Did you know…..banded coral shrimp are members of the cleaner shrimp family? If you are diving along coral with overhangs or crevices, you might see some long white antennae. A closer look will reveal a red and white banded shrimp hiding under the ledge or in the crevice. It slowly waves its antennae to attract passing fish before using its 3 pairs of claws to remove parasites, fungi and damaged tissue from the fish. Two or three banded coral shrimp are often seen together in areas where fish congregate to be cleaned. The shrimp actually has 4 white antennae, two of which are forked. Their legs have forceps that are used to clean the fish. The 3rd pair of legs is significantly larger than the others and have red and white bands. They are able to regenerate lost limbs during molting.
Cook What You Catch - Blackened Redfish
--by Daryl Johnson
What do you do in
the Keys when you are not diving this time of year? Try a charter
fishing trip on the Gulf and you will catch all the Redfish (click
on the photo to
see a video on how to clean your catch) you can eat! Redfish is a
name given to a variety of reef fish, similar in look to red
snapper or red drum. At one time, Chef Paul Prudhomme made
Blackened Redfish so popular that they had to put limits on
fishing for them. His original spice recipe is available with his
brand name but there are several types. My favorite is Badia
Blackened Redfish seasoning, available at most grocery stores. One
of the things I like about a firm, mild white fish is that it is
really simple to cook, even if the most difficult thing you have
done in a kitchen is boil water! 
Start with a shallow microwave safe glass baking dish and add about two tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil to coat the surface. Place the fillets in the dish and coat one side with the seasoning mix and then turn to coat with the oil until both sides have a light coating of the oil and spices. Set aside while you put together the side dish- seasoned collard greens (did I mention I was from the Appalachian Mountains???). Seriously, these are about as healthy for you as they are good when done right. I like the “Glory” brand heated up in a pan and served with a dollop of spiced pepper vinegar. If you need a little more flavor for your palate, try heating them in a sauce pan with a little zesty Italian Vinaigrette and top them with grated parmesan cheese which makes them taste like a warm salad.
Now for the easy part- this kind of fish cooks really well in a microwave, so pop the glass dish in your microwave with a splatter cover and cook for 2 to 3 minutes until hot and flaky. Plate it up with the greens and serve with some light white wine. And if you haven’t gone fishing you can substitute tilapia fillets and you probably won’t be able to tell the difference!
If It’s Tuesday, This Must Be Roatan
Dateline late summer: A few months ago, Daryl Johnson called me about a “Great Deal” he found on the Internet. It was a seven night Caribbean cruise out of Port Everglades in Fort Lauderdale. In and of itself, not too unusual as south Florida is the cruise port capital of the world. However, this itinerary had a sweet spot. It stopped at Grand Cayman, Roatan, and Cozumel, truly world-class dive destinations. Going to any one of these destinations would cost over $500 in airfare alone. Then there would be food and lodging, and the inevitable hassle international travel entails. This trip listed for $499 per person, and included transportation, great food, clean lodging, an onboard gym, entertainment. Best of all, we each had credits with the carrier, Princess, so our net cost was under $300 each!
We boarded the Caribbean Princess on October 4 and set sail for our first port, Grand Cayman. In Grand Cayman, we were greeted by a member of Don Foster’s Dive Caymanstaff, who led us to a nearby bus to take us to the dive shop. There, we filled out the standard liability waiver forms before boarding the dive boat. We were very impressed with the professionalism and safety-consciousness of the dive operator.
Our first dive was to the Doc Paulson wreck and Marty’s Wall. The reef was filled with numerous tropical, jacks, and turtles. Visibility was 100 foot plus, in flat seas and 84 degree water. Dive two was even more spectacular. We did Paradise Reef and the Oro Verde wreck. More turtles, great visibility, warm water, and flat seas. After the dive, we hung out at a local open-air bar, enjoying the local brew and the free high-speed Wi-Fi.How much better could it get?
Well, that evening, we weighed anchor and headed to our next port of call. We watched a variety show in the Princess Theater and ate gourmet food at dinner, engaging in lively conversation with our tablemates. We chose the “Anytime Dining” option which allowed us to dine whenever the ship’s restaurants were open. In doing so, we found seating to be quicker if we opted to share a table with other passengers.
The next morning, we arrived in Roatan. Again, we met the dive staff once we disembarked and were whisked off to the other side of the island to Anthony’s Key Resort. It had been several years since I last visited Anthony’s and it was obvious to me once I got there that they were running a very efficient and successful resort. Anthony’s had more than doubled since I last stayed there.
