Kayak Diving on Suze's Reef

I met Dick yesterday. He is a member of the Kayuba Dive Club and we have seen one another at the beach several times. He offered to bring his wife's kayak if I wanted to dive with them. I eagerly agreed. We met at the beach a little after 8:00 am. It was 9:30 before we got the gear loaded and got in the water. It was another hour to get to the site and get geared up. Everything has to be tied down in case you roll over, which means it all has to be untied to get in the water.

I started off diving with Dick and Mark, but they were looking for lobsters to eat while I preferred to take photos. John had forgotten his weights or weight belt and did not dive. I lost Dick and Mark on the reef and explored on my own for a while. I came up after about 40 minutes and talked with John as I tried to get my gear and myself back in the kayak. It was a struggle. Dick and Mark never came up, so I paddled over to their bubbles and jumped in again. They were after some lobster deep in the reef. I took photos and suddenly was attacked by a Triggerfish that had been circling me. He nipped me on the ear lob and drew blood. Then we got out and paddled home. It was an enjoyable experience.

Navigating Tower 17

I entered the water in front of Tower 17 and swam out at 100 degrees. From there, I headed 90 degrees. I proceeded slowly, trying to adjust for the current. As I swam, I spotted the Furry Rock with the extended polyps as I swam East. It was North of me. I swam to it, then swam at 330 degrees and spotted the Fish Camp Rocks about eighty feet out. I turned around and swam back at 140 degrees and found the Furry Rock again. Then I went at 350 degrees and spotted the Big Coral Knoll, but I was East, still, it was amazing considering the poor visibility.

Dianne and I Dive off Tower 17

Dianne and I entered the water in front of Tower 17 and swam out at 100 degrees. Just as we got onto the reef, Dianne spotted an eel under a coral head. I got a picture. We continued on to the East, but were South of the Furry Rock and well South of the Fish Camp Rocks when we swam by.

Out of the corner of my eye, I spotted the Furry Rock with the extended polyps to the North of us as we swam by. We changed course and swam to it, then swam 330 degrees and spotted the Fish Camp Rocks about 80 feet out. We then headed due North and were East of the Big coral Knoll, but we were able to spot the wall. Spent some time on the Knoll taking photos. It was a good dive.

Turtles, We've Got Turtles

Luis and I entered calm surf in front of the Tower and swam almost to the reef before descending. We headed out at 100 degrees and ran into a Hawksbill turtle near the Fish Camp Rocks. We followed the turtle through the rocks and South for quite a ways, taking pictures and shooting

video. On the way back in, I ran out of air about the same time that Luis spotted a cushion Sea Star. I dived down in 10 ft to get a couple of pictures.

Getting Back in the Water

I used to make fun of people who wore coats during the winter in Florida, but I'm one of them now. It's cold here. Its cold on the surface. Its cold in the water. On the 7th of December this winter, the water temperature hit 68 degrees. On 7 January, it was 67 degrees. The temperature


bounced up to 73 degrees, but has also dropped back to 68 degrees several times throughout December, January and February. Its March and its still cold here.



I have been nursing a reverse block for over a week, but decided to get in the water today and see what happens. Dianne Co, Luis Monroy, Brian Putman and I entered in front of Tower 17 and swam out slowly at 100 degrees, but the visibility was so bad that even it we swam over the Fish Camp Rocks, we would not have seen

them. We got out to the Eastern edge of the reef and I went down to 35 ft, where my ears popped for the first time in the last week.

Why are we here?

Dianne and I decided to try a dive this morning. We have been trading our respective colds all winter and my ears were badly plugged up. I could not hear the air leaking from the bad O-ring on my tank when I set it up, but I could certainly hear and clearly see the bubbles once we got

underwater. Then my octopus started to free flow, too. I was unable to get it to stop, completely, but turning the tank off and then back on slowly did slow the free flow.


