SeaYoda
Contributor
Last week I went to check out the water conditions for a dive on Tuesday. I went to the west side of the Destin bridge and the water was a little brown. I decided to drive over and see what things looked like at the dive site anyway. I was greeted by pockets of greenish-blue and slightly brown water. I kept wishing for better news so I walked all the way to the rocks to see what was on the other side. The water was more blue so I committed to trying a dive. I had not brought the sand-yacht or the camera, just the usual gear and the pony. I decided to put on three layers of neoprene since I didn't know what to expect as far as water temp. I got all geared up and headed toward the water. If you recall that day, there was little wind and clear blue sky. Since the sun has been gone from Florida for such a long time, I forgot just how hot that thing is. By the time I got half way down the wall I was sweating profusely and could hardly breathe in my neoprene sauna. I took off the pony and opened my hermetically sealed suit of death. Within a few minutes my mind was back with me and I aborted the dive for the cool environs of the Jeep.
Yesterday I was determined to overcome my previous failure. Traffic was heavy so I skipped the water check at the bridge. I brought the sand-yacht and decided on two layers of neoprene (to be applied at waters edge not at the car). I had turned on my computer at the house and it worked fine - at water's edge it had turned off. The battery was dead. I had to rely on my in depth knowledge of the dive profile that I had done so many times before . There were lots of boats in the area close to the jetty so I decided to stay north of them for my entry and surface swim around them. As I swam I noticed that my tank seemed to be "flapping" a little. I just chalked it up to the fact that I rarely do a surface swim and carried on. Upon getting past the boats, I deflated the BC and headed under. The conditions were pretty crappy. Viz was 5-8 feet. I almost bumped into a group of four divers near the box. I tied the flag off and again noticed the "flapping" tank. I decided to check things out so I doffed my gear to find that the tank had slipped out of the band. I figured fixing the problem would be a good way to spend my time in such ugly conditions - besides, no one could see me wrestling with my gear and interrupt my work by trying to "save" me. I loaded my wetsuit with rocks (I don't believe that a pound of rocks equals a pound of lead anymore!) to control my buoyancy. After I was sufficiently lumpy I zipped up the suit and began my work. It seems that the five months of no diving had caused the tank band to stiffen and feel snug on land. Now it was wet and loose (so I thought), a light tug and I should be back in business. It took a little more effort than that because the kink was still in the band. After a couple attempts I had things in order. I birthed all my rock eggs and got everything back on. I got my buoyancy and trim back together and was able to spend some time poking around the rocks by the metal box. The water temp was 69* where I was. There were a lot of comb jellies in the water but no nettles. There was a little bit of sea weed but not enough to bother with. There seems to be an abundance of young slippery dick wrasse and a few blennies. I got to swim with a couple large sheephead that took their time checking me out before heading to the pass. After a 38 minute dive in the cloudy water I headed back to shore and sat there for a while before packing up and heading home. I'm looking forward to some better viz days but this was a good day to get reacquainted with the water after this long dry winter.
Yesterday I was determined to overcome my previous failure. Traffic was heavy so I skipped the water check at the bridge. I brought the sand-yacht and decided on two layers of neoprene (to be applied at waters edge not at the car). I had turned on my computer at the house and it worked fine - at water's edge it had turned off. The battery was dead. I had to rely on my in depth knowledge of the dive profile that I had done so many times before . There were lots of boats in the area close to the jetty so I decided to stay north of them for my entry and surface swim around them. As I swam I noticed that my tank seemed to be "flapping" a little. I just chalked it up to the fact that I rarely do a surface swim and carried on. Upon getting past the boats, I deflated the BC and headed under. The conditions were pretty crappy. Viz was 5-8 feet. I almost bumped into a group of four divers near the box. I tied the flag off and again noticed the "flapping" tank. I decided to check things out so I doffed my gear to find that the tank had slipped out of the band. I figured fixing the problem would be a good way to spend my time in such ugly conditions - besides, no one could see me wrestling with my gear and interrupt my work by trying to "save" me. I loaded my wetsuit with rocks (I don't believe that a pound of rocks equals a pound of lead anymore!) to control my buoyancy. After I was sufficiently lumpy I zipped up the suit and began my work. It seems that the five months of no diving had caused the tank band to stiffen and feel snug on land. Now it was wet and loose (so I thought), a light tug and I should be back in business. It took a little more effort than that because the kink was still in the band. After a couple attempts I had things in order. I birthed all my rock eggs and got everything back on. I got my buoyancy and trim back together and was able to spend some time poking around the rocks by the metal box. The water temp was 69* where I was. There were a lot of comb jellies in the water but no nettles. There was a little bit of sea weed but not enough to bother with. There seems to be an abundance of young slippery dick wrasse and a few blennies. I got to swim with a couple large sheephead that took their time checking me out before heading to the pass. After a 38 minute dive in the cloudy water I headed back to shore and sat there for a while before packing up and heading home. I'm looking forward to some better viz days but this was a good day to get reacquainted with the water after this long dry winter.
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