6.08.09 - Blue Heron Bridge - My 500th dive!

Hello everyone.

Monday June 8th finds the Video Dude and dive buddy "Hall of Famous" Joanie diving under Blue Heron Bridge. This is my 500th (non-teaching) dive and Joanie is working on her photography skills for her upcoming trip to Indonesia (lucky duck!). The weather was very cooperative and high tide was scheduled for 9:10am. We arrived at the bridge @8:30am and began setting up our gear. After our final buddy checks, we head for the shoreline and make our way into the water to finish getting our fins on and any last-second final adjustments.


Then it's off to the pilings on the west side to see what we can see. Visibility turned out to not be so great, maybe 10ft or so, so we had to stick close together. We right away found lots of Starfish and the ever-present Sea Urchins with their shell camouflage. We actually saw an urchin using a plastic cough syrup bottle for camouflage! I haven't laughed like that in a while! Zig-zagging around the pilings we also came across a Batfish, Arrow Crabs the size of Frisbees, Banded Shrimp, Barracuda, Spadefish, Hermit Crabs, Lobsters, Sheepshead and Hogfish. It was definitely a full-variety day to be sure!

After close to 80 minutes underwater, we decide to head back to the beach. It was a nice leisurely swim back and we finally bumped into another couple that were just heading over to the bridge. We basically had the whole place to ourselves until then! It was a great spot for my 500th dive and having a great dive buddy along made it even better!

Here's to the NEXT 500 dives in Paradise!!

The Video Dude

6.6.09 - Sinking of the "Miracle of Life" Wreck

Hello everyone.

The month of May was very busy for the Video Dude. Now that I am a NAUI Instructor, there have been a lot of teaching opportunities coming my way (more on THAT in another post). So now we are into June, and I can think of no better way to start the month than by watching the sinking of a new artificial reef right here in my hometown!!



Saturday, June 6th started with the promise of a beautiful day. Bright sunshine, very little wind and calm seas were on tap for today. I had reserved a seat aboard Scubatyme Charters' "ScubaTyme III" and we left the marina @10:45 in the morning to get our position in the viewing area to watch the sinking. At @11:45, the hatches were opened below the waterline and the former "Miss Lourdies" began to take on water. It took about 9 minutes for her to submerge beneath the surface in full view of everyone.



After the safety divers had gone down to make sure the ship had landed in the proper spot (and upright too!), the all clear was given for dive boats to allow divers on the wreck. "ScubaTyme III" was the only commercial dive boat with divers ready to immediately get in, so at @1:30pm we all hit the water for our first look at the new "reef". She is 170ft long, sits in 140ft (+-) of water with the tallest point (the wheelhouse) at @100ft. It is really strange to see an artificial reef in it's beginning - all clean and painted pretty - but we all know that soon there will be growth on it, followed by fish and animal life adding to our rich reef system here!


Another great diving adventure in Paradise!!

The Video Dude

4.24-4.25.09 Pompano Seafood Festival

Hey Gang!

Well it has been a while since I posted last. I have been a busy camper these days and finally have some time to post. Back at the beginning of April, I finished my NAUI Instructor ITC so I can now teach SCUBA diving, and I have been busy with teaching, Divemaster work, and shooting video ever since!

So here's what happened this past weekend. I had the opportunity to work at the Pompano Seafood Festival with the good folks from DEMA in the "Be a Diver" pool. This was a 30 x 20 foot pool with a depth of about 4ft where anyone who wanted to try scuba diving could strap on a tank and, under supervision of an instructor, experience the thrill of SCUBA diving. I worked in the pool all day both Saturday and Sunday and met lots of nice people. There were a great deal of kids (as you can imagine) as well as adults all getting their first taste of the underwater world. After they tried it out, we gave them all packets of info from the various dive shops in the area and suggested they call for classes. I had a BLAST!! I also got to meet Neal Watson who stopped by for a visit on Sunday, and my friends Heather, Kim, Bob, Jim and Maureen all stopped by to say "Hi!".

