Hetland
Contributor
The annual Winter Fort Lauderdale trip got vetoed by one of the charter members this year, so MrXRay searched around and found space on the Ultimate Getaway out of Fort Myers. The Ultimate Getaway is a 100ft liveaboard that caters to spearfishers and lobster hunters. Basically you spend several days diving the reefs around the Dry Tortugas and Marquesas. Accommodations are no-frills, but more than adaquate, and include air conditioning, hot showers, between-dive snacks, and three square meals a day. The food was a bit better than I expected, and the crew went the extra mile to take care of us. If you want be a harvester of the sea, this is your boat. If you want foot-massages and bed-time stories, book your trip elsewhere.
We left the dock on schedule Monday night, and said our goodbyes to the civilized world (phones won't work after about two hours). About midnight, we found that the forecast was off, and hit some rough seas. The boat handled them well, and throughout the trip, I didn't see a single seasick passenger.
Tuesday started a bit late due to the weather, which meant our hot breakfast was served before the first dive. While the water was warm (74ish), we found viz a bit disappointing at around 45ft. XRay, XRay, Sr., and I concentrated on lobstering while Recharge and TedFireDiver worked on spearing a few grouper and hogfish. We overnighted at the Dry Tortugas moorings, but the weather beat on us all night long.
Wednesday dawned with high seas, bad viz, and swift currents. The Captain docked us at Ft. Jefferson so we could burn a few hours exploring while the winds died down. It took all day, but the weather finally turned for the better. Our first dive was pretty sporty, and viz was around 7ft, but our second dive was much better, and the forecast for Thursday was looking good. Recharge put the largest hogfish of the trip on the boat, and TedFireDiver speared a brag-worthy red grouper.
Thursday was our best dive day with five dives in the logbook. I gave up on taking any underwater photos and broke out the speargun. Everyone brought lobster, red grouper, and hogfish on board. Ted ended up boating the largest red and black groupers of the trip on Thursday while XRay and I tied with for the largest lobster of our group (I think they were twins).
Marcus "stole" a nice hogfish from me. I made a bad shot and was trying to reload for a followup on the wounded fish. Before I could reload, Marcus cruised up and re-speared my catch, offering only a shrug as he quickly swam away... probably to steal someone else's fish
. I paid him back on the next dive. I found Marcus trying furiously to reload in time to take a nearby red grouper, which quickly ended up on MY stringer . I really love the sound of laughter through a regulator, and both Marcus and I got a good laugh out of the situation.
Friday we worked our way back to port, stopping to dive the wreck of the Baja, California, a transport ship sunk by a German U-Boat during World War II. Viz was poor, but it was a really nice dive. Ted shot a really nice grouper here too. Our next dive was on a communication tower out in the Gulf. I speared a respectable AJ that gave me a bit of trouble on the way up, but it ended up on the boat, and it was a good end to a great trip.
A few pics:
We left the dock on schedule Monday night, and said our goodbyes to the civilized world (phones won't work after about two hours). About midnight, we found that the forecast was off, and hit some rough seas. The boat handled them well, and throughout the trip, I didn't see a single seasick passenger.
Tuesday started a bit late due to the weather, which meant our hot breakfast was served before the first dive. While the water was warm (74ish), we found viz a bit disappointing at around 45ft. XRay, XRay, Sr., and I concentrated on lobstering while Recharge and TedFireDiver worked on spearing a few grouper and hogfish. We overnighted at the Dry Tortugas moorings, but the weather beat on us all night long.
Wednesday dawned with high seas, bad viz, and swift currents. The Captain docked us at Ft. Jefferson so we could burn a few hours exploring while the winds died down. It took all day, but the weather finally turned for the better. Our first dive was pretty sporty, and viz was around 7ft, but our second dive was much better, and the forecast for Thursday was looking good. Recharge put the largest hogfish of the trip on the boat, and TedFireDiver speared a brag-worthy red grouper.
Thursday was our best dive day with five dives in the logbook. I gave up on taking any underwater photos and broke out the speargun. Everyone brought lobster, red grouper, and hogfish on board. Ted ended up boating the largest red and black groupers of the trip on Thursday while XRay and I tied with for the largest lobster of our group (I think they were twins).
Marcus "stole" a nice hogfish from me. I made a bad shot and was trying to reload for a followup on the wounded fish. Before I could reload, Marcus cruised up and re-speared my catch, offering only a shrug as he quickly swam away... probably to steal someone else's fish
. I paid him back on the next dive. I found Marcus trying furiously to reload in time to take a nearby red grouper, which quickly ended up on MY stringer . I really love the sound of laughter through a regulator, and both Marcus and I got a good laugh out of the situation.Friday we worked our way back to port, stopping to dive the wreck of the Baja, California, a transport ship sunk by a German U-Boat during World War II. Viz was poor, but it was a really nice dive. Ted shot a really nice grouper here too. Our next dive was on a communication tower out in the Gulf. I speared a respectable AJ that gave me a bit of trouble on the way up, but it ended up on the boat, and it was a good end to a great trip.
A few pics:
