Official August Keys Krawl trip report
#1
Posted 11 August 2009 - 06:45 PM
The Dive Gods were with us all weekend.....we had calm seas & sunny skies. Oh, wait, that was all Bruce's doing! He's our Lucky Leprechaun, and has earned our eternal thanks & a permanent job coordinating Keys Krawls! The hotel was reasonable and adequate, and Rainbow Reef was a fantastic dive op.
On Saturday morning, there were 7 of us SDers on the boat - Barb, Patty, Sanja, Cass, Bruce, Brad and me, and we dived the Spiegel Grove first. Bruce took Sanja and Cass as his buddies, since they are not AOW certified yet. Entry was a bit taxing, but the current at depth was reasonable and I enjoyed scouting around the wreck. It will take several more visits to see everything I'd like to see on this site. Lots of quite large barracuda hang out there, and though Barb & Patty spotted a big moray, my pic turned out blurry.....maybe someone else caught a good pic of it and will post it. After a quick boat ride & 47 minute surface interval, we dived the Benwood wreck, which is a shallow site and she's broken up & scattered, but it was an easy, relaxing dive with minimal current. We found tiny purple cleaner shrimp, a baby lobster, a spotted moray, and the usual reef denizens. Went back to the dock for lunch & surface interval, and met up with others who were arriving. Que had set out food for us on the picnic table. Our next 2 dives on Saturday were both shallow reef dives -- Fire Coral Cave, and another site on Molasses Reef, which I missed because of my typical malady. Peeps continued to arrive throughout the day on Saturday. By the time we docked after the afternoon dives, most everyone had arrived and met in the parking lot to discuss dinner plans.
Can't remember the name of the restaurant we invaded, but we had everybody at one long table Saturday night....all 24 of us! 2 waitresses tried to deal with the large crowd, but they were not quite up to the task. But, we got to know those who were sitting nearby, and the live music was far enough away to allow us to talk, laugh, eat & have fun. Barb, I noticed the fingers behind Zach's head in the pic I got of your end of the table! But, your wonderful cookies made up for your mischief. Not wanting to waste any of your cookies, I always waited until the end of the day to sample.....
Most made it an early night on Saturday, and we gathered at the dock on Sunday morning. I don't know how the dive op managed to squeeze more peeps on the boat, but maybe we have a couple more converts! Sandy was seated right next to some foreign tourists in speedos......Oh, the irony! We dived the Duane on Sunday morning, which I thought was slightly deeper than the Spiegel Grove to get to "the good stuff". Current was present, but not troublesome. Cass got to 104 feet for the first time ever, and she was thrilled, and grateful to Bruce for giving her the opportunity to dive the wrecks. Our second dive was Fire Coral Cave again, which had some stout current on Sunday. After lunch back at shore and a surface interval, we went back out for 2 more dives -- the first at Winch Hole (I think that's the name) and the second was on French Reef. Winch Hole had some current & surging, which meant that I had to sit out the 4th dive again! Sigh.
I don't remember which dives or sites we spotted them on, but we also saw 4 spotted eagle rays at the edge of visibility, a turtle, a couple of nurse sharks, a giant grouper, a huge crab, and I'll let others mention what else was spotted over the weekend. We had a small group of bottlenose dolphin riding our wake on one trip.
Back at the hotel at the end of the dive day, we decided to do dinner in smaller groups, and The Three Amigos set up coolers with drinks at the pool, as a franchise of Chez Neal (Bonaire trippers will appreciate that!). Not everybody came to the pool party, but those that did had a good time. Rum punch, beer & butter shots abounded, with some music and lots of laughter and good-natured fun.
Monday morning, Cass & I went to the dock and saw everybody else take off for 2 more dives. Since I was not diving, I'll let someone else describe the events when they tried to dive the Spiegel Grove on Monday! Cass & I were flying home that evening, so we stayed at the hotel & packed up, sat in the sun, and relaxed. Checkout was at 11:00, and most of those diving either tossed their stuff into the rental cars before diving, or into one of the 2 rooms we got a late checkout on. We had lunch stuff set out in Bruce's room, and many stopped by to munch, clean up, and socialize after their dives.
Those going on the Spree coral spawning SD trip headed to Key West, and Brad got Cass & I back to Ft. Lauderdale in time to catch our flight - despite the traffic that tried it's best to keep us in Florida! Brad drove all night to get back home. Brad, thanks for the shuttle service and the cabana boy services! I don't care what Cass says, you're all right in my book!
I had so much fun on this Keys Krawl! We'll have to try to make it an annual event. I enjoyed diving with those I knew, and meeting all the new friends, and I look forward to continuing the friendships that were started!
I will post some pics in the Gallery, once Admin sets one up for us.
#2
Posted 11 August 2009 - 07:33 PM
#3
Posted 11 August 2009 - 07:44 PM
Thanks for the report.