We swam out from Tower 17, but once again missed the Fish Camp Rocks. It was a short dive because I was leaking so much air from the tank. There was not much to photograph, but I did get a shot of a Scamp and and good series of a Smooth Trunkfish. After the dive, I went home and crawled into bed, where I stayed for the first 10 days of March.

You Can't Take Pictures with the Lens Cap On

The day was gorgeous. Isaac Parker was diving with me. He earned his open water certification with me in November of 2010. We were late getting to the beach and had to park on the West side of the road. We entered in front of Tower 17 and swam out to the reef at 100 degrees, descended, and swam to the Fish Camp Rocks. I left the lens cap on my camera, however, so I got no pictures. None.

From the Fish Camp Rocks, we swam to the Furry Rock, which is really Pillar Coral with extended polyps. Spent a little time there, then headed out looking for the Big Coral Knoll. We were swimming more or less North at 330 degrees, when Isaac spotted a small Green Sea Turtle. He got my attention and we swam to the turtle. We approached it slowly and cautiously, and I backed off when it looked concerned, but ultimately, we got to swim with it for quite a while. Just wish I had gotten some pictures.

Later, on the way back to the beach, I found a French Angelfish lying on the bottom at a cleaning station. The Angelfish left, but I found one of the shrimp on a sea rod and could have gotten a great picture if I had not left the lens cap on the camera.

Where or Where is the Big Coral Knoll?

Luis wanted to enter the water North of the tower and try to find the Big Coral Knoll, so we did. Look for the Coral Knoll, that is. We did not find it. We found a school of Spadefish and a Hawksbill turtle, but we did not find the Knoll. We swam to the Eastern edge and back without seeing any familiar landmarks.















For our second dive, I wanted to find the Fish Camp Rocks. We know it is roughly South and East of the Big Coral Knoll, so we entered in front of Lifeguard Tower 17 and swam out at 100 degrees. We descended over the reef and continue to swim out at 90 degrees. We missed the Rocks and ended up at the Eastern edge of the reef. It was cold and I was blowing through air. We found a small Green Turtle and an Orange Spotted Filefish, but that was all.

Brian Learns to Dive his New Gear at Tower 17

Brian Putman came with Luis and I to dive the beach this morning. He had all new gear he just purchased at Underseas Sports, so we started by trying to get him properly weighted. He might have been a bit heavy, but he was able to get down and control his buoyancy with his breathing.

We swam East and ran into the Fish Camp Rocks. We then swam 140 degrees to the furry rock, which was only 30 kick cycles away. The water was cold, and my ears had been plugged up all week. I started getting cold. We saw a nurse shark and a Sharptailed Eel, but no turtles.

Buoyancy and Navigation Dives

Our first dive was the buoyancy dive. We spent 20-30 minutes in the cold chop trying to properly weight these girls. We bounced around and swapped out weights before descending to examine trim weighting and swim the hoops. I think we got Mia properly weighted, but Dianne still looked a bit heavy. I demonstrated how I wanted them to run the hoops and Mia did very well. She was slow and methodical. She relied on her breathing to set her buoyancy and she did a good job. In addition to being a little heavy, Dianne had a tendency to blow through the hoops rather than work her buoyancy. While I still had lots of air, I was cold and so were the others. We went back to the beach to warm up before making a navigation dive.






We discussed the use of the compass before getting in the water. We also discussed exactly what we were going to do. We dropped at the pin and immediately the girls were counting kick cycles as they swam out on the line. Once we established the distance covered in a kick cycle, we did an out 'n back for 30 kick cycles. The girls ended up West and South of where they should, probably failing to account for the current. They ran the square, but reduced to 20 kick cycles on a side. This time they came out exactly where they should have.

Next, we went out on the reef. I signaled Mia that she should lead and I would follow, but then she started swimmin ENE, so I took over. We went out to the Eastern edge of the reef. No turtles or eels, and just a few reef fish. I was chilled when we got back.