Saturday,
May 4
iCARE
Trash Derby
Eight Active Divers participated in
the annual iCARE Trash Derby
where we dove in the Florida bay off
Key Largo along the mangrove shoreline
to find all kinds of marine debris to
bring to the surface and dispose of.
Rachel Davis and the Pirates Cove
Divemaster recovered a large derelict
lobster trap using a lift bag.
Kathleen Whitcomb, Roger Bach and Leah
Bamford recovered several couch
cushions. All participants picked up
glass bottles galore and
other debris including Sarah
Brooks doing her first dive with the
club since getting certified in
January, her Husband Aaron Brooks,
Maureen Niland and Active Divers
Founder Lee Wood. Thank you one and
all for helping to clean our ocean! We
plan to include the iCARE Trash Derby
as an official dive on next
year's schedule. |
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| Active Divers iCARE Trash
Derby participants Sarah Brooks, Aaron
Brooks, Lee Wood and Rachel
Davis. |
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Reef
Report
Tavernier with Conch Republic
Sunday, May 5
It was the first boat dive of the year
and nine Active Divers braved the
sporty seas to be treated to excellent
viz and abundant marine life!
Dive
1: Crocker
Reef a/k/a Pleasure Reef. Seas 3-4',
viz 60 feet, depth 27, water temp 82.
This is the reef where Capt Slate does
his Creature Feature regularly so as
soon as we descended we were treated
to nurse sharks and large green moray
eels swimming around. The ledges
around this reef are truly abundant
with marine life including clouds of
schooling snappers and grunts,
lobsters, trunkfish, and nurse sharks
sleeping under ledges.
Dive
2: Davis
Ledge. Seas 3-4', viz 40 feet, depth
27, water temp 82. Shortly after
descending on this dive and making our
way over to the ledge we found a small
green turtle poking his head out to
say hello to the crowd of divers and
paparazzi. After he became tired of
his he stuck his head in the burrow
and all we could see what his stubby
tail! More nurse sharks under ledges
on this site and further down on the
ledge we happened upon another medium
size green turtle who came out and
swam to the surface to take a breath
surrounded by glorious dancing
sunbeams as it ascended. We saw a
large moray eel in a burrow, several
clouds of fish and a few lobsters. We
also had the chance to swim over to
the little buddha statue and rub
his belly for good luck! In spite of
the seas, overall a fabulous day of
diving.
--
Active Divers President and Safety
Officer Rachel Davis |
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Corey
Prator and welcome Rick Stevens to
the club (L).
Kathleen Whitcomb and Evelyn Brown
(R). |
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Safety
Officer corps, ASO Steve McPhillips,
SOC Anand Ranganathan, SO Rachel
Davis (L).
Steve McPhillips, and Fabian Lago
(R). |
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Conch
Republic Hostess Ashley Hudson and
Rachel Davis (L).
Smile Roger, diving is fun (R). |
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| Underwater sighting
photos provided by Active Diver Rick
Stevens. |
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Women's
Dive Day on July 20: All are Welcome
On July 20 we will join in
the tenth consecutive PADI Women’s
Dive Day event with divers around the
world . The purpose of this day
is to encourage women to participate
and enjoy the sport of diving. This is
our opportunity to honor and celebrate
our women Active Divers with an
afternoon dive on the beautiful
reefs of Boynton Beach. This is not an
exclusive event, and all who love
and support women in the sport of
diving are welcome to attend. And join
us up the road for our Full Moon
Octopus Dive at the Blue Heron Bridge
that evening! It will definitely be a
summer day to remember.
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Dive
Against Debris on Saturday, June 8
Be part of the world’s largest
underwater community science movement
by joining us for Dive
Against Debris, a program from
the PADI AWARE Foundation. Your
participation will help the
organization create a blueprint to
achieve their critical conservation
goal to reduce marine debris by 50% in
targeted countries by 2030. Our Dive
Against Debris will take place at the
Blue Heron Bridge in which you will
learn tips for debris collection and
collect debris at the Bridge dive
site. After the dive all participants
will bring their debris to our
pavilion where it will be weighed,
surveyed and discarded. Our marine
debris survey will be added to PADI’s
database of
over 2.3 million pieces of marine
debris already removed from the ocean,
contributing to their critical
scientific research that advances the
PADI Blueprint for Ocean Action.
Participation in this fun event is
free of charge and will be followed by
a BBQ. There will be prizes awarded
for largest item, heaviest item, most
unusual item and more. All you need to
participate is your gear, air tank,
and a mesh bag to collect debris. You
can also earn the PADI Dive Against
Debris Diver Specialty Certification
for an additional fee which counts
toward the Advanced Open Water and
Master Scuba Diver Certifications.
RSVP to Rachel at 786-316-9852 or
simply reply to this email to sign up
or for more information on this fun
and rewarding experience. |
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| Lost
Reef Adventures Dream Cat dive boat
sits in Stock Island Marina just
steps from the beautiful Perry Hotel
where we'll be staying in Key
West. |
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Join
Us for Key West Weekend August
23-25
We’ve got a great weekend in Key West
planned this year including three
consecutive days of fantastic diving
in Islamorada and Key West capped off
by the Vandenburg wreck. Active Divers
member Lisa Littleton of Unicorns
Travel has put together a spectacular
lodging package for us for two nights
at the new luxurious Perry Hotel
located on Stock Island marina just
steps from our dive boat. The hotel
offers free shuttle service from the
hotel to all the nightlife and action
in Key West. In addition to a great
rate, this package offers free onsite
parking and reduced resort fee. Join
us for this unforgettable weekend by
reserving the dives through our dive
schedule and using the button below to
reserve your room. It’s the best
weekend of the year, so don’t miss
out! |
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I.CARE
Coral Restoration Experience
Scheduled for
Saturday, October 12
We have teamed up with CNN
Hero Mike Goldberg of
Key Dives to participate in a full-day
coral restoration experience this
year. The I.CARE program starts with a
morning coral workshop. Here all
participants will learn about the
history of our reef, coral morphology,
the science of our corals and hands-on
demonstration on how to put down
coral. In the afternoon we will make
two dives outplanting coral in the
turquoise clear waters on the reefs of
Islamorada. Divers meet at Key
Dives at 8:30
a.m. The cost for this full-day
experience is $110 and can be booked
through the dive
schedule.
Thanks to our Conservation Chair Lisa
Littleton for organizing this event
and to Active Divers Founder and
Safety Officer Lee Wood who will be
onsite for the event greeting members
and serving as Safety Officer for the
dives. If you have any questions about
this event or ideas for future
conservation activities, please
contact Lisa at Lisa@UnicornsTravel.com or 740-503-9589. |
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