Diving the Sea of Cortez!

October 14, 2017

In March, I attended an SSI conference in North Carolina. I met a lot of great people. One of them was Tonia Foster of El Mar Dive Center in Mesa, AZ. She was discussing that she also owns El Mar Dive Center in San Carlo, Mexico. They take monthly trips there to dive the Sea of Cortez. Oh, look, a bucket list item!

After I returned home, I checked their calendar against mine and found out October would be the best time for me to go. I called the shop, booked a seat; the October trip was going to be a bus trip; they do bus or car caravans several times a year, October was the bus trip. I booked a flight. I was ready to go.

I flew to Phoenix the night before.; grabbed a hotel for the evening. Early the following day, Ubered to the shop in Meza. Meet Tonia there, she was not going this month, but she had an outstanding crew of dive professionals leading the trip. 

Once everyone was loaded up, we headed out. Along the ride and the trip, I got to meet some great people.  We stopped just north of the border for a pit spot and to pick up lunch. 

The crew from El Mar had this process down. They let everyone know what to expect when crossing the border, what to expect from Mexican customs. How to act and behave to quickly and efficiently move through the checkpoint.

We arrived late in the afternoon and checked into the hotel. The views were amazing, the pool view was from my balcony. Moving around that part of San Carlo was easy. Almost everything we needed for the weekend was within a short walk.

On Friday morning we headed for the boat. They have a Newton, which has become the standard for group diving.  The boat crew was from their local shop, again seasoned professionals.  The dive site was San Pedro Nolasco Island, off the coast of San Carlo. The island is a protected resource and home to lots of sea birds.  No worries for us we were there to dive.

All weekend the sea was calm and flat.  The dive conditions were excellent. I dove in a 3 mm suit, when I go back I think will take a 5 mm. The water temps were just on the edge of needing a thicker suit. 

The island is the reef.  All manner of sea life is attached to the exposed base below, Respectable sizes of small and medium schools of fish swimming around.  Lots of sea urchins, I had not seen them before, sections of the base were covered with them.   

The first day we did two dives on the south side of the island, the second day we did two dives local, just outside of the cove where the marina, the third day, on our way out to the island we saw a whale, well we got a glimpse of a whale as it surfaced for a breath, still very cool.  We did three dives that day.  What made the day spectacular was the sea lions, they also live on the island, a few of them decided to swim with us. It was such a blast. They are fast. They will swim by and tap you on the head with a fin.  They will just keep out of reach and put on a show of movement and speed, they darted in out of our group as we dove.  It was such a fun dive. 

Sunday night we had a group meal a Charly's Rock across the street from the hotel. We had a great time. Good People.

The next day we make our way north back across the border, That was a bit crazy, we had to stop at customs take out all of our bags, go into the building, run our bags through airport-style scanners, that was after it was checked by dogs, the bus had to go off to be inspected separately. Then we loaded up again, 10 miles up the road at another checkpoint armed border agents, looking more like military, did a walk through the bus. 

By evening we had arrived back in Mesa.  I had a great time on this weekend trip.  Now I have to see if I can get a group of my dive buddies to join me for a return trip.

Drew and What's Next?!

Spring is here and divers in this area want to get back in the water. Yeah, the lake is still cold but yeah ya got to go dive!

Drew wanted to complete Virginia Scuba's What's Next?! program.  A weekend of diving completing 3 certifications and 6 dives. The week before we did Drew's coursework for Enriched Air Nitrox so he could do all of his dives on Nitrox, While at the lake during surface intervals we would cover the coursework for Navigation and Perfect Buoyancy. Then do the dive for the certs. Great diving, crappy weather rained (poured) most of the time.  Lee was also there with Joe doing  Joe's Open Water Cert with Jerry as his DM.

Cold and rainy but we made the best of it. Had a lot of fun.  Drew did a large Nav around the lake as his final task brought us right back to where we started.

Congratulations Drew!  You are now that much closer to your goal of Master Diver!

Dry Suit Training

I bought my dry suit over a year ago.  I have an Aqualung Fusion Sport. The delay in training was Tige and I could not come up with a weekend to do the training.  One of us was either teaching or could not get two days together to make it happen.  So we decided on April 1  and 2.  No other students had signed up for classes, the quarry opens for the season that weekend and the water temp was in the mid-40s. Not great for an Open Water Class but great for Dry Suit.

We started out Saturday in the pool covering the basics. I took my full face mask knowing it would be cold in the open water. A fun class to take. Completly changes your buoyancy, have to lean and work out a new set of skills.

