9/24/2007 - Prayers for Nikki.....
Posted by BlowinBubbles
I met Nikki, an all around awesome chick diver and spearo, earlier this year on a trip out of Jupiter . I was solo on the boat, new to the group. She made an effort to draw me into conversation. We discussed spearfishing, being chicks in a male sport, and generally bonded. She convinced me to join Spearboard, then sent me a PM on Scubaboard to remind me when a week had passed and I still hadn't shown up. We only met once, but she left a lasting impression. She was bubbly, smart, funny, and kind. In short, someone I remember thinking that I'd really like to get to know better.
This past Saturday, I went spearfishing off of Boynton. I won't post a profile or report, because sadly, I was a bit negligent and complacent. I went too deep, stayed too long, and in general pushed the envelope. And I'm disappointed in myself, because I know better. At the end of the second dive, I was having trouble manipulating my gun. I was tired of fighting the currents, muscle fatigue had hit, probably more than a little narcosis, and I thought back to my first Jupiter dive and her advice. My exact thought was, "Oh Nikki was right, I really need to work my lats more if I'm gonna do this...I'll send her a PM on Spearboard".
And now, it is tragically appearing that I will not get the chance. At around the same time I was thinking about sending her a message, she was diving 20 miles north of me off of Jupiter. And sometime shortly after that, something apparently went very wrong. She didn't return from the dive. Coast Guard was notified and a search commenced for Saturday and all day Sunday, but no sight of her. Numerous divers have been out, searching both on the surface and underwater. Though the Coast Guard has seemingly suspended search efforts, many individuals who were similarly touched by this awesome woman have pitched in to continue the search by sea and air. And while I'm still praying for a miracle, my faith is shaken with each passing moment.
I feel selfish that i'm reflecting upon my own grief at this time. We met only once and shared some online correspondence. She has so many good friends that know and love her. Her parents are also divers, and her family h as been vocal in their hopes, prayers, and support for the ongoing search. My sympathy and hearts go out them, for their grief must be unimaginable.
I'm grieving because she was my age, shared a love for this sport, and also because it seems so senseless to me. She was a better diver than me, more experienced, in better shape. None of it makes any sense. Jupiter has current, it is notorious, but it's also relatively free of entanglement dangers, and she is a good diver. If she made it to the surface, as seems logical knowing the site and her experience, then why haven't extensive surface searches found her, sunburned, tired and thirsty but with a hell of a story???
I've been in this sport long enough to know that we rarely have the answers that we need. We can read "Lifes Lessons" in Rodales, and it's always so clear cut. But the actual facts are that usually, in diving accidents, we get nothing other than "drowning." And as divers we know that may be the end result but rarely the catalyst. It might help the medical examiner tidy it up and file it away, but the friends and fellow divers are left with the lingering "Why?"
For now I'm still praying for a miracle. I'm praying for her friends, and for those conducting the searches. And if anyone reads this, please say a prayer that this awesome woman will come home.
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9/21/2007 - Amazing dives today....
Posted by BlowinBubbles
Did anyone wonder if I was still alive?? :)
Dive 1:
Buddies: Ed and my dad Jeff
Waves: 2-4 ft, mild chop
Current: mellow
Bottomtime: 46 minutes
Depth: 64 fsw
gas: Nitrox 28%
Viz: 64 feet at least
Dive 2:
Buddies: same
Waves: same
Current: brisk
Bottomtime: 53 minutes
Depth: 63 fsw
gas: Nitrox 31%
Viz: about 40 fsw
Went out of Boynton Beach today for a 2-tank trip. I've looked forward to this trip since I planned it. For one, I'm taking my father diving, who hasn't been under the water in a couple of years. And another, is because I just love Boynton diving. With the great viz, healthy reef, and abundance of fish, it rarely disappoints. Today was no exception.
We descended to perfect viz and mild current. Along this stretch of reef, the relief is well-defined between sand channels and consistently about 6-8 feet, with many crevices perfect for critters to hide. The reef was was absolutely teeming with life, schooling grunts and chubs and tomtates everywhere. I immediately saw a nice spotted drum, one of my favorites. The current gently swept us north, where we encountered a large green turtle. He was friendly, too friendly actually. He came up between my dad and myself, and was basically eye to eye, before drifting back to Ed and showing the same close-up curiosity. Granted, turtles aren't known to be man-eaters, but I have seen them snap at fish before, and give those jaws a wide berth. It would not be the last time my hackles were raised on today's dives.
Drifting further, I caught some movement under one of the crevices and saw the distinctive tails of two large nurse sharks. These are frequently seen on the reefs here, so that's not unusual. What IS unusual was their behavior. Rather than scattering as per usual, they continued to swim under the crevices, obviously feeding. I handed the flag off to Ed and cruised in for a closer look. As I approached within a few feet, they continued to display aggressive behavior, lunging at the reef in search of food. One emerged with the remnants of some unfortunate lesser occupant of the food chain. I couldn't see the type of fish, as it was shredded by this point. Seeing this aggressive behaviour, my common sense resurfaced and I quickly backed off. Nurse sharks are STILL sharks, and I've seen some ugly bites from these predators. One of the boat captains later shared a couple more scary nurse shark stories, and I was glad I thought of better of hanging around.
We continued to drift along the reef ledge for the remainder of our air/bottomtime, seeing a couple more spotted drums, hogfish, black grouper, and the usual south Florida reef suspects in exceptional quantity. We surfaced to calm seas and got back on the boat. Once aboard, we heard the story of the first diver in our group, who was solo diving and hunting. He had descended to the reef and was gathering his gear, when out of nowhere, a pair of sharks appeared and pulled a large green moray eel from it's home "like a worm from a hole." The sharks took a large bite from the eel, blood filling the water. The diver attempted to get as far away from that area as possible. I suspect that the pair of sharks he witnessed feeding were the same ones we encountered later still in feeding mode.
