May 25, 2008 - The "Captain Dan"

Hello everyone!

Well the fast-paced action of the week continued today with the Video Dude taking a trip aboard Dixie Divers' "Lady Go Diver" heading out to the "Captain Dan" along with Dive Diva Heather and Charlie. Captain Nick gets us out to the wreck site and Divemaster Fernando jumps in to tie off to the wreck. He comes up to report a stiff current for the first 40fsw or so, then calmer waters down to the wreck.

It turns out that in the short time it took us to drop in and float over to the wreck ball, the current has kicked up a bit more and it takes all our effort to get to the bottom of the line. After we're down on the wreck, we tour around a bit, then I find a nice spot inside the wreck to get out of the current for a while. I passed a little time playing with a Tri-color Damselfish and peeking out the windows at Heather and Charlie. We do get to see a few good-sized Barracuda swimming around as well, and then Heather gives the signal she is going up. Charlie decides to follow and I decide to do likewise even though I have some time and enough air left.

Good thing too because the current REALLY kicked up while we were down and we were flying like sheets in the wind all the way up to our safety stops. The current would be real strong for a few seconds, then slack a bit, then kick up again. This cycle repeated over and over throughout our ascent, and really made our safety stops an adventure for sure. I am convinced my arms are at least 3 or 4 inches longer!

When we pop up to the surface, Captain Nick positions the boat so we can drift right into the ladders and the fun begins trying to remove fins on a bouncing ladder. Eventually we all get back on board (and try to catch our collective breaths) when we hear that Captain Nick has decided due to deteriorating sea conditions he is canceling our second dive. I don't think anyone was very unhappy about it at this point!

Another adventure dive in Paradise!

The Video Dude

May 24, 2008 - Divemaster Log

Hello everyone!

Well, the action is non-stop this week as once again the Video Dude puts on his Divemaster "Hat" and heads out to Commercial Blvd. Pier to assist Mat of Scuba Network FTL with Open Water students on their beach dives. It's another great day weather-wise as the ocean is dead calm and there is very little current.

I assist Mat in getting the students geared up and headed for the water and get everyone organized on the beach so that Mat can brief them on the skills we'll be doing today. It is my job today to keep the "herd" together so that Mat can see everyone at all times, and to assist with evaluating the students skills underwater.

We swim out underwater to about 12-15fsw and find a nice sandy area to start running the students through their skills. After everyone has had a turn doing the required skills for this dive, we take a brief tour of the reef next to our area. Mat finds a baby Nurse Shark (about 3ft long) hiding under a ledge and it takes off like lightning. Everyone got a thrill out of that you can bet! Now it's time to swim back to shore and change over tanks for the next dive. Once again I get everyone organized underwater and we head back to our entry point.

Back at our cars now, we swap over tanks and get ready for our next dive. We discuss what we saw and Mat briefly talks about how everyone did and what we are doing on the next dive. Then I get everyone organized for our next beach entry and we head back to our skill area to finish up the remaining skills. Once completed, we get to tour a little again then head back to shore. I assist with getting everyone back up the beach to their cars and getting their gear cleaned and broken down, then it's off to the shop to fill out log books and get everyone ready for their boat dives on Sunday.

Another day of working (?) in Paradise!

The Video Dude

May 23, 2008 - The "Tracy" and "Sunkist Reef"

Hello everyone!

What a busy week this is turning out to be. Friday, May 23rd finds the Video Dude aboard Parrot Island Scuba's "Fathoms O' Fun" heading out to dive the wreck of the "Tracy" and "Sunkist Reef". Today I am diving with a friend of my dive buddy Joanie, Jeff Fawcett, and we couldn't have picked a better day. The weather was clear, ocean was flat, and visibility was really good.

Captain Mikey took us out to "The Tracy" in record time. As Divemaster Dale was injured and not able to get wet, I was elected to "jump the wreck" and tie off the mooring ball for the boat. After getting tied off. I waited for my buddy Jeff at the bottom and we went on a tour of the wreck, checking out the 5ft Barracuda in the wheelhouse, going through the swim-thrus, and even checking out an opening in the hold area. Then it's time for Jeff to go up and do his safety stops, and I wait at the line to make sure everyone goes up so I can untie the line. After the last person is up the line and it goes slack, I untie and head up to do my safety stops. Upon reaching the surface, I hand the line up to Divemaster Dale and get back on board.