We had the good fortune to dive Deep Eel Reef and Green Outhouse Reef. Once again, the waters were alive with tropical, jacks, large lobster, and turtles. Visibility was 80 feet, the water clocked in a 84 degrees, and seas were calm.
Similar to the previous evening, we ate another gourmet meal onboard while the ship moved to its next port of call. It’s a good thing we were so active during the day, as otherwise we would have gained 15 pounds with all the rich and scrumptious food we consumed! That night we watched a first-run movie drive-in style on the Lido Deck during the ship’s Movies Under the Starsoffering.
The
next morning, we docked in Cozumel, always a favorite. After the
standard setup and dive waiver activity with dive operator
from Dive House, we boated to Palancar Reef. As in
the prior dives, visibility was excellent, seas were flat, and the
water was warm. Drift diving in Cozumel is probably the easiest
kind of diving we do, and this was no exception. We did wall dives
on Cedar Reef and Yocab Reef and once again saw myriad tropical
fish and turtles. I know it is beginning to sound redundant, but
this is the kind of redundancy we as divers seek! Click on the
photo to see a ten minute video Daryl Johnson shot with a
mask-mounted GoPro Hero.
Some points to ponder: Even the best dive resorts tend to be a little rustic. Perhaps the air conditioning doesn’t work well in your room, or the food choices a little sparse. Not so on a cruise ship. In addition to great food, there’s clean and comfortable accommodations, first-run movies, and non-stop entertainment. While we only made two dives in each port across the 7 day cruise, for a total of six dives, I believe we saw the best each area had to offer. Normally, on a 7 day dive trip, there are two transportation days, and five diving days, for a total of 10 to 15 dives. However, the variety afforded by the cruise-dive concept allowed us to visit not one, but three world-class locations. With no days lost due to flying, this is an itinerary we can do over and over again!
In the 1970's the only recompression chamber in the Miami area was located on Virginia Key at the NOAA facility. Dick Rutkowski, NOAA Chief of Diving Operations, ran the chamber with a volunteer staff. Several of us offered our services and were trained, as Outside tenders, to operate the mechanical functions of the chamber. Others with medical backgrounds, usually EMTs, were trained as Inside tenders to assist the attending physician. The treatment team usually consisted of at least one Outside tender, one Inside tender, one physician, and Dick to supervise. We rotated assignments with several of us on call, 24/7, at any given time.
One evening about dinner time, my beeper went off. I hurried to Virginia Key. Dick met me at the gate and told me that there were two divers with symptoms of barotrauma, (diving related maladies, usually the bends) He informed me that diver 1 was in serious condition, with a suspected pneumothorax. (air between the lung and chest wall) If not treated quickly, the lungs would collapse, and the diver would not survive. Diver 2 suffered pain in the joints, usually a symptom of the bends, but not life threatening at the time. Dick then informed me, no one with medical training, (an EMT), had reported to assist the physician, but treatment had to begin immediately. He said, "You'll have to go in (enter the chamber with the physician and both divers) and help the Doc." "But I am not an EMT" I reminded him. "I know, but no EMTs have reported, we have to go, do what you can." was his answer.
It became clear later that the physician did not hear our conversation. In those days, the standard treatment was to begin at a dive equivalent of 165' of water pressure. (a dive to 165') At those depths, be it air pressure or water pressure, nitrogen narcosis disrupts the cognitive functions and reflexes. Mainly, you can't think straight, and simple tasks become difficult. The four of us, the physician, two divers, and I entered the chamber and Dick took us to 165 feet. Then the physician turned to me, assuming I was an EMT, and said "Start an IV with 10 mg of morphine", as he prepared to treat diver number one.
"What?" I thought to myself, "I am not an EMT, I do not know how to start an I-V ". But my nitrogen-soaked brain could only muster, "But I am not qualified, I am not a BLT" The doc looked at me with a quizzical expression, but took over and treated both divers in turn. Later, I was replaced by a real EMT.
To the best of my knowledge, both divers survived, their prognosis, at that time, uncertain. But to this day, I still wince when I think back about that experience in the chamber....grateful that two divers survived, but still a bit embarrassed.
