During a recent relaxing three-day cruise to the Bahamas, Adrian and I decided to mix a bit more excitement into our weekend and dive with the sharks at Stuart Cove in Nassau, Bahamas.  Having heard so many great things throughout the years about Stuart Cove’s shark dive, I was more than excited and looking forward to taking pictures of a few small Caribbean reef sharks.

In anticipation of the upcoming shark dive, the prior week I did my homework and prepped for the dives by watching the daily shows on Discovery Channel’s Shark Week.  What a mistake!  Every time I saw a set of razor sharp teeth, tearing through flesh at will, I developed goose bumps and seriously questioned the sanity of my decision to proceed with my plans.

On the day of the dive, the bus ride from the Nassau Pier to the Stuart’s Cove Dive Shop again gave me the opportunity to reconsider my decision.  After signing what appeared to be a mountain-high pile of waivers, we met on the boat and headed out to dive with the sharks.  On the boat we received a detailed briefing showing us how-to and how-not-to behave with the sharks.

After a short ride, we arrived at the dive site and anchored.  As if on command, the sharks were already circling the boat!  We geared up and entered the water.  Talk about a giant stride!  Entering the water was like taking my heart in my hand and throwing it over board and jumping in after it.  Immediately the “Jaws” soundtrack began playing in my head.

I looked around a bit and realized that we had anchored right at the top of the wall and could see the sharks come up from the deep to check us out.  To my surprise, they kept a safe distance and did not come closer than about ten feet.  I did realize that some of the sharks were really interested in me, much more than in the other divers.  Apparently the recharging of the strobe on my Sea&Sea MM II EX camera was of particular interest to the sharks.  At that point instinct kicked in, a calm came over me and I was immediately fascinated by the sharks as they curiously approached me and posed in front of the camera.

The dive consisted of a guided tour around a nearby wreck and a cruise along the wall.  Even though the water was rich deep blue and the sites were beautiful, all I could see was the streamlined grey sharks as they escorted us throughout our dive.  We all got back on the boat after the divemaster gave us the signal, and got ready for the second dive.

Suiting up for this dive was different than any dive I had previously been on.  The dive store crew, as well as Alex Antoniou, the professional videographer from The Shark Research Institute, who happened to be filming onboard, all began donning metal mesh shark suits!  Well, here came the goose bumps again!  I looked around, but nobody seemed to be offering me a metal mesh suit.  And to make me even more apprehensive, the captain, who would be conducting the actual shark feeding, put on a hockey helmet in addition to the metal suit!  The goose bumps smoothed out a bit when they proceeded to give us an even more detailed briefing.  By the end of the briefing, I was thrilled!  This was what I had come here to do – fear or no fear!

Upon entering the water, the entire group was led to the semi-circular clearing on the sandy bottom.  We kneeled down in a semicircle, as if preparing to offer a sacrifice to the ocean’s gods in the center.  After we were all situated, the shark feeder slowly descended with a large metal box filled with chunks of fish.  This was different than the first dive.  Without hesitation, the sharks swarmed the shark feeder from the onset, thus the need for the hockey helmet and metal mesh suit.  So many grey reef sharks surrounded the feeder, ranging in size from four to ten feet.  At some point, the feeder was barely visible.  He slowly worked his way down to the middle of the semi-circle.  Sharks, sharks, sharks, in front of me, next to me, coming right at me!

Before I could get a straight thought, the first one already nibbled on my camera! Well, it took a bite at my strobe, but did not like its taste. The electricity created by the firing and recharging of my strobe must have been very tempting for them. They kept brushing by me and bumping into me.  A few even knocked me over a couple of times.  Several times a shark came right at me, and I just ducked, making myself really small in order for it to swim over me. Two times a shark swam at me almost at bottom level and I had to use my camera to push it of over my head. Contrary to my initial thoughts regarding this dive, at no time did the sharks appear to be threatening to me or interested in biting me, they were just checking me out and looking for snacks.  Throughout this dive, I took some close-up shots of the sharks and watched the shark feeder systematically feed the sharks, one piece of fish at a time.  At no point did he let the situation get out of control.  Sure he got pushed around by the larger sharks, while they attempted to get first dibs of the fish, but what can you expect – they’re sharks!

Back on the boat I was speechless for a while, completely in awe! I felt it was a big honor for me, to be able to go on this dive with so many large sharks and have such a close and intimate encounter with them. It changed my relationship to these creatures forever – I am still in awe.  What an AMAZING encounter!

Click here for more fantastic shark photos by Sandra Soler

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What good fortune that DEMA was in Miami Beach October 8-11, and better fortune that we just so happened to be on vacation that week.  I contacted NAUI to see how I may obtain tickets, and they were generous enough to comp Rick and I for a free pass to the exhibits.  We arrived soon after opening on Thursday, and to say we were overwhelmed is an understatement.  We stayed until closing, and we are not really sure we actually saw every booth.

DEMA is the place to see the newest, and sometimes wackiest, developments.  Three dramatically new fin designs caught our eye.  Freedom Fins of Miami Beach is developing the strangest of all...fold-down fins that you wear like leg warmers.  A tube fits over your calf and the blades fold down when you're ready to dive.  Imagine going on a beach dive and not struggling to put your fins on, but instead just reaching down to fold them into position.  The concept is so new that they don't have a working model or a website yet; they were at DEMA in order to gauge response to their concept.  I must say, most people were giving them some strange looks.  Another manufacturer had a dolphin-shaped fin that you put both feet into, and yet another has developed a fin blade that straps onto your sport sandals.  They were marketing them as the perfect travel fin to pack flat into your suitcase.  Another concept that caught my eye was a telescoping snorkel.  It folds up compactly while you are diving, to eliminate mask wobble and facilitate streamlining, then pulls out to a full-length snorkel while you are on the surface.  Yes, I want one!  We also visited with some kayak manufacturers and Rick became so interested in the sport that we visited Florida Bay Outfitters the day after DEMA to rent some and try them out.

And of course there were the photography exhibitors.  You can imagine how my pro photographer spouse was drooling over the offerings.  The one I'd like Santa to bring isn't even on the market yet...a Sea & Sea digital camera in a compact housing that can be used topside and below, that should be in dive shops by Thanksgiving.

Many destination exhibitors were giving out CDs and I've been enjoying their movies on days I can't dive.  Next month I'll be reviewing a few of the ones you can obtain for free on your own.  There are also several stunning new dive magazines this year which I will be adding to our Magazines Links page.

The destination booths filled up our goodie bags with pounds and pounds of slick brochures, tempting us with every type of dive trip possible.  From Fiji to the Florida Keys, from slick luxury live-aboards to sailboat/SCUBA charters for twelve, from the Antarctic to the Flower Garden Banks, if you didn't see at least fifty places you would LOVE to visit, then you just don't like diving. 

We spent the most time in the Florida Keys area, where the Monroe County Tourist Development Council had a logbook/passport contest.  If you visited each of the Keys area booths and had a special logbook stamped, you could enter into a drawing for a great week of diving in the Keys...starting with one week's use of a Nissan Xtera and accomodations and dives down the entire island chain for a week.  We booked a  trip with Conch Republic Divers on the spot after learning they had a 6-pack lobster trip going out Saturday.  It was fun reuniting with old friends and meeting our new neighbors as there are several dive shops within walking distance of our house.

