Diving with Don, or The Renegade Report.

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Scubakevdm

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Hey! I had alot of fun today diving with Don Claypool and met some great folks to boot. I rolled up to work today, met by divers waiting for my happy butt to show up so they could get some tanks and go diving.
One of them says, "Hey, you look like you may be Kevin!" Knowing deep down inside that he was right, I fessed up to it. Low and behold they were SB'ers! Rab and MantaRay and Mark (sorry, I forgot your secret SB name) They got to talking and low and behold they're going out with Don Claypool! I've been trying to get out with Don for a year! So I got to calling my boss and asking if I could go, and she got to saying yes (Lynn rules!), so I got to getting my stuff and throwing it in Don's boat and away we went! Now I have forgotten to introduce the captain for today, who was J.R. or R.J., I think. I'm not good with names, but I am good at remembering that he was a really great guy.
Anyway, as we approached the inlet we discovered some very large and very pointed waves. It became a little bit creepy, but J.R. piloted us through it and before we knew it we were safely through the surf zone and headed for the Castor, a 268' long freighter sitting in 113' of water. There was a pretty snappy current, moving to the North at about 1.5 knots. Vis was probably about 50' Water temp has bounced back up to 78 degrees or so. The current made it very difficult to hit the wreck, but the second time was the charm.
Notable were the ever-present group of medium large goliath grouper (5 or 6 in the 300-500 lb. range), a small school of 40-50 lb. amberjack, and a large school of 15-20 lb. crevalle jacks.
Ooh, I forgot... some of the coolest stuff we saw on the surface. Two sailfish swam right next to the boat, two loggerheads were wrestling or something. I think its too early for them to be mating. Maybe they just couldn't wait. Also a pod of about 25 bottlenosed dolphins. Awesone stuff.
After the interval, we jumped back in at Castle Ledge, where we saw the resident goliath grouper, then headed up top to Lynn's. The current up top was pretty strong, and it was a pretty tricky to stay on the ledge, but Rab and Don handled it like a walk in the park. There were a couple of turtles, a hawksbill and a juvie green, some bugs and tons of fish. I had a great time, thanks Don and J.R.... you guys rule!
 
Nice report Kev, thanks for sharing it.
 
I'm jelous!
 
Hey Kevin,
Great trip report!
"This is going to be GREAT!" Im going to be down Dec19th-Sunday afternoon and hope to get a dive in with you guys! Love to get on one of the wrecks that we did not do last time-but Rome was not built in a day!
Then I will have to stick around so you cant talk bad about my diving skills or lack~!
See ya in a few days,BRRRRRRRRRR! its cool up north!
Brad
 
moneysavr:
Hey Kevin,
Great trip report!
"This is going to be GREAT!" Im going to be down Dec19th-Sunday afternoon and hope to get a dive in with you guys! Love to get on one of the wrecks that we did not do last time-but Rome was not built in a day!
Then I will have to stick around so you cant talk bad about my diving skills or lack~!
See ya in a few days,BRRRRRRRRRR! its cool up north!
Brad

Awesome! It will be GREAT!
 
Excellent report buddy! Yawl musta had to wear the long shorts instead of the speedo with the temp down to 78! :D
 
CBulla:
Excellent report buddy! Yawl musta had to wear the long shorts instead of the speedo with the temp down to 78! :D

There was an upwelling two days before our dive, I was on the same wreck... 71 degrees in the sand. It's water like that that empties a speedo right out. Makes it like a colorful blister on the front of you.
 
Scubakevdm:
There was an upwelling two days before our dive, I was on the same wreck... 71 degrees in the sand. It's water like that that empties a speedo right out. Makes it like a colorful blister on the front of you.
:laughing:
 
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