Solo Diving on the Little Coral Knoll

The City sent me a letter advising me that the State Park would honor my City parking pass.  If that is true, it would allow me to dive off Tower 15.  I decided to try it out this morning. Got to the park at 8:00 am, but was advised that the fence to get through did not open until 9:00 am. I parked near the entry to the park, geared up and walked around to the beach.

I got in the water and swam out to the Big Rock before descending. I checked around for shells and moved slowly to the smaller rock to the South. From there, I headed at 130 degrees past the knee-high coral and to the dead limbs and then to the counter-weight, except that I did not find the counter-weight on the first pass. Instead, I wandered around and ended up to the East of the Big Rock. From there, I retraced my path to the smaller rock, the knee high coral head, the dead limbs and this time I found the counter-weight and headed off at 130 degrees to find the little coral knoll. Spotted an octopus under the tipped coral head on the NW corner of the knoll and a green sea turtle on the tipped coral head on the NE corner of the knoll. This is one of those dives that make me wish I still had a camera. Swam out to the tiny knoll to the East and the cushion coral but mostly just drifted over the knoll and watched the fish. Lots of grunts, but small grunts.  I left the knoll at 1000 psi and worked my way back to the smaller rock then the Big Rock. I hung out there until I made 130 minutes, then I swam into the beach.

Dive time was 135 minutes; consumption was 23.16 psi/minute at an average depth of 17 feet; SAC Rate was 15.29 psi/minute and the RMV was 0.39 ft3/minute.

Tommy's Third and Fourth Open Water Dives

Milton and Tommy were 30 minutes late driving up from Homestead this morning. Wind was out of the NNE at about 10 knots, so the surf was too rough for Ryan, who had some errands to run. He told me to park in his spot and go for both dives. We parked as he had directed and geared up, but Mike, the chairman of the Board of Directors, came to tell me that because I was a "commercial diver" and engaged in transacting business, I couldn't park in their lot.  I told him we were just diving and that Ryan had directed me to park in the spot for which he pays rent, but Mike thought that would still be a problem. This is absurd.

Anyway, we headed off to the beach to make Tommy's third dive.  The surf was up, but not impossibly so. We all got out, though Milton had more problems with his bum leg than Tommy did. I ended up towing Milton much of the way out, but he kept sitting up in the water which killed his forward momentum. I asked him once not to do it, but he couldn't help himself, so I just swam off and left him to figure it out on his own.  We got to the sand and descended. Milton held the flag line while Tommy and I did the ascents.  Even though I asked Tommy to signal that he was out of air before he went for my octupus, I had to remind to do it him when we were actually performing the ascent. We went up slowly: 35 ft in 105 seconds or 3 seconds per foot.  The CESA was faster:  35 ft in 46 seconds or 1.3 seconds per foot, which is slower than the 60 ft per minute PADI requires but triggered some ascent warnings from my Suunto computer, which preferred a 30 ft/minute ascent rate. Anyway, we swam back in and I showed them a common octopus hiding in a hole and a Yellow Sand Ray buried in the sand. Visibility was poor but it was a fun dive.

Dive Time was 35 minutes; my SAC rate was 18.51 and my RMV was 0.48 ft3/minute.

Ryan was at the apartment when we got back and Mike had spoken with him. Ryan wasn't too concerned about it all. Mike apparently has a reputation as an old maid. The more I think of it, the more I get pissed off, but its really Ryan who ought to be upset.  He pays for that parking spot and Mike has pretty much made himself a part of any decision regarding it.

Regardless, Milton, Tommy and I packed up and drove down to the South Beach Parking Lot to make our second dive and Tommy's final dive necessary for certification. We walked in just South of Tower 2 and headed East. We somehow missed the tiered reef, so I headed South and we went right to the beginning of the Jacks.  Swam along the North side for a bit, but turned the dive when Milton indicated he was down to 1,100 psi.  We headed back a little faster than we swam out. Might have made 2 hours, but wasn't sure how Milton was doing for air. Just as well. We came out just North of Tower 1 and walked up to the truck. Tommy did well using 8 pounds of weight.

Dive time 104 minutes; consumption rate was 23.81 at an average depth of 17 feet; SAC rate was 15.71 on an 80 ft3 tank; RMV was 0.41 ft3/minute.

First Two Open Water Dives with Tommy Olbe

Milton Tinoco, who lives in Homestead, took my open water class during the Spring of 2012 and got OW certified in May of that year. This year, Milton brought his son, Tommy, to Fort Lauderdale to take the course. He as finished the classroom work, including all the quizzes and did fine performing the skills in the pool.  This morning, he would make his first two dives in the ocean.