NAUI invited us to their social at the Biscayne Bay Marriott, with great food and drink and steel drum music.  Too bad we didn't have a winning raffle ticket for one of the great trips or cool gear or the Sea & Sea camera, all donated by NAUI members.  We really enjoyed sitting with a NAUI instructor who teaches at Temple University with the man who certified me as an Asst. Instructor there way back in '81 and reminiscing about my old quarry dives (brrrrr).  Another instructor at our table has dived with nearly all of the people mentioned in Deep Descent: Adventure and Death Diving the Andria Doria and The Last Dive.  As you can imagine, we heard some tall...er, make that deep...tales.

Alas for us, unlike the boat show where you can buy goodies on the spot, there is very little available for cash-and-carry at DEMA.  I bought a hilarious T-shirt from the US Navy Dive Team (I promise to wear it at the November meeting)  and a DEMA water bottle for my bicycle.  Rick found it very frustrating to see a great toy that he absolutely had to have, but he couldn't actually buy it.  Oh well, we'll just have to make a trip to our favorite dive shop in Fort Lauderdale to satisfy our cravings for the newest gadgets.

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Our first international trip of this year was June 7-14 in Curacao.  It was a most memorable trip. Everyone arrived there on time, except for one unfortunate diver in our group who forgot to make sure his passport was with him. He arrived the next day. 

We were greeted at the airport with a welcoming party of about 50 local adults and children. They sang Island songs, Gospel hymns, and even Happy Birthday. Happy Birthday?.... Well, that group was actually welcoming Grandma or Great-grandma!!! But it COULD have been for us! The tour bus was there to pick us up and all our luggage and gear and the driver proceeded to truck us across the island to Sunset Waters Beach Resort. 

At the resort, we were greeted by the resort staff with Rum punch and hors d'oeuvres. We were all checked in, and all of our things put away when it was time to find our way around the resort. We found our way to the pool bar. After all, we were on vacation. Did we need to go any further?? 

We had our dive shop orientation that same day where we met Mike and Michelle Day, the owners of the dive shop on site, Sunset Divers. Carlos, Kristen, and Wade were our divemasters. They explained how we would be diving. They showed us the new boat they had just attained. And they described some of the sites we would visit. We were even more enthused about our upcoming dives. The sites we would dive included Mike's Place, Harry's Hole, Mushroon Forest Deep, Lost Anchor, Pelican Beach, Mako Mountain, Boca Hoela, Casa Abao, and El Rancho. 

The typical diving around that area of Curacao consists of rocky shoreline, a gentle sloping sandy area, and then a near vertical drop off to the deep. Soft corals and hard corals, as well as plenty of fish life, inhabit these areas. It was a great opportunity for those of us using video and photography equipment. My favorite site was called First Encounter. It had a nice combination of coral spurs and sand chutes similar to that which I have dove in Cozumel. 

We did have a casualty on one of the last days of diving. On the way back to the resort, after a great day of diving, the wind blew Donna's favorite hat overboard. This was a hat she had for many years, even collecting pins and other ornaments from past diving vacations. Capt. Mike did turn the boat around to look for it but it was to no avail. It was gone, sunk, overboard,......Castaway! When we couldn't find it, Carlos our divemaster, yelled out; "WILSONNNNNN". Donna tried searching for it to be washed up on the shore. Nope, it was "taps" for the hat. Time for a new one! 

Well, I could probably go on and on about this trip but space limits me. I do want to point out how helpful everyone at the resort was to all of us. and how friendly the dive operation, Sunset Divers, was to us as well. If you have been on one of these international trips, you know how much fun they can be. If you've not, you have missed out on great vacation times. Just ask any one of us, we'll be glad to tell you all about it. 

Click here for more Curacao photos by John Kansman and Butch Lee!

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Nothing beats getting together with your best "buddies" for an annual dive vacation. This tradition has gone on for 7 years and started before my "SFDI days".  Now my buddies Pat and Laila join with our club members to continue this great tradition. This year we went to Sunset Waters Resort in Curacao. Located in the southwest Caribbean just north of Venezuela, Curacao is an arid island with most of its beauty under water. Since we were on a "dive" vacation this suited us very well. 

We dove with the dive shop located on premises. The staff is superb!! They offer the very best, and most attentive service you could ever hope for. They have storage facilities just steps from the boat for your dive gear. After you stow your gear the first time, the shop pretty much takes care of it for you for the week, setting it up on your tanks daily, switching it between dives and then rinsing it, and storing it at night (except for mask,fins, wetsuits). The dive staff really does a great job making sure you have everything you need whether on a boat dive or shore dive. Not only are they knowledgeable and efficient, they become your friends, and are great fun. 

We dove morning dives daily with the boat. A new, well appointed 44 footer (don't know what kind...it was big, comfortable, and dry). There was only the eight of us most days so we could really stretch out and enjoy it. The diving, just a short run from the resort, was varied, and always interesting. We did a lot of wall diving (which I am quite fond of). The coral was mostly healthy, and plentiful. There were lots of fish, although no large ones. In addition to the usual fish life we saw 2 frog fish, which our excellent and very entertaining dive master Carlos spotted for us, and a few seahorses. These were really exciting since we don't see them at home. I also saw the largest tube worms (a.k.a feather dusters) that I've ever seen. We saw a lot of black coral (some 5 foot tall trees of it). Eels and juvenile drum fish were everywhere. I do believe there were quite a few Sponge Bob sightings as well. 

In addition to the boat dives daily some of us (Pete and I) did the "house reef" shore dive daily (except the day we went into town.) Yes that's a lot of diving. Pete and I did 18 dives for the week and I think I can speak for Pete as well as myself saying we enjoyed every single one of them. 

We did hit town (Williamstead) one afternoon. Unfortunately it was "Flag Day," a local holiday, so most of the stores were closed. I did save quite a bit of money because of that though. :) Williamstead is a most colorful town and definitely worth the visit. They have a floating bridge that opens to let the boat traffic pass. Quite interesting and different than anything I've seen before. 

Oh yes...the resort is all inclusive. Not only the accommodations, meals, and diving, are included but all your beverages are included and yes we did party a bit after diving. We dined, danced, acted as guest DJ, led a conga line, saw the full moons, and danced on the bar with the general manager's daughter. 

We left our mark on the Island with a 2nd week SFDI trip /Sponge Bob sign for the tree. The trip left a mark on each of us as well. Along with a canvas Curacao bag and a custom annual trip T shirt, we have a lot of great memories and pictures. We so much enjoyed our trip that I do believe we'll keep the tradition alive for a few more years.

Click here for more Curacao photos by Julie Taylor!

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      The weekend began beautifully with most of us having taken the day off on Friday to prepare for the trip.  With a nice leisurely drive down the Florida Turnpike, through the Florida Bay on US-1, we arrived at Kelly’s on the Bay at around 3:00.  After checking in with Jessica at the front desk, we began meeting with the other SFDI members around the pool.  We socialized for awhile and it was time for dinner at Hobo’s Grill next door.  They managed somehow to seat twenty of us at a table immediately, and gave us some of the greatest service around.  After dinner, we sat under a Chickee Hut under the stars, out by the bay, and told stories, and probably some lies, until it was time to retire for the evening. 

     We awoke to a typical Florida Keys morning, bright sunshine and a gentle breeze.   Captain Jorge and our Divemaster Reed were busy preparing the Aquanuts II dive boat for our trip to the Spiegel Grove.  After a 15 to 20 minute boat ride, we waited for a space to open on one of the mooring buoys on the Grove.  After mooring the boat, it was time to dive, dive, dive.  The current, which on the day before was so swift that the wreck spewed a brown silt cloud from the bow, was almost completely still.  This made it possible for our open water divers with limited experience to make the dive accompanied by a Divemaster/guide.  The Divemaster/guide was a last minute requirement from the dive operator for those persons who were not advanced certified or open-water divers who did not have at least 4 logged dives within the past year.  We hope to continue this practice on future Keys trips to make them more accessible to all levels of divers in our club.  Everyone came up from that dive remarking on how large the ship was.  It was also amazing to see how much growth was already occurring on her.  Jeff (Ski) even found an 18 inch sea whip growing in her hull.  I guess the Gulfstream waters are going to be kind to her.

