The tropics are quite (for now), the rains are diminishing, the water is cooling (slightly), and the moon is waning, all these major indicators are pointing towards pristine dive conditions off our southwest Florida coast.  I was able to run my first trip in almost three weeks yesterday, and despite what I consider marginal visibility (10 feet) we had two great dives and spotted abundant marine life.  The gag grouper have reappeared and a

70 lb. cobia made a couple passes at us, curious about our bubbles.  My gills were getting rather dry so I was grateful to be weightless.  Unfortunately, patience has been a necessity for us water junkies, but we have to count our blessings.

Fay wasn’t fatal and Ike was a yikes.  Despite not boating, I didn’t have to put the shutters up.  My thoughts, prayers, and sympathy go out to all those that were truly impacted by those storms.  The lobster between Key West and the Dry Tortugas get a two month reprieve as we postponed our 3 day live-aboard trip until November.  We were slated to leave just two days after Ike squirted by the keys.  It would have been perfect if it were a surfing trip instead of a dive trip.  The storms certainly damage but they can also do good.  A moderate blow often washes silt and sediment off the corals (both soft and hard).  It certainly moves the fish and spiny lobster around.

On my lone trip between those storms we spotted a nice bug on an artificial reef southwest of Marco Island.  I have no doubt that he was there because of Fay.  Finding lobster locally is kind of like finding money in pant pockets that you haven’t worn in a year.  It’s great but doesn’t happen nearly enough.  I’ve seen bugs on seawalls in dock lights and caught them on ledges and potholes in over 100 feet of water.  They’re out there, but are few and far between.  The crazy hurricane season of 2004 (including Charlie) pushed a substantial number of bugs this way.  I wish they would take hold and re-populate like the goliath grouper, but that’s part of the reason the bugs aren’t here.  It may also be a reason for declining stone crab production.  Both are active at night and (at least) one local crabber figures “those #$^%#& goliath grouper swim around sucking down crabs like they’re eating popcorn”.

I’m not sure about that one, but for a diver to come face to face with a fish 2 or 3 times bigger than them is awesome.  Especially when the goliath likes his territory and will stare you down as you approach.  They may lie motionless and glare at you for minutes and when you think it’s OK to reach out and pet them they erupt with a resounding thud and bolt away.  The thud is a percussion wave they create by moving large amounts of water through their swim bladder.  It’s always a good adrenalin rush!  I’ve never witnessed a goliath eating a crab, or a grouper or snapper (unless it was on a spear) but I’ve watched them suck in dozens of baitfish with a single gulp.  When the greenbacks are thick they will get right in the school, sometime coming up to the surface.  When they open their cavernous mouths anything within three feet of its lips will be sucked in like sawdust into a dry-vac.

We saw numerous goliaths on the Sheriff yesterday.  The old shrimper has laid twelve miles out of Capri Pass in about 40 ft. for over twenty years.  The steel catch basins, outrigger, and rock pile which remain still hold plentiful life.  At one point I counted 7 goliaths, gags and snaps clustered around a school of bait and then had a large cobia swim right through the scene.  That really left an impression on Carol, my Dive-In-A-Day student from New Jersey.  She was visiting with her boyfriend who is a certified diver and she was eager to go diving.  Upon seeing the cobia I put my hand over my forehead (the hand signal for shark) and shook my head no.  For those that aren’t familiar with the ling, they are often mistaken for sharks underwater.  No such luck, thousands of dives here in the gulf and I’ve yet to see any sharks other than nurse.

Many people don’t realize how simple and easy it is to dive.  It’s just swimming and breathing is what I often tell people.  There’s certainly some basic information that needs to be understood and we need to equalize air spaces, which many non-divers don’t realize how easy that is.  As increasing water pressure pushes in on our eardrum during descents, we simply pinch our nose shut and gently exhale.  The air flows through our sinuses and pushes our eardrum back out.  You can try it now; if successful you’ll feel and hear the pressure exchange in both ears.  Works great when coming in for a landing while flying.

Carol’s Resort Course included a short video followed by a pool orientation in scuba (self contained underwater breathing apparatus) gear where she learned how to recover the regulator in case it slips out of her mouth and clear water from her mask if any leaks in.

After swimming around enjoying neutral buoyancy (weightlessness) we head for the

SCORPION IV our 28’ gas powered 454 which departs from the Snook Inn docks.  On the ride out I give a thorough briefing, outline our dive step by step and try to paint a mental picture of what to expect.  During the dive I point out and play with cool creatures, always keeping a watchful eye on my students.  I tell them that diving is a serious sport and they have to wear their game face down there, because a big smile will leak water into their mask!  We save and share the laughs topside.

The Open Water Certification Course is an expanded version which includes reading a manual.  That course permits a diver board charter boats (some operators will require an advanced certification for more challenging dives) and rent or buy tanks and get them filled.  Here at Scuba Marco we work with smaller groups and for most people streamline the entire process into an evening at the shop and 2 days of diving.  Doing the open water dives locally saves tremendous travel time and dollars.  We may have to pick and choose our boat trips based on the weather and conditions, but that’s the case anywhere.  I’ve fought the public relations battle over ‘diving in the gulf’ for twenty years now and will continue to do so.  When it’s bad we don’t go, when it’s good it’s great!  If you’re under the impression that there isn’t any diving in the gulf then you haven’t dove with us.

When I said the gags were back I mean ‘grab your big rods and go!’  The first spot we dove yesterday had a large school on it, about a third of them keeper size.  Several were in the 30 inch range and they seemed hungrier than shy, stayed right by us.  That could be because we had no spear guns and weren’t putting out that killer vibe.  Many fish (gags included) just sense when you have the capability to harm them and warily keep their distance.  At least that’s my philosophy, what do you think?  What are you seeing and catching?  If you’re not catching then maybe you should come see me.  There’s nothing like getting down there and scouting spots and observing fish behavior to know how to approach them.  If you’ve considered diving but just aren’t sure it’s for you, conditions are prime for a Dive-In-A-Day!  Call us at (239) 389-7889 or drop us a line:

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Until then, DIVE SAFE & STAY WET                          Capt. Jeff Dawson