ScubaDoo83
Contributor
I've done it! 5 ocean dives are now under my belt. Lots of "firsts" on this trip including ocean dive, shore dive, boat dive, drift dive, backroll entry and using a dive flag. The trip was incredible and a massive learning experience at the same time.
Day 1: 17mph winds due East. To me that meant nothing, to anyone who knows better it meant a dry day where scuba ain't happenin. The dive shop who supplied us gas suggested we not attempt a shore dive in these conditions. I asked him if it was dangerous or not ideal and he responded "not ideal" so I stuck with the plan and decided to dive anyway. After all, we came here to dive damn it! Long story short, the ocean chewed us up and spit us out. The surf beat the holy hell out of us. A wave crested just above my head and I lost grip on the dive flag hurdling it to shore while my reel whizzed with the ferocity of a runaway train. I look to my right and my father (dive partner) is now down on one knee with waves crashing over his head and no mask. That's right, the ocean swallowed his $90 mask. We call it after about 8 minutes of brutal fighting.
I was shocked at how quickly we met failure. We somehow stayed positive and returned to the dive shop for suggestions and the gentlemen suggested we travel about an hour north to West Palm Beach area to dive an inlet. We get there and suit up and easily get in the water with no surf, great! Or so we thought..... turns out the guy who suggested it was new to the area and did not know that this location was tide specific. We were in 4-5 foot murky water with an incredible current to fight. We fought and fought and fought. My dad couldn't stay down and kept getting water in his rental mask, I actually heard him cuss underwater
After about 45 minutes of this we called it a day, got some Italian food ,cigars and bourbon to rest our tired and beaten bodies. Tomorrow was a new day.
Day 2: We wake up and attempt the whole thing over again. The wind was 6mph SE. MUCH better conditions and when we saw other divers gearing up we knew we had a better shot. We made it through the surf and dived both reefs off the coast. It was a great first ocean dive. We saw a 6-7 foot shark (I believe nurse) which definitely picked up our spirits. We got two shore dives in this day and enjoyed it very much. I handled the dive flag and reel with precision and my dad did a fantastic job with navigation.
Day 3: We decided to do a boat dive in order to give our bodies a bit of a rest and to get away from the sand. Best decision ever. We went out with Capt Conrad aboard the Miss Conduct (I believe he is a friend of some around here) and had a great time. He took us out to the third reef where we did two fantastic drift dives. We saw eel, shark, crab and a large variety of colorful fish. Also got to putt along with some large schools of fish which was an amazing experience.
The trip had it's ups and downs and lots of lessons I did not expect to learn but I wouldn't change it for anything. With each experience that lets you come out alive you learn something. It makes you feel more confident and secure going forward. Scuba diving is not a casual past time. It requires work, discipline and planning. The feeling of accomplishment is incredible and provides memories that last a lifetime.
Now I'm eagerly awaiting next months trip where I will be obtaining my AOW on a liveaboard at Catalina Island!
Edit: Anyone know how to properly post a .gif? This one doesn't seem to work when posted as a photo.
Day 1: 17mph winds due East. To me that meant nothing, to anyone who knows better it meant a dry day where scuba ain't happenin. The dive shop who supplied us gas suggested we not attempt a shore dive in these conditions. I asked him if it was dangerous or not ideal and he responded "not ideal" so I stuck with the plan and decided to dive anyway. After all, we came here to dive damn it! Long story short, the ocean chewed us up and spit us out. The surf beat the holy hell out of us. A wave crested just above my head and I lost grip on the dive flag hurdling it to shore while my reel whizzed with the ferocity of a runaway train. I look to my right and my father (dive partner) is now down on one knee with waves crashing over his head and no mask. That's right, the ocean swallowed his $90 mask. We call it after about 8 minutes of brutal fighting.
I was shocked at how quickly we met failure. We somehow stayed positive and returned to the dive shop for suggestions and the gentlemen suggested we travel about an hour north to West Palm Beach area to dive an inlet. We get there and suit up and easily get in the water with no surf, great! Or so we thought..... turns out the guy who suggested it was new to the area and did not know that this location was tide specific. We were in 4-5 foot murky water with an incredible current to fight. We fought and fought and fought. My dad couldn't stay down and kept getting water in his rental mask, I actually heard him cuss underwater
After about 45 minutes of this we called it a day, got some Italian food ,cigars and bourbon to rest our tired and beaten bodies. Tomorrow was a new day.
Day 2: We wake up and attempt the whole thing over again. The wind was 6mph SE. MUCH better conditions and when we saw other divers gearing up we knew we had a better shot. We made it through the surf and dived both reefs off the coast. It was a great first ocean dive. We saw a 6-7 foot shark (I believe nurse) which definitely picked up our spirits. We got two shore dives in this day and enjoyed it very much. I handled the dive flag and reel with precision and my dad did a fantastic job with navigation.
Day 3: We decided to do a boat dive in order to give our bodies a bit of a rest and to get away from the sand. Best decision ever. We went out with Capt Conrad aboard the Miss Conduct (I believe he is a friend of some around here) and had a great time. He took us out to the third reef where we did two fantastic drift dives. We saw eel, shark, crab and a large variety of colorful fish. Also got to putt along with some large schools of fish which was an amazing experience.
The trip had it's ups and downs and lots of lessons I did not expect to learn but I wouldn't change it for anything. With each experience that lets you come out alive you learn something. It makes you feel more confident and secure going forward. Scuba diving is not a casual past time. It requires work, discipline and planning. The feeling of accomplishment is incredible and provides memories that last a lifetime.
Now I'm eagerly awaiting next months trip where I will be obtaining my AOW on a liveaboard at Catalina Island!
Edit: Anyone know how to properly post a .gif? This one doesn't seem to work when posted as a photo.
