Open Water Dives off Tower 17 with Jeremy, Jessica, Barbara and Ashley

Jessica, Barbara and Jeremy were 10 minutes early arriving at the apartment. We were 15 minutes early getting to Ryan's. Truly amazing. We geared up and headed to the beach, got in the water and made a 40 minute surface swim to the Eastern Ledge off Tower 17.

This is a shot of Jeremy.

This is a shot of Jessica, directing, I think.













This is Barbara.


We kneeled down in 32 feet of water. Jeremy and I made the first alternate air-source ascent. Then Barbara. Then Ashley. Then Jessica. Next we made the CESA. Jeremy and I went first and he did fine: smooth, steady and in control. Then Barbara, but she grabbed her regulator before making the surface. Then Ashley, who was swimming much too quickly and I had to really hold onto the line to slow her down, but she did slow down. Next was  Jessica, who began quite slowly, but picked up as we ascended. Finally, Barbara made another CESA and this time she held on until the surface. Everyone made two good ascents and we headed back to the beach,

I was concerned about the North current and went South to compensate, then I over compensated. Jessica got low on air and swam with me, holding my tank and breathing out of my octopus. As we got into shallow water on white sand, I cut her loose so I could get the flag under control and we surfaced.  We were almost to Tower 16.

Bottom temperature was 78 degrees; dive time was 63 minutes; consumption was 40.3 psi/minute at an average depth of 19 feet and my SAC rate was 25.58 psi/minute on an aluminum 80.


I asked Jeremy to carry the small flag so that we would be in compliance with Ocean Rescue's 1 flag for every 2 divers rule. These guys do have a lot of rules, maybe they are really really stupid and no one wants them to think. Anyway, Jeremy did just fine. Ryan and Ashley did not join us for this dive as Ashley was really tired from the long surface swim and Ryan was hungry.


This little Banded Coral Shrimp was inside one of the three blocks I use as my starting point off Tower 17.





Jeremy, Jessica, Barbara and I swam out to the blocks and descended, then headed up the gunsight, but I never saw Irish Thighs. We were carried North by the current and ended up at the Green Mountainous coral SW of the Perpendicular Rocks. From there, we swam to the Swept Rock and the Big Coral Knoll, where we spotted the Blue Tang.







Got this shot of a Juvenile Creole Wrasse on the East end of the Knoll.

I did not see the Rock Hind on the North side of the Knoll. Hope she's still there. We went around the Knoll once, slowly, then headed over to the Fish Camp Rocks and then back to the beach.

Got this shot of a Flamingo Tongue by the Fish Camp Rocks. The shell, itself, is white. The color and design is provided by the animals mantle, which it wraps around the shell.


Spotted Irish Thighs on the way back, but the Weeping Willow Sea Rod is gone. We go back to the blocks, checked everyone's pressure and then headed North to just past the Sea Rod when we turned West and went to the beach just South of Tower 17.



Bottom temperature was a balmy 80 degrees; dive time was 71 minutes; consumption was 25.94 psi/minute at an average depth of 16 feet and my SAC rate was 17.47 psi/minute on an aluminun 80.