After our surface interval, Captain Mikey heads us out to "Sunkist Reef" and drops us near the ledge. Jeff and I drop in and start drifting along with the current, checking out the Pufferfish, Lobsters, Basket Starfish, Blue Angels and Blue Chromis along the way. The reef had lots of fingers which we explored as well. All too soon it is time to head up to our safety stop and get back on the boat. It was a very nice drift dive with lots of bottom time and good visibility.

More fun on an action-filled week of diving in Paradise!

The Video Dude

May 21, 2008 - Divemaster Log

Hello Everyone.

Wednesday, May 21st finds the Video Dude once again donning his Assistant Instructor "Hat" and heading over to the Pompano Beach Aquatic Center to get started teaching a class of Open Water students on their pool skills.

Under the watchful eyes of Scuba Network Instructor Mat, I get the students geared up and entering the pool in the shallow end. I review and brief the students on buddy gear checks, compass navigation, descent and ascent procedures, underwater communications, how to switch from snorkel to regulator and back while swimming on the surface, and cramp releases.

At this point Mat takes over and we run through the alternate air ascent procedures in the shallow end, then the procedure for entering the deep end (both giant-stride entries and following the bottom contour). Once in the deep end of the pool, we run the students through all the skills, and all too soon the class is over. We get everyone out of the pool and over to their cars to stash their gear and clean up, then we have a de-briefing on everyone's skills.

So I got a chance to teach a little as well as evaluate student skills, and I have taken another step towards being an instructor in Paradise!

The Video Dude

May 20, 2008 - South Florida Spearfishing Club

Hello everyone.

On Tuesday, May 20th I was invited by my friend (and Dive Diva) Heather to attend a meeting of the South Florida Spearfishing Club. Not being a spear-fisher or hunter (except with the camera), I wasn't sure what to expect.

The meeting was at a restaurant called Galuppi's in Pompano Beach, FL. We had a lovely sit down dinner and I listened in on the club's business meeting. I was introduced to quite a few people with interesting diving backgrounds and skills, and was made to feel welcome by everyone. This seems to be an interesting group of people that are not only interested in spear-fishing and hunting, but they are also environmentally aware - taking care of the marine world and educating everyone they can about protecting the underwater world.

If you'd like more information about the South Florida Spearfishing Club, you can visit their website HERE.

Another fun evening of diving comraderie in Paradise!

The Video Dude

May 18, 2008 - RSB1 and McAllister Reef

Hello everyone!

Sunday afternoon May 18th finds the Video Dude out for a relaxing couple of afternoon dives with Dive Diva Heather and her friend Charlie. We are aboard Dixer Diver's "Lady Go Diver" and we are headed out to the "RSB-1" and "McAllister Reef".

Captain Nick gets us to the "RSB-1" in record time, and after Divemaster Osman jumps in and ties off to the wreck, we all get in. There was a little bit of a strong current in the first 40fsw or so, but after that we were good until we hit the wreck. Lots of life on the wreck this time around. Heather, Charlie and I took a pass around the ship, then headed over to the deck and cargo hold areas. I found a Basket Starfish and we all saw a Goliath Grouper swim by. Suddenly, Heather's eyes got real big and she started pointing behind me. Not knowing what to expect, I turn around and nearly get french-kissed by a HUGE Sea Turtle!! It was closer than any other turtle I have ever seen! It allowed me to pet its neck and scratch its belly and one rear flipper before swimming casually over to one of the hold openings and going in. Heather followed it in and got to play with it herself for a bit. It was sooo cool! What a great experience!

By this time, my nitrogen clock has run out, so I signal Heather and Charlie that I am out of time and am heading up the line. They continued to swim around for a while longer while I did my half-stop at 50fsw and my safety stop at 18fsw. I then got back on board and began swapping my gear over.

After about an hour surface interval, Captain Nick drops us on "Ray McAllister Reef". Heather, Charlie and I head over to the ledge and begin driftng with the current. We saw lots of Pufferfish and Arrow Crabs, and I saw a few Spadefish and lots of Parrotfish and Blue Chromis. We drifted for over an hour before it was time to come up, do our safety stops and get back on the boat. An awesome dive and VERY relaxing. Nice to do those now and again.

Another great day of diving with friends in Paradise (did I mention the Sea Turtle was sooo cool?)!!