After a surface interval, we descended for the second dive. After the over the top first dive, this one was more mellow. Current was moving a bit tho, and viz had dropped. I did see a school of cuddle fish, something I haven't seen out here. Capt. John said later that they are seeing them more and more on the reefs. Ed was nice enough to carry the flag, so I did get a couple of pics that I'll post later. The reef structure on this dive was more meandering, without alot of definition, and I prefer the first. But it was still lovely. No stingrays or eels or lobster, which is unusual. Still very nice tho. Ed and my dad headed up a little before me, and I enjoyed the solitude for another few minutes before heading up. While hanging on a safety stop solo (which I don't really care much for as I always feel like "bait) I was scanning the reef below looking for anything of interest. I had been there 2.5 minutes when a large shark swam along the reef under me. A careful look showed it to be a bull shark, I'd estimate about 7 feet. And THICK! Pucker factor 3 for the day came into play. They are so thick and have the most powerful and menacing look. Even the aerial view scared me a bit. He didn't hang around and was out of site as soon as my 3 minutes were up, but I opted not to stay for a full 5 minute stop and surfaced. All in all a really amazing day on and under the water. I'm going out tomorrow morning also, leaving the family at home and taking the spear gun. Hmmm...dinner??? :) I'll post pics later.
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1/22/2007 - Random Thoughts on Inspiration
Posted by BlowinBubbles
Randon thoughts on Inspiration I woke up today to gusty winds and I did NOT feel like running.
For those of you that know me, you'll know that up until about the past year and a half, I've been into running as my fitness regimen. After Hayden was born and I BALLOONED up, I started running, and kept that up for several years, throughout all the travels and moving. It was good for me, I felt mentally better, and it keeps my 350 lb. inner Cheeto Freak fron clawing her way out. I can promise I was one of the very few women I ever saw running around San Jose when I lived in Costa Rica. (I did frequently encounter the national soccer team on their training runs, though. That was kinda neat-o.) But for whatever reason: stress, depression, the move, WHATEVER...I slacked off for the past year. And it's has totally shown...I had gained weight, morale is low, just in general have felt like shit.
So around November (that magical 35th birthday approach) I started to try and get back in shape. Rollerblading, walking, riding my bike. It was a start but not enough. At New Years, I made my resolution to start running again. I've gone slowly but have worked my up and I can already tell it's working it's magic. For ME...personally...it is the best exercise. It's my mental and physical fix.
So today, however, facing gusting winds and above normal temps, I just wasn't in the mood. But I put my running ***** on anyway, kicked on some tunes and took off. Immediately I felt like stopping. Then I remembered a conversation that I had with a friend of mine, Leah. She told me about her last marathon, when she was at about the 20 mile mark and really starting to slack off, she looked ahead and saw a man running in front of her. On two prosthetic legs. She said that gave her the motivation she needed...it put her own difficulty in perspective.
I thought that was such a great story....a moment in time when she was personally struggling, and as if on cue, she witnessed something that put it in perspective.
As I continued to pound the pavement in the still gusting winds, this thought continued to evolve. I remembered a time this past fall when I met John Chatterton at the DEMA convention last October. We were discussing the upcoming dives of Matt Johnston, an amazing young man who is vent-dependent due to muscular dystrophy. Matt has made it his goal to scuba dive. Johnn was working on Matt's team to get him in the water that following week. John said, "What an amazing experience. What excuse do the rest of us have? We can strap on tanks and go down anytime we want. This guy is a true inspiration." With the help of John and Richie Kohler, Conch Republic Divers, a crew of medical personal and a hell of a lot guts and determination, Matt did his first reef dive on Hens and Chickens that following week.
So this was MY moment in time...where I found MY inspiration. It's an amazing thing, really. We all have someone or something that helps us see the bigger picture.
So I continued my run, it took a few minutes but I hit my stride and had a great run. I can now face whatever miniscule challenges I may have today. I'm inspired.
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1/12/2007 - Update on Cristal Clear Charters- Good news!
Posted by BlowinBubbles
After my truly crap weekend in Key Largo, my post on Scubaboard about my experience received a lot of attention. The owner of the dive shop went above and beyond the call of duty to make it right. And what is impressive, is that she wants to make it right with the entire dive community. If you're on Scubaboard, please check out the Florida Conch Divers forum. We're loosely trying to plan a pre-Invasion invasion of the Keys. (Ok so maybe it's just another excuse to go to the Keys...but who needs one?)
What is interesting is that I hope people also pay attention to GOOD things I post about dive operators. I always post trip reports and send kudos to the operations when they are good, and have had SO many positive experiences! So keep blowing bubbles, and supporting your LDS and dive operators that make this sport we love so accessible!
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1/8/2007 - Very unpleasant experience with Cristal Clear Charters in Key Largo
Posted by BlowinBubbles
I wanted to relate a very negative experience I had this weekend in the Keys. I've been on lots of boats with lots of salty captains, but this experience was by far the worst I've had, or witnessed. I'm still a bit upset, but will try and relate the story fairly and accurately.
I went down to Key Largo this weekend to meet up with a friend and a group of divers from the Midwest. They were bringing students down to certify in the clear waters. Beats a lake in Arkansas even if conditions weren't great. I had arranged through the shop bringing the group for 2 days of diving.
Day one I went to the dive shop, checked in, showed my c-card and signed my waiver, and boarded the boat. We did two quite uneventful dives on Molasses Reef. I thought it was a bit boring not to move the boat. Conditions were better than the previous two days, and the students were done certifying on the first dive, so they probably would have enjoyed another site. But regardless, the boat stayed put.
