Diving Adventures: Caitlin in the Keys

I have one day left consisting of 4 dives. Right now the morning is scheduled to be exhilarating with two deep dives, one dive being a wreck. In the afternoon it will be two leisurely reef dives. I have discovered that diving in the Florida Keys can satisfy just about all . Every level of diver will find that there is a dive site for them. Furthermore, one has a great opportunity to fulfill a variety of interest dives. If you love wrecks, you have got plenty to choose from old and new, deep and shallow! If wrecks aren’t your thing and your looking to get some great photos of reef life, you will not be lacking here.

In 5 days I have done 13 morning and afternoon dives and one night dive at sites up and down the Florida Keys. I have loved every second of it. It is a great feeling to look at my dive computer and see 131 feet/40 meters or when I look at it and realize my dive time is nearing an hour and that is the only reason the dive has to come to an end! Some dives have been more challenging because of the dive conditions such as currents but it has been easy to adapt to and in my opinion makes it all the more fun. When I was diving at the more relaxing reef sites I was happily taking my time enjoying the beautiful colors found in reef life down here. As an instructor I could see the potential teaching opportunities in my various dives. Reefs that have depths that would satisfy depth requirements for discover scuba diving students, sandy patches to perform the open water skill performance requirements, or choose a night dive for an adventure dive or part of your night diver specialty and you may see a hawksbill turtle like me! This is just a quick, basic blog reflecting on my Florida Keys diving experience so far. Once this trip is over I will follow up with more in depth blogs about my time down here in the Keys!

Father's Day Countdown - Diving and the Father/Son Relationship

Morgan Ames and his son Morgan:

Fingers intertwined, I clenched his little hand in mine and nestled his right elbow in the crook of my left elbow, and, inhaling a deep breath, we dived beneath the waves with my fins kicking to propel us forward beneath the anchored, floating swim platform until he squeezed my hand to signal it was time to surface and breathe.  That memory of my son Morgan’s first dive -- at age 4 -- the summer of 1980 at Waikiki Beach, Oahu, Hawaii is burned indelibly into my memory.  Then,  after ten years of snorkeling and skin diving with me, and observing me scuba diving with friends, he, too, earned his PADI Open Water Diver, and our father-son relationship developed an even deeper bond as dive buddies!  The sequence of PADI courses at our local dive shop gave meaning contextually to his high school chemistry, physics and math courses – those courses that many students often wonder, “When am I ever going to use this stuff?” As the pages of his dive log filled, the discipline associated with the use of pre-dive checklists and diving – Plan Your Dive; then, Dive Your Plan -- reinforced important life skills as he gained additional Advanced OWD, Emergency First Responder/First Aid provider and Rescue Diver certifications.  Retrospectively, I credit diving and his principal team sport of lacrosse, in which he played goalie, with much of his early development as a leader.  His choice to seek a nomination and appointment to the United States Merchant Marine Academy (Kings Point, NY), where he was the varsity lacrosse team’s captain and record-setting NCAA goalie, his success as an engineering major in the classroom and his election of a career as a surface warfare officer in the United States Navy all stemmed from his application of mature decision-making, disciplined approach and consistent work effort – all of which were reinforced through scuba diving.  From his early days of diving in northern Virginia quarries, diving and the U.S. Navy have taken him to dive locations many of us have only dreamed of – places like Montauk Point, NY; Virginia Beach, VA; the wrecks of “The graveyard of the Atlantic” off Morehead City, NC; the kelp beds of Monterey/Carmel/Point Lobos, CA; Bora Bora and Fiji; Caribbean islands; the Mediterranean islands of Malta and Crete; Red Sea dive sites; not to mention the world’s largest aquarium at Dubai and Florida’s fresh water springs.  Not only does diving afford me opportunities to gift him dive gear at Christmas and birthdays but also diving together as dive buddies has deepened our father-son relationship, enriched our lives and still gives us something to look forward to whenever we get together.  Over these past 32 years, diving has become one of his several passions as he adapted the adage to be “Plan Your Life; then, Live Your Plan!” These days, my son Morgan is not only a great scuba diver and a respected Navy commander, more importantly, he is an impressive man and a loving husband.  I look forward eagerly to seeing where his career and diving take him, and hope to have the opportunity to share diving with him … and my grandchildren!   Along with the joy of sharing diving with Morgan as my dive buddy, I have learned much from him.  In our case, the pupil has, indeed, outstripped the master!