     Our second dive took us to French Reef.  We moored on one end of the reef that was not completely gorgeous but with a short swim, most every one found the area teeming with life and beauty.  We returned to the resort, thanked our Captain and Divemaster, cleaned our gear and gathered by the pool to chill out and relax.

     At poolside, we filled a table so full of food for us to lunch and snack on.  This club knows how to eat and our members always come through with food.  We had everything from chips and any kind of dip to go along, rotisserie chicken, chicken wings, shrimp cocktail, and fresh sliced fruit.  But I also said that we gathered by the pool to chill out, so I had pre-made two gallons each of frozen margaritas, pina-coladas, and mudslides and kept them frozen with 24 pounds of dry ice until we were ready.  Do I need to say they went over well?!!!  We readied ourselves for dinner that night at The Fish House.  They normally don’t take reservations, however, for a group of 24 of us they made an exception.  But only if we were on time.  We were and we had a fantastic dinner again with great service.  After dinner, we gathered again by the bay, finished what was left of the frozen drinks, told more stories and enjoyed each other’s company bringing our dive weekend to an end. 

     I know of 24 divers who want to thank Ski and Michelle for organizing one fantastic weekend.  And Ski says it was Michelle who did all the leg work on this one.  And thanks to all who had a great time.  That is what makes it so worthwhile to run and be a part of these trips.

      Good diving y’all!

Click here for more photos of this trip

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     First let’s do a math problem. (This one is not on the FCAT.)

     After finding a parking place, Bob and Jon start out for an awesome day of lobster diving.  How many quarters, at 15 minutes per quarter, will they need for the hungry parking meter?  (It’s worse than a starving Great White.)

     Suiting up takes 15 minutes, the swim to the second reef 40 minutes, 1 hour and 20 minutes of bottom time, 45 minutes to swim back to the beach (takes longer with all those lobsters), 10 minute hike back to the car (don’t you hate those ripping currents), catching your breath, washing your gear, showing all the Canadian tourists your langostino, loading up the car, another 30 minutes.

     Answer… 220 min / 15 min per quarter equals 14.666666667 or 15 quarters ($3.75)

     So, keep in mind a nice relaxing beach dive to the second reef is about 4 hours long.

     In the not too distant past, you could grab your gear and hit any of the local beaches and be a stone's throw from the water, and best of all it was FREE.  Diving off the “Green Condo” in the north part of Fort Lauderdale Beach was a great spot.  You could park on the east side of A-1-A right on the beach.  There were no time limits or parking meters.  Then, the city erected no parking signs with time restrictions, but initially they weren’t a problem because it was 12 AM to 6 AM.  You could leave work on a weekday, have dinner and get to the beach by 7-8 PM, do your night dive, and not have to worry about a ticket or, even worse, the "Lauderdale Vanishing Car Syndrome".

     Think of this, NO CAR!!!  You're wet, tired, lots of gear, Bag-O-Bugs, no cell phone, no money, no wallet, but you do have a dive light and a knife. 

     You wave down a taxi, and still dripping with seawater, explain your predicament… the cabbie laughs and says “You’ve got to be kidding!” and takes off in a cloud of dust.  Now in sheer desperation (you're delirious from swallowing salt water and the constant grunting noises coming from your Bag-O-Bugs is driving you crazy), the thought of robbing a tourist pops briefly into your head.  But common sense takes over… the getaway would be hard with a tank, weight belt and Bag-O-Bugs.  You could jettison your tank and weight belt, but this is the first time this year you got your limit.  Got to keep those BUGS.  Anyway, a bad idea… your name is on everything you have and you’d be easy to pick out in a crowd.  Not many people walking around in dive gear at 1 in the morning.

     In order to prevent this, here is some information…

Hollywood Beach - no longer has any free parking, someone has been fertilizing those meters and they are popping up everywhere. Be careful of business parking lots.  I’ve had friends towed at night, long after the business was closed.  It cost them $106.  The tow companies are on the prowl. Meters (4 hours max) are 15 minutes/quarter and enforced until midnight.  Midnight to 6AM – NO PARKING!

Dania Beach Pier – Here they use a master meter that prints a ticket you display in your window.  Planning that early morning dive?  The meters don’t work until after 7 AM and there is a designated diving area.

Fort Lauderdale Beach – Parking at the South Beach lot should be OK, but be careful, they now have areas that are posted “NO DIVING”. The areas north, where parking is on A-1-A, the meters are 2 hours max so unless you have a landlubber to feed the meter, you will not get your 4 hour dive in.

Lauderdale by the Sea – Most meters are 2 hours max, and there are now many “NO DIVING” areas.

Commercial Pier and the northern parking lot – Still a great diving spot, especially for beginners, since the first reef starts before the end of the pier. Not spectacular, but lots of fish.  The second reef is nice with a 3-5 foot ledge at some spots. The northern parking lot has meters with 4-hour limits at 15 minutes per quarter. The city hall is available for metered parking (Master Meter) on Saturday and Sunday only. Some streets are 2 hours max.

     I hope there will always be access to the beaches for those of us who like to beach dive, but over the years, our available and useable for diving areas have dramatically decreased.  Let’s keep our beaches.

     See ya below,
     Jon E. Black

Click here to bag your limit of local beach diving information!
 

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The Historical Diving Society-USA is a group of divers who collect and dive vintage (and new) copper and brass deep-sea diving helmets and suits.  All members of this specialized group are at the very least scuba certified, and many members have some commercial and/or military diving training.

Their third annual diving rally was held the weekend of Saturday, November 30 and Sunday, December 1, 2002, at the Jules’ Undersea Lodge in Key Largo.

The lagoon is an ideal spot for hard hat diving, and general manager Rick Ford was very accommodating.  You gear up on the bench placed on wide cement stairs leading into the water, then move down the ladder to a terrain that is not flat but easily navigable “on foot” with plenty to look at but no coral at risk as you stomp from one area to another.  Grunts and a gray angelfish congregate under the dive training platform and the small dock, lobster reside in every rock and crevice around the rim of the lagoon, juvenile barracuda are found under the mangrove roots, and check the buoy ropes and other tie-offs for sea horses (I didn’t find any but I’m told they are spotted regularly).  And while you’re down there, peer into the undersea lodge portholes and observation bubbles!

Some divers went in with helmets-only and wetsuits and booties, others stayed dry in full suits.  The trade-off here was less mobility and quicker entry vs. more gear and stay dry.  Most of us also got into scuba gear to photograph the hard hat divers and to provide buddy services – helping with the hoses that trail behind and of course keeping the diver company.

What was it like?  Walking and even running and jumping underwater brought to my mind images of moonwalks.  No worries about buoyancy control or dive time or air remaining, and although the image was sometimes bowed you get a much wider field of vision, I especially liked the “sun roof” on the top!

This experience might not have you looking to sell your tanks and your mask/fins/snorkel to buy a copper helmet… but it is an interesting new way to experience the underwater world and worth trying.