Day two I showed up at the boat and loaded my gear. Right before the boat took off, I ran back up to the dive shop to grab a t-shirt. When I got back to the boat and loaded, the dive briefing was still going on, with the instructors talking to the students about the layout of the wreck, the dive plan, etc. My buddy and I discussed our plan, I put my gear together, and sometime shortly after, we took off. The first dive was at the Speigal Grove. This was, btw, my 200th dive. Conditions were GORGEOUS. Very mild current, 60 ft. viz, clear blue water. Best conditions I've seen on the Grove. I descended at the end of the first group. We went with one instructor and the 4-5 new divers and newly certed divers along the boat for awhile. When the newbies had reached their turnaround point for air, my friend and I seperated from them (the instructor leading waved goodbye to us) and continued down the boat and across the superstructure of the boat across to the starboard side and back up to the bow. By this time, the second group was starting to ascend the line. We ascended behind them, and my buddy and I were the last ones on the boat. They unhooked from the mooring, and called roll call. Hmmm...I'm not on the roll call. That's weird, that hasn't happened before. As soon as the DM is finished, I go up to him and tell him that I'm not on the roll call. He says something unmemorable liked "oh really...." or something. I say my name and spell it, and he adds me on. Now I'm certified to the Divecon/Asst. Instructor level. I REALIZE that it's a big deal to not be on a manifest. And I was diving in CA during the whole Driftin' Dan controversy. So I'm in no way minimizing this. As soon as I realized it, I notified someone. And of course it crossed my mind that I was glad I had ascended when I did. Even tho I was the last on the boat, my buddy and I still had bottom time and air left.
So I'm breaking down my gear when the Capt. comes up to me. He says "were you the one not on the manifest?" I said, "Yes." And he proceeds to TEAR ME TO PIECES. In a very hostile and condescending tone, and in front of the whole boat, he proceeds to to tell me that I put his whole operation and his Cpt. license at risk and I was irresponsible for not notifying them earlier. With his finger pointed at my face, he says "I could have had my license suspended for a year THAT'S-NOT-GONNA-HAPPEN" (imagine the finger pointing emphasis on each word) and I was out of the water the rest of the day.
I was FLOORED. Not so much by the subject but how it was approached. I was embarrassed and humiliated. I sort of stuttered and stammered and said that I had notified the divemaster as soon as I'd realized it. He asked why I didn't say anything at roll call before we left dock. APPARENTLY this had been done while I was up at the shop buying a tshirt. Probably 5 minutes passed from the time that I got on the boat, and we left dock. No roll call in that time. And I (mistakenly) did not realize that I had to sign in again for a multi-day trip. Frequently, in my experience, a waiver is signed on the first day to cover the trip. I had tanks on the boat, it was the same DM from the day before, and it truly just never crossed my mind. Obviously, I will not make this mistake again. Now why it was not caught at the gate, when a headcount should have been done, both letting divers IN the water, and OUT of the water...is another issue.
I was still just seethingly pissed that he had treated me the way he had. If he had come to me...and spoken to my like a human, and said, "look, this is a big problem. I don't have your waiver, I can't risk letting you dive again." I'd have had been a little bummed, but certainly would have understood their protocol. But to be treated the way he treated me, in my opinion, was inexcusable. I don't believe I've been treated that way in my entire adult life. After the divers all went down for their second dive, I made my feelings quite clear to him. He offered a condescending apology, basically "I'm sorry you feel I was disprectful to you." then walked away and wouldn't make eye contact with me the rest of the day. As soon as we got back to shore, I left.
I will accept my share of the fault because I didn't verify that I needed to sign in again. And I will take that lesson to heart. The thought of being left to hang on to a mooring ball, and wait for the next charter to (hopefully) show up soon was scary. And I will be listening for the dock roll call more closely. But I still think this particular captain was completely out of line for his handling.
So....there is my experience with Cristal Clear Charters in Key Largo. NEEDLESS to say, I wouldn't recommend them to my dog to dive. And to be fair, their style of diving is not to my liking anyway. Cattle call boat, the tank racks wouldn't accomadate my steel 100's, and they seemed not interested in letting divers control their own profile. I had decided this well before I was treated so poorly. I'll stick with the several tried and true great operations in the Keys.
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12/30/2006 - Why I'm glad I didn't shore dive this past week....
Posted by BlowinBubbles
Bull Sharks Lurking off of local beaches
Glad surge conditions kept me dry!!! I've seen a bull shark in the distance off of Boynton before, but a school feeding close to shore would have had me scared out of my wits.
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12/25/2006 - End of year ramblings...
Posted by BlowinBubbles
Well it's been quite a year, on the surface and under the water. In July I went to Cocos Island, a trip I've dreamed of and planned for almost 2 years. It was everything that I had hoped for...and then some. The constant action and big animal encounters was almost overwhelming. And my roommate turned into a friend for life, visiting me last month for some wild topside South Beach partying. (Pics on MySpace.) The downside was that I found it hard to get back in the water knowing I couldn't top that experience. My next trip back in the water was in FL with rippin' awful current, making my Costa Rican "advanced" diving look tame kids play. But later in the fall I was able to reprioritize and find the joy in diving.
My goal was to get 70 logged dives, and I fell 3 dives short, despite driving out to Ocean Point several days last week hoping to find divable shore conditions to check out the wreck of the Breconshire, a steel steamer that sunk in the late 1800's. No such luck, swells were high and surface chop looked like it would make for a lot of surge, not fun conditions for the wreck that lies offshore 100 yards. Also checked out Pepper Park, in Ft. Pierce, and didn't see any better conditions. Sooo...have to settle for 67 logged dives for 2006. I'm headed down to Key Largo next week after to meet up with friends and dive. We have a drift on the Speigal Grove and then a night dive on the Duane scheduled after, which if we're able to make it happen (weather cooperates) will be AWESOME! And the BD and I might grab a trip out of Boynton on the way down so he can see a couple of the wrecks there. The diving off of Boynton is so overlooked, but it's beautiful. I've seen 40 Goliath Groupers on one dive on the Castor. Current can be a little tricky but worth the effort.
