Caloosa Dive Club -- Scuba Diving in Southwest Florida

         

   

 
Florida Keys - Key Largo - May 2005
 

"When we came within sight of the sea, the waves on the horizon, caught at intervals above the rolling abyss, were like glimpses of another shore with towers and buildings", Charles Dickens

"Gaaah, aarrg, blauh, Buuick, ralph", Bob Miller

Photo by Cherri Wood

 
We gathered around the dock at the Quiescence Dive Shop, gazing longingly at the 3 6-pack dive boats ready for us to load up.  The words were not want we wanted to hear -- winds were running about 15-17 or more and seas about 4 with occasional 5 footers.  We were given plenty of choices and only 4 divers in the group, otherwise known as the "Diehards", decided to brave the wind and seas. The rest of us decided that some shopping, the beach and the pool sounded much more intriguing. 

When the small group (Marianne & Bob Barger, Michelle Plank and Chris Cross) returned they declared that it wasn't too bad but was a little rough. 

Photo by Bob Barger.

 
Captain Harry on the 2nd boat took 6 of us (Janet & Bob Miller, Frank Panhuise, Barry Donegan, and Gary & Cherri Wood) to a deeper area with the hopes of avoiding the surge and bad visibility we expected to find because of the big waves. We were disappointed to discover that the visibility was not just a measly 10-15 feet, but that the sponges were spewing white foam like a volcanic eruption.  The water was filled with clumps of stuff.  There was a current to make it even more interesting but Gary Wood managed to find this colorful Scorpion Fish snuggled down in one of the sponges. 
 
We headed back in to Molasses Reef and a familiar spot called the "Hole in the Wall".  At this location, the visibility was very nice but the surge was definitely keeping us on the move.  Molasses is always a good dive and there were some nice swim throughs and plenty of critters to entertain us.

According to Bob Barger, boat QI with "The Diehards" did two non-buoyed reefs on Sunday. They were at a max depth of 48 feet and sported at least 50 feet of vis. Capt. Steve very generously put us on these two reefs which were loaded with fish and undisturbed hard and soft corals. All four of us drifted and swam for 50 minutes on one dive and 1 hour and 2 minutes on the second, as he followed overhead. Each of the reefs were large enough that we could have made both dives on either and still not seen the entire reef system. Bob says the dive buddies worked together as great teams. Open Mouth Grouper by Chris Cross

 
Boat number 3 took Uschi & David Lanier, Bob & Marcia Mahood, Dennis Shultz and Bob Waters to another dive site where they reported really good viz and lots of exciting sea creatures.  Bob Mahood provided the following info:
 

Dive 1 was at Elbow Reef at the edge of a gentle, sloping drop off to 80 feet.  Entry was easy with the option of either a back roll entry or a giant stride entry off the stern.  Visibility was around 50 feet, however due to the gently sloping terrain and lack of hiding places, there was a distinct lack of sea life with just a few small fish in the area.  All of us noticed the sponges with their clouds of substance drifting lazily upwards and looking very much like a chimney with smoke billowing upward.  The word from Captain Mike was the sponge were spawning and we were witnessing a somewhat unusual event.

 
The seas were slightly smaller for dive 2 which was only a mile or so south on Elbow, but what a difference a mile or so makes.  We dove on "The Slabs", a set of 3 slabs of reefs in about 30' of water.  Captain Mike says this is one of their "secret" locations and it was fabulous.  We saw quite a few lobster, a very sleepy nurse shark, a number of larger fish in the ledges, lots of colorful small fish and a couple of very toothy, smiling barracuda.  The second slab of reef also had a beautiful swim through in the middle of the reef and an elbow swim through at the end of the reef from the ocean side and up through the top of the reef.  "The Slabs" is a name to remember when diving with Quiescence.

Quiescence did a great job for us and their boats are sized just right for small groups.  They went out of their way to make sure we understood the conditions and did an excellent job of finding dive sites that suited our needs. 

Hogfish photo by Cherri Wood

 
 
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Key Largo - July 17-18
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West Palm Beach September 2009
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Sea Trek July 2009
Key Largo May 2009
Jupiter - Hole in the Wall April 2009
Jupiter Reef April 2009
Ginnie Springs Mar 2009
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Jupiter January2009
Key Largo - Sep 2008
Dry Tortugas June 2008
Key Largo June 2008
Riviera Beach
Opening Day - Spearfishing 2008
Manatee Trip - 2008
Looe Key - June 2007
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Wreck Trek III - 2006
Key Largo - August 2006
Key Largo - July 2006
Duck Key - June 2006
Marathon - May 2006
Key Largo - May 2006
Costa Rico - May 2006
Way out West
Last Chance Lobster Dive
Blackbeard Cruise
Bonaire 2005
Venice 2004
Captain's Choice
Cayo Costa - July 4
Deerfield Beach-Jun 2005
Deerfield Beach-Nov 2004
Edison Reef
Florida - Dania Beach
Florida-Islamorada
Florida-Gulf
Heavy Metal Tour 2005
Heavy Metal Tour 2004
Key Biscayne - July 2004
Key Largo - April 2004
Key Largo - April 2005
Key Largo - May 2005
Manatee Dive - Feb 2006
Marathon - Sep 2005
Lobster Season
Memorial Day-Marathon
Memorial Day-Gulf Coast
Pegasus Wreck
Pompano - Sep 2005
Spearfishing - Gulf
Stacey Ann
Tavernier 2006
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