saltydad

One of my favorite dives is the USS San Diego, the only US warship sunk in World War 1 (in 1918). Some folks do bring up artifacts, but as it is a US Navy site and grave site (six men died in the sinking), it's strictly illegal, let alone morally wrong.
Scuba Diving - New Jersey & Long Island New York - dive Wreck Valley - Dive Sites - USS San Diego Shipwreck

__________________
Men In Nursing- "A Few Good Men"

"Gardening is the purest of human pleasures." - Francis Bacon





"If by a liberal, they mean someone who looks ahead and not behind; someone who welcomes new ideas without rigid reactions; someone who cares about the welfare of the people, their health, their housing, their schools, their jobs, their civil rights, their civil liberties; someone who believes we can break through the stalemate and suspicion that grips us; that is what they meant by a liberal, I am proud to be a liberal."
John F. Kennedy, September, 1960


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Caloosamusa

Thank you for your post and link Saltydad! I went to the commissioning of the first LPD, the San Antonio. The Elder President Bush was there, got some good video of him and especially the ship. One of the secret service agents gave me a dirty look when I was getting close but I reassured him and he relaxed.

It is "roomier" than the USS Tarawa, a ship I spent some time on. I hope these ships do not become artificial reefs in the near future, but when their time comes, they will really make great artificial reefs.

Caloosamusa

I went diving again the other day, after all I should make the best of living where I do. I got some pictures of a cleaning station, the Golden Coral Shrimp is on the photographers left, picking the parasites off the Spotted Moray.

Bob3

Yep, another diver here, with a postage stamp size cert card from the YMCA.
I'm currently a commercial dive gear monger. (http://comdive.com)
After a fairly long stretch in the commercial diving industry, I was no longer able to lie my way through the required physicals.

Yah, one dive in the Edison Sault Power Canal turned up everything from a couple swords to parking meters, bicycles, & a couple guns.
Mostly stuff that had been ripped off & ditched in the canal to dispose of it.

There was one spot in the Chicago Shipping & Sewage Canal that had so many "stolen" cars piled up that the tug & barge tows were hitting them.

Eventually you'll find everything that is within several miles of a body of water sitting on the bottom.

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Caloosamusa

Last week a couple of friends of mine were doing their first dive in Advanced Trimix Class. It was a wreck dive to 208 feet (63 meters). I took some video and pictures of the wreck, and some as we were decompressing. Planned run time 63 minutes, actual run-time 73 minutes. Surface water temperature was 70F (21C), two thermoclines, bottom temperature 57F (14C). The bottom visibility however was over 300 feet!!


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Bob3

Ahhhh... clear water, I've heard about stuff like that!!!
This is the kind of stuff I used to get stuck diving in way too often:

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Caloosamusa

That really is Cold Bob3!!

My primary dive partner Ice dives. He, like me dives wet. The coldest water I can handle effectively is 48F (9C).

Next month we're going cave diving up in North Central Florida, "Cave Country." Some of the best dives are Diepolder III, and EN. The water is 70F to 71F (21C), much more comfortable than Ice!! I almost get hypothermic just thinking about it!!

Caloosamusa

Before the weather turned too warm, we went north to visit the manatees in the Crystal River National Wildlife Sanctuary. The new rules are actually being applied much to the safety of the manatees. It is a huge help. I hope the feds continue to enforce the rules. These creatures are more than just "Aquatic Speed Bumps." By a previous calculation I did in a masters course a UF, (Economics of the Environment) they were worth at least 1.4 million dollars per year, per manatee, to the local economy. That has gone up since then (1999).
These docile, aquatic, relatives of the Elephant are wonderful to visit with.

Scuba_Dave

We dive before the weather turns too warm too
I'm a PADI certified Master diver, includes Rescue diver




Main reason I dive up here:

saltydad

Used to love going bug hunting in the LI Sound!!

__________________
Men In Nursing- "A Few Good Men"

"Gardening is the purest of human pleasures." - Francis Bacon





"If by a liberal, they mean someone who looks ahead and not behind; someone who welcomes new ideas without rigid reactions; someone who cares about the welfare of the people, their health, their housing, their schools, their jobs, their civil rights, their civil liberties; someone who believes we can break through the stalemate and suspicion that grips us; that is what they meant by a liberal, I am proud to be a liberal."
John F. Kennedy, September, 1960


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Bob3

I used to make it point being in the Keys (Big Pine) prior to the start of commercial bug season, 'till the trappers' lobbiest arranged to have the rules altered to screw the bug divers over, instituting a daily bag limit that restricted diver's harvest to just 300 lbs per day per license holder.
Prior to that we had a "best day" of 1500 lbs.
We really had to work for the dang things though, covered a lot of territory & some really sweet spots halfway to the mainland.

The kicker is that the conditions for diving the critters has to be during the peak of migration season where we'd get on the tail-end of a "walk" & start bagging the critters from the back of the line up to the front. That only lasts for a couple weeks.
Take just 1 bug out of the middle of the line & the rest behind him would wander off in all directions.

Jewfish would frequently follow & lurk behind us, sucking up the shorts 'till they couldn't hold any more.
It was a hilarious sight seeing a huge fish so full of bugs they couldn't just not only swallow an more, but couldn't even hold any more in their mouth!
That didn't stop 'em from trying though. Legs & antennae sticking out of the gills & mouth...

The price of bugs is so high now (selling for over $5/lb at the dock) that he's overcome some of his "cold water aversion" & has been getting into that 65 -70 degree water...

One year there was a HUGE manatee with her youngster hanging out in the canals where he kept his boat, dang thing was about as long as the boat & probably out weighed it!

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saltydad

The one and only time I saw a 'lobster line' I was absolutely amazed!

__________________
Men In Nursing- "A Few Good Men"

"Gardening is the purest of human pleasures." - Francis Bacon





"If by a liberal, they mean someone who looks ahead and not behind; someone who welcomes new ideas without rigid reactions; someone who cares about the welfare of the people, their health, their housing, their schools, their jobs, their civil rights, their civil liberties; someone who believes we can break through the stalemate and suspicion that grips us; that is what they meant by a liberal, I am proud to be a liberal."
John F. Kennedy, September, 1960


http://flickr.com/photos/saltydad/ and
http://community.webshots.com/user/saltydad
http://s751.photobucket.com/albums/xx151/saltydad/

Caloosamusa

Great shots of the lobster & crew Scuba Dave, legislators are well intentioned, but poaching continues flagrantly. I don't like to go to the Keys much, as rules are broken by the unscrupulous, and some operations turn a blind eye to it.

Lobster lines and Goliath Grouper are wonderful sights to see, especially when they are "interacting."

Scuba_Dave

A 300 lb limit ??
We did have a limit, but in recent years they put one thru
Per licensed diver you are allowed 9 lobster per day
There are also min & max sizes that you can take - measured along the carapace
Me & the wife have only bagged 9 lobster together on one day
So we stopped buying the 2nd license
And 9 lobsters is plenty for 2 people

We do not have a season limit, as long as you can dive you can get lobster
Of course in colder weather they move much deeper or south