So not sure I'm going to make any "goals" for 2007. Just not sure I'm in that place. I'm changing jobs the second week of January, going from ER to Recovery Room (and DAYS again...after 4 years on nights.) And still thinking about going back to school. I need my Tropical fix every couple of month so I always manage to make it to the Keys to get wet, or Dave talks me into some spearfishing (and flag carrying) off of Boynton. No need to set goals. I'm on Island Time. 
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12/24/2006 - Key Largo Diving, Dec 12, 2006
Posted by BlowinBubbles
Oops, belated trip report for my dives with the BD taking his AOW and Nitrox.
As he was sick the day before, we left dock with his scolpalamine patch firmly ducktaped in place for a morning dive on the Duane. The 45 minute boat ride was pretty rough but no one was sick. We moored up and splashed down on the Duane. One of the mooring balls was missing, only 2 were in place. I have come to know this wreck pretty well so I didn't care that I didn't know what mooring ball we were going down on. It turned out to be the bow. (the bow and stern were the only mooring balls remaining) I passed the BD and his instructor going down...it was GORGEOUS! Very little current, good viz. Dick from Buffalo was my buddy again, and I led the way through the wreck. Going into one of the cargo holds, I turned a quick corner to enter another, and ended up a foot away from the mouth of a 400 lb Goliath Grouper. It was AWESOME! I turned around to see if Dick had entered behind me yet (he hadn't) so I followed the Grouper as he turned and swam out another door. By the time I reached the door and exited the wreck, he was gone and not to be seen again. Dick followed me maybe 10 seconds later but we never saw the grouper again. I guess he was sleeping in and I interrupted his morning nap. Poor thing. But that was as close as I'd come to one and it's daunting to see how HUGE that mouth is!!! Dick and I stayed as long as possible, and met the others as they were headed up the line. Great dive. The Duane usually is.
Second dive was a spot called Pickles Reef. Named thus for the wreck that lies nearby of a ship that had been carrying wartime contraband cement in pickles barrells. The water and seeped in, the wood had rotted away, leaving only the now concrete shaped barrels. They DM recommended going the other way due to surge and not trying to find the wreck. I splashed down and never did find Dick, so I decided to find the wreck. Everyone else went the other way, I went towards the wreck. And found it quickly....along with the DM pulling up lobster. Hmmmm. Sneaky guy didn't want us messing up his bug spot. But it was pretty cool actually, the wreck was just piles now, the pickle barrels were pretty cool. One nice sized nurse shark swam by, I found out later he had been scared away from his overhang by the divers who had swam the other way. After checking out the wreck, I headed along the channels going the other way, saw lots of life on this dive, several eels, 2 more nurse sharks, one large one, lots of fish. I saw one good sized legal black grouper, and also a nice hogfish. Both looked...yummy. :) The Grouper was under a ledge and fled quickly. The hogfish seemed quite oblivious to the fact that he was a very tasty specimen as well as living in a hunting allowed zone. He hung around entirely too long, he could have been dinner 3 or 4 times over. I tried to scare him a little, just hoping he might think to HIDE the next time a diver came around. Or find the Marine sanctuary closeby. He was quite handsome but as fish tend to be, not overly bright. Anyway, spend about 45 minutes just playing around, never got deeper than 43 feet. Very easy pretty dive.
On Dive 3, (the afternoon dive, we went back to dock.) we went to Conch Wall for Ed to do a drift for his last AOW dive. We went down in about 60 feet and drifted along a wall. We were following Ed, and spent a nice 23 minutes drifting. Ed got called back by the DM for going too deep once. Heehee...usually that's ME getting in trouble for that. After 23 minutes he thumbed it and we started heading up. When we surfaced he showed me his computer...he was totally locked out and showing him in DECO. I couldn't see what his DECO obligation was because he hadn't showed me on the way up, and now we were past the ceiling so just locked out. That made NO sense to me because while I hadn't been paying that close of attention to my exact numbers, I remember my last reading as 18 minutes of BTR. Since we were on the same gas and same profiles and silimar computers, I couldn't imagine how that could hapen. I waited til after the 24 hours were up and tried to read it, but no luck. I called Oceanic, and they explained that the computer is out of calibration, it needs to be sent in. Apparently the computer is reading that we're at an altitude of greater than 14,000 feet. I live in South Florida....I found that hysterical. The only elevation for miles is the landfill. So...no one got bent, just a computer error. Good reason to carry a backup!!
But it was a nice couple of days of diving, BD is AOW and nitrox certified, I got my Keys fix. All is good. :)
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12/14/2006 - Key Largo Diving, Dec 11, 2006
Posted by BlowinBubbles
Dive #1
Location: The Eagle, Key Largo (Islamorada) FL
Buddy: Dick from NY
Gas: 30% enriched air
Max depth: 112 feet
Dive time: 43 minutes
Ocean conditions: 3-5 foot swells, heavy surge, chop, minimal current, with 50 foot viz. Water temp 75 degrees more or less.
Dive #2
Location: A reef in the Keys. :)
Buddy: Dick from NY
Gas: 33% enriched air
Max depth: 43 feet
Dive time: 48 minutes
Ocean conditions: 3-5 foot swells, moderate surge, chop, no current, 50-60 foot viz. 76 degrees
Well after a bit of a hiatus from diving, Ed and I made it down to Key Largo for some diving with Conch Republic Divers. He got his advanced open water and Nitrox done, I just went along for the ride...er...dive....whatever.
