Reef
Report
Friday, August
25
Islamorada
with Key Dives
Dive
#1: Alligator Reef
Ledge: Seas: 1
foot, depth 21 feet, water
88 degrees, visibility
20 feet, no current. Great dive
along this colorful ledge with
sightings including large
schooling blue parrotfish,
beautiful small green sea
turtle, moray eel cleaning
station, lobster, clouds of
yellow snappers and grunts,
Bermuda chubb, lobster, conch
actively grazing in the
sand.
Dive
#2: Alligator Reef Ledge -
further down: Seas:
1 to 2 feet, depth
27 feet, water
88 degrees, visibility
20 feet, no current. The
highlight of this dive was a
very large Southern stingray in
the sand, along with numerous
trunkfish, another moray eel and
a very large Goliath grouper
tucked up way under the
ledge.
--Active
Divers President & Safety
Officer Rachel Davis
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| Magical
scenes from Alligator Reef by Active
Divers volunteer Jean Gruss. |
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| Welcome
back to Florida Angelica Cookson
with Rachel Davis; Diving ready Jean
Gruss and Nancy Frank. |
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| Welcome
to the club new member Chris Lamb
(right) with Fabian Lago; always a
pleasure to have onboard Active
Divers royalty: Founder Lon Von
Lintel. |
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| Happy
diving couples: Fred & Sheila
Schlafly; Adriana Campa & Jeff
Roth. |
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| Dive
buddies: Steve Moore & Corey
Prator; Rachel & John
Davis. |
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| Looe
Key boat Captain Katie rounded up
the crowd for a group photo aboard
the Kokomo Cat II. |
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Reef
Report
Saturday, August
26
Looe
Key National Marine Sanctuary
with Looe Key Reef Resort and
Dive Center aboard the Kokomo
Cat II
Dive
#1 Looe Reef Buoy #18: Seas
1-2 feet, depth 30 max, vis
25-30 feet, water 88 - 91, no
current. Descending down
the mooring line the divers swam
along the length of the reef and
explored the fingers. A nurse
shark was spotted along with
numerous midnight, blue, and
rainbow parrot fish. Some angel
fish were spotted along with
some grouper. Sadly, the native
coral has suffered significant
damage and bleaching due to the
warmer than normal sea
temperatures on the shallow
reef. After a brief interval on
the boat, the divers were ready
for the second location.
Dive
#2 Looe Reef Buoy #10: Seas
1-2 feet, depth 28 max, vis
25-30 feet, water 88 - 91
degrees, no current. On the
second mooring dive of the day,
two huge Goliath Groupers were
spotted. One of
Goliaths hung around the
boat for almost a half hour
while divers were in the water.
The divers again
explored the fingers on the
reef spotting more midnight,
blue, and rainbow parrot fish,
along with many other reef fish.
Again we saw large areas of the
coral that were bleached. On the
return trip back to the dock,
Captain Katie pointed out
several sea turtles that were on
the surface, a nice bonus to an
enjoyable day.
--Active
Divers Safety Officer
Candidate Steve McPhillips
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| We
must have planned this - our two
Safety Officers Steve & Rachel
wore matching shirts; Jean Gruss and
Juan Merino. |
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| Scuba
Steve McPhillips with Natalie
Thomas; Carlos Cerna and Brian
McDermott. |
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| We
are the Vandenburg Vikings! And we
are proud of our double dip on this
magnificent wreck in Key West. |
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Reef
Report
Sunday, August
27
Vandenburg
Double Dip with Lost Reef
Adventures in Key West
Dive
#1 Vandenburg: Seas
1-2 feet, depth 100, vis
15 feet, water temp 87, no
current. It was a murky day for
the Vandenburg but fortunately
no current. We moored to the bow
which gave us quick access to
the flag and the numerous
swimthroughs in the wheelhouse
and front part of the wreck. A
very large Goliath Grouper was
spotted near the mooring line at
the end of our dive bidding us
all farewell up the line.
Dive
#2 Vandenburg: Seas
1-2 feet, depth 100 vis
20 feet, water temp 87, no
current. The viz improved a bit
on the second dive and once
again the large Goliath Grouper
greeted us at the morning. There
were swarms of schooling
tropicals surrounding the
railing on the backside of the
wheelhouse, large barracuda and
schooling African Pompano could
be spotted in the distance.
Always a pleasure to dive this
magnificent wreck!
--Active
Divers President and Safety
Officer Rachel Davis
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| Vikings
rule! Welcome new member Sofia
Lacagnina pictured with father
Vittorio, and congratulations on
earning your PADI Nitrox
certification! Vandenburg Viking
couple Rachel & John Davis. |
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SAVE
THE DATES IN 2024
FOR INTERNATIONAL DIVING!
By popular demand, next summer, Active
Divers has chosen to go back to two of
the best dive locations in the entire
Caribbean. Save the date for a return
to Little
Cayman Beach Resort July 20-27, 2024,
and a trip to Bonaire September 21-28,
2024. Details with complete
information will be posted on the
Active Divers website this fall once
rates are available.
Also, looking for a single male and
single female for the upcoming
12/9-12/16 Christmas dive cruise. If
interested please e-mail Daryl Johnson
at diverdaryl@bellsouth.net.
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