2020. This was the year I was supposed to go to Hawaii. COVID had other plan for everyone. Now I am very good at social distancing: being an anti-social introvert makes that pretty easy. Not seeing my friends for months was a little longer than even I usually do, but not all that different. I'm also one of the lucky ones who can work remotely, so no worries on the employment-front. But what was really getting me was working from home and quarantining means literally never leaving the house. I like my house and all, but it was begining to get old even for me.

So after getting all the little home projects I wanted to get done done I was starting to go a little stir-crazy. Only so many times the floor needs vacuuming. So I decided that since I was working remote, I may as well work REMOTE. So I packed up all my work gear and my dive gear, and rented a condo in Ft. Pierce Florida for essentially September. Ft. Pierce was the compromise location: far enough south to go scuba diving, but before it got outrageously expensive to rent for a month.

If I'm going to practice social distancing, I might as well do it at the beach...

Photos

Dive Notes

Aug 30 - So first time back in the water in a while, and was diving into the stiffest current I've ever been in. This was also my first time on a "hunting" boat: almost everyone on board was lobstering or spearfishing. The was one newly certified diver (Ed) so I stuck with him and the dive master (Eric) and a family who was lobstering. The "reef" wasn't particularly good nor was visibility, but saw the usual suspects as well as some lobsters (and lobsters getting caught). All at a breakneck pace. When shadowed Ed/Eric till they surfaced then shadowed the family, but now I know why everyone was required to carry a safety sausage. We were scattered all over! I haven't used my sausage since getting certified... and apparently it has a leak.

The second dive as more "interesting". We did a negative entry and dropped to the bottom. We were supposed to drift north and come across a small wreck and some rocks to do some hunting. I don't think anyone got there. The current picked up and was pushing us northwest (west being in-shore) instead of north, and was pushing us all in the different directions. I was still shadowing Ed/Eric, but they were pretty far away, on the edge of visibility. I turned to see where the family was, and they were just gone. So I turned around again. And I was alone! Not another diver in sight. Given the strength of the current and knowing how scattered we all got on the first dive I wasn't too concerned. I figured I'd just go with the current and see if I ran into anyone again. I had plenty of air and figured I'd just chill till 1000psi and then abort the dive a little early.

I never saw anyone else for the rest of the dive. Funnily, after we all got separated, I got to see some neat stuff. I came across a decent sized lemon shark cruising by, flanked by remoras. This actually freaked me out a little, because after he left, one of the remoras decided to shadow me for a while, so I'd see this remora show up in my peripheral vision. He probably buzzed me four or five times before realizing I was not a good host. I saw some big lobsters and a big lion fish. I kind of wished I were on-the-hunt, and made me interested to give it a try.

Sept 5 - Ok, let's try this lobstering thing! New lobster snare in hand it's time to do this! The current wasn't nearly as bad a last week, but still pretty strong. I'm also now used to/expecting to be diving solo during this one, so watching my air and setting my limit at 800psi. Most of the dive was just over a pretty featureless, flat rubble if you could even call it that. I wasn't seeing a whole lot, so decided to cut-cross current and head in-shore. And there he was: my first target! And he seemed to be a pretty good size too. I was worried about how to set the snare and catch a lobster. Apprently, I was concerned with the wrong things. I would soon learn the hard parts were spotting the lobsters and then the juggling act of getting the lobster out of the snare and into the bag! I was trying to follow the rules and measure him underwater, even though in this case he was obviously legal. (My middle finger is about the same length as the official sizing, so later that would my quick test.)

Juggling the gauge, trying to get the lobster off the snare, trying to get the bag open: it was definitely a learning experience, as well as a massive drain on air. Eventually I got it all situated and had my first bug-in-the-bag! Then it was off to find the next. I saw my next lobster at 900psi. Well maybe, with experience now on my side, this would be a piece of cake? Yeah... no. Trying to work the snare I could not get it to stay open and a burned a ton of air fighting the current. I tried to just grab him, but they can really wedge themselves in. I gave up and started my ascent. I had burned thru 200psi in that attempt and my heart was pounding. Err.. not good. I can definitely see how people get caught up and run out of air. I was also deeper than expected for longer, so the computer wanted a 15min safety stop. It's the first time I've ever dropped below 250psi. By the time I hit the surface, I think I was down to 150, and then it was flailing around trying to figure out how to deal with the snare, the bag, and work my busted safety sausage. I must have gotten back on board with like 75psi! Gulp. Ok... lesson learned.