Mainstreaming Diving

We are probably at the height of the TV series and movie remake period.  Whether writers are out of new, original, good ideas or Retro is just in, you gotta admit, we are into New Spins on old shows.  There have been winners and losers.  Hawaii FIVE O is a winner in my book, even with “DANO” in the new series being from NJ.  The New Charlie’s Angels, not so much.  Funny that my opinions were the exact opposite back in the day.

Diving needs an awesome TV series.  We need another “Mike Nelson” or another “Jacques Cousteau”.  We need Drama and Adventure on the Tube based on Scuba.  These shows are why I always wanted to get into scuba.

Now we have shows like “Into the Drink” and Movies like “Sanctum”, but it’s not the same.  We need drama, adventure and Escape!  We need “Mike Nelson”

Now I am an avid diver, an instructor, a scuba nut!  I’m in, I’m sold!  Why would I “need” a Dive based TV show.  Well, because I’d watch it, talk to my scuba buddies about it, and my non-scuba buddies.  They might just get-it why I love scuba once they are “Sucked in” to the show.

So PADI has dabbled in this area with the Drop Zone series.  Now I love those documentary style Surf meets Scuba shows…actually I’m infatuated with Holly Beck…that is beside the point. But they are not addictive.  We need Mike back.

So, Hollywood, before you remake another SITCOM, bring us Mike Nelson!  (or even Michelle Nelson!)

Voracious Beauty

Lionfish have become the talk of the dive and reef communities.  Lionfish are normally confined to the Indian Ocean and the western Pacific, where they're relatively rare. With colourful but venomous spines, the fish has proved a popular aquarium pet. But at some point in the early 1990s, the fish escaped into the wild; how this happened is a subject of much speculation.

Since then, the fish has invaded much of the Caribbean, devouring any small fish in its path. They are not particular about where it lives, colonising both reefs and mangrove lagoons. This means young reef fish that typically shelter in mangrove lagoons before they set up home on coral reefs don't stand a chance.

Voracious predators, scientists are increasingly concerned about the effect they could have. In some experiments, lionfish have led to a 70 per cent reduction in native juvenile fish species.

So they have become the target of many hunting expeditions aimed at thinning the herd, including many "If you can't beat'em, eat 'em" campaigns.  But while we humans are likely the cause of this invasion, and we are taking to hunting to curb their effect, perhaps we should leave t to nature to fix the problem.

In the Exuma Cays Land and Sea Park – the oldest, largest and 'best-policed' marine reserve in The Bahamas – researchers found ten times fewer lionfish in parts of the reef where there are lots of groupers. Fishing has been banned in the park for 20 years, so it now boasts a healthy grouper population.

 

But other experts would say the reason you do not find as many lionfish where groupers are abundant is because they force the lionfish out of their territory, just like they do in the Indo-Pacific.  Either way, populations are controlled.

 

Bottom-line, maybe we should focus on Groupers and they'll take care of the rest.

Cold Water Diving – Why?

I recently attended a lecture by Dr. Drew Richardson that covered his most recent Antarctic Diving Expedition ( http://tecrec.padi.com/tag/antarctica-diving/ ).  They drilled through 7 feet of ice to get to the water and what a world they explored…Giant Sponges, playful seals, unadulterated underwater landscapes and creatures…absolutely beautiful vistas.  What an adventure! …but at the extreme of “Cold Water Diving” and not necessarily what I’m talking about here.  Few of us get to experience the -2 degrees Celsius temps of Drew’s Tec dives, but most of us have plenty of opportunity to dive  in Cold water (40 to 70 degrees F) on the east and west coasts of the United States and see beautiful vistas, 6 Gilled Sharks, Octopus, Kelp Forests, wrecks, Lobsters, etc.  That is the cold water I’m talking about. 

Check out this link: http://www.alertdiver.com/Catalina_Island and see one example that exemplifies the awesome sights to be seen! 

You don’t have to be cold, by the way.  Depending where you are diving, 7mm Wet Suit technology has certainly come a long way to providing protection in frigid waters and Drysuits, which can make the chilliest waters comfortable, are more available than ever (more and more Dive Centers rent them), and more affordable to the recreational diver than ever.