The Video Dude

May 18, 2008 - Divemaster Log

Hello everyone!

Sunday May 18 finds the Video Dude continuing his "Divemaster Thing" with Jon Landress, Instructor for Scuba Network in Deerfield Beach, FL. Today we are on board South Florida Diving Headquarter's "Aqua View" , heading out to one of my favorite wreck sites, the "Sea Emperor". Another great day weather-wise with no waves, a llittle stronger north current than yesterday, and about 40ft or so of visibility.

I get everyone's gear organized on the boat and start them all setting up and checking everything over. I assist them with any equipment problems, but allow them to do all the setup. Once they are done, I check everything over and Jon starts his dive briefings.

Once we are underway, SFDH Divemaster Robert gives his usual fabulous boat briefing and a briefing on the dives we'll be doing. Once we arrive at our location, he jumps in and ties off to the wreck so we have a descent line to the bottom. He comes up to report very little current and decent visibility. I get all the students into their gear and, after a final buddy check, we're on our way down the line to the wreck.

Since most of the diving skills were done on Saturday, we really only had to check everyone's buoyancy and have them all do a safety stop for their final requirements. This means we get to tour the wreck! Jon leads the group around the deck area looking for marine life and I make sure no one drops below our depth limit. There were 2 other boats on this site so there were a LOT of divers in the water. I think they must've scared off the "residents" of this wreck, because we didn't get to see the Green Morays, Goliath Groupers or Stingrays that are normally around.

Now it's time to head up the line, and I go first to keep an eye on the students on the way up. We do a half-stop at 30fsw for 1 minute, then another stop at 15-20fsw for 3 minutes before surfacing and re-boarding the boat. I get everyone organized on the surface and have them drift one at a time to the ladder and get back on board.

After gear swap out and another dive briefing from Jon, we find ourselves ready for the next dive - a drift dive on "Lighthouse Ledge". This time I am first in the water (with a dive flag) and the students follow with Jon at the end. I get everyone organized on the surface, check for problems, then Jon gives the signal to descend. We all get to the bottom and I get everyone organized again and we start our "tour" of the reef. I saw a good-sized Hermit Crab, a couple of Pufferfish, one Lobster and lots of Parrotfish. Jon gave everyone a turn at carrying the flag so they could experience it for themselves, and then it was time to head for our safety stop at 15-20fsw for 3 minutes.

Safety stop now completed, we surface and wait for the boat to come pick us up. I keep everyone together near the flag and we talk about what we saw and how we wanted to go back and do it again!

Congratulations to all of the new divers from today, and I hope to see you on a boat in the near future!!

More fun in the sun in Paradise!

The Video Dude

May 17, 2008 - Divemaster Log

Hello everyone!

Saturday May 17th finds the Video Dude doing his "Divemaster Thing" on Deerfield Beach (FL) with Jon Landress, Instructor for Scuba Network in Deerfield Beach. We all arrive at our normal beach entry point to discover that our spot has been temporarily closed due to an Ironman Triathlon! We search around for another spot and finally get to set up our gear and begin our dives. I got everyone organized on the beach while Jon gave a dive briefing, then off we went. The ocean was dead calm and 78 degrees, very little current and, for this location anyway, good visibility at around 25 ft.

We swim/navigate out to the first reef (@15fsw) and Jon starts to run everyone through their skills. I take our one Advanced Open Water student off to the side and get her started on her photography and environment requirements. We find some nice juvenile High-Hat Drums, Porkfish and Glassy Sweepers which she photographs, then I have her start on her environmental report on the reef. About 5 minutes into this, Jon calls the dive and we all head back to shore using natural and compass navigation.

After everyone gets their gear swapped over and I assist with any problems, we're back in the water for our next dive. Jon continues working with the students while I finish up with the Advanced Open Water student. I have her finish her environmental report, then we work on navigation. I string a line out so she can determine her kick cycles on a set distance, then have her do an "out and back" swim, a square pattern and a triangle pattern. She was nervous about navigation on the beach, but she did very well in the water.

We have a little time left on this dive, so Jon and I take everyone on a little "tour" of the reef. We found a Baby Squid (2-3 inches long) which didn't like Jon and squirted him with ink. We also saw a Southern Stargazer - rare around here I am told - just sitting on the reef and everyone got to see it. It was very cool!

