Fri, December 26, 2025 Dives: 1 Bottom Time: 60 minutes Max Depth: 21-25ft/6-8m Avg Viz: 16-20ft/5-6m Water Temp: 76-80°F/24-27°C Weight: 16 Exposure Suit: Fullsuit - 3 (Gloves, Boots) Tank Type: AL - 80cf/11L Gas Type: Air Dive Buddy:   Helen Farrar, Paul Bain Eastern Dry Rocks Key West, FL Water Type: Salt Entry Type: Boat

1600-1700; 3200 psi to 1100 psi

I led through the reef by going under the boat to the mooring line and then out through the reef "aisles." We saw an eel, HUGE stingray, and lots of schools of grunts. I tried going under a rock shelf for the first time, but I hit it with my gear a few times. On this dive I did not feel like my buoyancy was good or I was going beyond my buoyancy control. Either I had too little weight in my BCD or the weight was not well distributed because I was fighting to stay parallel to the ground on both dives this day. I really don’t like touching the wildlife so I need to work on buoyancy control, weight, and not going under small shelves unless I am absolutely sure I can do it. Overall the dive was fun and I kept us close tot he boat and navigated well. We went back tot he boat, found the mooring line, swam under it, and came up again and were the last divers back - right at the end time, so that was perfect. Paul got really cold. I think I need to go slower in the future when leading, but I was also fighting buoyancy the whole time which meant I kept moving forward to stay parallel. I did not like the BCD they gave me. The weight sat in pockets instead of quick releases and this may have influenced things because the weights sat in a different spot than other BCDs.