Key Largo Trip - with Pete and Elena

Please register or login

Welcome to ScubaBoard, the world's largest scuba diving community. Registration is not required to read the forums, but we encourage you to join. Joining has its benefits and enables you to participate in the discussions.

Benefits of registering include

  • Ability to post and comment on topics and discussions.
  • A Free photo gallery to share your dive photos with the world.
  • You can make this box go away

Joining is quick and easy. Log in or Register now!

gr8jab

Contributor
Messages
629
Reaction score
382
Location
Oregon, USA
# of dives
100 - 199
Training/Trip Report

This report is a little delayed. I’ve been busy at work and have postponed writing it for a while. I hope it is helpful and informative.

My son was interested in getting his open water certification. He had previously been to Kids Sea Camp and done the SASY and Seal Team programs at Curacao and Grand Cayman. He knew he enjoyed diving. Around age 13 he attempted to get certified through a local dive shop. He did most of the skills well, but was frustrated by a few. The most notable of which was mask clearing. He disliked it very much. We decided to wait.

This year he turned 16. After much discussion and reflection, he wanted to try again. Instead of taking him to the local shop, we decided to seek out a private instructor. After a lot of research and chatting with instructors (via email) all over the world, we decided to travel to Key Largo (from the Pacific Northwest) and learn from the Chairman of the Board, NetDoc (aka Pete Murray). He and Mselenaous (Elena Rodriguez) were both very friendly online, tolerated my continuous barrage of email questions, and provided lots of advice and guidance as we planned our trip.

As it ended up, I decided to take Self Sufficient Diver while my son learned OW. I was hesitant to do this because I did not want to interfere or impeded the OW class, but Pete and Elena assured me it would be a good combination. I would be able to participate, but not intrude. My son could hear the topics I was studying, and I could listen and absorb what Pete teaches for OW cert too.

I’ll detail the whole trip below, but let me summarize by saying that Pete and Elena were incredible. They took what would have been a stereotypical training trip and made it in to a great vacation. We had a few obstacles and issues along the way, but never once did they fail to turn them into opportunities for success. They were kind, and friendly, treated us as if we knew them for years.

Day One, Sunday

We arrived in Key Largo, after driving south from New Smyrna (and previously, Orlando). Hearing that we had arrived, Pete and Elena invited us to dinner and introduced us to the Bayside Grill. We had an incredible meal, talking about diving and travel, and hobbies, and whatever else came to mind. The food was wonderful, my son particularly enjoyed the Seafood Diablo. I’ve never thought of him as a big seafood fan, but he ate every last bite. At one point he even tried to lick the plate!!

Throughout the conversation, Pete took the time to address my son directly, seemingly to chat about stuff. I noticed that he was also gently probing for information. I later surmised that this was typical of Pete, using what he learns to adapt and change his teaching style and methods to best fit my son. Elena had her own style too. She was so friendly and talkative, but somehow also very frank and straightforward. She had such a nice way of saying “You’d be crazy to dive tomorrow, unless you like to puke!” I had hoped to get a few boat dives in while Pete and my son went to the pool… oh well.

Day Two, Monday

We rose early and met Pete at DJ’s Diner. This appeared to be his favorite breakfast joint, since he knew everyone by name and even had his own favorite table in the back. We all enjoyed a nice breakfast while Pete talked about the day’s lessons. The first day was all about my son, and I was just going to hang back and give them room to get started.

After breakfast, we headed over to the local pool, Jacobs Aquatic Center, in the YMCA park. It was a great place for dive training, and appeared to be the popular destination for many instructors. We saw several classes come and go as we worked. The lap pool and adjacent diving well seemed to be Pete’s favorite spot. I hung out in the bleachers enjoying the sun, and watching people come and go. The local preschools and other summer camps apparently use the kids pool regularly. They came marching in a long line from the parking lot, with teachers and staff leading the way. Their laid-back attitudes and matter-of-fact performances were either an indication of the more typical Keys lifestyle, or merely a symptom of the frequency of their visits.

aquatic center.jpg


After what appeared to be half of the day’s lesson, I jumped into the pool to cool off and stick my nose into Pete’s business. I wore my snorkeling gear (fins and mask), and swam around and watched them work. Pete made me practice my frog kick, and made endless jokes about my split-fins (justifiably so). Although he tried all week, I avoided giving into his admonishments, and buying replacements.