Conditions Monday were ROUGH (Ok rough for Florida...I'm a WWW now) with 5 foot seas on the crossing over to the Eagle. Half the boat was sick, but we splashed down for a lovely dive on this very quaint Key's artificial reef. Intentionally scuttled in 1985, she is a freighter that lies in 115 feet. The bow and stern are seperated in a gash down the middle, with the bow and stern sections resting to port on a sandy bottom. While not my favorite Keys site, it's in the top 5 and I always enjoy a trip out there. I was buddied up with Dick, a diver on his first Keys trip who was visiting from cold Buffalo, NY. With the conditions being what they were, and knowing how surge can be, I told him I'd meet him at the bottom. I descended first down the line, and awaited the others. When they didn't show up and I didn't see them coming down, I took my own little tour of the ship, swimming thru some of the corridors close by the bow mooring line. I returned to the line and saw them descending about 8 minutes into the dive. I guess a surface gear issue had caused a delay. So no solo dive on the Eagle, darnit. I took Dick around on a tour of the boat, heading first where the big Goliath grouper likes to hang out. He wasn't to be found today, so we toured the stern section, then back up to the bow, through some cargo holds and along the structure of the boat. We made our way back to the bow and swam around til our bottom time was dwindling. As I made it to the mooring line, one of the smaller Goliath groupers (200 lbs or so) had decided to make an appearance. I got Dick's attention, as I knew he wanted to see one. He was able to snap a few pictures before we had to ascend. A very nice dive.
On the surface, the seas quickly got the best of half of the boat, even the instructor was ill. As is the norm, I was fine. We made it over to the second dive, a reef. I should remember the name but I don't. :) I can't be bothered with little details like the NAME of divesites!  It was your typical reef. I tried to show Dick some of the interesting marine life...like a moray eel and a spotted drum. But everytime I looked around he had disappeared. I didn't mind much, I'm not the most attentive buddy anyway and he obviously was competent, had loads more experience than me. We did find each other throughout the dive, and managed to surface (both of us a long ways from the boat.) I let them come and get me this time, but in hindsight I should have swam because trying to get on a free-floating boat in surge and 5 foot seas isn't very fun.
Since the boat was sick, we bagged the afternoon dives. Bummer because it was scheduled as a twofer on the Speigal Grove. But seas were not cooperating, everyone was sick ( well not me ) and I knew it wasn't the best for Ed to try and do 3 deep dives as much as he was feeding the fish. So he went back to do his classroom work...and I took a nap. :)
Tuesday morning we did three dives, the Duane, Pickles Reef, and Conch wall. I'll post a report on those later...it's my naptime. Happy Bubbles!!!
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11/17/2006 - The Topside Benefits of Diving....
Posted by BlowinBubbles
My friend that I met on my Cocos trip came into town this weekend. She made the LONG trip from south England...en route to the Bahamas. She's in so many ways my idol, as she went home and quit her day job to take up dive instruction.
We laughed and joked and socialized tonight...bonding in that awesome way that seems unique chick divers from around the world that share a love of the amazing underwater world. We just had the BEST time!!! And it brings to mind...how awesome this sport is...and amazingly cool it is at bringing people together.
Just wanted to share as I'm feeling a bit sentimental. When I get bored topside, or conditions suck, all I need to think about is the relationships I've forged through this amazing pastime, and the value of these wonderful friendships.
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11/8/2006 - Diving and Spearfishing (well sorta) off of Boynton Beach, FL 11-7-06
Posted by BlowinBubbles
Location: Boynton Ledges, off of Boynton Beach, FL
Buddies: Dave B.
Max Depth: 83 feet (deepest I've been on the ledges out here)
Bottomtime: 58 minutes
Gas: 32 percent
Viz: Outstanding 80+ feet
Water temp: 76 degrees
Today I went out with Loggerhead Charters for a two tank trip on Boynton Ledges. We did two reef dives, and today was the first day I went with a speargun!! That was an experience. More on that later.
First dive was a gorgeous dive. The weather here has been pretty crummy, overcast with rain and high winds. I was really expecting conditions to be crap. Seas were 4-5 feet on the ride out, which also didn't give me an indication that I would be in for nice dives. When we got to the site, Dave and I backward rolled off the sides and went around to the step to get our guns and the flag. As is the usual custom, Hilary took the flag. I was hoping that if I had a gun...I might get a reprieve. Oh no. :) Guess that's Hilary's pink duty from now on. ANYWAY...on the swim to the back of the boat, I was quite surprised to see the sand clearly some 60+ feet below. Current was running to the south today, ununusal for this area that fringes the Gulf Stream...but it was still great conditions. I grabbed the flag and my girl gun and we descended. I had weighted 2 pounds extra to give myself a bit of leverage to adjust to the gun, etc. Turned out to be unnecessary, I ditched the extra 2 pounds on dive two.