If you ever get the chance to see this pool in action, stop by and say "Hi!" to those working in it, and of course, bring a non-diving friend to try it out!

Playing in the water in Paradise all the time now,

The Video Dude!

Be a Diver website

1.18.09 - Divemaster Log

Hello everyone.

Sunday, January 18th finds the Video Dude once again wearing his Divemaster hat for Parrot Island Scuba. This time I am paired up with Captain Jerry aboard "Fish Food" and we're off to do a couple of dives on "The Balls" - a reef mooring system on the first reef line. I get everyone's tanks and gear aboard and organized while Captain Jerry gives the boat briefing, and then we are underway out of the Inlet and into open seas. The weather is perfect and the seas are flat.

Captain Jerry gets us out to out first dive site on "The Balls" called "The Copenhagen". If you have read many of my blog postings you know that "The Copenhagen" is an old wooden coal ship that has been declared a Marine Sanctuary by the State of Florida. Upon our arrival there, I tie off the boat to the mooring ball, and get buddy groups organized and assign dive flags while Captain Jerry gives the dive site briefing. Once everyone is ready, I assist the divers to the dive platform and, after checking their gear, assist them into the water for their dive. After about 50 minutes, buddy groups start surfacing and I begin assisting everyone back on board and to their seats. Apparently this was a good day to be on this site as I heard lots of discussions on what was seen and where.

After everyone is back on board, I secure the boat and untie from the mooring ball so we can travel to our next dive site called the "Pompano Extension". This is a series of newly-added mooring balls on the first reef line and therefore the dive sites are relatively new to divers. I get the boat tied off to the mooring ball and once again I make sure the buddy groups are ready. After checking their gear on the dive platform, I assist everyone into the water for their drift dive. Captain Jerry and I keep a close eye on the groups and make sure boat traffic doesn't get too close. After about 45 minutes, buddy groups begin to surface and it's time to pick everyone up again. After getting everyone back on the boat and into their seats, I secure the boat and we head back for the dock.

Upon arriving at the dock, I get everyone's tanks and gear off the boat and organized on the dock and begin to cleanup the boat and stow gear and supplies for lockdown. A nice day on the water and I got to help lots of divers (some students and some new divers) experience diving here.

Divemasterin' the day away here in Paradise,

Doug the (Divemaster) Video Dude

1.17.09 - Blue Heron Bridge

Hello everyone.

Saturday, January 17th finds the Video Dude doing a solo dive at Blue Heron Bridge. Scuba Goddess Terri has a head cold today, so I am off to brave the chilly air temps and 70 degree water at Blue Heron. Once I arrive and get geared up, I carry my dive flag, camera and fins to the water's edge and finish getting ready to get in. Once I am underwater, I drift with what little current is left just before slack tide, and see that visibility will only be about 10ft today. Well that's OK because I now get to practice my "muck diving" skills and look for the little stuff that sometimes gets missed.

Several Starfish are about, along with hundreds of Sea Urchins - one had a small Crab skeleton attached as camouflage! There was also a small Flounder trying to hide from my camera, a Red Batfish, a couple of Lobster, lots of very large Arrow Crabs, and an Octopus that had made a "garden" from empty bottles. He actually tried to hang onto his "favorite" bottle while I was shooting video. It was kinda funny.

Click to play the video:


After about an hour and a half bottom time, I started to get chilly and started making my way back to the beach to get out and head back to my car. There were a few scuba classes going on and I chatted with a few people about shooting video, then dropped my gear at my car, changed clothes and headed home.

It was a great day of diving and I was glad I could shoot video so my sick dive buddy (and others) could see it. It was a little eerie not having a dive buddy nearby, but I am glad I had the experience.

More fun diving in Paradise,

Doug the Video Dude.

1.13.09 - Divemaster Log

Hello everyone.