Click here for more photos of the 2002 Hard Hat Rally

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Joe and I had a wonderful September vacation at Club Turkoise, Providenciales, Turks and Caicos Islands. We were at Club Med, an all-inclusive resort. 

We dove daily, all "wall" dives.  It was really great since it provided diving quite a bit different from our local diving.  The coral formations were spectacular and fish life was abundant.  Macro photography offered really excellent opportunities...more Flamingo tongues than I've ever seen in a week. 

"Perfect photo subjects and I still screwed up" (they say with photography if you get one decent shot per roll that is really...really good) so I keep trying...and trying again..  Anenomies, cleaner shrimp, coral banded shrimp, and arrowhead crabs provided lots of photo ops.

The Dome was an interesting dive. The Dome is left over from a "reality" show that the  French tried years ago.  The contestants had to free dive into the dome and if they found the clue, a mermaid with a regulator would give them a breath of air (not recommended as a safe diving practice).  A couple of the contestants got bent, and the show was understandably not a success. The dome is now broken open but is still a really interesting dive site.

Club Med offers a lot of activities (besides diving) including water aerobics, pool volleyball, beach volleyball, sailing, kayaking, and numerous other water and land activities including the trapeze.  They also provide nightly entertainment.   The trapeze is a special offer of the "Turkoise Club Med".  One of the nightly entertainment shows features the guests performing on the trapeze.

The trapeze...we thought about it...but...not!!!!

Click here for more photos of Turkoise by Julie Taylor

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What does a diver look for when underwater?  Some look  for tonight’s dinner,  some look for beautiful scenes of fish life swimming through undulating coral growths, still others look for the awe of exploring through wrecks to see if we can locate something no one else has before found. 

     I tend to be inquisitive of many of these things.  With my underwater photography, I look for the small details that most divers would overlook.  I try to find the things that my camera’s aperture and shutter will capture.  Sometimes, I spend more time trying to figure out what is in my photos and why the heck I took “that” photo anyway.  Another one of my hobbies, and I have too many, is the upkeep of my marine aquarium.  It is fascinating to watch the critters that I have caught while on my dives.  These are the treasures I enjoy.  It was on one of these dives that I had a near encounter with some of the PERILS?..

     While diving on Minecar Reef off of Dania Beach,  I was looking for Yellow-headed Jawfish.  In nature these fish inhabit burrows that they dig in the sand.  They will peek out of their burrows and usually swim above looking for any food morsel to pass by.  When a diver gets too close they will dart back into their hole until it is safe to come out again.  While hunting my prey, in the sandy center of Minecar Reef (60 ft.), I came across a perfectly spherical object in the sand.  It was about eighteen to twenty inches in diameter and had small nubs sticking out of its’ surface.  The thoughts that came to my mind were incredible.  Did I somehow discover that the name Minecar was not named for the heavy metal box located just off the reef?  Maybe it was named for the countless number of mines placed to protect our shore during wartime.  Could I have come across a mine that was unearthed during a recent storm? 

     Well this is going to sound quite stupid, but I let my curiosity get the best of me.  I found an area of the sphere that was mostly void of nubs and rubbed the surface with my glove.  To my surprise, the area cleaned off quite well revealing a glass surface.  With a quick glance inside, I saw objects wrapped in plastic bags.  Now my mind went really wild.  I imagined this could be some sort of listening device and I was at that very moment being video-taped by some secret government agency. This is not a completely outlandish thought, or is it?  When I looked closer I found a plaque that identified this as a Time Capsule placed by Progressive Watercraft Insurance Company and Bayview Elementary School during the Ft. Lauderdale International Boat Show in 1999. 

     After the dive, I completely forgot the information on the plaque and since I was not at the time “computer savvy”, I didn’t have the means or the ambition to find out.  Recently, on a private boat dive with Sandra and Adrian, Barbara, and Bill along, I had asked them if they had ever seen the time capsule on Minecar Reef. Since Sandra had her underwater camera along, we decided on that for the second dive.  I found the capsule again, called Sandra over to photograph it , and here are the pictures for you to enjoy.  It was also the only way I would remember the info on the plaque.  “MAKING WAVES,  INNOVATIONS IN BOATING”.

     The items selected for the capsule were based on a national survey of 640 boaters.  The items in the globe include a copy of the movie “Titanic”, a replica of Jacques Cousteau’s red knit cap, and a piece of the USS Arizona which was sunk by the Japanese at Pearl Harbor.  Students from Bayview Elementary also selected items to add to the globe.  Progressive also enlisted the help of Bob Denver, a.k.a. Gilligan from “Gilligan’s Island” to help promote the sinking of this time capsule. 

     The intent is for this time capsule to be retrieved in 100 years by the future students of Bayview Elementary and to be used as an educational tool.  With its 150 pounds and anchor type legs to keep it in place, it should still be there.  By the way, the nubs sticking out of it were actually barnacles and other marine growth, not the detonation points of a mine.

     To get the information for this story, I contacted the Webmaster at Progressive Insurance, Cathy Ulle.  Cathy was most helpful and had a response for me within 24 hours.  I was surprised that she didn’t think I was nuts and that she could come up with the info that quick.  In addition to being Webmaster, maybe she was a former Librarian!! 

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When we arrived at the dive site the surface of the ocean was almost flat and as we descended to 40 feet, we found no current.  A nurse shark greeted us.  It might be accustomed to being fed, since it was bumping divers and swimming beneath them.  There were opportunistic fish, swimming at the fringe of our lights, waiting to eat the bait fish the light attracted.  There were lots of “dancing worms.” 

We checked out the coral heads and found some bursting with round coral colored eggs, waiting for the moment they felt was right.  All of a sudden the water was filled with eggs and sperm.  The water became cloudy with an almost gelatinious mass, and it made the light from our flashlights cloudy.  Our air was running low and we made our way to the surface to change tanks and get back in again.  We didn’t see another spawning, but the people in the water after we got out saw a huge coral head spawn.  The eggs and sperm float on the surface for five days and are carried in the current northward.  According to a marine biologist on board, the fertilized eggs settle in water too far north to grow. 

We have seen movies of spawning but never experienced it first hand.  It was an awesome experience for us.

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    Our rooms were steps away from the dive shop, so an 8:30 AM dive meant we had to leave our rooms at 8:29 AM.  We were instructed to don our wetsuits at the shop and proceed to the boat ramp.  The boat was an open 25' pontoon boat.  We encountered a horrible squall as we were departing, and the two other divers on board requested to return before we were 30' off shore.  After dropping them back on shore we started out for our dive.  The rain was so bad we had to put on our masks for the ride out. 

     During the briefing, the dive master wasn't sure of our exact location because some of the mooring bouys seemed to have been lost during the days of recent bad weather.  He told us he "thinks it is a wreck but if we don't see a boat down there...it is a reef."  We jumped into bathtub temperature water for our 1st of many excellent dives.  It was a reef.

    We dove daily as scheduled and the weather gods were pretty good to us the rest of the week.  Comfortable water temps (83), good visability (60 +), great reefs, lots of sharks, a big turtle, a spotted eagle ray, morays, biggggg grouper, a great variety of other fish,......and....Sponge Bob Square Pants.......Yes....you read correctly.  Sponge Bob was our 7th dive buddy.   Once he got his bouyancy under control he was excellent.  The 1st day we stuck a stick up his butt..(the dive master thought this was just awful...cruel and unusual punishment)  he was too bouyant and floated off anyway.  The 2nd day we tied him to a weight but he floated helter skelter above it with no control.  Then...the perfect solution...we sewed his feet to the weight.  Now, perfectly weighted, he was quite happy to pose for numerous photos.  Sponge Bob on the reef, Sponge Bob eaten by a conch, SB in a barrel, SB in chains, "The boys" (SB, Joe & Don).