We are proud to announce that five ADA members earned their Advanced Open Water Certification this season: Randy, Cindy and Forrest Sonntag, and Lenora and Juliana Bach. Juliana, age 14, earned her Junior Advanced Open Water. To earn the certification, the students participated in five supervised Adventure Dives along with the required study material. This included the mandatory courses of underwater navigation where they learned to use a compass to navigate, and deep diving which they experienced on the ADA Spiegel Grove wreck dive on October 19th. They also learned about wreck diving on the Princess Brittnay in Miami, logged marine life sightings on the Fish Identification dive and improved their scuba skills with Peak Performance Buoyancy. In addition, Randy, Cindy and Forrest Sonntag also earned their PADI Enriched Air Diver (Nitrox) certification. Congratulations to PADI’s and ADA’s newest Advanced Open Water and Nitrox divers on your accomplishments!
from left Lenora Bach, Juliana Bach, Instructor Rachel Davis, Cindy Sonntag, Forrest Sonntag and Randy Sonntag. Photo courtesy of ADA member John Davis.
Waterspouts
--by Carol Cox
Excerpts taken from ‘Waterspouts are tornadoes over water’ USA
Today
Did you know….a waterspout is actually a tornado over water? On Oct 5 while returning from the Keys, just as we were coming off the bridge at the Post Card Inn (what used to be Holiday Isle), I noticed a funnel coming from the dark clouds above. It looked like just a short funnel but as we got along side of it, an almost transparent funnel stretched from the cloud to the surface of the water. The water appeared to be dancing at the end of the funnel. This effervesce, like an opened bottle of soda, is caused by low pressure in the center of the spout. When the lower air pressure cools the air enough to condense water vapor into tiny water droplets, we are able to see the vortex, or funnel.
“Waterspouts probably occur more frequently in the Florida Keys than anywhere in the world,” says Joseph Golden, a senior scientist at NOAA. They are caused when the islands and the shallow water alongside them help heat the air, especially during the summer when the air is extremely humid. Waterspouts do not suck up water; they are small, weak rotating columns of air over water. The warm air rises and clouds are formed as the air’s humidity condenses into tiny water droplets. The east and northeast trade winds that blow down the islands help line up the clouds. The waterspouts are likely to form when the clouds are growing upwards and usually occur between 4 and 7 pm. So, what do you do if a waterspout is coming towards you? Try to escape by going at right angles to its path. If it is about to hit your boat, the best bet might be to dive overboard since flying debris is the biggest concern in waterspouts. “If you dive before one hits, I think you will be okay” says Golden. However, no one really knows what the water is doing right under a waterspout and such a dive should be to avoid flying debris. Avoidance should clearly be your first course of action. “Waterspouts tend to come from clouds with dark, flat bottoms when there is just the first hint of rain”. Boaters beware and listen to weather broadcasts whenever you are out on the water.
On
a recent trip to Aruba, encounters with frogfish became a daily
occurrence. Why is that so unusual? In my 24 years of
diving, I’ve only seen a frogfish maybe once or twice before, both
times off the coast of Dominica in the southern Caribbean.
Aruba is also in the southern Caribbean, off the coast of
Venezuela.
Frogfish were found on every dive – big ones, little ones, invisible ones ( the divemaster pointed them out but I never saw them, even after taking a photo of where they were pointing). The largest frogfish I saw was on Arashi reef where a large yellow frogfish was hiding in plain sight at about 8 inches in length. A smaller 6 inch brown frogfish was found on the wreck of the Antilla, again hiding in plain sight. The only reason I saw the Antilla frogfish was because it opened its mouth while I was looking directly at it. Several smaller frogfish were pointed out to me but I never did make the connection that I was looking at a fish and not a sponge or piece of coral.
When the divemaster excitedly asks you ‘did you see that tiny frogfish on that wreck???’ and you say ‘no’ , watching their face drop was heartbreaking. I took photos of where they were pointing but even in a still picture, I could not see the frogfish! It takes a sharp eye!
After watching a turtle during a recent ADA dive, I heard a new member ask how do you know what kind of turtle it was….very good point, I thought. There are many types of turtles in the waters off south Florida including hawksbill, loggerhead, green sea turtle, Kemp’s Ridley, Olive Ridley and leatherback. Most turtles I see in the Keys are either hawksbill or loggerheads. How to tell the difference? Look at their head. A hawksbill has a relatively narrow head, with a
hawk-like beak which allows it to get food from crevices in coral reefs, such as sponges, anemones, squid and shrimp. They are also known for their colorful shells, which is where the term ‘tortoise shell’ comes from, brown with splashes of yellow, orange or reddish-brown. A hawksbill turtle can weigh between 100 and 200 pounds and live from 30 to 50 years. The loggerhead turtle, on the other hand, has a very large head and strong jaws. It can weigh up to 300 pounds and has a lifespan of almost 70 years. It feeds mainly on bottom dwelling crustaceans, crabs, clams and mussels. It uses it jaw to dismantle the shells of its prey.
