By: Nathaniel
While we were at Duck Key we met two kids who went scuba diving every week or so and
the first time I saw them do it I decided to try it too. My dad signed us up for a resort
course that included one day in the pool and two open water dives. The pool dive was all
about learning the basic safety stuff and how some of the gear works. The open water dive
was just for fun. On the open water dive I saw: rays, lots of fish, one crab, some lobsters,
coral, fire coral and the mast of a sunken ship. The ship sank after it hit the reef. When we
first went down we had to get neutral (add air to your BC or buoyancy compensator so you
don’t float nor sink but stay in the middle) so as not to disturb coral or the bottom of the
ocean. Then we followed the reef to the sunken ship’s mast, turned around and headed
back to the dive boat. The next dive I had was in the pool with a different instructor. On
that dive I used the compass, learned how to take off and put back on the weight belt and
BC and located and putt on my mask under water. I did the dive after that with the same
instructor as the last time. I did more navigation, more retrieving the gear and snorkeling at
the surface. The next dive I did with a new instructor and the owner of the dive shop. I had
to swim 220 yards/660 feet with out touching the bottom of the pool then I did a dead man
float for ten minutes then I did a little bit of rescue stuff. The next dive was with another
new instructor in the ocean the waves were huge and I got seasick so I ended up not going
down, instead I stayed on the dive boat wishing I was back at shore. By the time I did get
back to land I had nothing left to puke (it was all in the ocean).
Bad, Bad Shark!
By Wyatt
Duck Key, FL - I went out fishing with my Dad and caught a Crevalle Jack. While my Dad
was playing with the fishy-fish-fish we saw a blood stream coming out of its tail. Then we
saw a big figure moving through the water. My Dad said it was a big, big chomper that was
only about four feet long. Then it bit the whole fish in half so we got the head and it got its
body. How amazing is that? Then we threw the head back in the water. As soon as we
saw it, it was gone!
We decided it was time to quit fishing and go home to the boat. We decided to go to
where my Dad’s friend Jack fishes because he caught 23 fish in a day. As soon as we got
there my Dad said, “Oh, BLEEP!!!” because a bird pooped all over our poor dingy!
Barracuda Strikes Again
By Wyatt
Marathon, FL - When we were getting our boat hauled in Marathon guess what happened
to me on the second day that we were back in the water? I was fishing with my brand new
two-piece rod and a really old reel. The lure was about an inch long and it was blue with
white, had fake eyes and the hook was tiny. A barracuda hit and bit the hook. I reeled it in
and it flopped up and down and side to side, too. I yelled, “Mom, I’ve got a barracuda on
my hook!” My mom was shivering like Ozzie Osbourne because she was so scared that
the barracuda was going to bite her. She used the tough gloves which are orange and
sticky. They still smell like barracuda. And that just plain smells like fish. She finally got
the hook out. Then she yelled, “No more fishing!“ Because everyone knows that it was
the first time that my mom has ever, ever taken the hook out of a fishes mouth!
Oceanside Marina
By Wyatt
Florida Keys - We left Duck Key now and then we headed over to Conch Harbor in Key
West. And yes we did go back but not back to the Galleon Marina. Then we left Key West
on our merry way and we went snorkeling. We saw a shark, that only John saw, and my
elbow hurt on my left side so we got out. We also saw a lot of fish, too. Like Sheephead -
they have black and white stripes on their bodies. We fed Yellowtail snappers - they are
named after their yellow tail. We went fishing and silly silly Mom ran over a hook with the
outdrive. We had to shut the engines down and John had to reach down all the way into
the water and untangle it. Then we headed over to Oceanside Marina. We are in the
second slip down from the first one. And for all the young kids that I know, including my
brother of course yes, Happy Fishing! Oh yeah, I also forgot, too. Happy Easter
everyone!