Our first dive involved no skills, but was designed to get him properly weighted and maybe a little more comfortable in the water. Milton and Tommy drove up from Homestead and arrived at the apartment just a little after 7:30 am.  We headed down to the South Beach parking lot, geared up and got in. I put 10 pounds on Tommy and carried 10 myself so I could swap 3's for 2's or vice versa.  He seemed heavy at first, but it could also be that he just wasn't breathing well.  Later, over the 3-tiered reef, I swapped one of his 3s for one of my 2 pound weights, and that seemed to help.  He didn't want to swap the others, so he dived with 9 pounds.  We went East, but may have gotten set to the North, as well.  I did not recognize the area, but when I went up to look, it appeared as if we were pretty much East of the beach, where we should have been.  I decided to turn the dive anyway, rather than search for the Jacks. We got back to the swim buoys and I signaled for Tommy and Milton to surface with me.  We tested Tommy's weight there and he was just a little heavy, but not much.  After testing his weight, we descended and swam in to the beach.

Dive time  was 70 minutes, which was pretty remarkable for a first dive. My consumption rate was 31.10 psi/minute at an average depth of 16 feet; SAC rate was 20.94 psi/minute and RMV was 0.54 ft3/minute.

During our surface interval and just before our second dive, Tommy and I went over the decompression problems. He obviously had spent some time on them and seemed to understand the tables. We got geared up and headed for the water.  The plan was to get to 20 feet and then run through the skills, which we did. Tommy did fine, except he had a little trouble hovering. I got him to lie horizontal and lift off the sand, but his legs brought him down. We worked at it and got him to actually hover without putting air in his inner tube. Then we headed back to the beach so Tommy could take the final and we could make his third dive and be done.  Milton had to head North to buy a dirt bike and wanted to leave by 1:00 pm.  I pointed out that Tommy was tired and would need about an hour to take the final, so Milton opted to make only two dives today and to make two tomorrow, even though that meant Milton would miss a NASCAR race in Homestead.  So that's what we did.  Tommy passed the final, but just barely.  Should finish his certification tomorrow morning.

Dive time was 37 minutes; consumption rate was 25 psi/minute at an average depth of 15 feet; SAC rate was 17.19 with an 80 ft3 aluminum tank; RMV was 0.44 ft3/minute.

Beach Dive off Tower 17

Ryan O'Connor, who lives across the street from Tower 17, was kind enough to invite me over to dive the Big Coral Knoll and the Fish Camp Rocks this morning. I got to his apartment 30 minutes early. I might have been a little eager.

We geared up and got in the water. He dives with a snorkel and still puts his fins on before he gets in the water, even when he is not carrying lobster gear, just as the PADI video demonstrates. As we were headed East up the gunsight, I spotted a Nudibranch out for a walk and pointed it out to Ryan. I don't think he was impressed. They are very small, but they are also pretty rare. We swam all the way to the one-sided coral head, which means we got set to the South by the current. We swam back on bearing and went through the Fish Camp Rocks where we spotted a number of lobster. We continued on to the Eastern Ledge. Nice drop to 35 feet and we headed North for a bit. Ryan had some trouble kicking up sand and waving his arms, but his buoyancy was much better. We came up on top of the Ledge and back-tracked to the finger coral, then headed West to the Big Coral Knoll. Had some trouble getting him to follow me. I had spotted several lobsters in the rocks on the SW corner of the Knoll, but he was nowhere in sight, so I swam back. I spotted him near the surface and I thought he spotted me, but he didn't follow. So I went back and let him see me again, but same result. Third time was the charm. Then we swam over to the Perpendicular Rocks and then headed SW to the Cigar Rock and West to the blocks then to the beach.

Dive time was 87 minutes; consumption rate was 25.41 psi/minute at an average depth of 19 feet; SAC rate was 16.13 psi/minute on an 80 ft3 aluminum tank; RMV was 0.42 ft3/minute.

Solo Dive on the Tower 2 Algae Patch

Got down to the beach about 8:00 am.  No lifeguards in sight.  Geared up.  Added 2 more pounds to my weights and got in the water. Swam on the surface out past the swim buoys, then descended. Had 3141 psi in the tank as I went down, but the water was warmer than the air. Made over 7 minutes to 3000 psi and 20 psi/minute for the first 1,000 psi.  Move slowly to the East looking for shells. Got into deeper water and I got lighter. I couldn't maintain 20 psi/minute and drifted back up to 25 psi/minute. Turned the dive at about 1400 psi and got to the sand at 650 psi.  Hung around until I got to 130 minutes and 350 psi and then headed in. Dive time was 135 minutes;  consumption was 21.83 psi/minute at an average depth of 17 feet; SAC rate was 14.41 psi/minute and the RMV wa 0.37 ft3/minute.  Not bad for as long as I've been out of the water.

