76 replies to this topic

[Divegirl412]

It was truly a pleasure diving and spending time with the folks on the trip. The crew were great too... (Que, Greg says "hi" back). I will admit, I was one of the wimps that sat out some of the dives, but hey, I do like my dives being zenlike and relaxing, with great viz ---- not being held almost horizontal by current, clutching at the sideline waiting to climb the ladder. And Oh what a ladder!!!! Between the current, waves and winds, climbing that thing was like riding a rocking bronco... guess we WERE in Texas.

Still, got some dives in, in challenging conditions, met and renewed friendships with lots of great people, gained a pound or two and got sunburned... (yes it happens), the one day we had a few hours of sun!!!!

And oh yeah... as far as the Fling thing... at least we ended up on a boat (preferable to open ocean!!!) and kept our buddy pairs together. I am also told that my backroll out of the dinghy to get back on the Spree was a work of art . Thank God, you could not see me very ungracefully pulled INTO it!! Figure it was about having the WHOLE experience.

Anyway, first dive trip in a while that I have skipped dives, and never took my camera down... so all I have are the booze party pics at the HH in Houston afterwards!!!!

Enjoy... Rosa


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Edited by Divegirl412, 22 July 2007 - 08:06 PM.

[Sara_the_Brown]

To my knowledge, while they were always deployed, no one used the down lines during this entire trip. The crew ran a line from the stern to the mooring line, at a point normally about 30 feet down.

Not to split hairs, but I distinctly remember having to use the downline when the sideline went under the boat... I hung out there for a sec before making the dash to the ladder line. I don't know about anyone having to use the reg that was on one of them, though... so that's a good thing.

[WreckWench]

Hey gang...our new tech admin is setting up a photo gallery for the trip pictures! He'll post the link here as soon as he has it up!

[MNJoe]

oops!

Edited by MNJoe, 23 July 2007 - 03:44 PM.

[Travelgal]

"It was truly a pleasure diving and spending time with the folks on the trip. The crew were great too... (Que, Greg says "hi" back). I will admit, I was one of the wimps that sat out some of the dives, but hey, I do like my dives being zenlike and relaxing, with great viz ---- not being held almost horizontal by current, clutching at the sideline waiting to climb the ladder. And Oh what a ladder!!!! Between the current, waves and winds, climbing that thing was like riding a rocking bronco... guess we WERE in Texas.

Still, got some dives in, in challenging conditions, met and renewed friendships with lots of great people, gained a pound or two and got sunburned... (yes it happens), the one day we had a few hours of sun!!!!"

I agree with Rosa here for sure! Especially this part...." I do like my dives being zenlike and relaxing, with great viz " ---- Sometimes being a wimp is not all that bad.......actually I enjoyed the trip very much even tho I did skip some dives......met great people .......the food was wonderful......and it was like being in a cradle at night! I am sure looking forward to seeing all of you on another trip soon!
Great pics Rosa!

[Bubble2Bubble]

HI 376-A Oil Rig
Its Awesome

Bubski

[finGrabber]

Hey Everyone!!

I've created the following gallery for this trip:

Flower Gardens!

[DandyDon]

Hey Everyone!!

I've created the following gallery for this trip:

Flower Gardens!

Great! I don't want to load first, but tell me - do we have to load one pic at a time...?

[finGrabber]

Hey Everyone!!

I've created the following gallery for this trip:

Flower Gardens!

Great! I don't want to load first, but tell me - do we have to load one pic at a time...?

yes you have to load them 1 at a time as this gallery does not support uploading multiple images at once

[WreckWench]

"It was truly a pleasure diving and spending time with the folks on the trip. The crew were great too... (Que, Greg says "hi" back). I will admit, I was one of the wimps that sat out some of the dives, but hey, I do like my dives being zenlike and relaxing, with great viz ---- not being held almost horizontal by current, clutching at the sideline waiting to climb the ladder. And Oh what a ladder!!!! Between the current, waves and winds, climbing that thing was like riding a rocking bronco... guess we WERE in Texas.

