It was a great day of diving with Carney, Melissa, Cheryl, Ryan, Herb, Steve and John at Venice Beach. The visibility was almost 10 feet. Cheryl found a large amount of good teeth on her second time diving in Venice. She also saw a turtle and petted a parrotfish. Melissa did not find any teeth, but she had a great time exploring the small reef off Venice Beach. Steve and Ryan also found a lot of teeth. Carney was still down when I left, but I am sure he will have a nice haul.
Archive for the 'News' Category
We’re back from our North Florida Spring Springs trip, and everyone had a blast. The weekend started off with our 3 and 1/2 hour drive North to the town of Crystal River, Florida. Friday afternoon we drove up to the town of Chiefland, Florida and visited Manatee Spring State Park. We dove two sites, Catfish Hotel, and Manatee Springs. Catfish Hotel, as first sight, looks like it is overgrown with algae, but upon further review the water underneath is crystal clear. In fact while underneath, our bubbles clear off the duck weed. After our dive in Catfish Hotel we went to dive the main spring at Manatee Springs, the highlight was to swim directly into the spring, having to pull yourself down the log against the flow of the spring into the hole, then let the flow shoot you out of a swim through.
The next day we encountered a woman who cackled like a monkey at lunch. Never seen that before.
That afternoon (Saturday) we drove to near Ocala, and Paradise Springs. This spring is literally in a guy’s front yard, and the opening to the surface is only about 10-12 feet in diameter. Once inside we descended through the main cavern into a second cavern which led us to a depth of about 90 feet. Our guide, Quinn, took us down the line to the bottom of where the spring can be dove recreationally. In the caverns were fossils, and the artwork of other divers. The second dive was also in the cavern, but in the first chamber. Chris loved the caverns.
After Paradise we drove back toward Crystal River to the town of Dunnellen and had a great dinner, before heading to the boat and up river for our Night Drift Dive down Rainbow River. This was Gary’s favorite dive, as Rainbow River produces over 60,000,000 gallons of water per day and is the fourth largest spring in the State of Florida. We drifted about a mile in the darkness with our lights spotting bass, perch, garr fish, turtles, etc.
Sunday morning came early as we set out for King’s Bay in Crystal River at 7 a.m. in search of Manatees. Though we only swam with one manatee, we encountered many different kinds of wildlife from birds to fish.
Our diving ended with one final dive…a cavern in King’s Bay, which was a little narrower than the cavern from the previous day.
Everyone who ent is looking forward to going back next year and playinng in more springs. For those who missed out keep your eyes here for details of next years Spring in the Springs trip.
We had another great weekend diving in Key Largo. First, Congratulations to Sandy and Stephen for completing their PADI Open Water Diver. Second, Good Job to Gary and Hugh for finishing their PADI Advanced Open Water Diver. Additionally, Tim and Tristan both completed their Boat and Night Diver certifications. They are well are their way to earning their Master Scuba Diver Ratings. Well, Tristan will earn his Jr. Master Scuba Diver. In fact, he will be Scuba Outfitters first Jr Master Diver. Page and Tristan have almost finished their Digital Photography certification. We also wanted to welcome Mary and Amy as well as the Cornforth family to Scuba Outfitters.
The only downside if the summer season is ending, time to break out the wetsuits again. The water temperature is starting to cool off, but there is still plenty to see. The dives last weekend were great. There was plenty of fish Saturday Afternoon on French Reef. Saturday night’s Night dive was great at Snappers Ledge. Besides seeing a lot of fish, there was a large Green Moray Eel, a five foot Nurse Shark, and a large Southern Sting Ray.
On Sunday morning, the shallow boat went to Benwood and back to another spot on French Reef. At Benwood, there was a large Green Moray hidden under parts of the hull. Unfortunately, it was to far in for Tristan to get a picture of it. The deep boat did two dives on the Duane, we were the only dive boat on the Duane, so we had our run of the ship. Gary, Hugh, Tim, Lundy, Kevin and Jamie braved the moderate current to go down the short line tied to the stack. The second dive on the Duane we descended on the bow drifted the Duane at a depth of about 99 feet the ascended up the stern line. What an amazing drift!!
Between the Dive into Ocean Days at Rookery Bay and our Pool Party, the past two weekends have been very busy here at Scuba Outfitters.