After we were done for the day, at our request for a good Cuban sandwich, Pete took us to… a liquor store! No, he’s not an alcoholic. I’m assuming that Denny (the owner of Denny’s Latin Café) must also own the Discount Liquor store right next door. The sandwiches were excellent, and reminded me of the wide variety of food found in Florida, but unavailable where we live now.

latin cafe.jpg


Day Three, Tuesday

Elena, in her friendly and kind way, again informed me that Wednesday would likely be a “puke fest” on the boats, and I should just stay ashore. I am paraphrasing a bit, as she told me this in the nicest way possible. However, I do believe the words ‘puke’ and ‘fest’ did emerge from her at some point.

Tuesday was almost a mirror image of Monday. Yummy breakfast at DJ’s and pool time at the Aquatic Center. However, I did suit-up and join Pete and my son in the pool. While he and Pete worked on his OW skills, I was sent off to improve my buoyancy, swim around without my mask, and try to take my gear off/on without touching the bottom or surface.

Pete and my son spent most of the day doing the usual OW tasks, but also building buoyance skills by playing games with weights on the pool bottom. Most everything seemed to be going well. Our biggest hurdle seemed to be building his confidence and comfort in the water so that he could successfully complete the harder tasks. Even though it was the second day of practicing mask clearing, the mere thought of it obviously bothered my son. As his anxiety grew, his buoyancy was shot and he was up-and-down like a yo-yo. By the end of the day, however, he had done everything to Pete’s satisfaction (for now).

1MICR0015a.jpg
 

Attachments

  • jules.jpg
    jules.jpg
    56.6 KB · Views: 83
  • 2MICR0025a.jpg
    2MICR0025a.jpg
    106.5 KB · Views: 78
  • MICR0053a.jpg
    MICR0053a.jpg
    209.6 KB · Views: 76
Day Four, Wednesday

Apparently, the warm waters of recent had made the shore diving at John Pennekamp park quite miserable. The bio-mass that naturally accumulates at the bottom begins to decay and emits an unpleasantness. On Pete’s recommendation, we met at Jule’s Underwater Lodge park. While still unpleasant, it was nowhere near as nasty as Pennekamp, so said Pete.

jules.jpg


We spent some time discussing our dive plan, and Pete explained the different things we would be doing. He also took considerable time to explain the pony bottle he had brought for me: how to sling it, the proper way to use, and how to share with a buddy (if I have one). In his usual jovial fashion, he told us about the resident lizards (iguana or gecko or something) that prowled around and visited people looking for handouts.

The water was very murky (for us). I know others frequently brag about diving in 5’ visibility and loving it, but we are definitely fair-water Caribbean types. I also noticed a burning in my eyes, and my son’s eyes were red and inflamed. We stared down from the shore, and within 10 feet, my son thumbed the descent. He definitely didn’t like it. After discussing things a while, we tried a descent along one of the buoy lines. After a short time, my son said ‘forget this’ and we returned to the surface. I was disappointed, but also glad he didn’t push himself into an uncomfortable situation.

My son headed to shore to stow his gear and get cleaned up, while Pete and I proceeded onward. We explored the underwater lodge some, and generally tried to find something interesting to see. There were no guests, so we couldn’t even peek in the windows at anyone. I’ve heard of the mile-high club, and now wonder if there is a 20-foot club too.

Mostly, we worked on skills for the Self Sufficient diver cert. We did a search-and-recovery, practiced deploying SMB, mask removal and swim, and mask removal and slow ascent/surface. I’m sure there were several other tasks, but I can’t recall them right now.