We went down and instead of just going with the current, we swam along the ledges....into the crevices and the channels where the reef fingers out, looking for game. I was really into this for ...about 2 minutes.  Then my natural ADD kicked in and I started looking at all the pretty fishies. At one point, we were coming up from a channel against the main reef, and along the ledge about 10 feet above were a fairly large school of spadefish. They were hanging along the ledge, in between two rather large basket sponges, and they made a really breathtaking sight. I was MAJORLY wishing I had a camera in my hand instead of a gun. And we kept SWIMMING...it was work! About 40 minutes into the dive, we had seen a few hogfish and snapper but nothing that was legal. I was lagging behind...all this swimming was wearing me out! I was about 20-30 feet behind Dave when I saw a nice sized grouper. I thought he saw it also, and wondered if he was going to shoot at it. It swam around a few times, and I guess Dave finally saw it because he started stalking it. It was darting around pretty good (throwin' up some OJ on him...as he put it) and THWACK he took a shot....and missed. It swam RIGHT by me...and around me a couple times in it's confusion. And I started laughing not only because he missed it, but also because he was having convulsions underwater. He was over there screaming into his reg. I thought he was cussing, as he talks all the time under water and I just can't understand him so I tune it out. But then I realized he was screaming, "SHOOT IT SHOOT IT!!!" and it was ONLY THEN that I realized...."Oh...I have a SPEARGUN in my hand! I came out here to learn to spearfish!!!" DUH!! Oh well. When I realized this....I started laughing hysterically. He just shook his head and started swimming off. I think he was a bit frustrated with me.  At that point, we were reaching our time limits (and I had probably used up 200 psi cracking up under water) so we headed up.
On the boat, of course I took some grief for my somewhat miserable performance. I kept reminding them that it was my first time. No one cared. 
On this dive, we hit a max depth of 83 feet. The water was clear and blue and BEAUTIFUL!! We surfaced from 80 feet on the sand, and could still see the bottom from the surface. The reef ledge came up about 15-20 feet in some spots, providing gorgeous views. Even with no fish for my supper, it was a gorgeous dive. And even with all the extra swimming, I still had a SAC of about .46 and I was quite pleased with that.
Dive #2
Location: Boynton Ledges
Buddies: Dave B.
Depth: 64 fsw
Bottomtime: 63 minutes
Viz- Outstanding at least 64 fsw
Gas: 35%
Swells: 2-3 feet
Temp: 76 degrees
Dive #2 was also on the ledges, a bit further north and west of the original site. I left the speargun on the boat this dive, so we could take the bug gear. We descended and did about the same profile. As Dave was hunting, he swam quite a bit more, out along the channels. I was content to stay along the ledges and look for bugs. Only saw one, and I waited patiently til he made his way back to me so I could point it out and he snagged it. I'm sure it's in his freezer now as we speak. Or he ate it for lunch. Either way, he offered it to me and I declined. I was still feeling a bit guilty about the grouper, I guess. 
Again was a beautiful dive, and it was a reminder of why I love diving in this area. I've been so "Blah" about diving since coming back from Cocos Island. I guess diving like Cocos really spoils one. Seeing amazing BIG stuff on every dive is hard to beat. But today, the water was warm and beautiful and blue, the life on the reef very prolific, and the whole day was relaxing and a perfect way to spend a day. Now that the air temps have cooled a bit here, I've switched back to my 5mm and was toasty warm under water, and comfy above water on the surface interval. I always love winter diving, both in CA and now here as well. So anyway, it was a typical drift dive with the usual suspects. I did see a large spotted drum, one of my favorites, and you don't see those everyday so it's always a treat. I had stopped at one point to look at something, and Dave pointed out a LARGE moray about a foot from me that I hadn't even noticed. I screamed. Funny how easily that sound carries underwater.  I'm still nervous around those, still remembering the scubaboard post about the guy that had his forearm devoured by a moray in BVI. When Dave thumbed the dive, I wasn't really ready to go up. I looked at my watch and realized we were at a 57 minute bottom time. Oops. That meant we'd be over the boat imposed 60 minute limit if we did a safety stop. Amazing how time flies. So reluctantly we headed up, hung at 15 feet for about 4 minutes, and surfaced. It was just a great day diving.
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10/19/2006 - Shark Dive off Catalina
Posted by Dr. Bill
Dive Report: Avalon Banks, 5 miles off Avalon, Catalina.
Depth: 48/ 62 ft (bottom depth 1,500 ft)
Dive times: 50/ 53 min
Viz: A hazy 30-40'
Temps: ~62 degrees
Currents: light
Went out with Scuba Luv on the King Neptune Monday to see what their shark dives were all about. We motored out 4-5 miles off Avalon out over the Avalon Banks with a bottom depth of 1,500 ft. Filmed Avalon Mayor Bob Kennedy and the rest of the crew setting up the shark cage, as well as a diver or two who inspected the "flimsy" aluminum cage with some concern.
Laura, a third year law student, was the first one in the water and in the cage. I guess she is just used to swimming with "sharks." She was out of the cage quickly and all the divers swam free with the cage as a depth reference or resting point.
A five foot blue arrived first on the scene. After checking us out from a distance, it made several close passes allowing me to get some good video footage from which to extract stills for my newspaper column (archived on my web site at http://www.starthrower.org/products/DDDB/DDDB_200-249/DDDB_212%20blue%20sharks%20pt%201.htm and http://www.starthrower.org/products/DDDB/DDDB_200-249/DDDB_213%20blue%20sharks%20pt%202.htm). In fact, it accidentally bumped my housing as I was descending to film it from above and it decided to ascend directly beneath me. Read more in my column.
Also had two smaller (about 3') blues and a 4-5' mako appear, but they kept their distance.
I'm not a big fan of blue water diving, but this dive was lots of fun and the group of divers on board were great, too.
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10/15/2006 - What is the world coming to...
Posted by BlowinBubbles
When a ragged disgusting towel can become a commodity???? lol
Click here to see the latest and best scam in SoCal diving. 
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10/14/2006 - Oh the days...
Posted by BlowinBubbles
When I had time to blog...endless time... Now it seems I'm busy all the time, between work and the kids. And since I'm already swamped with no free time...I think I'll go back to school. I want to consider pursuing an advanced practice degree in nursing...be it a practitioner or anesthetist. I'm pretty sure I'll be able to squeeze a few more hours in the day. I'm at my best under pressure. ...get it...diving..under pressure?!  I KILL me....
Well I moved to Florida to dive, right? Seemed like I did more diving when I lived in NM!! But...
