Vortoberfest 2006 Installment 3
Gidds - 9/28/2008 2:54 PM
So my fortieth dive was pretty uneventful. After a long surface interval the Monkey and the gang who was at Morrison returned. I had 1300 psi left in my steel 72 and I wanted to use it up on a second shallow dive. I made sure to adjust my drysuit boots and tank position for this dive and was much more comfortable. Uncle Ricky and Bill were taking Moonie on an expedition to the grate that is locked across the cave entrance to keep open water divers out. MB and Monkey also wanted to blow down thie...
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Vortoberfest 2006 Installment II
Gidds - 9/28/2008 2:51 PM
Well Florida is fabled to be the land of never-ending summer but autumn weather finally caught up with us for this weekend. The forecast was for highs of low 80’s F Friday through Sunday but we awoke to an overcast Friday with highs about ten degrees cooler. I finished prepping the camper and dive gear while Monkey replaced the rotted brake lines on his truck. After all the futzing around we got on the road and arrived at Vortex during midafternoon. It appeared that none of our comrades had arri...
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Vortoberfest 2006 I
Gidds - 9/28/2008 2:38 PM
Vortoberfest is an unofficial Scubaboard event dreamed up by the Deep Dixie Divers. Since the Panhandle is generally considored to be the southern portion of Alabama and Georgia by the stuck-up pretentious inhabitants of the southern portion of Florida (who probably migarated from such dubious climes as the Midwest ) the Deep Dixie Divers are fully sanctioned to hold gatherings here. I never thought I’d find myself at a Deep Dixie Diver event. I am a Yankee shore diver through and through and dr...
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10/2/06 Another PCB Chick Dive and Octo Hunt
Gidds - 9/28/2008 2:32 PM
We (vbdiver, K, Knight, Monkey, and myself) dove the St. Andrews State Park jetty yesterday, ostensibly in search of the several known cephlapod inhabitants and/or the sea hare and of course to see fish. Our 3 other companions bailed on us so it did end up being a "chick dive" after all. Unfortunately I forgot to bring a sarong so Monkey did not have to wear one. The tide was going out so we ladies (we left poor Knight to deal with Monkey and his camera) dropped through the break in the rocks an...
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7/3/06 Back Rolls and Freshwater Bugs
Gidds - 9/28/2008 2:15 PM
July 2, 2006 we took a trip to Marriana, FL (a little Northeast of our current position). Initially we had wanted to meet up with friends for some ocean dives over the holiday weekend but that just didn’t pan out. We decided we’d shoot up to Marrianna to a state park to check out some caves (the dry kind, you won’t catch me dead in the submerged variety) but we got a late start and that didn’t pan out. While researching the caves earlier online we’d spotted something about a spring called Jackso...
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7/11/06 Dive&Snorkel at Morrison
Gidds - 9/28/2008 1:55 PM
I didn’t have much to do yesterday and I thought an after dinner snorkel at Morrison would be nice. I brought the Monkey his lunch at work and he didn’t need much prodding to agree so I went home and packed our gear into the truck. I later got a call that went something like this: Him: Is dinner ready yet? Me: No. Him: Have you packed my gear yet? Me: Yes. Him: Will you put my scuba gear in the truck? I wanna dive! Me: Grrrr. Him: What’s for dinner? Me: Stir fry. Him: Is it ready yet? Me: No! Hi...
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7/24/06 Morrison Chick Dive
Gidds - 9/20/2008 3:46 PM
Long long ago and far far away....ok in Ponce DeLeon, FL last night at about 5pm....two vivacious and intrepid young ladies undertook a diving adventure. Despite the scorching heat and smothering humidity they suited up in multiple layers of protective neoprene. While they were assembling their gear they looked on in satisfaction as the milling hordes of tired divers and swimmers departed (before the legions of blood-sucking insects descended on the swamp in the waning light). Our adventuresses ...
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7/23/06 Cypress Springs
Gidds - 9/20/2008 3:39 PM
Yesterday we did Cypress Springs. I say did because Monkey dove and I snorkelled. I was going to dive but we lost a diver in transit who was going to be my buddy and since everybody else was gung ho to go in the cavern I figured I’d better stick to snorkelling. Additionally we have never actually run the boat with our gear fully loaded and I figured if there was a problem we’d have only the Monkey’s gear to contend with. We met up with MB, pilot of the Miss Jellyfish, Bill with a borrowed canoe,...
