Hardy, Shaun and Anthony at the hotel
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Hardy, Mona, Anthony and Shaun woke up at six a.m. and headed for the pier. Mark and Allison met them at the boat Rampage and they headed out to sea a little after eight. | Hardy, Shaun and Anthony at the hotel |
The first dive went to a wreck ninety feet down. The minute we giant-strided from the boat and began to sink, we found ourselves in the midst of a large school of bright yellow fix mixed with barracuda. We let out all the air from our BC's and dropped as quickly as possible to ensure that the current didn't sweep us beyond the wreck.
 Shaun explores a wreck |
Once at the wreck, we found our buddies and proceeded to explore, drifting along the length of the old boat and climbing through occassional doorways and hatches, now covered in sea life. A sea turtle hid below one half-rusted-away piece of deck and swam away. More types of fish than any of us could name swam in every direction, most allowing us to come within inches before darting away. We soon left the wreck and drifted to another which we explored until some tanks neared 500 psi of pressure, forcing those divers to the surface to rendevous with the Rampage. |  Anthony waves through a gaping hole in the hull |
| Our second dive took us down sixty feet to a reef filled with fish including giant groupers, blowfish, barracuda and turtles, which we followed for a while and even reached out and touched as it glided slowly before us. A week previous, Hardy came upon a VW-sized turtle and took a short ride by holding onto the shell. Andrew brought his lobster bag but we didn't see a single one. | ||
 Taxi!! |
With Hardy as our instructor, our two dives completed the requirements for our Nitrox certification, which allows us to dive using a higher percentage of oxygen (up to 40% instead of the atmosphere's usual 21%) in order to dive deeper safer and longer. Even with nitrox, you must remember to breath slowly through your regulator in order to avoid emptying your tank too quickly. |  Lobster hunter |
| When the dives had finished, we spent most of the
remainder of our time on the ocean sprawled out or sleeping on the bow with the bright
Florida sun providing one of the first burns of the season. At one point while motoring back, a flying fish passed the boat, turned before the bow and plunged back into the ocean. The seas were too calm to summon up more of the fish. |
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After an enjoyable stop for lunch and a stop for showers at Shaun's hotel, he was dropped off at the airport to fly back to Utah and the others all headed north to home in Daytona Beach. |