Navigation Dive on the Tower 2 Algae Patch

Milton came to my apartment at 7:30 am and we headed for the beach at about 8:00 am.  There was a race or some event for which the police closed FLL Beach Blvd, so we got to the South Beach parking lot about 8:25 am.  We waited for Daryn, who left his boat at 8:30 am and had to negotiate the same heavy traffic that we had.

We briefly discussed the compass and how to use it, then walked through the out 'n back and the square patterns the students were required to navigate. Then we geared up and got in the water. We swam on the surface out past the swim buoys and descended. The two students buddied up and I sent them out at 100 degrees, with Luis tagging along with a flag. Daryn was in charge of the bearing and Milton was supposed to count kick cycles, but obviously had some problems. I expected them back in 5 or 10 minutes and surfaced after 9 minutes, but I could not see the flag. Fifteen minutes after they left I surfaced again and spotted them on the surface about 30 yards NE, so I swam to them. We discussed the problem, shortened the distance and descended again. This time, Milton was on the bearing, but he headed off to the NE, not SE, as I had asked. They came back in about 6 minutes, this time, though, which certainly counts for something. Daryn ran a second Out 'n Back and executed it well. Then Milton ran a square pattern and finally, Daryn did, as well. Then we went diving.

We headed East and spotted several single jacks, then finally, the beginning of the Wall of Jacks.  About that same time, Milton was down to 1100 psi, so we turned the dive and headed West. Daryn was disappointed, but he came with us. As we left the tiered reef, Milton was down to about 500 psi, so I gave him my alternate and we swam together over the sand to the algae patch and then across the algae to the sand, where I indicated to him that he should get back on his own tank, which he did.  I had lots of air, but the flag and flag line were getting to be a problem. We weren't well paired. The alternate hose was pressing into my head and I couldn't feel Milton, so I kept having to contort myself to look back and see him without winding the flag line around my legs. Need to work on that.  

Dive Time was 79 minutes; Consumption rate at an average 15 ft of depth was 29.57 psi/minute; SAC rate was 20.33 psi/minute.  Water temperature was 78 degrees.

Diving the Big Coral Knoll with Ryan O'Connor

Tim Rice, a PADI instructor who works part time for Matt at Underseas Sports, introduced me to Ryan O'Connor and suggested we might like to dive together since Ryan lives just across the road from Tower 17. I was supposed to meet Ryan at 8:00 am, but got there at 7:30 am. Just a little eager to dive the Knoll again. Ryan was eager, too, but he wanted to hunt lobsters.

We geared up and walked across the street. He had so much lobster gear to carry that putting on fins in the water would be difficult, so he put his fins on at the shoreline and then walked backwards into the water and over the sand bar, just like the PADI video demonstrates. I've never found that to be very efficient. I walked in to chest high water and put mine on. Then we swam out to the blocks. Difficult to see them from the surface, but I got close enough to see them once we went down.

Headed up the gunsight up to Irish Thighs, which looks much smaller than I remember; then past the sponge and up to the Cigar Rock, though I was a little South of the mark but still spotted it. Headed East from there but ended up just below the Bubble Rocks. Corrected course and headed for the Perpendicular Rocks, the Swept Rock and, finally, the Big Coral Knoll. Lots of French Grunts, some of whom were going mouth to mouth. Went around the Knoll. Spotted the green Rock Hind on the tipped over coral head on the North side of the Knoll. No turtles. I wonder if the construction hasn't scared them off to the second reef line, or at least North to LBTS. Made a second lap and then headed over to the English Garden then back and headed to the Fish Camp Rocks.

Ryan chased some Lobster there and caught one. Saw some Sweepers and a couple of Midnight Parrotfish. Really missing my camera on this dive. Ryan was getting low on air, so we headed back to the beach. Had to go South to find the Big Gray Rock, but we did and went from there to the Cigar Rock, the Irish Thighs, over the blocks and back on the beach. Bill Evans was on the Tower and we chatted from a bit. Not a bad dive but a little chilly for my taste and we spent too much time swimming. Should have slowed everything down and ambled up the reef instead of swimming purposefully.


Dive time was 93 minutes; consumption rate was 30.55 psi/minute; SAC rate was 19.77 psi/minute; and my RMV was 0.51 ft3/minute.

Found out later that after our dive, Ryan went to the Emergency Room suspecting that he had developed subcutaneous emphysema:  he heard the bubbles crinkling in his neck. We discussed it and I think it is likely that because he has only had a handful of dives, he would hold his breath as he tried to capture a lobster and, of course, holding his breath would make him positively buoyant so he would float up. He may well have sustained an air gas embolism and ruptured some alveoli.  

