12.30.08 - Divemaster Log

Hello everyone.

Well. it's been a while since I got to wear my DM hat, so it was nice to be the Divemaster for South Florida Diving Headquarters aboard the "Coral Princess". Captain Dick and I played host to 7 divers and 29 snorkelers for the afternoon. It was a great experience for me to get to demonstrate my abilities for SFDH and it was a lot of fun meeting new divers and snorkelers. Setting up the boat and getting gear for everyone was quite a challenge as wave after wave of people arrived at the dock to get on the boat. Fortunately, I had some help - Scuba Goddess Terri was there in her capacity as Instructor, so she lent me a hand getting everyone situated.

After arranging everyone on the boat and making sure everyone had the necessary gear, we headed out to our first dive site, "The Nursery". After getting moored to the anchor ball, Captain Dick gave the briefing for the divers and I gave the briefing for the snorkelers. Following the site briefing, we get everyone situated with gear and get them into the water. The snorkelers were having a blast looking at all the fish and a few of them even saw our resident Nurse Shark! Terri was working with a non-diver on a piece of gear called the "Mini-B", which is a self-contained scuba unit with a 30 cuft tank. This was my first experience with this unit, and I hope not the last. Very Cool!!

After about 40 minutes at this location, we get everyone back on board and head out to dive site #2 - "The Copenhagen". Captain Dick and I get everyone situated with gear and once more into the water. This site is the site where the wooden ship was sunk after running aground in the early 1900s. There is quite a lot to see if you are snorkeling and it's a nice easy dive site for divers of all levels. Once again about 40 minutes elapse and we get everyone back on board and heading for the dock. I get into the pineapple and start slicing it up for everyone and get everyone's gear sorted for storage back at the shop.

What a great day of "crewing"! I had a blast working with everyone and watching a future new diver as well as some new snorkelers enjoy the great wonders of the ocean that we all enjoy. Hope I see you on a dive boat sometime!


Crewing the day away in Paradise,

The Video Dude