Still, got some dives in, in challenging conditions, met and renewed friendships with lots of great people, gained a pound or two and got sunburned... (yes it happens), the one day we had a few hours of sun!!!!"

I agree with Rosa here for sure! Especially this part...." I do like my dives being zenlike and relaxing, with great viz " ---- Sometimes being a wimp is not all that bad.......actually I enjoyed the trip very much even tho I did skip some dives......met great people .......the food was wonderful......and it was like being in a cradle at night! I am sure looking forward to seeing all of you on another trip soon!
Great pics Rosa!

To all and especially our tough divers on this trip...this trip is USUALLY very relaxing and zenlike...especially in July and August. However with the strange weather Texas has had this year with so much rain and flooding it has impacted everything including the Gulf. However the reason this destination is NOT a beginner's destination is for the very reason you saw on this trip...currents making it manditory that you always use the current lines to and from the anchor to the boat. Staying on the anchor line to the bottom so you didn't get swept away or burn thru you air trying to fight it. And of course the ladder lesson learning to watch its timing and then jump on it or else learning how to ride a bucking bronco!

I think everyone did great given the challenge of trying new things and doing some adventure diving! And no sitting a few dives out is never a bad idea...I know...I sat some out too!

[WreckWench]

Thank you super fingrabber for creating a trip photo gallery for us!

And to MNJoe for being the 'first' to laod in it. I found this great shot of our very own ScubaPunk...now that is some 'zenlike diving'!!!

[mantarraya]

Well, you guys can credit the good weather that you finally got on Saturday-Sunday to my great-niece Jaden. Friday, she announced that the weather just could NOT be bad on Saturday, because it was her birthday as well as my daughter Rachel's wedding day. Sure enough, after an extremely stressful Friday (where not much could be done in advance as far as wedding decorating), I woke up on Saturday and could tell it would be a clear and beautiful day for a Galveston beach wedding.

Glad you guys all had a nice trip, and even more glad that my daughter's wedding went off with a beautiful sunny day.

Edited by mantarraya, 24 July 2007 - 08:42 AM.

[DandyDon]

Ok, I'm sure that my pics are not going to impress any divers, but they do impress my non-diving friends. Here's the email I sent to them....
> I'm going to post some smaller PB pics first with notes,
> Then at the bottom there's an invitation and link to play my 132 pics on an Aol Album slide show. Once show starts, click timer to 1 second and go thru it in just over 2 minutes, stopping on any you may like....


First, the excuses - I did not have my tripod for the dry pics, so the night, landscaped pics I shot without flash are a little shaky, and - the currents were so rough that I never tried to use my external strobe, leaving the dive pics darker than desired. Hope you enjoy the show, still.

A few notes about some of the pics you'll see, then you can download the 20 MB file for a full screen slide show, or play the Aol 1/2 screen slide show - whichever you prefer...

As things worked out, we arrived a few hours early and went exploring...

As a high desert boy, I was fascinated by the levee used to keep the Brazos river in place, and this tiny railroad trestle apparently still used some - going to a swinging bridge you'll see in a bit. That's my home dive bud Jer and me....


A natural beach, with the seaweed left to do what nature does -
along with the litter...


Boarding our 3 day home after sunset...
* *

The swinging rail bridge...


"Surface Interval" - between dives on the sundeck...


Sunset, right before the night dive. the red-white-red lights on the upright
are the night signal for "Diver Down - Do Not Approach...!"


I was happy to see Urchins doing well here, after being nearly
wiped out in most of the Caribbean by an infection...


The Golden Spot Box fish is found here and one other place in the world....


Juvenile French Angels are so pretty...

I saw a 1" juvi French acting as a "cleaner" removing parasites
as they act in that phase - working on a 15" Adult French,
but missed the shot going for my buddy to see it.

So are Fireworms in a way, a good reminder to never touch....


Lovely, shy Moray Eel...


Diving within an offshore oil rig is mind boggling -
even before you discover how much life is there...