Well that's it for today's report. Tomorrow I get to do it again, but this time we're on the boat.

Another beautiful dive day in Paradise!

The Video Dude

May 4, 2008 - "United Caribbean" and "Turtle Ledge"

Hello again!

Sunday May 4 finds the Video Dude, along with number one dive buddy (and Scuba Goddess) Terri, heading out aboard Parrot Island Scuba's "Fish Food" to do a wreck dive on the "United Caribbean" and a drift dive on "Turtle Ledge". It was an awesome day weatherwise, sunny and nearly flat seas, as Captain Mike headed us over to the wreck in record time.

After divemaster Dale goes down and ties off to the wreck, Terri and I jump down to the wreck and check out all the action going on. We did several penetrations of the wreck (I passed on one or two of them!) and got to explore some areas of the wreck that we had not ever seen before. There wasn't a lot of fish activity that day, but we both found some nice shells (a cowrie and a couple of olive shells) and we saw a Stingray sail by while we were headed to the ascent line.

After our surface interval, we arrive at "Turtle Ledge" for our drift dive. This time Terri and I are joined by new Nitrox diver Jennifer, and we get ready to jump in. When we arrive on the reef, there is a slight north current and visibility was about 60ft. We're drifting along taking it easy and looking at Lobster, Spotted Filefish, a Green Moray Eel, and I saw a VW bug go swimming by (actually it was a HUGE Loggerhead with a couple of Remora hanging off it's shell). What an awesome sight! I've only now seen 2 Loggerheads in my diving career and they just amaze me with their size and grace. Terri also found a couple of Arrow Crabs which we showed Jennifer, and then it was time to come up.

Another great day of diving with (old and new) friends in Paradise!

The Video Dude

May 3, 2008 - Boynton Beach, FL

Hello again everyone!

Saturday May 3rd finds the Video Dude in Boynton Beach, FL heading out with a group of E-divers aboard the "Underwater Explorer" to do a couple of drift dives. Dove with Brian, Terri, Carole, Francois and Kevin. Sea conditions were 2-4 ft and horizontal visibility was running about 60-70ft.

Dive #1 was on "Black Condo Reef", a very nice reef that I had never been diving on before. Very easy current pushed us along without much effort and we enjoyed the Spotted Eels, Green Moray Eels and a couple of Nurse Sharks along with the usual cast of South Florida tropical fish.

Dive #2 was on "Gazebo Reef", one of my favorite Palm Beach County reefs. Lots of fish life and more Spotted Eels, Green Moray Eels and a couple of Lobster. Again the current was very easy and it was a great relaxing dive with good friends as well as new friends.


Just more diving fun in Paradise!

The Video Dude

April 27 - The "United Caribbean" and The "Sanctuary" Reef

Hello again!

After my action-packed morning of Divemastering, the afternoon finds me aboard Parrot Island Scuba's "Fish Food", along with my new dive buddy Joanie, heading out to a wreck dive on the "United Caribbean" and a drift dive on "The Sanctuary Reef". Weatherwise it was an amazing afternoon -sunny, very little wave action and nice top-to-bottom visibility.

Captain Mike gets us to the wreck in good time and, after getting tied off, we all jump in to find no current to speak of and about 70ft of horizontal visibility. The "United Caribbean" is pretty torn up these days -caused by multiple hurricanes- but it's still a nice wreck to visit. Occasionally, like today, you get to see some of the residents of the nearby "Sea Emperor" on the wreck. Today we only saw "Baby" the 7-foot Green Moray, but we also saw a big Nassau Grouper and a Lobster, along with the usual cast of tropical fish. It has been a while since I have seen the whole wreck in one dive and it was very nice to explore.

After our surface interval, Captain Mike dropped us off on our drift dive of "The Sanctuary Reef". After heading west to find the ledge, we had a nice north drift and saw that mating season was in full swing! We saw a couple of Puffer Fish in a Barrel Sponge, 2 big Burrfish doing the mating dance, another Lobster and lots of Queen Angels. I also found a golf flag (the kind you find in the hole on a green).

A beautiful dive day (and a long one!) with a good friend, and made a few new friends as well. Ah, Paradise!

The Video Dude

April 27 - Divemaster Log

Hello All.

