|
 Right
now, at this very moment, I am supposed to be exploring the underwater
coral reefs of the Florida Keys. I am supposed to be cruising over a
rippled, sandy ocean bottom, aiming my camera lens toward an undulating,
lacy sea fan. Gigantic Eagle Rays would be gliding above me gracefully
and I would be taking beautiful, award winning photographs. Huge green
moray eels would be swimming around me, pausing periodically to allow me
to take close up shots of their baby blue eyes. By sunset, I would be
reviewing my photos, so many perfect angles and views, that it would be
almost impossible to narrow them down to a few to send to all of the
underwater photo contests in the world. That is what would be happening
right now, as I write this article, except for one tiny detail.
Hurricane Wilma, is threatening a visit to my playground in south
Florida. She appears to be a big brassy woman, with a glowing eye in the
center of her forehead. I have heard she is a blowhard who rains
disaster wherever she touches down. To make it worse, she is a big
tease. She is wobbling her way around the Yucatan Peninsula and trying
to squeeze her big bulk through a narrow opening into the Gulf of
Mexico. At some point, she will decide where to take her baggage and off
she’ll go. Now, I have nothing against the people of Mexico but I’m
really hoping she decides that tacos and chili are better appetizers
than grouper and stone crabs. In the meantime, here I sit, daydreaming
of better times.
By the time this article appears, everyone will know where Wilma has
been and hopefully, she will not have had any impact on the upcoming
Fort Myers Boat Show. For the first time, visitors to the boat show will
have an opportunity to learn more about scuba diving in our local area.
The Caloosa Dive Club and some of the local dive shops will be on hand
from November 10-13th to talk about local diving. Some of the planned
features are seminars, video presentations of Gulf scuba diving and
underwater photographs.
Many southwest Florida residents are surprised to learn that there is
good diving in our local waters. Admittedly, it isn’t the Florida Keys
and it is a little harder to get to the best diving locations unless you
have your own boat. One of my favorite things about Gulf diving is the
variety of large fish that are not usually seen in the coral reef
habitats. The artificial reef program has done a fantastic job of
attracting marine life to the area and some of the natural wrecks have
become home to a very large population of Goliath Grouper (aka Jewfish).
Unfortunately, today, instead of exploring the underwater world that I
love so much, I’m packing up important papers, wrapping things in
plastic and wishing that I hadn’t decorated my lanai and yard with
potted plants and decorative lawn objects. I’m regretting that I didn’t
follow my own advice last year and get rid of stuff that is taking space
in the closet – the only shelter from the storm at my house.
Here’s hoping everyone makes it safely through Hurricane Wilma and finds
time to come to the Fort Myers Boat Show. Visitors to the boat show can
learn more about the dive club and the dive shops by visiting us at the
boat show. Hope to see you there. |
