geogator
Contributor
This past weekend I had the opportunity to finally experience for the first time, with a great group of close dive friends from my area, some of the outstanding offshore diving available in both Pompano Beach & West Palm Beach. Prior to this weekend, my only salt water experience was a single charter trip to a couple of interesting barge wrecks offshore of Jacksonville back in September. This time around, we had a fun time on Saturday afternoon in Pompano visiting the Ancient Mariner wreck & Abby Too reef with South Florida Diving HQ. Although the visibility was only so-so, the wreck had some fun swim-through areas & there were lion fish to be hunted & lobsters to be chased over at Abby Too. As for our Sunday morning drift dives in West Palm, they were quite an adventure due to some pretty rough seas, but Sandy & her crew from Ocean Quest Charters were absolutely awesome & went above/beyond to take such great care of us & even brought the boat back inside the inlet for the surface interval between dives to give us all a much needed breather & let the greenish face tint fade a bit. 
Down below however, while the current was fairly strong, the visibility on both 80' Rock Pile reef & Larsen's Ledge was fabulous, the nurse sharks were big & plentiful at Larsen's & the colors of the fish & coral were incredibly brilliant everywhere.
As I reflected on all three of these offshore experiences on the drive back home last night, I've discovered that many of the things we are taught in kindergarten can directly apply to diving from a charter boat too. For instance:
1) Share everything (de-fog, sunscreen);
2) Put things back where you found them;
3) Clean up your own mess;
4) Don't mess with things that aren't yours;
5) Say your sorry when you accidentally hurt (ie: step/fall) on somebody;
6) Live a well-balanced (ie: buoyant) life;
7) Learn some (new skills) & think some (problems through);
8) Always look around you and be aware of wonder;
9) Take a nap in the afternoon (something about that breezy salt air);
10) When you go out into the (underwater) world, watch out for (boat) traffic, hold hands (when needed) and always stick together.
Just my 2 psi from a newbie's perspective.
Down below however, while the current was fairly strong, the visibility on both 80' Rock Pile reef & Larsen's Ledge was fabulous, the nurse sharks were big & plentiful at Larsen's & the colors of the fish & coral were incredibly brilliant everywhere.As I reflected on all three of these offshore experiences on the drive back home last night, I've discovered that many of the things we are taught in kindergarten can directly apply to diving from a charter boat too. For instance:
1) Share everything (de-fog, sunscreen);
2) Put things back where you found them;
3) Clean up your own mess;
4) Don't mess with things that aren't yours;
5) Say your sorry when you accidentally hurt (ie: step/fall) on somebody;
6) Live a well-balanced (ie: buoyant) life;
7) Learn some (new skills) & think some (problems through);
8) Always look around you and be aware of wonder;
9) Take a nap in the afternoon (something about that breezy salt air);
10) When you go out into the (underwater) world, watch out for (boat) traffic, hold hands (when needed) and always stick together.
Just my 2 psi from a newbie's perspective.