        Club Viva Fortuna is an excellant destination.  The accommodations are great, the food was tasty, plentiful, and there was always a great variety of tempting dishes.  The bar staff was superb.  The dive shop is well organized, and the staff are very friendly, fun, and helpful, as are any of the staff throughout the resort.

    The Club offered lots of activities.  We took advantage of their rickety bikes one afternoon, did aerobics by the pool, and archery (a couple of us anyway).  They had a lot more activities we didn't take advantage of.  We played spectator, rested, and read a lot after enjoying our morning dives.  The club offers evening shows in their outdoor theatre (put on by the staff, "Club Med style") which we enjoyed on several of the nights.  NONE of us made it to the disco.  You know...diving in the AM.

    The six of us (Julie Taylor, Joe Smariga, Don Lawrynuik, Cathy Olson, and Julies NY friends, Pat Kahl, and Laila Al Askari) proved to be an excellent travel and dive team. We had a really great time.  Great diving, good laughs, interesting stories, really good company, fun times with good friends new and old. As for the rest of you.......... You missed a really great dive adventure. 
 
 

     (Next year...same time...different location...)

Click here for more of Julie Taylor's  Freeport photography

Click here for  Julie Taylor's  SpongeBob SquarePants' Underwater Perils!
 
 

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     We chartered the Fiji Aggressor live-aboard for the first week of our vacation. I had never been on an Aggressor boat before – but the luxurious accommodations, ‘five-star’ dining, heated towels, and the hot cocoa with rum that was distributed immediately after each night dive was enough to make this diver want to be a repeat guest. Our Aggressor itinerary took us to some pristine dive sites where the reefs were a virtual smorgasbord of corals, fish, and sea creatures.  During the second week of our trip we stayed at the Marlin Bay Resort where we were pampered beyond belief! For the hours when we were not diving – we had daily massages, drinks by the pool, kayak excursions, hikes to the local water falls, and we were entertained by nearby village school children. We also witnessed the renowned sacred firewalking ceremony and we partook in many bowls of kava (a local beverage that makes your head numb). 

     The diving was fantastic. Fiji is known as the Soft Coral Capital of the world.  The colors that were encapsulated on each reef made me feel like I was in my Mom’s flower garden. 

     Speaking of my Mom, one of the highlights of the trip that I could never tell her about was having the opportunity to actually pet a leopard shark. I normally just photograph sharks and let them go their merry way, but this beauty was just begging to be touched. He let several of us stroke his sandpaper-like tail for about five minutes before he decided to swim away.

     Living among the beautiful coral, we saw tons of lionfish, sea anemones with clown fish, large clams, unicorn fish, colorful nudibranches, and too much other cool stuff to mention here.  On a few rare occasions we encountered leaf fish, blue ribbon eels, and manta rays. (I put together some pictures of my favorites for your viewing pleasure here on the SFDI website.)

     I’ve been diving all over the world, so I get real excited when I come across something new for the first time under water. On this trip my excitement was peaked when I saw my first sea snake. These deadly fellows seemed to spend most of their time lying around the sea floor with an occasional trip to the surface. I passed a baby sea snake heading down from the boat. He was no longer than 8 inches – it was wild watching fish and divers scamper to get out of his way. 

     On several occasions I was able to spot manta shrimp. I’ve only seen these guys at night before; I found one almost every afternoon off of Marlin Bay!  Manta shrimp are huge, the ones I saw ranged from 10 to 15 inches. Their eyes resemble two large Tic Tac mints that appear to move independently of each other.  Manta shrimp carry weapons like spears or hammers and they do not like to have their pictures taken. (Of course I just had to try.) 

     It was sad to leave, but all great adventures must come to an end. Fiji is definitely one place that I would add to my “do-over dive destination” list. 

Click here for more of Cheryl Jones' Fiji photography

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Tenneco Towers still proves to be a most scenic and exciting dive.  I recently did a "girls day dive" aboard the Water Breaker. We anchored next to the tower and just as we came in sight of it, we saw a large sea turtle in the sand at the bottom of the tower.  He (she) was quite friendly and seemed quite happy to pose for a couple of pictures before gently swimming away. 

     The amount of sealife on the towers is amazing.  We saw thousands of fish of every variety.  Every inch is covered by coral, fans, and sealife of one kind or another.  The structure's angles and abundance of growth makes for some very exciting photo and viewing opportunities. 

     If you haven't dove Tenneco Towers, or just haven't dove them in a while, I highly recommend you do so.  A site well worth the visit. 

Click here for more of Julie Taylor's Tenneco Tower photos
Click here for Jeff Guzowski's "The Wrecks We Dive" report on the Tenneco Towers

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     I survived the long air flights, horrible food, and the not-so-pleasant side effects of anti-malaria drugs. It was all worth it though because I have some great stories to tell and I think I have a few good pictures to share. (Of course the best images I have will be the ones forever implanted in my brain.) Some of the numerous new sea critters I encountered on this trip included a blue-ringed sting ray and some tiny pigmy sea horses. Unfortunately I did not get a photograph of these guys .... so I guess I'll just have to go back.

     I used my Sea&Sea MotorMarine camera with the 16mm wide angle or the built-in close-up lens for most of these PNG underwater shots. I used both a Sony digital and the Sea&Sea for the other photographs that I've submitted to the SFDI website.  The digital is very convenient - but 35mm slides are still the best media for underwater (in my opinion). 

Click here for more of Cheryl Jones' PNG photography

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      It was like being captive in a sci-fi movie.   Bizarre is hardly the word!  In a situation like this, the imagination runs riot.  We were drifting in a cloud of long, cottony strands or tendrils, which clung to us and our diving equipment and wafted along with no purpose, seemingly with no beginning and no ending.  Beguiling the mind, clouding the vision, invading the water, taking over all of our senses, our emotions.  How long does it go on?  Is it forever, here in Kong’s domain?  The sensation is all encompassing, bordering on euphoria.  It seems to have no purpose, yet the unique beauty enthralls the mind.

     We had heard about it in Fresh Creek. Divers and visiting boaters all knew about it.  Their stories were diverse, of course, some more appealing than others were.  But all of them shared one thing in common…they were all intriguing. 

     As divers, we couldn’t wait to find out for ourselves.  Was it really that deep and if you did find bottom, what mysteries would it hold?  Some said that the Chick Charneys owned the Hole and controlled the tumultuous currents and visibility, which could be shut down to zero at the click of a switch.  Makes the hair stand on end to think of this possibility.    If you are at, say 80’, and couldn’t see your bubbles, where is up?  How can you follow them to the surface?  It would have to be the old saw of “ditch” and then “blow and go”.  Gosh,  doesn’t that sound like an adventure?

     The new German Dive shop operators said that they had not dived it, but had heard all the stories too.  They had dived several of the blue holes inland and shared anomalies regarding them, so they half believed the stories they had heard about King Kong’s Hole.  Their experiences lent credence to the Chick Charney’s powers and they didn’t doubt that they could exercise control over an ocean blue hole, as well as those in the interior.  This then was the prelude to our first dive at the ocean blue hole, or King Kong’s Blow Hole, off Andros Island.

