All right, storm prep completed. Tomorrow might get interesting.
For a Florida boy, this was some kind of different diving. A major expansion of the variety of diving I've experienced. Depth was incredibly harder than in the tropics. Coming up from only 75 ft (my deepest) was harder than any ascent I have ever experienced. Eric told me the conditions would cut my depth and time by 50 percent. I did not quite believe him, but he was right on. Boating technique was a bit different as well. No depth meter, its all done on a chart display. Anchoring with a kelp stem was slightly out of my normal frame of reference, too. Fascinating stuff.
Ahh, open cell wetsuits, a true modern wonder. I still can't quite believe I was diving in 48F (9?C) water and wasn't cold for fairly short dive sessions. Even my face got used to it. Of course, I was wearing 1 mil shorts under a 3 mil vest under 5 mil bottoms under a 6 mil smoothskin top. Think that is 15 mils around the waist. Yeah, yeah, I know, I'm a wimp. I'm from Florida, what do you expect. Thanks again to Fondueset for the suit. The liver juice worked pretty well too.
The density of life in TC was pretty amazing, like an especially rich coral reef with much more plants, a few less fish and much, much more of everything else. On the pinnacles, the fish were super thick as well. Been a long time since I've seen fish that had never been shot at, a real pleasure. Colin, you REALLY missed it. Shot your new boss. The small free floating invertebrates, shrimp, jelly fish, etc were vastly more varied and abundant than I was used to. Incredible number of species. The Browning Wall was spectacular,even in relatively poor conditions. I'd kill to see it on a clear sunny day.
Hats off to all you guys (and Sherri). The hospitality was outstanding. THANK YOU! I've done almost no land camping,and the thought of sleeping basically on the cold ground was not exactly something I was looking forward to. But, with your help, it was a pleasure. JimDoe's chateau and electric heater were no small contribution to comfort.
I think I could get very attached to that climate, wasn't hot for the entire week and almost never cold. Getting back to August in Sarasota, 90F, 100 percent humidity was rude.
All in all, a great trip. All you guys have a standing invitation to come experience Florida diving. Come in summer and the Bahamas are calling. Come in winter and the Mud Puddle has your name on it, especially Gabe's. Ya'll Come!!
Connor
