1.11.09 - "The Tracy" and "Sunkist Reef"

Hello everyone.

Sunday, January 11th finds the Video Dude and Scuba Goddess Terri once again aboard "ScubaTyme III" heading out to dive a wreck and a reef. Enzo, Captain Dave and Amanda welcome everyone aboard and get us situated on the boat before heading out. It's another beautiful day on the water under sunny skies and with very little wave action. We're a little crowded today as the boat is full (a good sign for the local dive industry), but everyone is happy to be out diving and, a good omen for the day, on the way out to our first dive site we get a pod of about 20 Dolphins riding our wake and jumping out of the water!! Way cool!!

Captain Dave gets us out to Dive site #1 - "The Tracy" fairly quickly and DM Amanda jumps in to tie off our descent line. She comes back up to report a bit of a current on the bottom and nice visibility. Terri and I jump in first since we will be penetrating this wreck and I need to get some video footage before the crowd shows up. We get down to the wreck and head inside, poking around in various areas, shooting video along the way, then we head outside the wreck for a tour around the exterior. This is where I find the Spotted Eel just sitting there posing for my camera. Very cool!! Then it's back up to the boat and get ready for the next dive.

Dive #2 is on "Sunkist Reef" - a beautiful reef we have been on many times. It always has something amazing every time we're on it though, so it never gets old. Almost immediately after reaching the bottom, Terri finds a nice-sized Cowrie shell, and a few moments later a lobster snare. She was relieved to find that because she had just lost mine the day before and was gonna have to buy me a new one. The one she found was in new condition, so it is now mine!! I also found a deep-sea fishing reel in deccent condition and along the drift dive we saw a free-swimming Green Moray, White-spotted Filefish, and a Giant Anenome. Then it was time to get picked up by the boat and head back to the dock.

Yet another in a series of beautiful dive days here in Paradise!

The Video Dude

1.6.09 - Divemaster Log - Parrot Island Scuba

Hello everyone.

Tuesday, January 6th finds the Video Dude once again donning his Divemaster Hat and crewing aboard Parrot Island Scuba's "Fish Food". Captain Nick is at the wheel, and we have a group of 9 divers from St. Augustine who have chartered the boat for a 3-tank wreck and reef trip. It's a beautiful morning as we pull away from the dock and head out the Inlet to the ocean. I get busy making sure everyone has their gear set up and checked and make sure that everyone has a dive buddy.

In no time at all, we arrive at our first of three dive sites for the day - "The Quallman Tugs". This is a series of tugboats sunk to create an artificial reef. I get geared up and jump in to tie off the descent line for everyone to follow down to the wreck. After I come back on board, I give everyone a briefing on bottom conditions and let them know where I tied off. Then it's assist everyone into the water, help with special gear such as spearguns and cameras, and make sure everyone gets down the line. Then it's the opposite when they come back up to the boat. After I get everyone and their gear stowed properly, I now get to jump back in and retrieve the descent line. No problem getting the line back to the boat, and Captain Nick begins our trip to our next dive site.

Dive #2 is on "The Tracy" - part of a series of wrecks fairly close to each other (including the "Jay Scutti" and the "Merci Jesus"). Upon arriving, I once again jump in to head for the bottom and tie off the descent line. After coming back on board and giving a briefing on bottom conditions, I learn that the divers have decided to try and visit all the wrecks in the series. They decide to take the descent line with them, which is good for me since I won't have to jump back in to retrieve it! One by one the buddy teams start returning to the boat and I once again am assisting them back on the boat and securing their cameras and spearguns.

As it was close to getting dark on us, some of the group decided they were not going to do the last dive and remained onboard while the rest of the group got ready to go. Captain Nick took us out to Dive site #3 - "Turtle Ledge", and I assigned dive flags to the buddy teams and got them in the water for their drift dive. Based on the current reports from the previous dives, we had them continue to follow the current and met them at the end of the dive to get them all back on board so we could get home before dark. Once everyone was back on board, I started having them break down their gear while we were heading for the dock so we wouldn't be unloading after dark.

A great day to be on the water and a great group of divers!

Living the DM life (and loving it!) in Paradise,

The Video Dude

1.2.09 - "Mine Car Reef" and "Hammerhead Reef"

Hello everyone.

Friday, January 2nd finds the Video Dude, along with Scuba Goddess Terri, aboard the "American Dream II" heading out to do a couple of reef dives. Today we have Captain Todd at the wheel, DM Jose on deck and we are joined by a special guest, my daughter Sascha who is in town for a visit. She's not a diver yet, but I'm working on it! We are also part of a group of E-divers who have booked most of the boat for the day. It's a beautiful afternoon weather-wise and the seas are 2ft or less, so there should be some great diving.

In no time at all it seems, Captain Todd has arrived at Dive Site #1 - "Mine Car Reef". I haven't been here in a while, but I do remember it being a nice reef. So Terri and I get geared up, jump in and head for the reef. I'm gonna try to get some video and she is looking for Lobster. As we drop towards the reef we can see the conditions on the bottom are not gonna be pretty. Visibility is probably 20ft at best and there is a small southern current. Terri finds a ledge where some Lobster are hiding out, and with the help of a couple of the E-diver crowd, they manage to get one Lobster out. That was pretty much the catch of the day as we didn't see another lobster all afternoon. We found a few other fish such as Pufferfish, Gobies and a few Grey Angelfish, but not much else was going here on today.

After our surface interval, Terri and I get geared up once again and jump in on Dive Site #2 - "Hammerhead Reef". It sounded like it might be interesting, but unfortunately the visibility was worse than dive #1. No real good video came out of this dive, and we never saw a single Lobster! Most of the usual tropical fish were about, but nothing spectacular this day. I think the fish were all using the cover of poor visibility to head out to other spots. Oh well, sometimes you get them on video, sometimes you don't. Still, it was a chance to get wet!!

Still having fun getting wet in Paradise!!

The Video Dude

1.1.09 - "Sanctuary North" and "Turtle Ledge"

Hello everyone. Happy New Year!

Thursday, January 1st finds the Video Dude, along with Scuba Goddess Terri, once again aboard ScubaTyme III heading out to video a couple of nice reefs and do some "buggin". We are joined today by Robert, a DM for South Florida Diving Headquarters and personal friend of both Terri and myself. We have Captain Steve at the helm, DM Amanda on deck and owner Enzo making sure everyone is happy. It's a beautiful afternoon and the seas are pretty flat - maybe 1-2 ft. Looks like a great day for diving.

With his usual skill and speed, Captain Steve has us out to Dive Site #1 - a reef called "The Sanctuary North". Terri, Robert and I get geared up and jump off the boat on the Captain's command and start heading for the bottom. Visibility was kind of milky, probably a good 25ft or so, not so great for video, but I managed to get some cool footage anyway. Terri got a Lobster as well, so the dive wasn't a total loss! She has become quite the Lobster Slayer! Besides the Lobster, we saw a couple of Soapfish, Juvenile Wrasse, and a Scorpionfish. Then it's back to the boat after a safety stop, and changeover gear for dive #2.

Dive #2 finds us on one of my favorite reefs- "Turtle Ledge". Terri, Robert and I jump in and head for the reef. I'm still looking for video and they are still looking for Lobster. We found a Green Moray posing in a hole along the reef edge, beautiful Blue Angelfish, Trunkfish, a Nassau Grouper and a Pufferfish along with the usual cast of tropical fish. No more Lobster to be found though, but a nice dive with slightly more visibility than the first one.

Diving the days away here in Paradise,

The Video Dude