First we had a number of volunteers helping at the Dive into Ocean Days at Rookery Bay on April 28th, 29th, and 30th. During those three days we invited over 300 people, most of them middle school students, to dive in the DEMA Pool. A special thank you goes out to Laurens, Austin, Dave, Scott, Gabi, and Kyle for volunteering. Here is the link to the pool pictures.
The Pool party Last Weekend was a lot of fun. There were a lot of people jumping into the pool to wash the cobwebs off their dive skills and gear to get ready for the 2011 Dive Season. Congratulations to Julia for winning the Camera Raffle and to Karen for winning the Atomic B2!!
May 21st and 22nd are looking to be a great opening to the 2011 Dive Season. There are a few spots left on the Saturday afternoon dives before our Big Barbeque at Horizon Divers.
Wow, where to start! I guess from the beginning. On my way to Key Largo I gave my friend Valentin a ride to Dade Corners. Dade Corners is the intersection of US 41 and Krome Ave 95 miles across the Everglades from Scuba Outfitters. Valentin wanted to ride his road bike back to Naples. He made it in 5 1/2 hours averaging 16 miles per hour. There are not many people that can do that. Great job Valentin!!
The wind on Saturday was S/SE at 25 knots. No boats were running in Key Largo, so we went to Jules Undersea Lodge.
Robyn completed one of her Divemaster swims before my students showed up. When my students arrived we set up our gear, chased away all the penguins, and jumped into the “refreshing” (cold 64°F) water. Herb, Tommy, and Trevor performed all their skills very well.
The hot showers back at Ocean Pointe felt great after the “refreshing dive” in Jules. We met Herb at Snappers for happy hour. After great conversation and a few cervices at Snappers it was off to Sushi Nami. For those that enjoy sushi this place is a must. Don’t let your eyes get bigger than your stomach though. We ordered a “boat for 3” and the three of us were not able to finish it. Sorry John no doggy bag either.
As for the rest of Saturday evening, “What Happens On the Island Stays on The Island!” All I’ll say is that there was this amazingly gorgeous DJ that had a fascination with volcanoes and roaches.
A cold front moved thru Saturday afternoon, which meant North winds for Sunday. Aimee and Kim joined us in Key Largo to dive for their first dives since being certified. We had one foot seas and the water was 74 degrees with 60 feet of visibility. Everyone had a great time, my students did very well, and they all can’t wait to dive again.
Congratulations to Herb, Tommy, and Trevor on completing their Open Water Certification. I look forward to diving with you in the future.
Cheers,
Sunday was a great day to go diving. The conditions in Fort Lauderdale were fantastic. The seas were calm and the visibility was about 75 feet. John took Steve on his first ocean dive. The first dive was on the Wreck of the Tracy. This was a great dive, filled with two huge schools of grunts, plus the occasional angelfish. There was also a large jack that cruised by. Dana buddied up with one of Sea Experiences’ instructor to explore both the Jay Scutti and the Tracy. The second dive was a drift over Fisher’s Pedestal. Unfortunately, John did not see any lobster, but there were plenty of cowfish.
Congratulations to Jim and David on completing their PADI Open Water Diver Certification! Despite not being a “perfect” weekend the dives on Sunday were great. We were lucky enough to have a turtle stop by and dive with us.
Remember the Scuba Outfitters Christmas Party is on December 17th at 7:00 pm. Please RSVP on scubaout.com
Come celebrate the Holidays with all your dive buddies at Scuba Outfitters. We are having a holiday gathering at the dive shop on the 18th of December starting at 7:00 pm. The Scuba Outfitters dive elves will be providing snack foods, non alcoholic drinks, and eggnog. You are also invited to bring your favorite holiday dish and drink. There will be a Secret Santa gift exchange. Bring a wrapped gift under $20! Santa Clause will be diving in our pool from 6 to 9 pm. Come and get your underwater picture taken with Santa for $5. We will be sending you a personalized Christmas Card with your picture on it. It will be a great way to ring in the holidays. Please RSVP on scubaout.com if you are attending! Don’t miss out. If the Halloween Party was any indication, it will be a great time!
Join Mike Thompson on October 25th for an Underwater Pumpkin Carving Dive on American Dream II. There will a predive meeting on October 23rd at 6:00pm at Scuba Outfitters.
Come one, come all Scuba Outfitters is sponsoring a costume Halloween Party on October 24th at 7:30 pm. We will provide food and non-alcholic drinks. Everyone is welcome to bring their preferred grog and grub. Hope to see you there!