Upon exiting, my eyes were burning , and Pete even commented how ‘strong’ the unpleasantness was over near our entry/exit point. It was no wonder my son had been uncomfortable. Add the murky water and burning eyes to a new diver, and I probably would have thumbed it too.

Day Five, Thursday

The long drive… to Blue Heron Bridge. Since the weather was still not cooperating and boat dives were out of the question, Pete suggested we undertake a road-trip to Riveria Beach and dive the Blue Heron Bridge at Phil Foster park. I thought this was a great idea for many reasons, several of which also appealed to Pete. First, it would be clear with great visibility. Second, the shore entry is very gentle and easy. Third, there is a lot to see. Fourth, high tide (dive time) was mid-morning on a weekday, and would not be crowded. We though that after the murky nastiness that was Jules, Blue Heron Bridge might be a fun place for my son.

event_11764253.jpeg


Please don’t assume that I’m bashing Jules Underwater park or Pennekamp. Many thousands of divers have used these locations for training or simply enjoyment. Our visit was unpleasant because of the long stretch of warm water and summer heat. A week earlier or later might have been totally different.

At O-dark-thirty, we crammed Pete’s diving gear with ours into the trunk of our rental car. Thank heavens we had gotten the full-size Chevy. Anything smaller and we would not have fit. We arrived at the park about one hour before high tide. The water was wonderful, and everything we had hoped. We spend a long time exploring the bridge pylons and searching out little visitors. As we expected, the conditions were better for my son, and he had a great dive. When it was done (over an hour later), he exclaimed “that only seemed like 15 minutes!”

During this dive, my son spent some time practicing his skills. Pete also instructed me more on using the pony bottle, having me demonstrate and practice switching back and forth, sharing the pony, and lost mask gyrations. I found none of it very difficult, which made me happy. I learned a lot, but one of the biggest benefits for me was the knowledge of what I could do. As a typical OW diver, I don’t regularly remove my mask on purpose. I was worried about swimming distances and making slow controlled ascents without it. Of course, there’s no absolute guarantee I won’t flip-out if I lose my mask unexpectedly, but I feel the chances of calm and rational behavior during such an event are considerably higher.

Day Six, Friday

Pete and my son decided to return to the pool to practice his skills more. They reported that he removed his mask hundreds of times and practiced his buoyancy by playing Jenga with spare lead weights on the bottom of the pool. Apparently, this final day in the pool was a great success and seemed to solidify some of the skills with which my son had previously struggled.

While they went off to the pool, I jumped aboard one of the Rainbow Reef boats and dove the Duane and Molasses reef. Pete loaned me his 40 CF pony bottle that I had been using. I took it on both dives, even though Molasses Reef was very shallow. In the water, I almost forgot it was there. Getting off and on the boat (giant stride and ladder) I was very aware of it and cautious, but I had no problems.

Overall, it was a great day!

Day Seven, Saturday

At this point, my son had not completed all of his open water time needed to complete his OW Cert (NASE). All of the Rainbow Reef boats were booked full. Additionally, we were scheduled to return North to New Smyrna Beach for the next phase of our trip. At Pete’s suggestion, we got up early and headed to Blue Heron Bridge again. Given that high tide was late morning, it was expected to be very busy, so an early arrival was smart. Pete drove separately, but we found parking spaces near each other. I thought we were a bit early, but it wasn’t long after we arrived that others were driving around unable to find parking spots. Glad we didn’t have that problem.

We entered the water a little prematurely, but Pete and my son headed out without me to the open area near the beach. I guess it is a little protected from the current, compared to the main channel. They quickly completed all his remaining skills, and returned to find me patiently waiting in the shade of the bridge. With Pete in the lead, we headed out along the bridge pylons, fighting the still annoying current. We saw lots of cool little creatures, none of which I know the names for (except Arrow Crabs). I tried to take some pictures and videos, a few of which were OK. The shrimp picture below was my best. I’m still trying to learn the optimum distance for my macro lens, and managed to take a bunch of blurry images.

