147 replies to this topic

[Tolly]

Waiting on those trip reports!

[Basslet]

I wonder how they made out with Hurriacan Dennis?

[Terri]

I've been keeping my eye on the weather buoy near where they're diving, and it looks like they've had some SWEET conditions....FG Weather Buoy

I have a feeling we're going to hear some awesome trip reports!!!

[Basslet]

Yeah. I just read a short message on D2D that their FG trip was fine. They just couldn't do a platform dive. Wind and seas picked up.

[Latitude Adjustment]

I just read that one too on D2D and it sounds like they may have lucked out with the weather, if they don't party too much at ScubaToys afterwards we may get to see a trip report soon.

[landlocked]

Hi All! We're back. We had a great time!!!! Thanks to Kamala for another outstanding trip. Thank you as well to Sea Urchin, Sassy Rabbit and Scuba Punk for so much assistance with us out-of-towners.

The weather was great. No major issues. We had a few small thunderstorms (apparently unrelated to Dennis) but otherwise it was absolutely beautiful.

Here's a photo Zen Diver got of all of us on the boat. Wish you all could have been there. It was yet another GREAT SD trip!

Mandi

from left:
Karl, Keith, Gar, Marvel, Mitch, Kim, Captain Big Al (I think), Linda, Phyllis, Tom, Kamala (of Course), John, Carla, Mandi, Walter, ZD, Kevin, James (Dive Master), George (Dive Master)

Attached Images

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[scubafanatic]

Yeah. I just read a short message on D2D that their FG trip was fine. They just couldn't do a platform dive. Wind and seas picked up.

Hi Fairybasslet,

...........not sure who your intelligence source on D2D is.......but we --DID -- do a platform dive, namely HI 376 A in about 330 ft. of water......it was quite a spectatular dive, with some of the wierdest dive conditions ever reported experienced after we reported our adventure to Captain Bruce........some insanely wild water motions, some reported bouncing up and down 15--20 ft vertically, not to mention strange back and forth surges......being alternately sucked back and then released and pushed forward.....like a scuba rodeo!

....... the rig calmed at depth, as I dipped down for a spell to 130 ft. deep where is was dead calm....kinda spooky down there but really cool !

We modified the usual itinerary by doing 4 dives at Stetson, including a night dive there..........usually the boats only do 2 dives there..........getting to dive Stetson at night is a very rare treat.

...the 6 dives at East and West Bank were awesome.......pristine reefs and huge fish populations.....the 1 rig dive is a 'must do' dive..........and I had a fabulous time doing the 4 Stetson dives.........it's very different looking than East and West Banks, with tons of sponge and fish life.......saw turtles and rays there too. I especially enjoy the very high-relief / dramatic topography of Stetson......a bizarre alien landscape with easily accessible deep drop-offs, my favorite thing there was cruising those walls in the 100--130 ft. range...way cool!

...we had no weather issues other than a light rain delayed the 1st Stetson dive on Monday morning by about 45 min........no biggie......and well worth the wait, as our final 2 dives at Stetson were dramatically calmer than the first 2 at Stetson we did on Sunday........on Saturday the moderate swells caused some wierd 'surging' dive conditions.......the fact I was at 100 ft. and still witnessed pebbles on the bottom rolling back and forth gives you some small idea of the power of the sea.......so the first Stetson dive was definitely a workout but taught us how to dive in such conditions so the Stetson night dive was smoother.........and by it was time for the final 2 Stetson dives on Monday morning conditions at Stetson were sweet!

...weather wasn't an issue......heck, we stayed up till past 3 pm Sunday night,enjoying a star-watching party, socializing together at the stern, under a stunning panarama of the Milky Way Galaxy glowing against an ink black sky. ( the captain extinguished all the boat lights to enhance our view of the beautiful sky.)

.......I understand there was a waiting list of boat DM's that wanted to be on this SD.com trip.........and they really looked out for us, treated us well, and had a great sense of humor.........and the captain / crew enjoyed us as much as we enjoyed them.........the word is our group was the most fun/ awesome charter the boat had ever done......everyone got along........practiced safe diving........they want to have us back ASAP.........and we want to return ASAP too!

......folks, those of you who missed out on this trip really missed out.........it was a fabulous group having fun in an awesome place.......do yourself a favor and don't miss out on the Flower Gardens with Sea Searcher II / SD.com in 2006!

Karl

[Latitude Adjustment]

Glad you lucked out on the weather, the report on D2D was about another boat.
Star gazing on the FG has always been the best night life on those liveaboards, not much room for anything else

[bluedolphin]

The Sea Searcher Shuffle continued and at the very last minute we wound up with a full boat.

We really dodged a bullet on this one, it turned out to be an awesome weekend, and the small thunder storms passed quickly. The coral formations were amazing, I have never seen anything so majestic on the underwater reefs.

The rig was an experience, not at all like the one I dove in Miami, we were in the confines of the rig to protect us from the current. This particular rig had 2 platforms one at about 40' the other at about 90' I believe. Obviously the currents were stronger at the 40'mark. I finally gave up and found a rope to hang on to at about 35' and just watched the fish go by. The life on the structure was incredible and so pretty. I gotta do a rig again sometime.

Stetson which is essentially a dead coral reef had its own unique topography, unlike East and West bank which indeed resemble a garden, Stetson looked more like a moonscape with small volcano shaped structure, and craters and other interesting formations.

