December 1st, 2001
 

 
We started out a little late, as one of us couldn't find his coffee. We arrived at the ramp at sun up and headed to the inlet. Swells were rolling in, so we knew there was going to be a chance of poor vis. Surge was a problem too, especially if I want to drop on the urchin ledge and the vis was poor. The loran was acting funny, so we switched to backup. Dead reckoning. Looking for a ledge twenty five miles out with no loran is how it was done before technology made it easy. We were about 3/4 of a mile away when we thought we were on it. Normally there are boats fishing on certain spots to help guide us, but today the ocean was ours.

The whole trip out I kept reminding the guys how the large deep water sharks tend to come up on the shelf after a big storm. I thought "this will really make them feel good when the find poor vis" and played it pretty hard. They hit the reef in 100' and didn't move. I thought I had put them on the spot and they were loading Santa's sack. The report was no vis. I must say I was proud that the Green diver stayed down looking.

After the Guinea Pigs were finished, I suited up in the seven mil. We moved to a new area looking for better vis. It was no good either. We couldn't see our fingers until they touched our masks. I rooted around and found a bug (the Braille method), but something kept making me think about sharks. The vis was two inches without a light, six inches with. Everyone thinks I wear the seven mil because I get cold, but I wear it hoping that it will hold my guts in if a big shark hits me.

When you read the first few pages of the book "Last of the Blue Water Hunters" by  Carlos Eyles, you will understand.

It was a beautiful day and I enjoyed every single minute. We ended up leaving the boat ramp and pulled out on the road behind a group of cheerleaders in a golf cart. Then we noticed that there were people along both sides of the street in lawn chairs and on tailgates. Oh my god, Billy pulled out into the middle of a parade.

God Bless America

The Moose

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