (Hey Mark, are you going to write about your experience?) After a few minutes, I got a signal from JR and MantaRey on the boat to descend -- so I did and met up with Don and Kev in the cargo area behind the wheelhouse. I wrote on my slate that darkmoon3d was on the boat. Don was getting low on his AL80 so he gave me his light (my UK-C8 wasn't working so I left it on the boat) and bid us farewell. The Goliath Groupers were very cool (I wouldn't have estimated their size as large as Kev did, but I believe him!) as were the Baracuda and other schools of fish. It was amazing how much light there was at 100fsw. Much better than typical at 30ffw in a quarry! I really only used the light to look inside some enclosed rooms and holds. When it was time to go, Kev and I ascended coiling the rope as we went. A terrific dive.
After retrieving darkmoon3d, Don, Kev, and I dove at Castle Ledge (Kroenen?, Gazeebo?, what's the real name guys?) where we saw another Loggerhead, some Spiny Lobster, another Snowflake Eel and many other pelagics. And between dives I had an episode of "sudden onset seasickness". Normally, I'm fine, but while I was setting up for the second dive, I leaned over far enough that I lost sight of the horizon and the boat rode a good swell -- that did it. Feed the fish and then finish getting ready for the dive. It was quite strange because I can go below deck and be OK, too. The transition from OK to woozy was surprisingly sudden.
Although he was quite concerned about it, JR handled returning to the inlet just fine. The outflow and the waves required concentration, but the event was, well, uneventful.
I'll definitely be looking you guys up in April and May when I'm back in Flordia.
-Rob