     But what is a blue hole?  Good question.  The basis is that of a limestone cavern formed eons ago by fresh water dripping into the porous underground limestone formation.  Yes, that’s right, this was all above ground at one time like the famous caverns in Virginia or the interior of the Rock of Gibraltar.  The fresh water leached out the limestone to form grotesque formations and the classic stalagmites and stalactites (I never can remember which one is up and which one is down). In the case of this ocean blue hole, the roof or dome collapsed and plummeted to the bottom some 80’ below. So, we would dive it and try to fathom the mysteries.  All in due course, as it’s all in the anticipation.  Ah yes, the anticipation…it’s the same in all walks of life…our imagination and anticipation rule our emotions. So much for Psych 101.  Let me set the stage.

     Six of us started on a two-week cruise of the Bahamas.  Beginning in the northern Berry Islands, we slowly made our way south.  Diving, spear fishing, ogling the island scenery, the beautiful pristine white beaches and diving or snorkeling at so many inviting locations.

     We were almost satiated with the underwater magnificence – giant stands of Elkhorn coral, so golden, so glowing in the slanting rays of the sun, the gorgonians gently swaying in rhythm to the surge, huge sea fans presenting their sides to the current to feed opportunistically and the colorful sponges of every hue and color.  There were a myriad of shapes and sizes – vases, tubes, encrusting, elephant ear, pillar and on and on.  Each different, each special, each so colorful except for the barrel sponges – nondescript, but large enough to hold a man with room left over.  Look into every one of them, since you will se many varieties of fish hiding and feeding here.  They are sheltered inside from their enemies…the Spanish Hogfish and chromis seem to especially like this sanctuary.

     On the surrounding reef, we see the other dwellers, the fish in schools or singles or pairs like the butterflies, which they say mate for life.  They’re all here.  Parrots, squirrels, blue chromis, trumpets (hiding vertically like a branch or part of a gorgonian) and the wrasses darting here and there and nipping at your hair or ears.  Each has a purpose, each with an indelible imprint from Mother Nature.  So, relax in this beautiful and unique wonderland and let your senses take over.

     As photographers, we try to capture the mystery, the beauty and the essence of this life.  But the sensations elude our preserving it on film or tape.  Once in a magical moment, however, we succeed, when the lighting is just right and the composition encompasses that “mood” photo of a lifetime.  An in this fashion, we cruise our way south on Recycled, the aluminum Stryker with all of the amenities to make this a wonderful cruise.  Our skipper is Dave, so laid back, so accommodating and he had navigated us flawlessly over the many miles since we had left Fort Lauderdale.  Here we are in paradise, with its pristine waters filled with fish, big fish – especially the groupers that probably have never seen a baited hook.  A diver?  Never.

     On the way south, we visited another blue hole.  This was in the interior of a small island, Hoffman Cay, and the roof of the original cavern had fallen, leaving a cliff of about 20’ or so around its rim.  The water was saline and we jumped from the cliff, running out into space and falling into the deliciously warm water.  The fantastic shapes of the cavern were apparent here, though not underwater.  Stalagmites, stalactites and bizarre shapes and figures defy the imagination…similar to the hoodoos in the southwestern U.S., only they are weathered sandstone eroded by wind and water over the centuries.  Again, it’s Mother Nature at work.  So, we enjoy and thrill at the vision, capture it on film and feel privileged to be able to indulge in this smorgasbord of the visual senses.

     The diving here in these islands - cays - is so unique, so soul-satisfying.  It’s a real head trip, each dive so different, each one the same.  It’s emotions.  It’s the colors.  It’s the fish.  It’s the thrills.  It’s a head trip!  What could be more diverse from our ordinary lives?  What could be more colorful?  What could be more satisfying?  Well, maybe a little sexual excursion into the unknown, but that’s not why we’re here.  We’re here to experience the beauty that nature has to offer in the underwater world.  Color, diversity, never-ending rhythm, lassitude, bliss and the enthralling feeling of being close…close to nature, close to diverse biorhythms we barely comprehend, let alone understand.  So, we relax in our state of weightlessness and yes, show me your wonders.  I love it.  And this feeling sets the stage for our first dive at King Kong’s Hole!

     It’s day number ?  On our trip, who’s counting, who knows?  One day blends into another. But, it is on this day that we are to dive the “Hole”.  Yes, finally we anchor up at a marker buoy, set by who knows who and step off into the adventure of a lifetime.

     John is my buddy and we yell, “Fire in the hole!” as we leave the security of Recycled and drift down into the depths.  John, with his 35mm and I with my Hi-8 video in its secure housing.  Down to the rim and a few standard shots of the fishes and sponges and the other colorful characteristics of the shallow rim and then...over the edge!  Into the depths!  What will they hold?  Well, we soon found out!  It’s cottony, it’s gelatinous, it sticks to everything and it’s drifting along at 40’.  Where does it start?  Where does it end?  Why?  It’s endless in the Kong’s Hole.  Sometimes I can hardly see my dive partner.  I try to capture the feeling on tape. It’s really bizarre!  What does it mean?  Are the Chick Charneys really in control?  Will we ever know?  It’s the dive adventure of a lifetime! 

     John and I slowly settle to a greater depth - escaping the drifting, enveloping strands, only to discover another phenomenon. It’s truly the work of the Chick Charneys.  At about 50’, it was a milky white apparition.  Well…not really.  It was a halocline. No one had alerted us to this phenomenon. Yes, a freshwater/salt water boundary layer. Only a few feet thick, but a definite wall.  Oh, nice and warm on top - say 85 degrees F. and skins warm, but if you stick your arm through it as you hover weightless and you experience a 15 degree differential.  It was cold. It was milky.  It was 3’ to 4’ thick.  You couldn’t see anything. You felt myopic until you penetrated through the boundary layer.

     Is this the Kong’s protection or the Chick Charneys in yet another of their control innovations?  Am I a Ph.D. in Psychology or just a diver?  I can’t answer and so we penetrated the boundary layer. Gosh, it was cold and we were only in our dive skins.  But we dropped to 80’ and the bottom.  As soon as we exited the halocline, the visibility opened up to 100’ instead of the blurry 10-15’ above.  It’s all on tape as I left the camcorder on record as we eased through the milky aberration.

     The bottom was nondescript with boulders and fragments from the limestone dome. We posed for pictures sitting on these benches like tourists at the Grand Canyon and then discovered the source of the fresh water.  It was at the far end at a flow rate never ending - constant and cold.

     The source was a shaft, small, maybe 20’-30’ in diameter at the west end and black!  Black as far down as you could see.  John and I descended with his BIG underwater light and I with my twin video lights.  We went down, slowly down, flashing our lights below, to the sides, all around, getting colder and colder, but could see no bottom, even with those humongous lights, until at 140’-150’ I aborted.  Seven hundred and fifty pounds left and all that bottom time (I’m well into the yellow zone on my computer) and I know that I would never discover all the secrets of this wondrous King Kong’s Hole on this dive. Intuitively I knew that more than one dive would be required - maybe several, who knows?  So, with this locked away in my mind and satiated beyond expectations, I slowly started to ascend, followed by my partner.  Satiated?  Satisfied?  Completely!  The dive thrill of a lifetime. A diver’s dive.

PS  We’ll come back. There is still more to be known about the Kong’s Hole.

PPS  The Chick Charneys be damned. You had your chance. We’ll find out the rest of the secrets, thank you.

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     If you’ve never heard of the Chick Charney,  a leprechaun-like Bahamian legend, point your browser to the Bahamas Government web page for Andros, where they say: Andros, known for its abundant fresh water supplies, has an atmosphere of mystery, having its forested and remote areas. Legend has it that a sort of leprechaun or gremlin known locally as the "chickcharney" holds sway and migrated to Red bays in the 19th century with the Seminole Indians. 