I didn’t get certified the first time I took dive lessons, way back in the 1970s. I lived in Michigan and had no desire to jump into a cold, dark, quarry. Many years later, (I won’t say how many) after living in Miami for a couple of years, friends and colleagues finally got to me and I relented, taking another certification course. This time, I saw it through.
My first dive in the Keys was with ADA member, Evelyn Roisman. We belonged to another club, which is no longer in existence. I was cautious, hesitant, and still nervous about sharks, never having seen one and hearing all the JAWS hype.
We were moving along, slowly, when suddenly we happened upon what turned out to be an underwater wedding. “Highlight” of the event, was a chum bucket, directly in front of me. I felt a sudden whoosh on my right, a sudden whoosh on my left, as two ravenous reef sharks dove past me head first into the bucket. The scene that followed was a bit violent.
My eyes widened in disbelief and utter amazement, okay, maybe fright. I was transfixed, but my fear was still very present and I slowly backed away from the scene. It was not for me. The rest of the dive, thankfully, was uneventful.
I survived the dive, the day and later grew to love sharks. I’m usually a bit disappointed if I don’t see them on a dive.
…..But I still don’t like chum buckets!
--by Jerry Kosakowski
The diving at John Lloyd Park, Dania Beach is great. The best spot is located in the second parking lot from the north, in front of Bath #5. Walk directly out from the bath. It has 3 skylights on it and doubles as a marker for boat divers. The reef starts close here, so if you don’t like the long surface swim to the ledge, start when you detect the reef. The ledge, once reached can be followed either north or south. Going north is best for lobsters. There is a working oceanic reef study site further into the reef. If you run across it, go northwest about 30 yards and there is a spot the lobster love. You will observe deep cervices, so be sure to look under them. The ledge comes and goes and you may have to do some criss-crossing to locate it again. If you don’t locate it ( I haven’t many times) just keep looking for interesting locations to explore. There are many. However, the usual mistake is not going west far enough because the reef bends a little at this location. Enjoy.
Dive Computer Recall
Scubapro Aladin2, commonly referred to as Aladin Square dive computer has been recalled by Johnson Outdoors. The computer can leak and stop working, posing a risk of injury due to decompression sickness, according to a recall notice. The serial number is stamped in white on the back of the unit and ends with 003. The computer was sold nationwide from March 2014 to June 2014. Consumers should immediately stop using the computer and return them to an authorized Scubapro dealer. For more info go to scubapro.com
--Dive Training Magazine Oct. 2014
If so, please email or call us with your current information. you may send an email to: Dr. Dan Baeza, Membership Chair at dmbaeza@bellsouth.net. You can also call Dan at 954-260-8225 and leave a message with your new contact information.
Dive Cruising in 2015
A number of ADA members have been doing “dive cruising” (a cruise ship trip that goes to popular dive destinations) in 2014 but the club has never tried to organize a group trip. There are several possibilities for next year, but I have narrowed them down to two trips on Princess cruises for now. One is a 5-day trip on October 24 to Grand Cayman and Cozumel, and the other is a 7 day trip to Grand Cayman, Roatan and Cozumel on November 14th. We will look at other cruise lines as well and work with an agent to look at best prices and itineraries, but for now, pencil in these dates for some great dive cruising!
ADA T-Shirts For Sale
Show your pride in the best dive club anywhere! Sizes small, medium, large, xlarge, xxlarge. Some tank tops available also. All shirts are $10 each. CALL LON AT 305-251-4975 AND PLACE YOUR ORDER TODAY!. Lon will deliver it to you on your next dive
Transplanted Stag Horn Corals Spawning
Researchers at the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) observed the spawning of the corals, which were supplied by the CRF (same agency that helped ADA Sept 6). The corals were transplanted at Tropical Rocks reef, about 4 miles off Marathon, Florida. This was the first time transplanted corals have be observed spawning. "This spawning event show that outplanted corals have the ability to reproduce just like a natural colony.." a spokesman stated.
To learn more go to MyFWC.com.
-- Dive Training Magazine Oct. 2014
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