7.26.08 - "Sunkist Reef" and "Lighthouse Ledge"

Hello everyone!

After a week of teaching Open Water students, it's time for the Video Dude, accompanied by his number one dive buddy and Scuba Goddess, Terri, to head out aboard South Florida Diving Headquarters' "Aqua View" for a trip to the "Rodeo 25" and a drift dive. It's a beautiful day for diving - clear skies and flat seas - as Captain Laurie and Divemaster Ed steer us towards our dive site. Also onboard today is E-diver Tim (and his re-breather beast) and, making a rare appearance aboard the "Aqua View", the buddy team of Joe and Peter. An all-star cast if there ever was one! Additionally, there are only 17 of us on board (about half capacity) so we are comfortable as well.

We arrive at our dive site thanks to Captain Laurie's great skills, and Divemaster Ed jumps in to tie the descent line to the wreck. When he comes up, he reports that the current is "ripping" all the way to the bottom and suggests we might rather prefer a drift dive instead. Laurie puts it up to a vote onboard and, as everyone really didn't want to have to work that hard for a dive, we all decide to do a reef drift dive instead. Laurie takes us over to "Sunkist Reef" and Terri, Tim and myself get dropped on the deep side of the reef. We drifted along in a pretty stiff current checking out the Lobsters, Shrimp, and other reef critters. Just about the time I am ready to head up ( I have been working pretty hard with the flag all this time) I feel the flag line go slack and I think the line has broken in the current. I start reeling in the line and find my clip still attached, so the flag somehow managed to unclip on it's own. I break out my DAN surface marker, inflate it and attach it to my reel and shoot it to the surface. We drift a little farther, then it's time for me to go up while Terri and Tim stay down a while longer. I take Terri's DAN surface marker with me because I know that I am not going to end up on the flag when I surface, and I deploy it on the surface as expected to be picked up by the boat.

After our surface interval and gear changeover, Laurie takes us to our next dive site, "Lighthouse Ledge" for our next drift dive. Once again, Terri, Tim and I are dropped on the backside of the reef and we start touring around. The current is a little less this time and once again I have the flag. We saw more Lobsters, Spadefish, Shrimp, a Brittle Starfish (found by Terri), and lots of Grunts, Squirrelfish and Chromis. After nearly an hour's bottom time, we have to come up and end the day.

A beautiful day of diving with Tim as well as the Scuba Goddess Terri in Paradise!

The Video Dude