20200530_Yankee Clipper Jacks

Martha and I had been looking forward to diving the Yankee Clipper Jacks since before we left Laurel. I called Leo and we agreed to off Tower 2 at 8:00 am this morning to make that dive. 

Martha and got to the beach early, which was good since I discovered that the tank I had planned to dive was a short fill at 2300 psi. I drove back to the apartment to get a full tank and left Martha and Leo to gear up while discussing what they each had been doing over the winter. 

I got back and quickly got my gear on. We entered the water at 9:23 am and tried to swim along an 89 degree bearing keeping the black lamppost in the parking lot positioned in front of the narrow red brick chimney on the South side of the Fire Station on A1A. Things worked fine until we were maybe 200 yards out when the lamppost went behind a tree and was not seen again. We continued swimming on an 89 degree bearing.

Once we spotted the Three Tiered Reef, I decided to head NE and hoped to run into the jacks, which we did about 25 minutes later. Some of that time was spent recovering the flag which I had been carrying, but which escaped the line I was holding. Leo was behind me and quickly recovered the flag in the five or so minutes it took me to realize what had happened. Only a few minutes later, we came upon the Jacks about 50 feet East of where they started. 

We had a pleasant tour of the area. Martha got to explore to the area South of the Jacks and I just drifted along. We spent the better part of an hour then headed back to the beach. The wind was 7 mph which created some nasty waves hitting Martha and I from behind. The Life Guard drove her four wheel vehicle down to help us exit the water, but by the time she arrived, we had all emerged from the sea despite a fall or two. Martha later confided that she was nauseous by the end of the dive. 

Our dive time was 94 minutes with a maximum depth of 24.0 feet. My actual consumption rate was 24.28 psi/minute; my surface air consumption rate was 16.02 psi/minute and my Residual Minute Volume was .41 cubic feet/minute. 

  

29 May 2020_ Swiss Cheese Reef (T 4)

This morning we decided to visit the Swiss Cheese Reef off Tower 4. We did better at remembering to bring everything we needed, including the weight bucket with some extra weights and the dish soap to use as anti-fog on our masks. We parked by 7:00 am and got geared up and headed for the water when I noticed that there were no buoys at the opening to the Wrap Around Reef. Indeed, there was only one buoy that Martha spotted to the South.

We got in the water and swam out towards what I hoped would be the opening to the reef. There was a moderate to strong current to the North and we got set to the North. We descended at 7:39 am as we came off the sand and onto the reef. Nothing looked familiar, so I headed South hoping to find some formations I recognized. Soon I recognized the SW corner of the wrap around ledge and confirmed our location by following the reef South to the lower ledge and spotting the larger rock to the Southwest. So we swam around the reef, over the rubble and East towards the rock line. 

Visibility was not great, probably 10 feet or less, but we found the rock line and then traveled North to the tire before heading East across the sand flat. Missed the Crescent Moon Rock but found some barrel coral that might have been the marker to the Staghorn Coral, but wasn't. We continued to swim East and found the Swiss Cheese Reef running North and South. Headed North and found lots of landmarks I recognized. 

We went past the Coral Head on the edge of the shelf and turned the dive at the next set of coral heads. As we headed south along the reef line, I spotted the Sectioned Rock and we turned West and swam right to the Staghorn Coral where we saw a number of tropical fish: including French Grunts, Smallmouth Grunts, Pork Fish and Angelfish. 

Coming West to the beach I spotted a small Green Sea Turtle who seemed quite willing to swim along with me. Martha did not see the turtle. I lost it when I went back to get Martha. Wish I had brought my camera.   

We continued swimming West to the beach and exited slowly to avoid being toppled by the waves hitting us from behind. Total dive time was 103; maximum depth was 18.6 feet; actual consumption was 25.31 psi/minute; Surface Air Consumption was 17.40 psi/minute; and my residual minute volume was .45 cubic feet per minute. 

28 May 2020_Fish Camp Rocks by way of the Big Coral Knoll

I got up early this morning around 5:00 am to walk Mia, load the Jeep and head to the beach. After the drive from Laurel back to Fort Lauderdale, it seemed strange to pack an empty Jeep. Hard to remember wetsuits, soap, towels, and the flag, but we fixed what we had to and made do with the rest.

We got to the beach at 8:24 am, geared up and entered the water in front of Tower 17 at 7:55 am. We walked out to the sand bar and swam East to the reef then descended at 8:33 am. 

There were no buoys off the beach to alert us to a current, but once I was in the water I could feel that we had a South current. I tried to compensate for the current but overcompensated and ended up just 10-15 feet South of the Big Coral Knoll. The Knoll has taken a beating during the past eight months while we have been in Laurel.  

We headed to the Eastern edge and then turned South to the Fish Camp Rocks. This area looked much more like I remembered, but it, too, has changed. We made a quick sweep of the Rocks then continued South to the Columnar Coral. When I first saw this coral it was covered with 3 inch coat of  that looked like sheets of grain waving in a breeze. Now it is just a bare rock and has been for several years. 

We returned to the Fish Camp Rocks and spent some time exploring each of the several larger rocks. We were looking for more turtles or maybe some nurse sharks, but there were none to be seen. We swam West the Rocks towards the beach. We surfaced at 10:24 am, but it took a while to get out of the water and on the beach. I fell a few times and had to work my way into deeper water to get my legs under me so I could stand up and try again. Once out of the water, I took the gear off and walked back in to help Martha climb out. I held out my hand for her fins but she took my hand for balance and walked out on her own. She later confided that she had vomited during the dive and that she felt nauseous at the end of the dive.

Our dive time was 111 minutes and the maximum depth was 20.4 feet. My actual consumption rate was 25.03 psi/minute; my surface air consumption rate was 16.85 psi/minute and my residual minute volume was .43 cubic feet.