I'd never been within 50 ft of a shy Ocean Trigger before,
but she was right in my face...
* *

This turtle was almost as large as a Volkswagon...


And not shy at all. Shooting pics in the current, we almost headbumped.
I raised my arm in case she bit, but no problem...


Back on the reef, I love Xmas Tree Worms...


Well, there's lots more....

(1) Download the full screen slide show here if you'd like - select Save, not-Open... http://www.yousendit...IcVhFc0kwTVE9PQ


(2) Or simply access the Aol album for a slide show here as "Guest"....

http://pictures.aol....h...2bBXiXp6w==

[Juliwithani]

Ok, I'm sure that my pics are not going to impress any divers, but they do impress my non-diving friends. Here's the email I sent to them....
> I'm going to post some smaller PB pics first with notes,
> Then at the bottom there's an invitation and link to play my 132 pics on an Aol Album slide show. Once show starts, click timer to 1 second and go thru it in just over 2 minutes, stopping on any you may like....


First, the excuses - I did not have my tripod for the dry pics, so the night, landscaped pics I shot without flash are a little shaky, and - the currents were so rough that I never tried to use my external strobe, leaving the dive pics darker than desired. Hope you enjoy the show, still.

A few notes about some of the pics you'll see, then you can download the 20 MB file for a full screen slide show, or play the Aol 1/2 screen slide show - whichever you prefer...

As things worked out, we arrived a few hours early and went exploring...

As a high desert boy, I was fascinated by the levee used to keep the Brazos river in place, and this tiny railroad trestle apparently still used some - going to a swinging bridge you'll see in a bit. That's my home dive bud Jer and me....


A natural beach, with the seaweed left to do what nature does -
along with the litter...


Boarding our 3 day home after sunset...
* *

The swinging rail bridge...


"Surface Interval" - between dives on the sundeck...


Sunset, right before the night dive. the red-white-red lights on the upright
are the night signal for "Diver Down - Do Not Approach...!"


I was happy to see Urchins doing well here, after being nearly
wiped out in most of the Caribbean by an infection...


The Golden Spot Box fish is found here and one other place in the world....


Juvenile French Angels are so pretty...

I saw a 1" juvi French acting as a "cleaner" removing parasites
as they act in that phase - working on a 15" Adult French,
but missed the shot going for my buddy to see it.

So are Fireworms in a way, a good reminder to never touch....


Lovely, shy Moray Eel...


Diving within an offshore oil rig is mind boggling -
even before you discover how much life is there...


I'd never been within 50 ft of a shy Ocean Trigger before,
but she was right in my face...
* *

This turtle was almost as large as a Volkswagon...


And not shy at all. Shooting pics in the current, we almost headbumped.
I raised my arm in case she bit, but no problem...


Back on the reef, I love Xmas Tree Worms...


Well, there's lots more....

(1) Download the full screen slide show here if you'd like - select Save, not-Open... http://www.yousendit...IcVhFc0kwTVE9PQ


(2) Or simply access the Aol album for a slide show here as "Guest"....

http://pictures.aol....h...2bBXiXp6w==

Thanks for the photos! I always take my camera but the night before the trip the charger cord broke! and there was no luck finding one on the way down to Freeport! Lucky for me, you were there with your camera. I am impressed that you were even able to hold on to the camera in that ripping current! Wow!

I can't wait to return to Flower Gardens, after all its in my back yard!

Take care and thanks again for the shots!

Juliwithani

[DandyDon]

Thanks for the photos! I always take my camera but the night before the trip the charger cord broke! and there was no luck finding one on the way down to Freeport! Lucky for me, you were there with your camera. I am impressed that you were even able to hold on to the camera in that ripping current! Wow!

I can't wait to return to Flower Gardens, after all its in my back yard!

Take care and thanks again for the shots!

Juliwithani

You copied my who post? Hehe, ok. Glad you like them.

Others got better pics, but thanks. I would have liked to had my strobe on the bottom, but I didn't see anyone try that. I put my cam in my giant BC pocket on the drift line before removing fins. Not a good idea, but for that ladder, worth the risk - I think.