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Ah… the cooler days of fall have finally arrived. At least they have
arrived somewhere but not here in Southwest Florida. The only leaves
falling from our trees are palm fronds and we aren’t visiting the apple
orchards in West Virginia to grab a bushel of apples and a jug of fresh
cider like we did every fall when we lived in Maryland.
Don’t think I’m complaining. As much fun as that sounds, I never looked
forward to winter and in my mind, fall was just the early warning that
we were going to be wearing parkas and boots in just a short time. We
would have to run out of a warm house to a cold car, bundled like an
Eskimo, and halfway to work (sorry for using a 4 letter word) we would
be sweating because the car heater finally kicked in. Truthfully, I
don’t even like winter in Florida – having to wear socks and sweaters is
something I thought I left behind several years ago.
Luckily, for us, the upcoming weekend dive trip promises sunny days and
warm water since the winter cool down hasn’t yet begun. We’re headed to
the Keys (yes again!!) to enjoy the nice weather and warm seas. The
great news is that those heavy wetsuits are still hanging in the garage
waiting for colder weather. That means less weights and quicker suiting
up on the boat. Maybe if it is a little chilly someone will put on a
hood or at least a do-rag.
As often as we can we drive down and share a condo or even a cheap, tiny
hotel room with our friends Janet & Bob. We’re responsible for Friday
night’s dinner and they take care of Saturday this time. Janet promises
she will do the fantastic gravy (that’s Italian for pasta sauce) and
spaghetti this time. Gary already has a steak marinating in some
delicious concoction and ready to go into the cooler.
The four of us are diving with Island Ventures (www.islandventure.com)
on Friday afternoon. Several other club members are doing a Friday
afternoon dive and/or a Saturday morning dive with Silent World Divers (www.silentworldkeylargo.com).
The dive club charter is with Silent World Divers for Saturday afternoon
and Sunday morning. This will be our first time with Silent World,
as a club, but it promises to be a great weekend. Of course, we haven’t
checked the weather yet but as long as there isn’t a hurricane churning
out close by, we’re hoping for calm summer seas and wonderful
visibility.
The Photo Contest has ended for 2007 but begins immediately with the
2008 season so anything taken now is eligible for entry in the 2008
contest. Most of the dive boats have discovered that a little fresh
water camera bucket just isn’t enough for the number of underwater
cameras that show up on our charters.
The last time we visited the Keys it rained so hard that we put our
wetsuits on at the dock and then huddled around the picnic table
umbrella to keep warm. Those afternoon thunderstorms move in quickly but
by the time we reached the dive site, life was once again wonderful.
The Keys offer some great diving. The No-Take zones have provided some
protection and an abundance of sea life that seems to understand that
those markers protect them in some mysterious way. We usually see some
big lobsters that appear to be laughing at us – ha ha – we’re safe from
you. The fish that swarm around us don’t seem to be alarmed by the
invasion of divers – sometimes 30 or more dropping into the warm water
at the same time. Gary and I love the smaller dive operations. If we are
lucky enough to head out to the reef with 12 or less divers on a spot
where there are no big charter boats, we think we have managed the
ultimate dive. We don’t have to climb over 28 other divers to get in the
water quickly and we can explore the reef without having someone stand
on our backs or heads while they try and decide which way they want to
go.
I’ve had some back problems lately so I try to find someone that can
provide 63 cu.ft tanks and who is willing to haul me back into the boat
if I decide that I can’t just pull my body back up the ladder with my
tanks and weights. I always beg for the last spot on the stern so I can
just stand up and fall in – sometimes on my face but who’s looking
anyway.
Although we spent a week in Curacao and are hitting around 50 dives so
far this year, we feel that we have missed a lot of opportunities so we
are really looking forward to the next few official Caloosa Dive Club
charters as well as some other dates that we have scheduled on our own.
If you are trying to decide whether you should head down to the Keys for
a quick trip, stop hesitating – get out and dive. The season is getting
shorter as you read this article.
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