As luck would have it we remember to bring the camera into the pool.  At the quarry, we forgot them in the gear bag so no photos from Open  Water.  It was fun, undergarments are the key, dress for the environment you are going in to. The deeper you go the suit changes it characteristics add a little air to the suit, move it around, life is good in cold water.   Buoyancy is going to take several dives to work out the correct amount of weight than to manage the necessary amount of air in the suit. Just a reason to dive more!!!

February Pool Fun

Chris and Steven did there run through Try Scuba to see if Scuba Diving was for them back in December.  Now it was time to step up. Time to get the certification underway. Amanda and Paul joined the class as well for their open water cert. Jerry was the Dive Control Specialist for the class.

All of them did great, they had fun. Now to wait for the quarry to open and the water to warm up a bit to complete the Open Water dives, For Chris and Steven then it is on to the Bahamas!!  That is the goal a family trip to Nassau NP Bahama.

Shark Feed!!

January 4 2017
While not a fan of the practice, it is still a thrill to see a shark feed.  What trip on Blackbeard's wouldn't be complete without stopping by the wreck of the  Austin Smith to provide a morning snack to the local population?

Since I was here last in October 2015, Hurricane Matthew blew through the Bahamas during the late summer of 2016. The storm actually spun the wreck bow to stern and broke it into three part. Talk about power.  The bow is broken off and set apart from the rest of wreck, midships is broken from the stern.  The shark feed still happens on the stern it is now just the other way from what I remember.

Austin Smith Jan 2017

Austin Smith Oct 2015 these are the best shots I have of the ship whole. The video below shows how it looks now.

The sharks are always impressive

The video shows the state of the wreck and the feed.  

Danger Reef - AWESOME.

January 3, 2017
Southeast of Cistern Cay is Danger Reef. The top of the reef is about 25 the sand is about 60 ft. Huge boulder shape reef clustered together. Far too much to see even on the two dives on we did,

At one time this area was a shark feeding site so there are still a lot of sharks.  The reef could take days to explore and would be well worth it.

Watch the Black Group to the left at the start of the video, if you wanted to know where the shark was, look where they were looking. They never took their eyes off of him.

Feeding the Swimming Pigs!

January 3 2017
The Swimming Pigs of the Bahamas, what could be more fun!

Okay, today we were there early and they were not swimming. But I have seen them swim in the past.   The crew saved a slop bucket which we brought ashore for the pigs to feed on.  On days the pigs are in the water they take apple slices for them to feed on while they swim as well. 

Smugglers Plane Wreck

January 1 2017

During the 1980s Norman Cay was a drug smugglers haven. At some point, someone missed the 3000 ft runway all together and crashed a Douglas C-47 in the waters west of the cay.

IIt is now known as the smuggler's wreck,   January 3, 2017: We did a dusk and night dive on it on.  Actually, I just did the dusk dive. Fun wreck to dive never dove a plane before.  In a grassy area with nothing else around.  Since it was dusk the dive was shallow and the sun angle was low made for a great dive. A lot of smaller fish. The crew said the site is active night but I was not feeling it. 

Celebrating the New Year in the Bahamas!

Did not have any plans for New Year's 2017. I felt I needed a break, I NEEDED to go diving. Found some friends who were going to Nassau for a week and I joined in.

Arriving in Nassau exited the plane down a flight of stairs on to the tarmac. It was about 32 degrees when I left DC, it was 72 degrees in Nassau. How nice it was!

Passed through customs found the tour bus driver for the ride to the boat. Wasted no time removing jacket and sweatshirt. then took this picture and posted it on Facebook and did not feel bad about posting it, hehe.  It was warm and wonderful.

Van loaded usual ride across the island. I realized this was my third trip to  Nassau. I have another trip plan here for later this year.

Dropped off at the Nassau Harbor Club met by the crew directed to the boat, I knew the way.  Bunks assigned, Bags up packed and stowed in the Harbor Club. Initial briefing by Captain Red who offered us a choice, we could set sail but the wind was picking up and then it would be a rough ride or we could stay in port celebrate the New Year watching the fireworks over Atlantis resort. The later is what he was pushing. We followed his recommendation.

 Clancy, our cook, who I am still convinced is a magician, made the first of weeks meals for 30 people on a boat in a galley that was slightly larger than a typical coat closet. The rest of the evening we got to know our shipmates.  Just before midnight the case of champagne was brought out and opened. We are all ready when the New Year started along with the fireworks over Atlantis.  The fireworks were excellent and went on for a good long time. Match or beat any July 4th show.   After the show and many empty bottles of bubbly, we all started drifting off to our bunks to see what the new year would bring us.