Luis and I make a Night Dive across the Tower 2 Algae Patch

Met Luis in the South Beach parking lot a little before 6:00 pm.  We got in the water pretty quickly as it was getting dark. I could barely make out the swim buoys by 6:25 pm and there was no chance we could track our bearing to the Jacks. We descended and made our way more or less to the East across the algae field. Got into 22 ft of water then came to the tiered ledge, but we weren't where we usually are to get on the Jacks. Luis spotted a young green turtle who hung around us for a bit. Also spotted a large crab. Kind of a nice dive there, but we could have skipped the 600 yard swim to get there. The effective closure of the beaches North of Sunrise and recent high winds have caused me to severely cut back on my diving.  I now lay around and, bored, eat too much. I've put on some weight, maybe 20 pound. I was not well weighted at 10 pounds and my gas usage suffered:  RMV of 0.47 ft3/minute.  Dive Time was just a little over 90 minutes; actual consumption was 27.46 psi/minute at an average depth of 17 feet; SAC rate of 18.13 psi/minute.  

Diving the Ledge of Turtles with Leo Paez

I got to the beach at 6:00 am and found a spot behind Tower 20. About 6:40 am, the front spot opened up and I took it. Leo got to the beach after 8:00 am, but still found just barely enough room to park along A1A. We got in the water shortly after he got there. My last dive was six days ago. My gear was dry. Really dry. Between the wind and the disruption of the construction, it just doesn't seem worth the trouble.

We swam on the surface out to where the Rock Pile should have been and descended. Visibility was 2-3 ft at most and I couldn't find the Rock Pile, so we just headed off at 120 degrees. Never saw anything I recognized until we came back from the Eastern Ledge and I spotted Shark's Rock. Must have gone right over Sharks' Rocks East, but I didn't see them. Went south to the Nipple Rock and then West, but never did find the Ledge. I didn't miss my camera at all. Saw the comfortable Rock, but nothing else. We decided not to make a second dive. Dive time was 82 minutes; actual consumption was 25.74 psi/minute at an average depth of 20 feet; SAC rate was 16.03 psi/minute; RMV was 0.41 ft3/minute.

Final Two Open Water Dives off Tower 20

I got to the beach just before 5:00 am and I was the first car there.  I parked in the former handicap zone.  Luis arrived at 7:30 am and found a place to park two cars from me.  The guys came at around 8:00 am and there were no spaces available.  They parked over by the Pelican and walked back.

First dive was their third open water dive, which means we had a long surface swim to the Eastern Ledge to make those ascents. It took us awhile to gear up, but we finally got in the water. Took probably 20 minutes to make the Ledge, but I think of this as time well spent.  I get to see that they really can keep themselves afloat should there be a problem and I don't have to worry about DCS since they really have no nitrogen load to speak of when we make the ascents. We all descended. Luis held the flag line while I led the guys through the two ascents: an alternative air source ascent and the Controlled Emergency Swimming Ascent. Both of them did fine. I got concerned because my Suunto was giving me ascent rate warnings, but once I saw the profile graph, I realized what I knew but had not remembered: that Suunto uses a 30 ft/minute ascent rate while PADI's is a much quicker 60 ft/minute. Then we swam back. Luis took pictures and the guys and I just looked on. Dive Time was 80 minutes; actual consumption was 25.16 psi/minute at an average depth of 17 feet; SAC rate was 16.61 psi/minute; and the RVM was 0.43 ft3/minute.

We were supposed to go over the problems during the surface interval, but the student who did not bring his problems yesterday failed to bring them today, as well. We worked through the first 4 problems, including finding the appropriate surface intervals in two dives on problem 3 and one dive on problem 4, then they advised me that I had not given them a formula for determining the appropriate surface interval. I lost it. So we gave up on the tables and made their fourth open water dive on the Ledge of Turtles. Swam right to the Rock Pile and descended, then headed up the reef at 120 degrees. Spotted the 3 little green mountainous coral heads just before the Big Rock and swam from there to the Ledge of Turtles. Luis took pictures. The guys and I just hung around looking. We spent about 50 minutes on the Ledge then swam to Shark's Rock and Sharks Rocks East, then we returned to the Ledge of Turtles just to touch base before heading to the beach.  Swam right to the Rock Pile and then to the beach.  Nice dive.  Dive Time was 97 minutes; Actual consumption was 23.24 psi/minute at an average depth of 15 feet; SAC rate was 15.98 psi/minute; RMV was 0.41 ft3/minute.