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9/25/06 PCB Chick Dive
Gidds - 9/20/2008 3:25 PM
Saturday the Monkey was going on a spearfishing charter with Stu, Jim and company. The charter was leaving from St. Andrew’s State Park so I met up with V and her buddy T for a couple of shore dives on the jetty. Up North it is highly unusual to have three women at the same dive site on the same day and unheard of that they’d be diving together so this was a big treat for me since I am very tired of hearing people (of the male persuasion) waxing poetic about brand new balanced Halcyon p-valves a...
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8/19/06 New Dive Buddy
Gidds - 9/20/2008 3:21 PM
Friday morning I had to get up at an obscenely early hour to catch The Gang (B and M) at Morrison Springs for a dive, along with a new addition to the local colour: G. I hadn’t dove Morrison since August 19 so I was looking foward to the dive. I decided to wear my drysuit since it is now September. It was a good idea since the humid FL weather had finally retreated to pleasantly cool nights and mornings and pleasantly warm days. I was the last to arrive (big suprise, even though I live the close...
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8/19/06 Morrison with vbdiver
Gidds - 9/20/2008 3:18 PM
We did an afternoon dive with V, an online friend from PCB, at Morrison on Saturday. Fortunately the bovidesque crowds thin out significantly at that time of day. I clocked 50 minutes of bottom time with a max. depth of 15’. I got cold after 15 minutes but not dangerously so. Lessons learned: 1. Cheese is negatively buoyant, at least Monterey jack is 2. Redbreast sunfish prefer cheese to bread 3. "Shellcrackers" don’t like either 4. Loggerhead musk turtles are afraid of people 5. Everybody think...
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Anthropological Differences Between Shore and Boat
Gidds - 9/20/2008 3:12 PM
I am strictly a shore diver (the Tin Can of Death does not quallify as a "boat" for the purposes of this discussion). Here’s why I prefer to be a shore diver: 1. If you’re late you miss the tide not the boat 2. Shore diving is free unless you get a parking ticket 3. Nobody cares where you put your gear and how you gear up since you do it in the back of your own vehicle 4. Fellow shore divers will not step on you or throw up on you as a rule 5. Shore divers can get out of the sun 6. No DM telling...
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Crab Grab 2006
Gidds - 9/20/2008 3:09 PM
The Monkey and I adjourned for Alabama Friday evening to do some camping in The Airplane Hangar in a Bag, as he affectionately calls his tent. A trip that would normally take maybe 2 hours at the outside took at least three due to detours, dawdling, and annoying singing and bouncing on the part of the driver. We got to the campground quite late, set up, and went to bed so we could meet up with fellow crab grabbers: paulwall, MB, KCH, Natebrrr (and H), and tom wickers in the morning. Despite hemm...
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8/10/06 Destin Jetty
Gidds - 9/20/2008 2:50 PM
After a long and harrowing journey our gallant protagonist Sir Pufferfish located and retrieved the damsel in distress (me) and her gear. A short cut was taken across a super-secret military installation and out heros finally glimpsed the calm yet overcast bay. The tide was predicted for 11ish but local diviners have been hitting the sauce or something because the actual tides have been approximately 60 minutes later. As such when our heros arrived at The Perilous Parking Lot of Death around noo...
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A Dive Photo Skit
Gidds - 9/20/2008 2:44 PM
Since I have entirely too much time on my hands I have created this: The End!...
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August 3, 2006 Morrison Springs
Gidds - 9/20/2008 2:32 PM
Yesterday afternoon we met up with Bill, seangel, and Jim for a dive. Jim and seangel are yet more online friends from insert name of forum where I am no longer a member here. Seangel had never dove the cold spring waters before and Jim grew up in the area but had not gotten in the springs either. Since I am suffering from The Plague I stuck to snorkelling. It was disgustingly hot yesterday so I geared up in a hurry and got in the water and then of course had to immediately complain that it was ...
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Obnoxious SCUBA Poetry
Gidds - 9/20/2008 2:15 PM
This drivel masqurading as a piece of creative writing is dedicated to: The Split Fin Squadron From: The Squid Ode to Split Fins S ilty P onderous and putrid L aughable I rritating T oilsome F rivolous I nsidious N erfarious S candalous Snorkels Snorkels are good Snorkels are great If I’m "just snorkelling", I’ll never be late!...
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Night Snorkel at Morrison Spring 6/24/2006
Gidds - 9/10/2008 7:19 PM
Morrison Springs is gorgeous during the daylight hours but an ethreal slightly unsettling beauty is revealed at dusk. The Monkey and I did a snorkel at dusk on Tuesday evening. I am night blind and have been since my late teens so I wondered if I could still snorkel and dive at night safely. There is supposed to be a night flounder hunt next weekend and if at all possible I don’t want to sit on the beach being eaten alive by mosquitos and sand fleas while everybody else spears fish. We geared up...
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