Roads and Oceans: August 2009

This is looooong overdue

There are certain moments when I am reminded of how lucky I am to be diving. One of those moments is when I step foot on the MV Spree. It is easily my favorite live aboard I have ever been on. And I am lucky enough to be able to work on it. This year I worked on it as a Dive Master. I didn't get to dive as much as I did when I worked on it last year filling tanks and working in the galley. But it is by far my favorite job on the Spree. That is of course unless CP is busy one trip and I get the chance to be the photo pro. Not that I could possibly ever fill his shoes, but it would be fun.

This year I got to stay on the Spree for 2 weeks straight. The first trip we did was an exploratory trip that was chartered by a dive club and it was somewhat of a new experience for us. Originally the charter was scheduled to go back out to the Dry Tortugas, but was changed with mixed emotions and reactions to a Keys Krawl. Meaning instead of heading west to the Tortugas, we would head north and hit wrecks and new reefs (new to us).

My excitement of diving wrecks has certainly changed over the years. I used to really look forward to diving wrecks and would go whenever I could. But over the years I began to see them for what they are. Purposely sunk hunks of metal on the bottom of the ocean floor. I realized the draw to these wrecks is the life on the wrecks. Which is why they are sunk in the 1st place. To create artificial reefs. There it is, the word that sums it up and I cant get past. Artificial. Give me a natural reef over a sunken junkyard any day. But I digress…

After hitting several wrecks and a few reefs with less than stellar conditions and situations. We took a vote and decided to head back to the Tortugas in hopes to catch what was left of the coral spawn.

The morning we were at the 1st dive site in the Tortugas I couldn’t wait to get in the water. All the passengers were out of the water and I was gearing up ready to get in when a pod of dolphins came across our stern on the surface. Which was a nice welcome back sight. I was going to wait for CP, but he decided he needed to feed again. So I told him I would meet him down on the reef. Got down to the reef and started making my way up current along the sand next to the reef. When I noticed a dark shape over my left shoulder. I turned and the pod of dolphins were swimming by me, checking me out.

I almost forgot to breathe. It was the first time I have ever seen dolphins while underwater in the 9 years of diving. And with no one else around, it was just me and the dolphins in the open ocean. Several of them turned and looked directly at me, while I was trying to swim up current to keep up with them and still take pictures. It was truly a dream come true. Something that I will never forget.

We spent the rest of the remaining 2 days diving the Tortugas. Which in my opinion is some of the best diving you can do without leaving the country.

For a more accurate and better written dive report. Check out the MV Spree’s dive trip report.
The next few days we spent at dock in Robbies Marina waiting for the next charter.

It was some good down time and gave me a chance to go diving on CP's boat with CP and Chris "The Chef Extrodiare on the Spree" (Dont let his age or goofy looks fool you, hes a great cook).