Article Author:

Suzette
Advanced Open Water

…some rain must fall. Lucky for us, Tropical Storm Bonnie was a bust and didn’t really leave any rain in her wake. She just quietly slipped northwest and left us alone after one day of threatening weather. Unfortunately it made our group from SeaVentures have to turn around and go to plan B- hopefully we will see them soon. The good news is that the system seemed to move all of that wind we were having right out of the area and it is gorgeous calm and flat looking for today and this week. I know what that means- I’ll be getting out for some diving! A parking lot injury (don’t ask) may have me on the sidelines for a few days but I am hoping to be better before my favorite dive on Wednesday; Conch wall. Join me!

We had some fun friends visiting this week. Young Zack B from GA was here diving with his favorite buddy Jardin. Since the weather wasn’t ideal, they dropped by Jule’s Undersea Lodge to get wet on his first day. They played with a crab and checked out the habitat and had a great time. Speaking of Jule’s, my good friend Maureen O fulfilled her lifelong dream of becoming SCUBA certified this week with instructors Jeff and Brent. She could not rave enough about what great work they did and how comfortable they made her in the water. She returned to Michigan triumphant with her C-card in hand. Both Zack and Maureen are anxious to return and do some nice smooth water diving in the near future! A good friend Mary also had a fantastic experience with Jeff and Brent. Years after being scared away from SCUBA by an overly assertive instructor, she put the gear back on and had a wonderful “discover swimming pool” session with Brent. She loved it so much that she didn’t want to get out of the pool and now she’ll be back to get her OW cert soon!

In RRDC news, we are proud to congratulate Jose and Brian who successfully completed their IDC this weekend and are now PADI instructors. Great job to them and to Course Directors Pam and Bill. Some staff members had memorable weeks- Becky T (the squirrel) was excited to report that she had a close encounter with a nurse shark and just yesterday she was able to carefully assist a southern ray who had a hook and fishing line caught on him. Great job, Becky! Captain Graham and his wife Rese were thrilled to welcome their new addition this week; baby Marley Rose was born on Tuesday and is happy and healthy (and adorable!).

Wow, these weeks are really eventful in the summer with everything going on- thank you so much to our customers for being so loyal and allowing us to provide you with memorable trips and knowledge that lasts a lifetime. We appreciate you!

Article Author:

Suzette
Advanced Open Water

Wow, it’s been a crazy busy few weeks at Rainbow Reef! We’re certainly not complaining, but it’s been a whirlwind of divers and photos and fish stories- *whew*. Time for a day off today after I finish recording some thoughts here.

Week before last we were excited to welcome back our good friends Jerry, Nancy and Elva. The most memorable dive I did with that crew (along with Bridget, the lovely wife of Captain Bill) was an incredible drift on Conch Wall. If you haven’t done Conch Wall, you really must. It’s a long, sloping wall that tapers gradually into a flat relief as you approach the area of the Aquarius Underwater Laboratory (which you cannot swim into- we surface prior to getting there). We saw a huge nurse shark at the beginning of the dive and with so many places to look it seemed like everyone had their own unique amazing experience. Upon surfacing tales were exchanged of seeing sharks, rays, turtles and many other fantastic sights. I personally was stunned at the sheer size of some of the day to day fish that you see on a more shallow dive- the French Angels were dinner plate size or bigger and I saw a puffer fish that astounded me with his girth.

On that same dive we went to a location nearby that was a neat patch reef- wow, the life we saw there! The most remarkable part were the Flamingos Tongue that were absolutely everywhere! I’d only ever seen one before and suddenly they were all over the place. It was like an Easter egg hunt just popping from sea fan to sea fan looking for more. What a delight! Toward the end of the dive I was thrilled to get to swim side by side with a nice sized nurse shark until I finally had to turn around and re-join the group and get on the boat. I could have stayed there all day. It was amazing.

I’ll close for now and save some stories for next week’s log- I have more, believe me. I’m putting up a few pictures to enjoy and until next time, get out there and do some diving!