10/2/2009 - Two Giant Sea Bass At Marineland

I got off work at 9:00 this morning and rushed home to pack gear. We headed to Marineland, where good conditions were reported yesterday. I hauled two sets of gear plus two cameras in the Bottomtime Buggy and rolled down to the beach, then transfered everything to Jeff's Rock for staging. While locking the wagon I noticed Merry walking over to me. She asked me where her regulator was. Hmm...where is her reg, where is her reg...? I know! It's still hanging in the garage.
She was less than pleased, but told me to dive anyway. If the conditions were still good we could go home for another tank and reg.
I fought a surface current for more than thirty minutes but finally reached the point. Within a minute of dropping I saw a three foot Giant Sea Bass. I knew Merry would be really mad now. Later in the dive I saw a larger one. I wanted to enjoy the experience, but I knew I had a butt-whuppin' when I got back to the beach.
I made my way back toward the cove, noticing that the visibility was worsening and surge was picking up. By the time I reached the cove, sand was stirred up and it was difficult to remain in one spot.
While Merry waited on the beach, divers and snorkelers told her how nice it was. I don't know if the steam I saw was rising from her or her coffee.
I told her we would glue her regulator to her drysuit when we got home.
The visibility was nice at the beginning of the dive, but dropped to ten to fifteen feet by the end. The water felt warmer than the 57F my computer recorded.