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     We took a 1½ hour charter flight from Miami (yeah, Miami sucks, but it’s better than doing Bahamasair via Nassau). After identifying our bags we were whisked through customs and then loaded aboard vans for a 5 minute drive to Club Med.  We were greeted by enthusiastic “GO’s” (Genteel Organizers) with a big round of clapping and a welcome drink.  After a brief orientation, we were shown to our room.  We are now “GM’s” (Genteel Members). 

     Buffet lunch was still being served and we enjoyed the bountiful buffet (3 rooms full) along with unlimited beer and wine. We checked into the “Sea Center” where for $250 you get six 2-tank morning dives and a 1-tank night dive.

     The diving was wonderful...ALL wall diving starting at approx 40-50  feet and dropping off to 200+ feet.  There were a lot of hammerheads sighted by other GM’s; we did see reef sharks, black tips, nurse, and one  “possible” hammerhead.  We also saw turtle, a spotted eagle ray, sting rays and BIGGG grouper...so friendly you could pet them under the chin.  On the night dive we saw the BIGGEST Green Moray either of us has ever seen.  It was...I swear...7-8 feet long and two feet  in diameter!!!! 

     The food was great…three-room buffet with wine and beer for lunch and dinner included.  You can also make reservations for a sit down dinner at one of the alternate restaurants.
After diving and lunch you can go skiing, windsurfing, kayaking, sailing, or bike riding.  You can hang on the beach, play basketball, table tennis, or real tennis, or read that book you’ve been meaning to read foreeevvvvvveeerrrr.We had SUCH a great time…we think that this would be a great future “Club group destination! 

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     The waters were rough, 2-5 feet, and the visibility was poor, 15+ feet, but we were tough…we were resilient…we wanted LOBSTER!!!  And we got them…four divers caught 26 lobster the first day , and seven divers caught 41 the second day. Not the limit…but a respectable catch. The nice thing was, we really had some very enjoyable dives. A baby sea turtle sleeping in a ledge, eels, huge puffer fish, a school of copper sweepers, really great ledges, and just fun, relaxing, enjoyable dives. Lots of females with eggs...and then...on our last dive...Jim Reynolds and I saw a pod of dolphin…yes, “Flipper,” 12 or 15 of them…underwater and only 8 ft away…SOOOOO cool...they didn’t play with us….but seeing them underwater was SOOOOO awesome!!! I think those “dolphin experience snorkel dives” are nothing…compared to the REAL THING!!!!. 

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      When I think of fish I think of a cold-blooded animal that has no feeling and only acts on instinct.  I don’t think of a fun-loving, playful being.

     The dive was perfect.  Blue skies, flat seas, warm water, no current, it was the Marathon Weekend.  We did the Thunderbolt, saw the jewfish and a really large ray. 

     For the second dive we did a beautiful reef in the sanctuary.  I was diving with Diana Rudnick and Annie Baugh at the end of the dive ;we were under the boat burning some air.  I looked over and saw a flash of “Hot Pink”— there was a white grunt with a “Hot Pink” pony tail scrunchy  in its mouth!  I got Diana’s attention and together we laughed till our masks leaked.  Then I thought, he’d try and eat it.  I started to chase him; he swam away laughing all the way.  Finally he dropped it and I picked it up.

     Fred Miller, on the anchor line, saw me and thought I was giving this poor fish a hard time.  When I showed him my trophy he understood.

     There have been other times when I saw fish exhibit behavior that was playful. I never really gave it a lot of thought until I saw a show on The Discovery Channel called “When dogs laugh and chimpanzee’s cry.”  It was a real eye opener. 

     Thanks to John and Janet Chinners, it was a wonderful weekend.  All their hard work paid off. 

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     Our divers combed the area for trash, cutting and clipping miles of fishing line.  Much of it was caught in the holes in the reef beneath the pier and was difficult to disentangle.  Divers swam their finds to the surface, and volunteers on the pier lowered buckets, which the divers filled and the volunteers hoisted up.

     Nearly three tons of trash...5,904 pounds...was collected by volunteer divers and beach walkers at Anglin's Pier and five additional sites, including North Beach Park in Hollywood, Dania Pier, South Beach Park in Fort Lauderdale, Fisherman's Wharf in Pompano Beach and Deerfield Beach Pier.  Ten charter boats and several private boats took divers to the local reefs to locate even more junk.

Since the  Ocean Watch Foundation began Reef Sweep in 1988, more than 4,300 volunteers have hauled in more than 11 tons of garbage.  In the early days of Reef Sweep, most of the garbage was tossed by careless boaters, divers, and fishermen. 

     Today, more boaters are aware of the impact of trash on our reefs and are more considerate.  The items found this year were more likely dropped overboard by accident, and the miles and miles of fishing line found under the pier are impossible for fishermen to retrieve when they get snagged.  Seeing the amount of monofilament snarled beneath the pier made me wonder how anyone actually manages to catch a fish without becoming entangled!

     SFDI members brought back lots of "treasure" from under Anglin's Pier.  Wayne Pantke found a watch, Fred Miller found a bracelet, Joe Smariga found a 20-pound soft weight weightbelt, and Jon Black found a Penn reel that he will use for parts.  Everyone found fishing weights and bucket loads of tangled monofilament.  Cell phones and sunglasses were the catch of the day, and yours truly will admit to having lost a cell phone out of a pocket one day while fishing.  The lesson learned is to keep your phone in a zippered pocket and secure your sunglasses around your neck.

The dive was a real treat for South Florida Divers, who normally would not be permitted to dive beneath a fishing pier.  Snook and a huge Manta Ray delighted our divers, and they had a lot of fun wrestling with Dusky Damselfish to clear tangled monofilament from their nests.

     We were rewarded with a Trash Bash at Harbour Grille that evening.  It was a time to meet up with old friends, enjoy a buffet and beer, and support Ocean Watch.  Several SFDI members won raffle prizes, and your editor won two Silent Auction items. If you missed this year's Reef Sweep, be sure to make next year's!

Click here for more Reef Sweep photos by Julie Taylor!

      On Saturday, June 6, my two sleepy dive buddies Frauke Hamann, Barbara Rudzik, and I arrived at Anglin’s pier to volunteer for the trash-collecting dive of the 2001 Annual Ocean Watch Reef Sweep. 

     Perfect conditions, with an ocean flat as a mirror, and a friendly crew of Ocean Watch  coordinators greeted us. After writing down our names, and being assigned a color for easy recognition of our collected garbage load, the Girl Group RED went on their way into the mysterious unknown dive site underneath Anglin’s Pier. To our big surprise, we were greeted by an abundance of fish life: big schools of barracudas, large jacks hunting schools of smaller fish, and an abundance of assorted reef fish we definitely did not expect on a shallow beach dive. 

     After a few minutes of adjusting to the surroundings and finally waking up, Barbara, Frauke and I started our work. We filled buckets and buckets with tangled fishing line, lures, weights, bottles, fishing poles, and a 15 foot PVC pipe. The trash was hoisted up onto the pier by non-diving Ocean Watch volunteers. There was so much more work to be done by the time our pressure gauges indicated that it was time to surface. 

     3,359 pounds of harmful debris were collected as part of the 12th annual Reef Sweep and Beach clean up by 300 local volunteers and organizations from as far as Chicago and Orlando.  Among the unusual items collected, were a commercial sump pump, a message in a bottle, a bottle of chemicals used to paralyze fish, a top of a stove, a mattress & pillow, barricades, several shopping carts, a water heater, a toy truck and another empty funeral urn again this year.