The crew managed to get up and pull out of port early, like before 6 AM.  Nothing like listening to the water move past the hull next your bunk.   I go up went on deck they had the sails up and we were moving.  At some point doing the week, Red said that at one point we were doing 9 knots. 

Heading out to our first dive site Lobster No Lobster.  Captain Red noted we would be staying in the Exuma Sound for the first part of the week, the wind was up, so was the ocean  it would be an unpleasant ride. They did a great job picking great locations to dive in the mean time.

I will be posting daily segments  or dive site locations as I get videos and pictures together,

Sailing New Year's Day 2017

Return to Deerfield Beach!

It has  been a while.  The shop had not been to Deerfield Beach to go diving since before the change in ownership.  They were looking for  a long weekend type trip that would not bust the bank.  I had mentioned the shop use to go  at least twice a year to Deerfield Beach to dive with Dixie Divers on the Lady Go Diver.    That mention made me the trip lead.

 Long drive there and back but the diving was excellent with a bit of current. One of the dives it was really moving  like 3-4 knots, Flying underwater, good thing it was a drift dive, actually it wasn't it was a wreck dive that turned into a drift dive.

We are planning to go again Spring of 2017 then again in the Fall if there are enough who want to go.  Come join us.

SSI ITS Training

ITS - Instructor Training Seminar
From SSI's Web Site for the ITS

The pinnacle of SSI’s dive professional training is the desirable Instructor Trainer rating. SSI Instructor Trainers are qualified to teach the Instructor Training Course (ITC) and prepare future SSI Instructors for their Instructor Evaluation(IE). This is one of the most rewarding and most challenging experiences an Instructor can perform.

The Instructor Trainer Seminar (ITS) is an international event where you will meet instructors from all over the world. You will experience intensive training and evaluations as well as the opportunity to build a personal network with people from other countries who share your passion. This is your chance to become “The Ultimate Dive Instructor.

A week in Charlotte NC at Open Water Adventures our ITS was conducted by Joe Guydeski.  A week of skills review, knowledge review, presentations  a lot like my Open Water Instructor Exam. The difference is a couple hundred diver certification I know the materiel really well. This week was about doing what other had done for me. Set those who are prepare up for success and how to council those who are not how to improve.  The main focus is to be able to prepare Dive Control Specialist ready their Instructor Examination. 

Skills where not problem, rescue was a breeze. Cramped badly during third lap of the 800 meter swim.  Struggled with 25 meter underwater snorkel.  I am use to doing it is 25 meter pool this was a 12 meter pool, the turn was killing me. I would get 3/4s of the way through and called it.  Worked on t,t where are there turns in the ocean anyway.  After some practice I got it. 

A great week at a great facility Looking forward to this new level of teaching.

People Pictures above are from Tige Pratt

I am mentioned in Roz Savages Blog for Day 8

Okay it's only for one of the miles I sponsored, but it's still kinda cool

http://www.rozsavage.com/2011/04/20/day-8-waveolog

Roz Savage begins rowing her third ocean!

For those of you who have followed my postings know I am a fan of Roz Savage. Roz rowed the Atlantic solo in 2005. She rowed the Pacific in three parts, San Francisco to Hawaii 2008, Hawaii to Tarawa 2009, Tarawa to Papua New Guinea in 2010.

This week Roz starts out on third ocean, the Indian Ocean. She will be leaving from Freemantle Australia to Mumbai if the winds and tides are favorable, at the very least that is the direction she is heading.

This will be the most dangerous trip, not from the sea, or the elements but of all things - pirates!  The waters around Indonesia have been pirate ridden for as long as man has been sailing.  A blonde English women in a 23 foot row boat hopeful will go unnoticed.  But as we all know the west end of the Indian Ocean has been no picnic either in recent years with pirates from Somalia ranging out almost 300 miles to sea to seize ships. I am hoping that maybe the worlds navy's will find a way to shadow her on the horizon lines through the dicey parts.

Roz would not like them any closer than the horizon line since once she is at sea she rows in the buff.  She says it is just easier, no laundry to do, no chaffing.  Need to clean up just jump in the ocean, then back on board for a quick fresh water sponge rinse.

Her fund raising for the leg of her voyage as not gone as planned but she is pushing forwarded anyway.  Roz is looking for donations to support her while she is out at sea. In the past she has tweeted, facebook posted, podcasted, posted photos, called her mom, etc. during her voyage, all of which cost.  She has set up a donations page so people can contribute per mile.  Here is the link :

Eat-Pray-Row the Indian Ocean

I have purchase a few miles, the economy has been hard on everyone. But how many times in a life time can you follow a true adventurer.  If you can, consider supporting Roz.

