Saturday I ventured to Murrell's Inlet to dive with Express Watersports. The drive is easy and typically takes about an hour and 1/2 - - if you go the speed limit. (Let's just say on the way back to Charleston I did, but on the way there I made really good time in the early morning hours.)
It had been about a year since I'd gone diving with this shop. They are definitely good people and have an amazing store with their boat docked directly across the street from the shop. And of course, I'm drawn to their Golden Retriever who has been there faithfully each time I've visited over the years.
Any day I go diving is a good day for me. But some dives are better than others. This day of diving led me to creating this Top Seven. So let's take a giant stride in...
ONE: Enjoy the ride. When it is overcast and the seas have 3-5 foot swells, consider it an adventure; a very wet one but hey, you're on a DIVE BOAT!
TWO: Be flexible. Just because you're expecting to go to one dive site (Bruce's Rush Reef) and end up at another (Tugboat / Airplane) - it isn't the end of the world. (Some friends I've gone diving with in the past have gotten all bent when the dive site changed.<--You know who are you are!)
THREE: Make new friends. Newbie divers (a lot of them) were on this 46 ft. Newton and many were nervous. It was fun talking to them before and after they went on their first ocean dive. Gotta love making new friends with people that share your passion for diving.
FOUR: Spend time with old ones. I was delighted to see Bryan and Crystal on the boat. There is nothing like the unexpected surprise of diving with old friends (from Charleston) when you're in a town away from home.
FIVE: Don't believe everything you hear.: The DM (Dive Master) on this trip must have a day job in marketing or public relations. Why? Because when he surfaced after anchoring us into the site, his dive briefing was... well, let's just say a bit stretched. He said, "There is great viz down there. I could even see the wreck when I first jumped in." Ummmm, yes, you could see the boat but the massive amounts of particulate in the water kinda negated that - dontcha think?! LOL (Most of my pictures looked like it was snowing underwater.)
SIX: Practice makes perfect. I was told that my new underwater strobe would involve a steep learning curve. Never a truer statement was made. With each dive I continue to learn more and more. This time I learned that setting the strobe on F is BAD and will blow out your photos with too much light. Practice makes perfect... Can't wait to see what happens after I've practiced a lot more.
SEVEN: Look for surprises. As we were swimming around the tugboat, I peered inside to see what critters might be waiting to have their photo taken. Much to my surprise, I found a "fish" I've never seen while diving in the ocean. I think they call it the "shopping cart fish," but I'll have to do more research before I'm sure. (The picture didn't come out as I had hoped but you'll get the idea.)
Check out the photos from Saturday's Murrell's Inlet dive and be sure come back next week to see what I capture when I dive with Charleston Scuba this weekend. (Hint: A photo of me is last in the line up.)
 |
| The fins of my dive buddies: Bryan & Crystal |
 |
| One of my dive buddies: Crystal |
 |
| Bryan being a ham. You can't quite tell with the bright light but he took out his regulator so he could stick out his tongue at me. LOL |
 |
| Lovebirds, er I mean, my two dive buddies. (Aren't they cute together?!) |
 |
| Do you see the "shopping cart fish" that was inside the hull of the scuttled ship? |
 |
| Part of the scuttled plane. |
 |
| That's the butt end of a loggerhead turtle hiding in the nose of the plane. |
 |
| This could have been a cool shot. It is a ladder leading from the deck into the hull of the ship. |
 |
| Vibrant growth |
 |
| Do you see the Toad Fish? (Psst - don't touch it, it is poisonous.) |
 |
| Growth on the barge. |
 |
| Guess who?! |
RSS Feed (xml)