     The brave rescue of a 4-foot reef shark by Stephen and Yvonne Attis from a group of fishing youngsters who were dragging it all over the beach was one more example of what Ocean Watch stands for - to care for and protect our back yard the Ocean. 

     We celebrated Reef Sweep with the Ocean Watch party at Pompano Pier, where we were treated to free drinks, food, and music, in the company of fun people with a common interest.  We were exhausted from the physical hard work, but had a good feeling that we had made - even though tiny - a positive impact to our fragile ocean environment.  For more information about the Ocean Watch Foundation, call (954) 467-1366 or point your browser to www.oceanwatch.org.

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     We had a couple of really nice dives. Off Alligator Light we did a really nice drift dive. We saw 3 nurse sharks. and all the usual reef fishes. The second drift dive was off Crocker reef.  We had a fourth dive buddy join us...a very aggressive and photogenic gray angelfish. She was so aggressive I had trouble keeping her in photo distance. Such a ham!!! 

     We saw a really nice photogenic moray. Then a fifth buddy joined us. An octopus. out for an afternoon walk. He had at least a five-foot arm span.  He was very cooperative posing for at least a half a dozen pictures. We were very surprised to not see even ONE lobster...No "surf and turf" dinner...But, like I said, you go...with the flow.

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Susie saw seashells in Seychelles, along with a myriad of other sea life.  The allure of diving in Seychelles was an adventure that I had only dreamed of until a few weeks ago.   My dream became a reality when three SFDI members, Annie Baugh, Cheryl Jones and I, boarded the Indian Ocean Explorer for a week of diving on October 1-8.

For those of you who are geographically challenged, the Republic of Seychelles is comprised of approximately 115 islands located in the Indian Ocean.  It is east of Africa and northeast of Madagascar, four degrees  south of the equator. Believe me when I tell you it is a very long way from home.

Many of the islands are comprised of granitic rocks which is where we did our diving.  Unfortunately, as in many other places in the world, the effects of El Nino are very noticeable.   The rock formations were interesting, though, and provided lots of nooks and crannies for the various sea life to hide. On almost every dive we saw an octopus or two, and eagle rays.  There were lots of beautiful fish and invertebrates.  The curious batfish followed us around as if they were expecting a free handout of something edible.  Sorry guys!

     On our way to a shark dive we found ourselves under attack!  No, not by the sharks but by thousands of Mantis shrimp.  There were thousands of them and some of them were jumping in the dive boat.  This was definitely a unique experience.  But, back to the shark dive at a site called South Marianne.  Oh, what an adventure!  The site is a natural habitat for reef sharks.  We found places to hide among the rocks and then just watched the show.  There were between 20 and 30 small (4-5 foot) gray reef sharks.  Also on this dive is the creaking rock. The surge causes one of the large rock formations to make an eerie creaking noise.  It sounds like something right out of the haunted mansion at Disney World.  We enjoyed this dive so much that we went back and did it again and found it to be equally fascinating the second time around.

     But all good things come to an end and much too soon the week was over.  We cruised back into Mahe only to learn that the U.S. was bombing Afghanistan.  Back to reality!  The trip was over and I know I will never forget this wonderful experience. Would I do it again?  Probably not.  Was it worth all the money and long travel distance?  ABSOLUTELY!

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     If you’ve never participated in South Florida Divers’ annual ritual of the underwater Christmas tree sinking, you simply must  join us on December 15 as we sink the 2001 holiday party tree on the Ancient Mariner wreck.

     The Nemesis, a 165-foot Coast Guard cutter, was launched in 1934 during WWII.  The Nemesis did Coast Guard duties around Florida looking for enemy submarines and was stationed in St. Petersburg as a search and rescue cutter until 1964, when she was decommissioned.  Having been sold at auction, she found her way to Fort Lauderdale, in 1979, and the Nemesis was renamed Livingston Landing, where she was turned into a restaurant on the South New River. 

     The restaurant failed financially, and the ship sunk at the dock in 1981.  She was sold for only a dollar and was renamed the Ancient Mariner.  It reopened in 1982 and was successful until 1986, when an employee unknowingly infected with Hepatitis A, who was preparing salads, infected over 100 people with the disease.  This was the largest outbreak of Hepatitis in Florida history. 

      Needless to say, the Hepatitis outbreak doomed the ship.  Sold in 1986, and reopened from 1987 to late 1989 as Chapman’s River Raw Bar, Anchorage Seafood House, Dockside 501 and Cutters, the ship could never shake the hepatitis reputation.

     Their loss was our club’s gain. South Florida Divers and Grady Marine bought the Ancient Mariner for sinking as an artificial reef.  Our club turned out in mass force (as they always do) to help prepare the ship for sinking. Sunk in June 1991 off Deerfield Beach, she now sits in 70 feet of water on a sandy bottom.  The highest point is the wheel house at 40 feet. 

     The Christmas tree sinking dive will be on the charter boat Lady Go Diver out of Sands Marina and will cost $35, which includes the tip.    If the weather doesn’t cooperate, we’ll try again December 22.  Please join us for our annual ritual and add some unique memories to your logbook! 

Click here for photos of the 2001 Christmas Tree sinking!

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     I always enjoy Ski’s Wreck of the Month column.   This month’s "The Wrecks We Dive" article brought back special memories.  Former e-board member Steve d’Oliveira and I used to work for a local newspaper, and with people from other newspapers and radio and TV stations,  we put on an annual comedy show called “Yellow Feathers” to parody local news and politics.  My favorite role each year was to be the anchorwoman in “I Missed It News” and read stories while funny slides were projected behind me.

     As he was writing scripts for the 1991 show, Steve had the zany idea to spoof a restaurant review of the “world’s first underwater restaurant.”  Says Steve, "I was lucky enough to have such good friends that when I said to them, 'Hey, let's take photos of an underwater restaurant scene on the Ancient Mariner,' they didn't look at me like I was totally nuts. Instead, they didn't bat an eye and said, 'OK.'" 

     News photographer Jackie Bell would take photos of Donna Harland, Steve and me in an underwater dining scene, and of Steve  as “Snapper Cousteau,” typing a restaurant review underwater.  After much planning we set off one nice September day on the Ragamuffin, loaded with all of the accoutrements of a fine restaurant...chairs, table, tablecloth, place settings, glassware, and menus.  We also took a typewriter for “Snapper Cousteau” to type his “review.” With the help of safety divers Wayne Harland and his neighbor Lou, we got everything into place with much effort.

     When we were ready for the first scene, we removed all our gear except our masks.  Steve wanted us mask-free too, but I had not had LASIK surgery yet and feared losing my contact lenses.  Steve chose to do the second scene of him “typing” the review mask-free and had a little mucous problem. Here is the account of the dive, unedited, from my logbook: 

     Fun but stressful!  Devo (d’Oliveira), Donna and I were a bit too buoyant on 1st (shot) and I had to hook my feet under their chairs to stay down! It was lots of fun “taking their orders” and “pouring coffee.”  Jackie got some great shots.  Lou cut his hand moving props and needed 16 stitches.  Second shot was great, the typewriter was a heavy mother and we had to leave it behind.  Devo had a big booger but couldn’t see our hand signals (to wipe it off for the photo); Donna ended up wiping it off (yuck!)  Jackie got great shots of that, too.  I did my safety stop clutching a table and a blackboard—thank God there wasn’t much current!

     How did Snapper Cousteau review the underwater restaurant?  “The fish was fresh, but the rolls were soggy, the salad was limp, and the wine was watered down.”

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