Here is Roz's website if you want to lean more about Roz: www.rozsavage.com

I want your opinion!

I have created a poll/survey to see where else fans of Roz Savage would have liked to seen Roz's book tour go.

The current tour (positive thinking that Simon & Schuster may expand it) is to these US cities.

Boston MA, Cambridge MA, New York, NY, Washington DC, Seattle WA, Portland OR, San Francisco CA and Los Angeles, CA.

Too few for my thinking, what do you think.

The Roz Savage Book Tour Question.

To be fair, I live in the Washington DC metro area and already plan to attend the events here.

But what about you....

Roz Savage's Book Tour begins!

I am a big fan of Roz Savage, just look back though my postings. Her book Rowing the Atlantic is out and Roz is going on tour starting October 6, 2009.  She will be in DC on the 18th and 19th.

From Roz's web site:

Book signing in Washington DC

When: Sun, October 18, 2pm – 3pm

Where: The North Face store, 3333 M Street, NW

Description: Organized by National Geographic.

Presentation for National Geographic “Live @ NGS series”

When: Mon, October 19, 7:30pm – 9:00pm

Where: 1145 17th Street N.W. Washington, D.C. 20036

Description: Roz will deliver a presentation for the prestigious National Geographic Live! series. Members: $15, / 3-part series $39 General Public: $18 /3- part series $45

I wanted and had planned to try to meet Roz earlier this week when she rode into DC for the Climate Ride (from NYC to DC) but I had a problem at my day job, our servers hard drive was having issues so I missed out.

The weekend of the 17th and 18th already have too may things scheduled, but I will fit this in. It would be great to hear Roz speak on Monday as well.  I will keep you posted on updates.

Missed the opprotunity to hear Slyvia Earle speak!

Wondering around the web this afternoon, between weekend task and football games I notice that National Geographic had a National Geographic LIVE! event this morning in DC.  World famous diver,  author, renowned oceanographer and National Geographic Explorer-in-Residence (how cool would it be to have that title) Sylvia Earle was speaking about her new book  The World Is Blue: Why Saving the Oceans Will Also Save Us at the National Cathedral. It was a free event too. If I had found this out earlier I would have been there.

I am now signed up for the Nat Geo LIVE! newletter, so I won't miss out again.

If anyone else had the chance to see it post your comments and thoughts about it.

FREE Discover Scuba!! THIS WEEKEND!

It's here, this weekend!!

Virginia Scuba and the Freedom Aquatic and Fitness Center are teaming up to offer a FREE Discover Scuba the weekend of September 19 and 20, 2009. How can you go wrong!

From the Freedom Aquatic and Fitness Centers website:

DISCOVER SCUBA - FREE to Freedom Members!
Saturday, September 19th 10:30am - 1:00pm
Sunday, September 20th 9:00am - 1:00pm
Discover Scuba is an introduction to diving and gives you an opportunity to jump in the water with scuba gear under instructor supervision. The Virginia Scuba instructors will be on hand and in the water to introduce diving to anyone interested. Experience the excitement and adventure of the underwater world for FREE!
For complete details visit www.virginiascuba.com.

Here is the link to Virginia Scuba's Free Discover Scuba sign up page.

If you have been toying with the idea to check out SCUBA diving, this is a great introduction to see if SCUBA diving is for you.

With diving there is always paperwork, you can down load the Discover Scuba Diving form here.

Read it and fill it out ahead of time. Then you will be all set to come join us and DIVE IN.

Roz Savage completes the 2nd leg of her Pacific crossing.

Congratulations Roz!

At 2 PM Local Tarawa  Roz Savage completed the second leg of her journey to row across the Pacific, 104 days at sea, 3158 miles, ~1,335,843 Oar Strokes. Roz left Hawaii back in May she has blogged, tweeted and has given live audio broadcast about her journey along the way. Her point to rowing the Pacific is to raise awareness about global warming.

Roz was the first woman to row solo across the Atlantic back in 2005. In the summer of 2008 she rowed from California to Hawaii. On May 24, 2009 she left Hawaii headed to Tuvalu as the second stage of her three part row across the Pacific. Once she crossed the equator, the currents and winds where making it too difficult to keep heading south, combined with a broken fresh water maker balanced against her remaining food supply, Roz along with her support team decided to head to Tarawa (her alternate destination)

It has been great to watch daily as Roz progressed across the ocean on her web site.  Can't wait for next year and her final leg of her voyage. Once completed Roz will be the first woman to row across the Pacific solo. History in the making!