Florida GUE event reports

Well, I think everybody's here, so I thought I would start a thread for reports.

We got in at 10:30 this morning after a couple of red-eye flights, which simply reminded me of how much I hate not getting any sleep. The hotel, of course, didn't have a room ready at that hour, so we snacked and sat in the restaurant, went for a beach walk, and then slept in the lobby until 2:30. We got a day of free internet access out of being patient and well-mannered.

A nap improved my mental state, and then we went out, hoping to rendezvous with ScottL at Sailfish Marina. We finally FOUND the place, and it was mobbed; wait times at the only restaurant were over an hour and we discovered that whatever Peter did to put Scott's phone number in his Droid didn't actually work. (Mine had gotten the battery run down, and was in the hotel.) So we went looking for another restaurant, and had a decent meal, after which we trotted back to the hotel to meet the group in the bar. I got to meet, face to face, the following: Errol Kalayci, Dan Volker, ScubaFeenD, HenrikBP, Jax, Lobzilla, and Karen (don't know if Karen is on SB), as well as chatting with Bob Sherwood and KathyDee. I brought my Xen down for folks to play with (and felt very sheepish that I didn't know more about how to use it, since I only got it Tuesday).

Tomorrow, brunch, and then we dive.

sounds awesome! have a blast, lynne! (& peter!)

I'm leaving Saturday morning, looking forward to seeing everyone.

Wish I could have joined y'all, Kathy is making it sound like fun!

Peace,
Greg

Wish I could've joined the trip...Do keep us posted with updates! Hopefully we'll get to see some photos or video too!!!

Yes, agree with Jen, post pics, videos and updates. Those who could not attend must live vicariously through your posts.

Well, the diving today was FANTASTIC! We got on Jim Abernethy's boat, Deep Obsession, which is one beautiful, spacious, well organized boat, and steamed out under the Blue Heron Bridge (where we will dive on Monday) and through the mouth of the inlet, which is really the only place where we encountered much in the way of waves. Off we went to "Split Reef", which is a series of ledges that step off at about five foot intervals. They are covered in gorgonians and sponges and corals, and sport a great density of reef fish. We saw a big school of barracuda (I'd guess 50 or more) as well as schools of snapper and other bright colored reef fish (I'm not fantastic on fish ID for tropicals). We found a large nurse shark who appeared to have decided that, since he had his head under a rock and couldn't see us, that we couldn't see him. The current was a gentle drift, and the visibility was fabulous -- I'd guess 40 to 50 feet. The reef runs from about 70 feet down to 85 or so, so the dive was short, only 30 minutes until we began our ascent. I shot a bag and Peter called deco, and that was fun, because I haven't done a direct, blue water ascent in a while (or shot a bag, either). Everything went smoothly, and we were the last folks back on the boat.

We then steamed up to the "Corridor", which is a sequence of wrecks. This was my first "hot drop", where you get all the air out of your wing and suit and go down as quickly as you can. The whole group stayed together very nicely, and we drifted right to the first wreck (nice job on the boat captain's part!). Again, the wrecks were covered with life, and full of it; the first one apparently had a very large Goliath Grouper in it, although he had decamped by the time I got to the hole where he'd been hanging out. The wrecks were covered in beautiful champagne-colored tunicates with blue tips, looking like clumps of bluebells. On the second wreck, we found a very large green moray, and Peter spent some time getting pictures of him. I watched some very large predator fish (jacks?) which were a beautiful pale blue-silver color. As we drifted between the wrecks, I saw some of the little gobies who hover, vertical above their burrows, and when frightened, shoot straight backwards/downwards into their holes. I find them extremely amusing to watch. Depth on this dive was 80 feet, so it was again short, and we repeated the ascent from the first dive, with me getting to do a second bag shoot -- great practice! On the surface, we hung out for a bit while the boat picked up other divers. The surface was not rough at all, and it was pleasant just to float and watch the boats and the skyline.

Back to the dock, where the boat crew unloaded EVERYTHING, and we had a bit of drama when Dan couldn't find his truck keys. But they were found before AAA got there, so it was all right in the end. And we repaired to the hotel to watch yesterday's videos and eat REALLY good cobb salads in the bar.

A very good day of diving, and I'm just delighted with the color, density and diversity of the sea life here. For my tastes, it beats Maui all hollow -- although you have to be okay with current!

Sounds like a great start to the diving!

Wish we'd been able to swing the trip. Alas.

The timing could not be better. Fantastic weather. Nice back yard, eh?

It's been a great trip!!

Just to add a few highlights. Dan dove with us on Wednesday and somehow made a 16ft max depth muck dive at BHB into a raging adventure by hitting the peak tide current . Great fun & a great experience!! Dan is awesome !

Had a couple of fun dives with the Fundies class Thursday, then on to more adventure today. The highlights for me were a couple of beautiful 7' Nurse sharks, a huge 500lb Goliath Grouper tucked in a wreck, and a blue water 30' drifting stop shared with an impressive Swordfish (Marlin).

Really enjoyed meeting and diving with Henrik, ScubaFeenD (Tim) & Karen. Thanks for adopting me into your team & for being such good partners .

It was great to see everybody again!

That's it for me, but I really look forward to returning and joining Dan for more fun!