I went out a couple weekends ago with Conch Republic Divers in Tavernier (Key Largo). We did 4 dives in 2 days. Day one was on the Speigal Grove, and I did one dive and sat out to catch some rays the second dive. No really...I had been up more than 24 hours...the current was RIPPIN' on the first dive...and I just didn't feel like going. That is very unusual for me, I'm usually of the mindset to DIVE DIVE DIVE! Day two was the Duane on the first dive. It also had a pretty brisk current, but I was well rested and I never care because I JUST LOVE THAT DIVE! It's everything a wreck should be (for a rec wreck diver like me) Open, easy to go thru, lots of growth on the hull. Really a beautiful dive. The second dive of the day was on Snapper's Ledge. It was shallow, max depth was 35 feet or so. The highlight of the dive was finding THREE Flamingo Tongues, all on the same sea fan. It was quite beautiful...and picturesque. My camera was topside. Figures. I also saw a nurse shark, and while I was swimming thru a swimthru, 2 reef sharks swam over it. Figures. Such is life. Still had a great time...as is the norm in the Keys. And in talking with the DM on the boat, it turns out we know many of the same awesome people in Ventura, CA, where he used to live and I used to dive.
My fun news is that my roommate on my Cocos trip is coming to the States (She is in England) for a few days and we're going to be able to get together. That is what is so great about diving. You meet so many great people...and sometimes the bond is just instant because you share a love of the amazing underwater world. It's truly unique and special.
So it's good to see that everyone else is still diving and trip reporting. Life has been hectic and unpredictable of late...but it's good to read everyone's reports and see their pictures. I hope to get more active again soon.
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10/11/2006 - Ah Baloney
Posted by Dr. Bill
On a recent dive at a site I often visit, I decided to explore an area that I had never looked at before. In fact, it was an area I doubt any diver has really looked at because it just does not look diveable.
As I approached my intended exploration site, I noticed a green abalone. Although most abalone were decimated decades ago by the one-two punch of sport and commercial harvesting, and a disease known as withering syndrome, it is not unusual for me to see 1-3 abalone at this site if I look hard enough.
I continued into the area and discovered a 5-6' long crevice with 7 abalone in it. Now THAT was a find. Abalone are broadcast spawners that need to be no more than 18" apart for successful reproduction. I continued on and counted 28 green abalone before I stopped counting! This is the largest cluster I've seen in about 25 years. I'm estimating there were at least 100 abalone in this one small area.
I reported the find to the California Dept. of Fish & Game. Hopefully this refugium will provide a breeding cluster to help restock abalone populations over the next few decades.
I also saw additional abs at the other two sites we dove today. One adult looked like the flat abalone. One of the young ones also looked different... possibly a baby pink or even a white.
Also filmed my second and third brachiopods. They were on the bottom at about 175 ft. Cool.
Healthy kelp is beginning to return at some of the sites on the windward side of the island and the West End. Great to see real kelp "forests" reappearing after the summer's blast furnace.
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10/5/2006 - A Heck of a Great Day!
Posted by Dr. Bill
After a week out of the water, I went down to Scuba Luv this morning expecting a simple two-tank dive since there were only five divers on board besides myself. However, not long after I entered the door, I discovered this would be a special dive day.
The King Neptune had been to Farnsworth Bank Monday (why didn't I go down to dive???) and the anchor chain had gotten caught on the rocky reef. Rather than risk destroying part of the reef, the Captain left it with a line tied to a buoy so we "had" to return today to retrieve it. Darn!
Arrived at the site and our DM Larry dove down the buoy line and attached a lift bag to the anchor. When he returned to the surface, he discovered the lift bag should have been left uninflated so the captain asked me to go down (camera in hand) to remove the lift bag from the anchor.
I descended to about 90 feet and followed the anchor line up over the upper pinnacle (~62 ft) and back down to the plateau at about 70 ft. Camera in hand I tried to loosen the bowline, but the lift bag rendered the line too taught to loosen the knot. Three times I partially deflated the lift bag until I could finally untie the knot and send it to the surface.
On to the real "porpoise" of the dive... videotaping. Yep, the red spotted starfish was present and filmed. Corynactid anemones, painted greenlings, various sea urchins (much healthier in these deeper, cooler waters than on the warm leeward side of Catalina), purple hydrocoral, bat stars, knobby stars, blood stars, etc., etc.
For the first time ever at Farnsworth I stayed above 100 ft and didn't even go into deco (another first).
The highlight of the dive was what I saw above me... a HUGE baitball of at least 3-4 different species and at least two dozen sea lions diving through it for a lunchtime snack. Very cool. I filmed mid-water between 30-50 ft for the last 15 min of the dive, filming the baitball and the sea lions. Very nice.
Afterwards the captain said he thought we'd try China Point. I don't think I've dived there since the mid 70's so that was a treat. Of interest to everyone is the fact that on this colder, more nutrient rich side of the island the kelp forests are already showing signs of recovery! There was a nice healthy forest of young kelp (1-5 stipe "plants" with smaller holdfasts) growing there and it was fun to once again be in a real kelp forest after 2 months of "no kelp" on the leeward side.
To add icing to the cake of a great day, when I returned to my "office" to edit the footage, there was an e-mail from the Island Company that still owns 11% of the island. A Japanese TV crew had been out filming a news story to attract Japanese visitors to Catalina. The footage they shot on the semisubmersibles and glassbottom boats wasn't good enough, but they saw my "Munching & Mating" DVD that plays on the semisubmersibles and wanted to buy about 10 seconds of my footage to use in the story.
What a great day... two fantastic dives and some unanticipated income to bring me closer to buying the high definition video camera I hope to switch to later this month!! And, yes, there was a "free" lunch on board the boat!
