Posts Tagged ‘Lighthouse Ledge’
2.2.10 - Divemaster Report
Thursday, February 4th, 2010
Hello everyone!
February 2nd finds the Video Dude donning his Divemaster hat and working aboard Parrot Island Scuba’s “Fathoms O’ Fun” for the day. It was a beautiful day for diving with partly cloudy skies, mild temperatures and flat seas.
The morning trip had 6 divers aboard and was headed for a popular wreck site, the “RSB-1″ and “Razzle Dazzle Reef”. After getting everyone’s gear aboard and handing out whatever rental gear was needed, we get underway. Captain George gets us out to the site in no time, and I am jumping in to tie off the descent line to the wreck. Very little current on the bottom made for a nice dive for everyone and reports came back that there were lots of Barracuda and a couple of Goliath Grouper. While the divers are down, George and I begin to notice what would be the omen for the afternoon, Man o’ War jellyfish are starting to show up. Carefully, I jump in and retrieve the descent line and we head off to our next dive site.
After gear changeovers and surface intervals are complete, I get the divers divided into groups and ready to jump in for their drift dives. George positions us over the reef and the divers jump in for a nice leisurely drift along the reef. After about 40 minutes bottom time, the groups begin coming to the surface and I assist everyone back onboard. Reports of Lobster, Green Morays, and schools of various fish pass between the divers as we head back to the dock.
The afternoon trip is headed out for the “Sea Emperor” and “Lighthouse Ledge” reef. This trip has a family of 4 aboard and they are all very excited about seeing the wreck and reef. I get everyone’s gear aboard and make sure they have everything they need, then it’s off the our first dive site. Captain George gets us out to the wreck in good time and I jump in to tie off the wreck line. It’s gonna be a good dive for the family as conditions were good down below. Just as everyone began jumping in, a Man o’ War jelly got caught on the descent line and 2 of the divers caught a tentacle across the hand. The whole group proceeded with their dives, and while they were down, I was making sure the jellyfish didn’t get caught on the ladders or the dive line. Just as I had the line cleared, 2 of the divers came up and another jellyfish got caught on the line. This time the other 2 divers got minor stings. After everyone was onboard and gear secured, I administered some first aid for everyone and they began to feel the stings less.
Surface intervals done and gear changed over, George takes us out to “Lighthouse Ledge” for a drift dive along the reef. Wary of the jellyfish this time, the family jumps in and starts their dive. While they are diving, I am sitting on the dive platform with a pair of tweezers and a magnifying glass picking tentacles off of the dive line, so the next person to use it won’t get stung. No incidents of stings this time as they get back on the boat, and they were all excited to report the things they saw. The family had a great time on their dives and they are planning to come back again.
Divemasterin’ the days away here in Paradise,
Doug the Video Dude
Tags: Barracuda, Divemaster, Fathoms O' Fun, Goliath Grouper, Green Morays, Lighthouse Ledge, Lobster, Man o' War jellyfish, Parrot Island Scuba, Razzle Dazzle Reef, RSB-1, Sea Emperor, Video Dude
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11.14.09 - JBL Spearguns Equipment Demo Day
Tuesday, November 17th, 2009
Hello everyone!
Saturday, November 14th finds the Video Dude shooting video aboard South Florida Diving Headquarters‘ “Coral Princess” for an equipment demo day. JBL Spearguns, Oceanic Dive Computers and SCUBA Network (Deerfield and Fort Lauderdale) put the whole event together and divers got to pay a discounted rate for their seats on the boat in return for the opportunity to try out the various spearguns and computers (including Oceanic’s Datamask!).
After getting everyone set up with the gear they wanted to try, Captain Shane and DM Matt took us out to Hillsboro Ledge and turned everyone loose to play with the new toys. I swam along with the speargun group on the first dive getting some footage of them using the guns (and keeping my eyes open for stray shafts!). The dive went well and everyone who tried the guns enjoyed the experience.
After our surface interval was done, we headed over to Lighthouse Ledge for more playtime. Everyone was able to switch and try something else if they wanted. This time I dove with the divers trying out the Oceanic Datamasks and wrist-mounted computers. Lots of reef to see and everyone was thrilled with the various computers.
So, next time you’re on a boat and you see a JBL speargun or Oceanic dive computer, that might be someone who participated in the Demo Day!
Playing with new toys and friends in Paradise,
The Video Dude
Tags: Coral Princess, DataMask, Hillsboro Ledge, JBL Spearguns, Lighthouse Ledge, Oceanic Dive Computers, SCUBA Network, South Florida Diving Headquarters, speargun, Video Dude
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1.13.09 - Divemaster Log
Wednesday, January 14th, 2009
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!!
The (Divemaster) Video Dude
Tags: dive flag, Divemaster, divers, drift dive, Fish Food, Lighthouse Ledge, Marine Sanctuary, Nurse Shark, Parrot Island Scuba, shark, The Balls, The Copenhagen, The Nursery, The Sea Emperor, Video Dude, wooden coal ship
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