For the Birds

A few pictures of a friendly cormorant...apparently decided he couldn't make the six and half mile flight back to Key West...jumped on board at Eastern Dry Rocks...hitched a ride to Rock Key for another hour of sunbathing...then chilled in the shade under the poop deck for the half hour trip back the rock where he promptly dived off the aft deck and swam away.  

Our First Vandenberg Group From May 30th

Here is our group from the very first day the Vandenberg was open to the public.  Strong current May 30th, but these dive warriors were up to the task...vis was 100' +.  Also posting picture of Key West sunset taken aboard Floridays...our neighbor at the Hyatt Hotel Docks.  

Busy Week

We have been busy at Southpoint...Double wreck dives daily averaging 15 guests, and about the same for our PM double reef trips.  It seems summer has settled in to the Keys as winds have been light, humidity high, and afternoon showers almost daily (though Key West has been spared).  So much diving (as well as a couple of days off spent on the water) that haven't had time to keep up with blog.  Apologies to any divers checking in for the pictures I said would be posted here...I will attempt to be more diligent this week...and will post pictures from last week as I get them.  P.S. Must say it has been great watching people spit their regulators out while coming up the dive ladder to tell us how awesome their dive was.  

Vandenberg and Reef Trips

Phoenix and crew have been busy past couple of days...no time to update.  Double Vandenberg dives AM, light air, calm seas and good vis.  Double reef dives PM.  Jen Hayes and David Doubilet have been on AM trips doing photo work for National Geographic.  It has been a pleasure for the crew to shuttle such renowned photogs back and forth to the wreck.  Also our first three groups of divers to Vandenberg...everyone seems to be pretty stoked coming up.  Haven't had time to take any pics or video of Vandenberg yet...think things will settle in during the next week as we iron out a schedule for our morning trip.  Going through CD of 150 of our best pictures (courtesy of our Polish princess dive instructor and resident photographer Lucja)...will post some of those when have more time.  

Today's Diving and Cuddle Fish

Busy day today with two trips. Vandenberg still closed to public, but diving on Cayman Salvager was amazing.  We had 10 divers on our AM trip, with a 10 knot west wind, light chop, mild east current and 150' of visibility.  Everyone seemed to really enjoy the perfect conditions.  Our PM trip was pretty full with 22 divers.  We dived Eastern Dry Rocks and Rock Key...light west wind, mild east current...but vis dropped off to about 40'.   Tomorrow we will be diving Vandenberg in AM.  Posting a couple of pics of cuddle fish from about two weeks ago.  We don't see these very often, enjoy.   

More Vandenberg Dry Dock Pics/National Geographic Charter and Crew

Camera Recovery and Filming

Yesterday was amazing to say the least.  I think the wreck was a little more than any of us expected...so much to see...so many possibilities.  Camera recovery went very well.  We recovered all the cameras successfully in buddy groups.  Tech group pretty much cleaned house and recovered a couple extras which I think made the Film Crew happy.  We also had the pleasure of having famed photographer David Doubilet on board.  Can't really discuss the nature of their filming, however, I think they shot some good footage.  Overall, it was just an amazing day on the water...the wreck was truly unbelievable, and I can't wait to dive it again.  Looks like it will be open on Saturday morning.  Still waiting for pics, then I'll post.