Clint
#5
Posted 12 August 2009 - 06:59 PM
Finally broken to the plow and harnessed to the traces. How may I help you today? Questions welcomed to charlies@singledivers.com
"My secret to maintaining this goofy façade? It ain't no façade." - Brad, the
"I don't make up jokes; I just observe Congress and report the facts." - Will Rogers
#6
Posted 12 August 2009 - 07:13 PM
#7
Posted 12 August 2009 - 07:54 PM
I added a few dozen photos to the Krawl album linked in Tammy's post above. Incriminating photos included. But not what you think!
Let me remind certain people that no one wants to be friends with anyone who might post something untrue or taken out of context. Might I also remind those people that certain "private features" should not necessarily be posted on the internet. AND, someone might feel entitled to punishing certain people for their actions!!!!! I'm just sayin....
#8
Posted 12 August 2009 - 08:55 PM
Wow! Looks like certain people are in very hot water with Hammered Ninja Girl. Boy, I sure am glad it isn't me.Let me remind certain people that no one wants to be friends with anyone who might post something untrue or taken out of context. Might I also remind those people that certain "private features" should not necessarily be posted on the internet. AND, someone might feel entitled to punishing certain people for their actions!!!!! I'm just sayin....I added a few dozen photos to the Krawl album linked in Tammy's post above. Incriminating photos included. But not what you think!
But just in case, I think I will camp out in the remote swampy north end of the farm for a few days. In Georgia. In August. In the height of horsefly season.
P.S. It's really a cute tat.
Finally broken to the plow and harnessed to the traces. How may I help you today? Questions welcomed to charlies@singledivers.com
"My secret to maintaining this goofy façade? It ain't no façade." - Brad, the
"I don't make up jokes; I just observe Congress and report the facts." - Will Rogers
#9
Posted 12 August 2009 - 09:04 PM
Never mind. Go hide!
#10
Posted 13 August 2009 - 08:32 AM
LLDN great trip report. I did get a lousy pic of the Moray on the Duane and the frogfish on the Grove. I am not sure how Barb spotted the Moray; I went to where she was when she spotted it, I could barely make it out knowing it was there!!! Way to go Barb...you Rock...all those sightings you found, Tanks.
#11
Posted 20 August 2009 - 10:52 AM
Where else can complete strangers gather and do stranges things together?...well..on a SD Event of course Thanks for being my dive buddy Scubaski.. You Rock I cant think of any one experiance I had on the KK that stands out over the others..lets just say it was all outstanding .. wait a minute... There is one... I cant seem to get the mental picture out of my mind of Bruce swimming across the hotel swimming pool and acting like a walrus with sound effects to boot and begging for a topside adult beverage
Thanks Tammy, Sandy, Que and Bruce and the SD Members for making a lifetime of awesome memories for me.
Bubski
no trees were harmed while posting any of my messages,
however a significant number of electrons were inconvenienced.
Buy Lawn Mower and Chain Saw Parts at...
Amazon.com
#12
Posted 20 August 2009 - 10:57 AM
Hey Mike , Good budding with you also. Was the KK pool antics well documented by video? I'll have more later.I thought it was a Classic SD Diving Adventure !
Where else can complete strangers gather and do stranges things together?...well..on a SD Event of course Thanks for being my dive buddy Scubaski.. You Rock I cant think of any one experiance I had on the KK that stands out over the others..lets just say it was all outstanding .. wait a minute... There is one... I cant seem to get the mental picture out of my mind of Bruce swimming across the hotel swimming pool and acting like a walrus with sound effects to boot and begging for a topside adult beverage
Thanks Tammy, Sandy, Que and Bruce and the SD Members for making a lifetime of awesome memories for me.
Bubski
#13
Posted 20 August 2009 - 08:37 PM
I thought it was a Classic SD Diving Adventure !
Where else can complete strangers gather and do stranges things together?...well..on a SD Event of course Thanks for being my dive buddy Scubaski.. You Rock I cant think of any one experiance I had on the KK that stands out over the others..lets just say it was all outstanding .. wait a minute... There is one... I cant seem to get the mental picture out of my mind of Bruce swimming across the hotel swimming pool and acting like a walrus with sound effects to boot and begging for a topside adult beverage
Thanks Tammy, Sandy, Que and Bruce and the SD Members for making a lifetime of awesome memories for me.
Bubski
WHAT HE SAID!!!!!
#14
Posted 20 August 2009 - 08:38 PM
Stan,Hey Mike , Good budding with you also. Was the KK pool antics well documented by video?
I saw at least one peep with a video camera during our pool training at the hotel That same peep made a video of a dinner party and no telling what else that peep has on video ?... I Mean NO TELLING or SHOWING Buddy
Bubski
no trees were harmed while posting any of my messages,
however a significant number of electrons were inconvenienced.
Buy Lawn Mower and Chain Saw Parts at...
Amazon.com
#15
Posted 22 August 2009 - 09:34 AM
The 1st Supper- Intro by ScubaShafer
More video links to come!!!!
Edited by scubaski, 22 August 2009 - 10:57 AM.
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