Tuesday, January 13th has the Video Dude once again donning his Divemaster hat for Parrot Island Scuba. This time we're set up for an all-day schedule with both a morning and an afternoon trip booked. Captain Nick is piloting "Fish Food" today as we set off for our first dive destination: "The Sea Emperor". I get everyone's gear and tanks organized on the boat and get them started setting up while Captain Nick gives a boat briefing and we set out through the Inlet to open ocean.

When we arrive at "The Sea Emperor", I am already geared up and ready to jump in with the descent line to tie off to the wreck. Captain Nick gives the "dive, dive, dive" signal and I am off to the bottom. I make it to the wreck and check current conditions before tying off. This enables me to judge which end of the wreck is best for tying off. After my ascent back to the surface, I give a briefing on conditions down below, and begin getting divers into the water and on the descent line. After about 40 minutes, divers begin coming back up the line and I assist them back onto the boat and into their seats. Once everyone is back on board safely, I get geared back up and jump back in to retrieve the ascent line.

Once I am back on board, we are off to our next dive site, a reef called "Lighthouse Ledge". This will be a drift dive so I assign buddy teams/groups and equip each group with a dive flag. After checking each diver on the dive platform, I assist them into the water and make sure everyone is OK on the surface. Once all groups are in the water and headed in the right direction, Captain Nick and I monitor the diver's positions and watch out for boat traffic. After almost an hour, divers begin re-surfacing and I assist them back on board the boat and into their seats. Once all divers are back on board, we return to the dock to pick up the group for the afternoon trip.

Back at the dock now, I assist the morning group with getting their gear and tanks off the boat and organized on the dock. After they are taken care of, it's time to do a quick cleanup of the boat before loading the afternoon group's gear and tanks aboard and getting everyone organized. After a boat briefing by Captain Nick, we are once again underway to our afternoon dive sites.

This afternoon we are doing two dives on "The Balls" - a series of mooring balls on the first reef line. Captain Nick decides to take us to a reef called "The Nursery" where there is a lot of juvenile fish activity and the occasional Nurse Shark. Once again this will be a drift dive, so I get the buddy groups organized and assigned a dive flag and check the divers over before assisting them off the dive platform into the water. We stay tied to the mooring ball while the divers drift with the current, keeping an eye on both them and nearby boat traffic. When the groups start to get too far away, we untie and head off in their general direction, monitoring them along the way. After nearly an hour, groups start to surface and we begin the process of picking everyone up and getting them back on the boat.

Once everyone is aboard and starting to changeover their gear for the next dive, Captain Nick takes us to the next dive site, "The Copenhagen", an old wooden coal ship that is now a Marine Sanctuary. Once again the buddy groups get ready and I assign them flags for the drift. I assist everyone on the dive platform and make sure they are OK on the surface, then Captain Nick and I begin the surface watch for divers and boats. After about 45 minutes, groups begin to surface and I assist everyone back onto the boat and into their seats. After a final diver roll-call, I secure the boat ladder, untie from the mooring ball and we return to the dock.

Back at the dock the process of getting tanks and dive gear off the boat begins again and I get everyone's gear organized on the dock. Then it's time to clean the boat and store all the gear, snacks, camera/mask buckets and whatever else needs to be done to get the boat ready for lockup.

A long busy day, but a lot of fun helping divers out in Paradise!!

Doug The (Divemaster) Video Dude

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

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

12.20.08 - "The Ant Beds" and "Abbey Too Reef"

Hello everyone.

Saturday, December 20th finds the Video Dude and Scuba Goddess Terri once again aboard ScubaTyme for more reef diving. Once again Enzo, Captain Steve and DM Amanda welcomed us aboard and got us situated. We nearly had the whole boat to ourselves as there were only 8 divers on a boat that holds 18, so it was very comfortable with lots of room to "spread out".

