Posts Tagged ‘ScubaBoard’
Monday, January 4th, 2010
Hello everyone!
Starting the New Year right by doing a dive trip, the Video Dude finds himself aboard Parrot Island Scuba’s “Fathoms O’ Fun” , along with a group from ScubaBoard, headed out to the “Captain Dan” and “Grouper Bend” Reef. A great day to be out on the water and though the air was a bit chilly, the sun was out.
Captain Jerry and Divemaster Keith get us underway and off to our first dive site with their usual skill, and in no time we are there. After Keith jumps in and ties off the descent line and comes back with a report on conditions, we all jump in and head down the line. Visibility at the bottom was about 50ft, but it was a bit dark at 110fsw. Had to use my video lights for most of the dive. Lots of divers were doing penetrations and looking for Goliath Groupers and there were lots of the usual fish types on the wreck. After a 35 minute bottom time, it’s time to head back to the line, our safety stops, and ultimately the boat.
After gear changeover and our surface interval, we arrive at our second dive site and jump in to start our drift dive of the reef. Most of the group were hunting for Lobster and I, of course, was shooting video. I found a large King Helmet shell, and the rest of the group caught about 2-3 Lobster each. Grouper Bend is always an interesting reef and today was no different. With the sun out, the colors really “popped”.
A great day of diving with friends here in Paradise!
Doug the Video Dude
Tags: Captain Dan, Fathoms O' Fun, Goliath Grouper, Grouper Bend, King Helmet, Lobster, Parrot Island Scuba, ScubaBoard, Video Dude, wreck
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Monday, September 21st, 2009
Hello everyone.
September 20th finds the Video Dude diving in Jupiter, FL with some of the gang from ScubaBoard. We’re diving with Jupiter Dive Center and heading out to catch the Goliath Grouper Aggregation. Captain Mike and Divemaster Chris get us all settled aboard the “Republic IV” and we head out in search of some of the largest fish around. Skies were beautiful, seas were calm and there was a great deal of excitement aboard the boat. I was diving with a couple of friends of mine, Paul and Thora, and everyone was looking forward to the dives.
In very short time, Captain Mike has us all out on “Bonnie’s Reef” where many Goliath Grouper have been recently spotted. We get geared up and ready to jump in with Divemaster Chris leading the way. Almost immediately, we see a big Green Moray who thrilled us all by free-swimming along with us for most of the dive. Additionally, during the combination of both dives we came across a Lionfish, a huge Hawksbill Turtle, several more Green Morays, a giant Burrfish and ultimately our goal for the day, the Goliath Grouper. Although the number wasn’t quite what we wanted, there were 5 or 6 swimming around together, each surrounded by their own “bait ball” of fish. It was an awesome sight to watch!
All too soon the dives were done and we had to retreat back to our dive boat. Everyone was in full chatter mode on the way back to the dock, marveling at everything we saw today. It truly was a spectacular day of diving! Thanks to Jupiter Dive Center, Captain Mike, Divemaster Chris and my dive buddies Paul and Thora for a great day of diving here in Paradise!!
The Video Dude
Below are some still shots from the video, which is now available for purchase (see link at bottom of post).
Tags: bait ball, Bonnie's Reef, Burrfish, Florida, Goliath Grouper, Goliath Grouper Aggregation, Green Moray, Hawksbill Turtle, Jupiter, Jupiter Dive Center, ScubaBoard, Video Dude
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