The boat and crew were beyond wonderful, everyone was great! Definately a must do dive. destination.

Hopefully I won't have any flight issues as I head home, I hear there was 10 inches of rain in Atlanta over the last 72 hours and I need to make a stop there before heading home to Raleigh.

BlueD.

[zendiver]

WOW - AWESOME - FANTASTIC....not a whole lot more I could say about this trip but I am going to give it my best in my trip report. As you all know, I like writing in-depth reports so please bear with me, it will be worth the wait as it will have details, photos, and videos.

BUT, for right now, I have to say a few things and give out some props and at-a-boys to several people. This portion will also be incorporated into my FULL trip report, but I couldn't wait to get this portion of it out to the others. This just goes to show what kind of members we have.

First of all, ScubaPunk, Que, TheSassyRabbit
ScubaPunk: Thank you for all the hard work you put in to make this trip what it turned out to be. You took this very seriously and it showed. Again, we can't thank you enough.
Que: For your attitude, you energetic personality, shuffling of people back and forth, loaning us weight and equipment.
TheSassyRabbit: Your participation in shuffling people back and forth to the airport and then meeting me so we could make the exchanges, your total committed attitude, "What ever it takes, let's get er done"

The three of them put SO much heart and effort into this trip to make sure that EVERYONE was taken care of and they didn't even go on the trip. You three were awesome and it was a pleasure to finally meet you all.

Next, ScubaFanatic (boy does that name fit him well) for bringing down the tanks for us to use. I can't believe that you got those 5 BIG tanks into your car, but I AM SURE GLAD YOU DID. Again, thank you and it was a pleasure meeting you and getting to know you. If my plans change over Labor Day, I will definitely let you know and we may be diving together once again.

Stingray: Your constant attention to everyones needs; from music to wax/water removal -- don't ask....

BlueDolphin: I won't go into this one but just a personal thank you for indulging this old bird. It wouldn't have been the same.

There are a lot more that I will cover in my trip report, from last minute cancellations to even REALLY LATE spot fulfillments.

Now for the Crew.....WOW, what can I say. I pride myself in being one of the best DM's when I am on the boats - from Safety (job 1) to making sure that EVERYONE is comfortable and well taken care of. I honestly thought, especially as many trips as I have DM'ed that I was one of the best at it. BOY was I humbled this past weekend and I learned a lot from this Crew of Dive Masters, Bill, George, and James (yes James, I know I still have one coming...not a matter of IF but WHEN) These guys went WAY out of their way to take care of us and did they ever. They were right there every single minute making sure we were having a good time. From bringing each and everyone of us water after every dive, making sure that everyones tanks were completely filled and then going back over them checking them AGAIN and topping off the ones that were just a little short -- I'm taking 50psi short....that
wasn't good enough for them, it was 3000psi or their job wasn't done. By the end of the first night, Friday, these guys really didn't feel like crew, but part of the group, they just fit in.

I hope and have even asked that I, one day, will have the pleasure of working with these guys. You three gentlemen will be requested for our next trip, that I can promise.

The Captains, Bruce and Big Al: These two guys went OVERBOARD to make sure that this trip was a memorable one -- THEY TRULY SUCCEEDED, right down to the presentation for Marvel and Gars 200th dive accomplishment! There were so many firsts on this trip that I really can't list them all. A PERFECT hand-picked Crew, LIGHTS OUT party on the back deck complete with star gazing, music, laughter, stories, etc...

Chef Al: For putting up with all of our needs, no matter how petty they were. From carnivores like me that eats NON-STOP, to the finicky eaters, to the vegetarians. He kept his fat - full - and happy the whole trip. My hat goes off to you buddy.

and that is an understatement, for the crew of the Sea Searcher ll

More to come.....complete with dive information, photos, and videos.

[Latitude Adjustment]

And what a difference a few miles makes, check out what Dennis did to this platform.
BP platform

[Stingray1]

I don't remember when I've laughed so much in my life!!
Everything ran so perfectly and we were well taken care of. We didn't even run out of beer although we kept asking if we could take the zodiac to run to the liquer store. Not only did we leave with everlasting memories, we definitely left an impression on the boat crew. It's going to take a few weeks to recover from this one.
I just wanted to tell everyone what a great time I had with them. Sorry if I may have offended anyone, but it was awefully dark when Cap'n Bruce turned off all the lights!

[Mitch0129]

I am in the process of preparing my trip report but I am happy to report that it all went very well and the hurricane did not really affect us in any way. I will say this, we had an awesome crew from the captains to the chef to the divemasters. In fact, I will love to have this crew again!

In case some of you might be wondering, I was a VERY LATE addition, in fact, I was already in Freeport to have dinner with the group before they shoved off. I had to hoof it back to Houston to get my dive gear and pack some clothes, then get back. I will tell y'all about that later.

[always narced]

OK, everyone gets to hear it from the Horse's mouth. The Flower Gardens bunch was The best group we have ever and the pleasure of Divemastering for. Zen said it all, we did feel like part of the group. You guy's are truly a class act! James and I would also like to think everyone for their generosity.

Dive Deep, Dive Safe, and Dive with a Single Diver!!!!!!!!!

Dive Masters
George & James

[tdtexas]

I am still recovering from all of the fun, laughter, & diving. What a great group we had! Again, cannot say enough about the crew, those guys rocked! I want to thank everyone for pitching in & doing whatever was necessary for making it an outstanding trip.