Second dive was actually the pretiest dive so far in WPB. Large bottom formations, ledges, and corals. I was expecting to see more lobster (hey, it looks like what I think a lobster hangout should be, but apparently I would not make a good lobster). The first lobster I saw, pretty much as soon as we hit bottom, was being hunted by Eric, so moving on. Didn't see any lobsters for most of the dive, but enjoyed the scenery and fish. This time I was mostly alone, but could see other divers in the distance. We hit a flatish area and I just let the current take me. Saw another lemon shark cruise by. Then we hit some more coral and I ran into Alex who was spearfishing. He had a snapper (schoolmaster) on his loop and signaled that he saw a shark. I gave him the ok and went back to looking for bugs, and found my second target. Again, the snaring part was easy. Alex gave me the fist pump and I then turned to get him in the bag. And in the middle of that he slipped loose! Back on the boat, Alex told me he saw me drop him and thought it was a goner. But I hit the bottom ASAP and started kicking into the current HARD. It was mostly sand and loose rocks, but I got low and it was enough, and managed to re-snare him! I'd be damned if he was getting away. At about 1000psi and my heart racing I figured I'd slowly ascend and call it a dive. Alex and I were still drifitng in tandem. Then we hit a wreck (Murphy's Barge?). I wish I had more air I would have checked it out, cause it was a pretty wreck. Saw some big grouper on station, but decided I wasn't gonna get that low this time. Ascended and during my safety stop, saw Alex and family coming up nearby, so I joined their group. They had a pretty successful hunt, with three large fish between the three of them. All in all a great dive. Sept 6 So yesterday was a "free fishing day", but i had fun, so bought a a Florida fishing and lobster license, so we'd try again. The first dive (on Jolly Jacks) was more of the same. The current was ripping strong and we scattered to the four winds as soon as we hit depth. Frankly this dive was a bust. There wasn't a whole lot to see, and the current kept pushing me in shore. Sandy said keep going west, and I tried to do that, but found pretty much nothing. I decided to abort the dive at about 900 psi. I got the the surface and let me tell you it was the first time I've ever been worried on a dive. I was who-knows-where and there were no boats in sight at all! With 5-6 swells I couldn't see very far. I came up with plenty of air, but given my gimpy SMB I was burning a lot of air out the tank just to keep it upright. After a five minutes I spotted the boat WAY in-shore, but I was really concerned about air. Then I realized I was being pretty stupid. First, I didn't fully inflate my BCD. Normally I don't bother cause staying afloat for a few minutes is no big deal, and fully inflated I have to lie on my back, but in this case I needed bouyancy and didn't want to have to work for it. Next I realized one of the struggles of an open-bottomed SMB would also be my savior. I shoved my lobster snare into the SMB and viola! No more need to keep pumping air into a leaking SMB. After all the struggles of keeping track of the bag and stick, it was now coming in handy. Kurt surfaced "nearby" in the distance, so I slowly made my way towards him. I figured it'd be better than solo. "Welcome to the Bahamas sir. I'm going to need to see your passport," I said. He laughed. We chilled out together for maybe 20 minutes before being picked up The second dive... So the second dive started out much the same. This time I shadowed one of the other guys to see where they were headed. Mostly West, so be it. And found a whole lot of nothing. So far I had seen not a whole lot on both dives, so I frankly was expecting it. Sandy even said it was harder to find lobsters now as most of the areas had been fished out; until a storm came in a forced some lobsters back in shore it was going to be slim pickings. But, of course, Murphy's Law is always in effect. I didn't even have my gloves on when I spotted him. I went ahead and snared him (again, the snaring was the EASY part). THen after much floundering, and scraped up knees, and getting tagged by something (coral) on my left forearm, I finally got my glove (left) on, measured, and bagged him. Didn't see any more lobsters after that. Once again, came across a large lemon shark. Maybe 7 foot. Let me tell you: when you're by yourself and not expecting them, seeing a shark come out of nowhere is a bit unsettling. I'm still debating with myself whether he was a lemon or a bull: they have about the same sihloutte and with the day being overcast, color was not helping. I'm gonna tell myself it was a lemon, even though it'd be nice to check "bull shark" off the list. After a bit of staring at empty sand (oh, is that rocks? no it's not), I decided to call it a bit early and came up. This time I didn't even bother trying to inflate the SMB (other than one puff to get it straightend out), and just shoved my snare into it. Being the first diver back on the boat is very atypical of me, and kind of disappointing, but whatever. Having bought my license and everything, I now need to decide if I'm going to do any more diving during this trip. Sept 19 Another couple lobstering dives. The surface was calm as glass, but the current was still ripping fast. First dive was again in strong current. It was a pretty dive, with lots of fish, but nothing specific to really. I did see Jim race by/under me going up stream. I kind of slowed down (as much as I could) to see what he was up to. He was after a nice looking hog fish... and then whap. He tagged him. I flashed the hang-loose and moved on. Back on board later, he ended up with two pretty hog fish. Second dive we dropped down onto Murphy Barge (?) wreck. I really wish the current wasn't so strong. The wreck had a lot of stuff going on and would loved to have checked it out. But once I got out from behind the stern, it was off to the races. I was in between divers on both my left and right, barely visible. I kept trying to get "away", but the current kept us relatively close. Relative to previous dives anyway. We finally seperated, I did some poking around some ledges (nothing), then then I ran into Jim Alex, and Susan again. We drifted off the ledges and over sand and nothing for a bit. Jim pointed west, so I tagged along. We ended back up on some rocks, where he was trying to point out a lobster he found (he was spear fishing), but I was oblivious, poking around my own holes (and finding nothing). I found one hole and went to look into it and a huge moray stuck his head out. That was a bit of a surprise. Hitting about 800psi, I started heading up. Once again into something invisible and mildly stinging. I swear, full rashguards from now on. Back on the boat I was chatting with John (dive master). I told him my luck with lobstering is terrible. He offered up some "pity lobsters" from the cooler. I wasn't going to say no. So I didn't catch any lobsters that day, but I came back with 3. I paid Vicki for Sunday, but told her I wasn't sure I was gonna make it. Weather forecast was looking rough (in the afternoon anyway), and I wasn't really feeling it. So I did end up deciding to take Sunday off and relax. Part of me is sad to not go lobstering again. Part of me is glad not to have to do the damp 1-hour drive, the cleaning lobsters, cleaning gear, and stinking like fish.