Dr. Bill
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9/28/2006 - Get Them While They're Hot... Six DVD's for $100 US
Posted by Dr. Bill
After transitioning from Hi-8 to digital-8 to mini-DV, I'm now looking at one more step "up..." to HDV! Astoundingly I discovered from my contacts at Light & Motion that the video housing I've used for all three prior formats will also house the new Sony HC-3 HD camcorder. Now that's what I call a GREAT product... no dedicated housings for me!
Now to acquire my new Sony HC-3, I'm offering (for a limited time) ALL SIX of my educational underwater DVD's for $100 US plus $10 shipping (Priority Mail in the US only) and California state sales tax ($8.75) if sent within the state. That's a $45 savings off the normal retail price.
For further details, see the following web page on my site:
http://www.starthrower.org/products/dvd/DVD_special.htm
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9/28/2006 - Practice and Timing
Posted by Dr. Bill
As for time,. I haven't had much lately so my blogs are few and far between... still diving "too" frequently, editing the footage, and creating new episodes for my cable TV show to have much time to blog. That bwill change as "winter" (in SoCal?) approaches.
Had an interesting day yesterday. It was a three tank dive on my fave, Scuba Luv's King Neptune. I've been doing a lot of deep (> 130 ft) diving to film the critters there in anticipation of a new episode of my TV show on "Deep" Ecology.
First two dives were to 180 feet for a total dive time each of 50 min. I issentially follow a transect line straight down from the anchor line to max depth, move about 15 ft up current (to get out of the resuspended silt cloud) and swim an up transect to the shallows.
Both dives were uneventful with no problems. Plenty to film given my limited bottom times (I only stay below 100 ft for 10-15 min), and quite different life at the two dive sites.
I planned to only go to 140 ft on my third dive and as I approached that max depth, I looked up to see a torpedo (Pacific electric) ray about 7 ft above me! I started filming it and it stayed with me for quite a long time. I kept an eye on my deco obligation as I filmed and as I neared 30 min, I started heading back to the shallows making several deep stops along the way.
I've gotten pretty good at judging my air consumption and managing my gas (straight air). I figured I would complete the full 31 min deco obligation using my primary tank. I always keep the pony mounted, but have never had to use it for deco.
I completed the obligatory deco as my SPG hit 600 psi. I practiced gas management for years when I was doing non-deco dives so I'd be ready for these type dives. Since I'd been on two very deep dives, I decided to do an extra 10 min of deco using my pony which gave me a good safety margin (all other obligatory deco stops were similar over-extended for safety).
The take home message? The years I spent practicing gas management during my non-deco dives really has paid off now that I do frequent deco dives. I used to set goals for my diving... for example, one dive to 100 ft for 45 min and a second one with the "same" profile from the second half of my HP120 tank. I'd have to adjust my depths through the two dives to make sure I had enough gas to complete my goal and surface with ~500 psi. It has given me a good knowledge base on my air consumption rates at different depths... pretty handy skill now!
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9/13/2006 - "Nothing" Left Down There
Posted by Dr. Bill
I mentioned that I've been doing a lot of deep diving on air lately. I want to again emphasize that I do NOT recommend this to anyone else. It is not a decision I can make for anyone but me.
With that said, it has been interesting to watch the changes at these depths over the last few weeks. Our summer surface temperatures were incredibly warm this year, especially in late July and early August. Surface temps of 79 F were recorded on several days. However temps at the depths I was diving were as low as 50 F (even colder than they were during the winter).
In the past few weeks surface temps have dropped back to the low 70's. However temps at depth have risen significantly. At one site temps at 160 ft were 50-53 degrees 2-3 weeks ago. Last weekend it was a balmy 63 F!
Unfortunately this has affected the critters that I descend to film. Many of the species appear to have gone deeper in search of colder water... apparently to depths where I won't follow. Since they are not there, my profiles at these sites will return to normal rec diving limits. My only interest in the deep diving is to film the critters that are there.
Have a group of divers from another board in today thru Sunday, so it is time to get wet (or at least prepare the gear).
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9/7/2006 - Please read re: hotels when diving the Oriskany..BEWARE!
Posted by BlowinBubbles
Hello Fellow Divers and Bloggie Friends,
I had plans to dive the USS Oriskany in July, but due to a change in my plans, I had to cancel. I had reservations at Ashton Inn and Suites. I cancelled my reservation a full 3 days in advance (and their cancellation policy is 24 hours.)
I noticed in July that I had been charged and called immediately. I was told they had my cancellation on record, they were sorry and I would have my card refunded.
2 months later, faxed credit card receipts, and unfulfilled promises of resolutions, and I still have not received a refund. Not only that, I was treated very rudely by the staff at Ashton Inn and Suites. I was told that I must have fabricated the cancellation number (that I was told in July was listed in their records) and they refuse to refund my $94.78. (This person also refused to give me her name.)
So....when making reservations, I would be highly suspect of doing business with this facility or giving them your credit card. And I would encourage everyone to explore other lodging options in the area. If this has happened once, it will happen again. And if you have to cancel, plan on being out a nights stay, even if you keep all copies of your records, as I did.
Of course I've disputed it with the credit card company, and am confident I'll receive a satisfactory outcome. I've also filed a complaint with the Better Business Bureau as well as looking into a complaint with the Consumer Fraud Division of the District Attorney's Office for Escambia County. (Obviously, I'm ticked. It's not the money..it's the principle. And the money. That's a day on a dive boat!!)
But just wanted to warn anyone who wants to go dive this site. I want to go! Very soon! But will certainly be finding other lodging!
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About Me
What can I say about my life as a scuba instructor. It is a dream come true for me. Doing what I love to do and watching my students gain the experience and confience to discover all the unique treasures the ocean has to offer.
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