MICR0053a.jpg


After circling around the western most pylon, we snaked our way back toward the shore. It should have been slack tide soon, but the current wasn’t slowing. We (my son and I) struggled to keep up with Pete, and sought out a few spots in the lee of the current to make life easier. I had hoped that single-file in the current would be like a bicycle race peloton, allowing those in the rear to draft off the leader. In attempts to put this theory to the test, I found no noticeable benefit. Finally, after a while more, things finally slowed down and we were able to enjoy the last quarter of our dive in relative calm.

DONE! My son is now certified.

Comments about Pete:

  1. He treated us like old friends, even though we had just met.
  2. He was always communicating via text messages and phone calls. We were always in contact and never had a missed rendezvous.
  3. He had the perfect balance of patience and high standards. He didn’t pressure or stress my son, but did push him to perform.
  4. My son is a better diver, with better buoyance control than I had after my OW cert. Bravo!!

We are returning to Key Largo in October, and hope to meet up with Pete and Elena again. Hopefully Pete can guide us on my son’s first boat dive.

2MICR0025a.jpg
 

Attachments

  • 1MICR0015a.jpg
    1MICR0015a.jpg
    131.2 KB · Views: 76
Wow. I am humbled by your words. Thank you for such a wonderful review. Even more, thanks for entrusting your son to me, albeit temporarily. He and I both had a great time. He's a hoot.

The great thing about being a private instructor is that I get to adapt to both the student's weaknesses and just as important: their strengths. Yes, he had issues with clearing his mask. We would get past that only to have it come up again and again. It was far more frustrating for him than for me. It was his strength that got him thought it all: he just wouldn't give up. Oh, we called it quits for the day when things got too frustrating, but he was always game the next morning to continue. As long as he wouldn't give up, I certainly wasn't going to. We both adapted a lot that week. I had to change my strategy several times, and he had to unlearn a few bad habits and learn to trust himself. Make no doubt about it, he knew that he could call a dive at any time, for any reason with no questions asked and no repercussions. That also included this class and I made sure he knew that as well. But he wouldn't throw in the towel. He was the most determined young man I've ever met and it was a huge pleasure being his instructor.

BTW, under water Jenga will be a permanent part of my OW class as well as my Buoyancy, Trim and Propulsion class. I've never laughed so hard in my life. But, boy did his sticktoitiveness get used again. This is a bit different from real Jenga. Instead of pulling pieces out, we're building multilevel buildings with soft weights. The first level is simple, as long as you can hover in one place. The second is a bit more complicated because when you add weight to the second story, the bottom starts to shift.
 
OMG... You've been assimilated! You don't know how lucky you are to have such decent humans and excellent teachers. You will read post after post about nitwit instructors who don't know how to teach... and some who don't even like people. And somehow you managed to find the right stuff. Congrats on getting your son off to a good start, and getting your own self back on track as a diver who knows the good from the bad!

Nice work P & E!!! You make us all proud!
 
It was great to meet you two down at BHB! I wish I got some congratulatory swag from @cerich at the end of my OW with @NetDoc like your boy, he did great.

All I walked away with after my OW with @NetDoc was the newly perfected skill of spending all my money on dive gear.

....worth it.
 
Hi Sphyon! Didn't know you were on SB. Glad to hear from you.

All... we met Sphyon and his friendly S.O. at BHB on our last day in south Florida. They were another example of new acquaintances making fast friends in the Scuba world, friendly and welcoming to me and my son.

Sphyon, wish we could have spent more time with you both. We'll be diving BHB on Sunday 10/9. Maybe you could drive down and join us.
 
I'm headed up there a bit later today with @MidnightParrot, who is also a former student. We're still not sure if how the storm in the Bahamas will affect us.
 
thanks for sharing your adventure.....congrats to your new diver son...
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/swift/
https://xf2.scubaboard.com/community/forums/cave-diving.45/

Back
Top Bottom