This post is a little late; I've been in the water both at the bridge and offshore. This (Saturday) is the first time I've had to sit down and think about all the excitement of the last couple of days. The high tide for Thursday, March 11 was at 5:29 pm. I had been divemaster earlier in the day in 6' to 8' seas. Yes, 6' to 8'! I haven't done that in a long time. Before my "instructor days" when enjoying the excitement of being a divemaster in all conditions was a several-times-a-week experience, high seas were just part of the job. Being an instructor, I don't get to experience those conditions very often as it is not advised to take students out in that stuff if we ever want to see them again. Anyway, not only was it very rough offshore, it was rough at the bridge! The wind out of the south was howling! Carrie and I had four very motivated male college students who wanted very much to have the Discover Scuba experience even though the conditions were lousy. The vis was about eight to ten feet; it was amazingly good considering the rough water. Carrie and I explained that this wasn't a particularly good time to do the introduction to diving, but three of the four wanted to go ahead anyway. They had only that afternoon and then they had to return to their colleges. The fourth confided, finally at the bridge, that he didn't know how to swim and was not going to get into the water! (I have fully read the PADI Discover Scuba Diving brochure; it does not ask if the participant can swim.) How true is the old adage about assumptions! It has never occurred to me to ask a participant if he/she knows how to swim. Guess what our first question to potential participants will be from now on! Anyway, the three students who did enter the water actually caught on to the essential skills quite readily, especially the one about breathing. We built up some comfort in chest-deep water for some time and then ventured carefully out to the little wreck between the Sumar and Boondoggle, two boats moored just off the beach. We saw a medium-sized southern ray. I directed the group back to the beach and in shallow water asked if they wanted more. They had been in sixty-nine degree water in 3mm wetsuits for about thirty minutes at this point, but they wanted to continue. I was in my drysuit which I've been wearing for the last two months. We went west, parallel to the beach at a depth of about six or seven feet. For the first time at the bridge I saw a little loggerhead turtle! It was about two feet long. I have never seen a turtle at the bridge before this dive. We also came across a decorator crab that hadn't done a very good job of hiding itself. With my eyesight things have to be pretty obvious. That is why I love to have Carrie along; she can see. We returned to the beach and walked up to the picnic tables in strong winds. It was like being sand-blasted. I hope the blowing sand didn't remove too much paint from my van. The guys had done very well and I encouraged them to seek open water certification. It was then that one of three who had just completed this experience said that he couldn't swim very well! I don't know if that meant that he doesn't know how to swim at all or that it is difficult for him. Nevertheless, a weak or non-swimmer had just completed the Discover Scuba course! He was very comfortable in the water. I couldn't believe what I was hearing. This job holds so many surprises! Carrie and I learned a great deal today! That is what experience is.
A quick side-note: Yesterday, Friday March 12, Captain Mike from the Jupiter Dive Center while on the Republic IV not far from the dive site, Area 29, received a radio message that six divers were missing from the dive boat, Emerald. Captain Mike, having all his divers aboard (I was one of them) inquired about the location of the site where the divers had been dropped and the amount of time they had been in the water. They were dropped at the Hole-in-the-Wall and had been in the water one hour, fifty-two minutes. Captain Mike did some quick calculations involving time, current speed, and wind drift. He drove the boat north several miles right to the spot where the six divers were huddled. They had signal sausages deployed, but what Tony, deckhand on the Republic IV, saw first was a light probably from a camera. It stood out clearly at quite some distance before we could see the signal sausages. I always carry my strobe light offshore! Great rescue, Captain Mike. You have my sincerest admiration and respect. Get in the water, Ham
A quick side-note: Yesterday, Friday March 12, Captain Mike from the Jupiter Dive Center while on the Republic IV not far from the dive site, Area 29, received a radio message that six divers were missing from the dive boat, Emerald. Captain Mike, having all his divers aboard (I was one of them) inquired about the location of the site where the divers had been dropped and the amount of time they had been in the water. They were dropped at the Hole-in-the-Wall and had been in the water one hour, fifty-two minutes. Captain Mike did some quick calculations involving time, current speed, and wind drift. He drove the boat north several miles right to the spot where the six divers were huddled. They had signal sausages deployed, but what Tony, deckhand on the Republic IV, saw first was a light probably from a camera. It stood out clearly at quite some distance before we could see the signal sausages. I always carry my strobe light offshore! Great rescue, Captain Mike. You have my sincerest admiration and respect. Get in the water, Ham
