Great day at Jules Undersea Lodge

[mselenaous]

So as luck would have it this weekend, the seas were less than welcoming for my 4 open water referral students to complete boat dives for their certifications. When this happens, local instructors head to the Emerald Lagoon at Jules Undersea Lodge. The facilities have an on-site dive shop with rental gear, restrooms, showers, drink machines, gift shop, and picnic tables, chairs, and gear rinse bins...everything handy that a class would need (in fact this is where Instructor Examinations are held). While some might consider this a local muck dive (compared to our world famous reefs), it is set up as a very student friendly environment with stairs, railings, training platform & buoys and is full of unique features and unusual surprises. One of the complaints is that it will silt up very quickly, so if an instructor plants his/her students on their knees to complete skills, of course no one will see anything the rest of the day. I find warning my students in advance and practicing for just this type of dive really reinforces the necessity for good trim and buoyancy control. It gives me the excuse to have them lay down on a picnic table to practice proper positioning. And then it becomes an underwater game between the students to catch each other before silt happens.

So on Saturday, my students started on the platform getting neutral and horizontal and we practiced skills. Then went off for a dive in search of cool unique stuff. They got to see the Marine Lab that is a big glass bubble with instruments. They got to swim up into the entrance of the Undersea Lodge and then peer inside it's windows. They jammed with drums and piano left by the crew of "Amazing Race" when they filmed an episode in the lagoon. They saw spade fish, lobster, crabs, cannons, statuary, and how others' less aware students could cloud it up. Now as many dives as I have completed at Jules, I am still finding surprises. But so far the best and biggest surprise was the 7ft manatee that had come into the lagoon. The manatee hung out while we hovered for a while then moved on and let us follow it a for a bit. WOW! Since I got certified 29 years ago I had never dove with a manatee! And these new divers did it on their first day of their diving careers. I'm not sure I could top that for day 2, but wait. There's more.

The next day although the seas had begun to calm, just not enough for a students first boat dive, we headed to Pennekamp State Park for some shore diving. Again not as spectacular as our coral reefs but a calm place to work on skills. Here too it silts up easily, so by the second dive, these fellas were getting pretty good (patting myself on the back). So I was surprised by the silt cloud just in front of us and I hovered over it expecting to find a sting ray or other bottom critter to no avail. At the end of the dive, I was surprised to hear from my students that while I was looking in the silt cloud below a juvenile dolphin was buzzing my bubbles over my head. And I missed it . The fellas returned to northern climes yesterday to regale co-workers around the water-cooler of their close encounters of the manatee and dolphin kind and plan future dive adventures. (Guess I'm doing the same here on Scubaboard...:popcorn:. Yes I like my job.)

[NetDoc]

While I missed the manatee at Jules and have dove there often, I was completely impressed with shore diving at Pennekamp. Lots of lobster, a huge red drum, blue crabs, rock crabs, hermit crabs, a plethora of blennies, a few species I had never seen before (juvies???) and the cutest 6 inch hogfish you have ever seen. I really liked the fact that I had a nice beach to get in and out of, there was silt to keep students on their toes (off the bottom, that is) and a number of species of fish and critters to oogle at. Nope, it's not the same as diving on a reef, but it IS a great place to get skills down pat. Kudos to the DC crew for showing off their skills. Thanks for the sandwich and the fun.

[Thalassamania]

We used both Jules and Marine Lab as part of the Scott Carpenter Man in the Sea Program. They are unique facilities. It's just too bad that they're not off shore in a more interesting environment.

[NetDoc]

It's just too bad that they're not off shore

We're actually pretty happy that they are not off shore when the waves peak over 6 ft and we have students to teach.

[Thalassamania]

6 ft? That's a calm day for the Pacific.

[NetDoc]

Which is why I live here, Thal. However 6 foot seas in 10 foot of water is not safe. Too many coral heads.

[Thalassamania]

I know, you, "Coral Heads," are such a hazard.

Here we've just got big lumps of cooled lava sitting on the bottom.

[F106A]

Very nice report. Thanks.

[NetDoc]

Both are fun, fun dives and if you have the time, you should dive there. Most people never get to see an underwater habitat.

[Davemohio]

A dive bud and I did some check out dives there last April. Fun time. Interesting. Friendly staff.

We had the place to ourselves till an early afternoon class arrived.

Waved at the folks in the "lodge".

The place next door has some of the best breakfasts on the planet.