After getting our gear set up and listening to Captain Steve's boat briefing, we are underway to our first dive site - a reef called "The Ant Beds". This is the first time I have ever been on this reef, and the topography was very different than the rest of the reefs down here. Terri and I were going to look for lobster and do some exploring since this was a new reef to us. We saw a couple of Spotted Morays, a big Green Moray, lots of schools of Grunts, Yellowtails, Blue Chromis and more. We also managed to catch 2 Lobsters. It was a nice easy drift with hardly any current, visibility was about 30ft and the water temp was around 73 degrees.

Dive #2 was on an old favorite - "Abbey Too Reef". This time Terri and I are joined by our friend Joe Marino - an amazing underwater photographer - to look for more Lobster and basically take a nice slow drift along the reef. We saw another large Spotted Eel, more schools of Grunts, Porkfish, and Chromis, and we caught another 2 Lobster. Another nice easy drift dive with very little current, visibility around 30ft and the water temp was around 73 degrees again.

Overall a nice morning of diving. Terri said "it was probably one of my favorite days of diving ever!". So there you have it. Since I am to be traveling for the rest of the year, today was most likely the last dive of 2008. Don't worry, I'll be back at it starting January 1 - dive is already booked! - so the blogs will continue! Hope everyone has a safe and Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

Still Diving in Paradise (even in winter!),

The Video Dude

12.14.08 - Blue Heron Bridge Dive

Hello everyone.

Sunday, December 15 finds the Video Dude and Scuba Goddess Terri returning to the Blue Heron Bridge to shoot some more video of the critters there. It was a much warmer day than yesterday with temps in the low 70s, but it was still very breezy. Today we are joined by fellow ScubaBoarder Dave (Wormil) and there are several Open Water classes here as well.

High tide today is 9:21am, so we get a head start on the dive by jumping in around 8:50am. The current was still moving a little, but it was manageable until it died completely at slack tide. Lots and lots of critters about today. Moon Jellyfish, Sheepshead, Starfish of all varieties, a Sand Dollar, Horseshoe Crabs, File Fish, Arrow Crabs, an Octopus, Red Batfish, Flounder, a Sea Cucumber, two types of Pufferfish, Spadefish, a Yellow Stingray and a Batfish! Quite a full day of critters and we only dove for an hour and a half!

Water temp was around 70 degrees and visibility during slack tide was about 30ft. It was an extremely enjoyable, lazy dive and WE LOVED IT!!!

Diving is Great in Paradise!

The Video Dude

12.13.08 - Anglin' Pier Reef and Sunkist Reef

Hello everyone.

Saturday, Dec 13th finds the Video Dude and Scuba Goddess Terri aboard "ScubaTyme" heading out to do a couple of nice reefs. This is the first time I have been on this boat and owner Enzo, DM Amanda and Captain Steve made me feel right at home. Seas were calm but the air temp was in the high 50's so I brought a thermos of hot chocolate along!

Dive #1 was on "Anglin' Pier Reef" in 50fsw and we were dropped on it perfectly by Captain Steve. Unfortunately, visibility was only about 20ft or so, water temp was about 70 and there was a pretty good surge going on, so shooting video was a bit challenging to say the least. Still I was able to find an Anenome, High-Hat Drumfish, a Juvenile Trunkfish, and a couple of Lobster (Terri got one). We decide to head up a bit early due to being cold and head for our safety stop and ultimately the boat. After our gear changeover (and a nip of hot chocolate!) we are ready for dive #2.

Dive #2 was on "Sunkist Reef" also in 50-55fsw and again another perfect drop by Captain Steve. Some overall water conditions as on dive #1, so we pretty much took our time looking around and trying to find small critters. Due to poor conditions, small stuff was the most interesting of the day. Overall we saw more Lobster, another High-Hat Drum, a Green Moray, Blue Chromis, 4-eye Butterfly Fish and a couple of Hogfish. Despite poor conditions, it was a great relaxing dive and a fun time spent underwater with the Scuba Goddess!


Diving the day away in Paradise,

The Video Dude