A Drysuit certification is essential to safely and comfortably dive a drysuit and like everything else in life, the more you dive ‘em, the unique skills become second nature…and what a world they open up to divers!  Check out a few more examples of Cold Water Adventures:

http://www.alertdiver.com/Beneath_Cold_Seas

http://www.alertdiver.com/The_Quarries_of_Northwest_Ohio

http://www.scubadiving.com/article/news/2012-great-lakes-shipwreck-festival-dates-announced

http://www.theperfectdive.com/DEF-SiteList.asp

 Bottom-line:  There is something new and cool in all out world's wters and oceans,  be adventurous and check 'em out!

DEMA 2011 Report

DEMA 2011 was another awesome experience!  So much to see, we were only able to capture a small snippet what was out there.  Here's a sampling of the cool things we saw:

MiFlex Hoses: Color Color Color!  Check out http://www.miflexhoses.co.uk/ for a variety of new hose colors including purple, blue and Pink!

Zeagle - The new Ranger LTD now comes standard in Black or in Smoke Gray, a good looking, rich color that compliments any suit or other gear color combination. The shoulder is designed with the new super duty Airloc buckle that will swivel to adjust the harness to the body’s contour to eliminate binding and restriction of movement at the chest and underarm areas. That is very cool.  With the addition of harness type webbing and a new threading arrangement the diver can easily add more D-rings and other accessories conveniently on the shoulder. This feature will now allow the technical and accessory minded diver to further set-up his BC to what he needs for the type of diving he is doing. We have also added a right-hand shoulder dump with a pull knob located conveniently on the inside edge of the right shoulder pad. The dump valve acts also as an additional safety overpressure valve.

·        Wicked Ranger – Way cool.  You just have to check it out: http://www.zeagle.com/showproduct/1081/Wicked-Ranger/

·        Custom Colors:  Check out these photos!

Body Glove - Colors and Styles.  Here are a few examples of some sharp new looks.  Body Glove has come a long way with Wetsuits and Skins.  If you haven’t checked them out…you should!

 

There was much, much more and you should check out the following link to see a few video’s of the Floor.  http://www.demashow.com/dema2011/public/enter.aspx

2012 is going to be a very exciting year for diving!

Destination: The Grand Bahamas, Our Lucaya Beach and Golf Resort

A whirl wind adventure to the Caribbean for pennies on the dollar! Last week I had no plans to be whisked away to a luxury resort in the Bahamas. Now I sit on Vision Airlines premier flight from Richmond, VA enroute to be “Wined and Dined and dived!”

This is one of the advantages of being a PADI Pro, something lovingly known as the “FAM Trip” (Did I mention we have a GoPro night scheduled 30 November?). “FAM” for familiarization trips are where Dive locations, Airlines, Ministry of Tourism’s team up to educate Travel brokers and Dive Shops on the advantages of planning trips to their locations. It’s typically a great deal and an outstanding way to get first hand information on potential new travel locations.

This morning I rose early (4AM) and traveled to Richmond Airport. I had never flown from that airport and I have to say, “Not Bad.” Vision Airlines begins its direct flight from Richmond to Freeport in November, so today was a test run as well. (I guess we were already on Island time!) No worries as they checked us in to our hotel (Our Lucaya Beach and Golf Resort) while we waited we had plenty of time for a nice breakfast. Full plane, free drinks…so far so good.

Flight is away, the party atmosphere continues.  The Bahamanian Ambassador flew with us and welcomed us to his Island.  (<2 hr flight direct from Richmond on Vision Air - Sweet!) A quick bus ride to the resort and a grand welcome to the Our Lucaya Beach and Golf Resort.  Free Bahama Mommas are flowing and a small trade show is inside.  As soon as I am recognized as a Diver I am whisked away across the street to the UNEXSO Dive operation.  Here I am informed that the boat will be leaving shortly, and we are off to a Shark Dive at "Shark Junction!"

We line up and the show begins.  I don't want to ruin the story...you'll need to experience it yourself!  A short boat ride back and lunch is waiting for me. I chat with other divers eating lunch and then off to get ready for the evening festivities.

The Evening party began at 6PM.  Conch in many dishes, open bar, dancing music and a parade! About 9PM the party moves to the Casino and goes on to the wee hours of the night.  Absolutely fabulous!

A full day of tours the next day, including Stuart's Coves new location at the West End and back to the airport!  Bags already there!  They had free Bahama Mammas again and we fly home when the plane is loaded!  Yahoo!  What a great time, what a great dive location with tons to do and what a friendly island!

I'm in for another Grand Bahama!