The morning of Sunday, April 27 finds the Video Dude donning his Divemaster hat once again and assisting with a class of Open Water students from Scuba Network in Deerfield Beach. Instructor Terri and I meet the students over at South Florida Diving Headquarters to get signed in and gear loaded aboard the "Aqua View" and get headed out to the "Sea Emperor" and "Lighthouse Ledge".

Captain Lori gets us out to the "Sea Emperor" in record time and DM Ed gets us tied in and reports little to no current on the wreck. Terri and I get the students down the line to the wreck and then have the students go through their remaining open water skills. After that, we take them on a brief tour of the wreck site and we get to watch the two resident Green Morays out free-swimming around below us!

After our surface interval and gear changeover is complete, we're off to "Lighthouse Ledge" for our drift dive. The students do very well on their first free-descent and we get to have a nice tour of the reef. A slight current and great visibility made for an excellent experience for the students.

Congratulations to our new divers and I hope to see you on a boat sometime soon!

Working hard (?) in Paradise,

The Video Dude

April 26 - Mark's Ledge

Hello all.

Saturday, April 26 finds the Video Dude aboard a new boat called "Island Magic" heading out to a local reef called "Mark's Ledge" for a couple of nice drift dives with one of my dive buddies, Heather and a group of people from the local spearfishing club. Captain Jim put us on the spot and we all jump in and find a nice easy current with about 60ft or so of visibility.

On both dives combined we saw a Sea Turtle, an 8ft Nurse Shark, lots of Hogfish (made for happy spearfishers!) and a couple of Lobster. The reef is in great shape since hardly anyone goes there and the barrel sponges and coral are very pretty.

The "Island Magic" is a great boat and Captain Jim does an excellent job of finding the dive sites and keeping the divers happy and entertained.

It was yet another reminder of why I live in Paradise!

The Video Dude

April 20 - The RSB-1 and Sunkist Reef

Hello all.

Sunday, April 20 finds the Video Dude on his way out to a wreck dive on the RSB-1 and a drift dive on Sunkist Reef. Today I am aboard Parrot Island Scuba's "Fathoms O' Fun" with Captain Jerry and DM Kimmie, and my dive buddy Heather.

When we arrive at the wreck site, DM Kimmie jumps in to tie off the descent line. She comes up to report a screaming current and tells everyone to make sure they make immediate contact with the descent line after jumping in or they will get pulled off by the current. Sounds like the descent line is gonna be what we like to call a "flag line" or "laundry line" as we will be flying in the current like flags or laundry in the wind. We do manage to get down the line eventually and find the wreck. Not a lot to see on it this day as the fish are all doing the same thing we are - staying out of the current by hiding behind the bulk of the wreck. Did manage to find a nice Basket Starfish thanks to Heather, though. After about 20 minutes we decide it's time to head up the line and after doing a half-stop at 40ft, we head up to do our safety stop. During the safety stop, a fishing boat hooked our ascent line (fortunately no divers were hooked) and Heather ended up cutting the line to avoid anyone getting caught.

After our surface interval, we head out next to Sunkist Reef - a very pretty reef with lots of fish life. We saw 2 Green Morays, 5 or 6 Scorpionfish, a couple of Crabs mating and lots of Queen Angels. A little current made it so we didn't have to kick too much, and the visibility was @60ft or so.

A couple of really nice dives with good friends and a good boat crew.!


The Video Dude

April 19 - OceanFest Fashion Show

Hello everyone!

On Saturday, April 19 the Video Dude had yet another first-time experience as I participated in a wetsuit and casual clothes fashion show presented by OceanFest and Wetwear Aquatics. No actual models in THIS fashion show! We were all divers, surfers or beach bums modeling different types of wetsuits and other casual clothes. We ranged in age from 3 years old to somewhere in our 50s. Wetwear Aquatics provided the wetsuits, which are custom-made for each diver and are made from materials that do not compress at depth, providing more warmth and longer wetsuit life.


In addition to the wetsuits, several booths from the show provided additional clothing and accessories for us to wear. My favorite accessory is the Scuba Do Rag and my friend Susan Martin (aka CoCoSheNayNay) matched our wetsuit colors with the appropriate Do Rag for the occasion. I personally own and use several Do Rags and they are the greatest!

Everyone who participated had a great time "strutting the catwalk" and getting to be a "model" for a day. It was certainly a new experience for me, but one I will always remember. More fun in Paradise!


The Video Dude