Dave and I encounter sharks and turtles an Molasses Reef - Jan 13, 2019

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Dave’s sister Janet was visiting and wanted to dive. It had been windy for days, but had subsided. However there were swells and the current at Molasses was strong. The dive didn’t get off to a good start as Janet had some equipment issues. It was hard covering much ground due to the strong current, but I did have a Reef Shark pass by and also spotted a Nurse Shark, and a Porcupine fish. Janet and Dave headed back to the boat, while I explored right below. Luckily I got a closeup view of a turtle munching on the reef. Captured some good video on this dive after all. We only did one dive this trip as Janet was not feeling well, so we headed back right away. I was disappointed that she didn’t have a better experience on the dive and missed much of what I saw.

Check out the video of the dive by clicking on the graphic link to my YouTube channel.

Dave and I Dive French Reef - December 3, 2018

After a brief return to Minnesota for Thanksgiving, I returned to the Keys hoping for some more diving. Finally the winds abated and provided a window before the next front. Dave and I headed to Molasses our favorite spot. Water was a bit choppy, so it took awhile to get out there. Upon arrival we saw no other boats in the area, a bit of a warning sign. Sure enough, we were greeted with a very strong current from the SW. We decided to move further NE on the reef line to French Reef. This is where the commercial dive boats had decided to go also. French does not have the coral or fish as Molasses Reef does. But it does have nice structure and some caverns and swim throughs. We also did have our first sighting of a Sting Ray on a reef since we returned to diving after last fall’s Hurricane Irma. Probably because the shore side of French had lots of sand - conducive for feeding for the Ray’s. Visibility was OK and water temp had declined to 76-77 degrees so it was time for a 3 mil wetsuit. For our 2nd dive we stopped at White Bank Dry Rock - very shallow patch reef. Visibility was poor, but I did get some close-ups of Cup Coral.

VIDEO Link to YouTube video

Nov 14, 2018 Dive at Molasses Reef with Dave Rufft

First time out this fall. Wind was higher that projected so we had to make our way out slowly to the reef where we encountered some large swells and chop. It was a little hard entering and existing the water, but it was worth it as the visibility was super. We were the only boat at the reef for our first dive and then a commercial boat arrived for the 2nd dive. Water temp was a comfortable 80 degrees . We did 2 50 minute dives. We encountered a shark, eel, and lots of fish. But I still have not seen a Stingray since the Hurricane last fall. The reef in this SW part of Molasses has seen some decent coral recovery as evidenced in the photos and video below.

Link to YouTube video Below

September dives in the Florida Keys with Mark Hewitt and Bob Bauman

Trumpet Fish

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Bob and I made our annual fall Keys dive trip in late September. This year there was no hurricane to interrupt our fun! The weather was hot and humid and the water temps were in the low 80’s. Unfortunately we were treated with some unexpected winds and diminished visibility. Also a lot of issues with current. We were able to only get one good day at Molasses and then a day each at Pickles and Snappers as a backup to Molasses due to high winds and current. Somewhat disappointing compared to past years, but it was nice to be back in the water again. I did get some good shots of an eel and trumpet fish and sharks. I also include a photo of Staghorn coral planted on the reef as a restoration project. Watch the slides below and also the video links. We encountered two sharks at Snappers Ledge.

Slide Show Below

Links to YouTube videos below

April 29 2018 - Another fine day for diving

Make sure to check out the video that captured a Hogfish pickup up a Mollusk, crushing the shell and eating it.

Click the arrow above to view a video of these 2 dives.

I have again been shore bound - the power to my boat lift kept tripping breakers.  Turned out to be another result of Hurricane Irma.  Sand and pebbles and water had been driven into the electrical conduit on the shore and caused wire casing to strip and short.  Although the electrician had rewired the dock, that had not replace the wires in the underground conduit back to the breaker.  $700 later, the power is restored.  Just in time to have one last great day of diving before heading north.  Seas were flat and visibility was outstanding.  I captured a great video clip of a hogfish crushing and eating a shellfish.

April 20, 2018 The grottos of Molasses Reef

1st 2 dives at Molasses Reef - Deep then shallow. Click arrow to view YouTube video of part one of the days dives.

An absolutely perfect day for diving - warm, sunny and calm seas.  Dave R. and I brought extra tanks as this would be his last dive of the season and we wanted to take advantage of the great weather.  We ended up doing 3 total dives for over 2 hours of bottom time.

We started with a dive on the deep outside of the reef starting at 50' fo depth.  This area has sand channels the drop down to depths of 100'.  Visibility was great, but there was strong current, so we were careful to head up current.  Lots of barrel sponges.  We didn't stay too long, as between the depth and fighting current, we were using air fast. 

Click arrow to view short video of the grottos of Molasses Reef

For our 2nd and 3 dives of the day we to the inside of the reef to explore the grottos and view the more colorful area of the reef.  The nurse shark we saw yesterday with the lure stuck in its mouth was still in the exact same spot.  This part of the reef seems to have suffered less damage from Hurricane Irma and recovered faster.  In the many years of diving, I had not found this many grottos.  I'm thinking some new ones were created from the storm.

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With more than 2 hours of bottom time and perfect conditions, this was by far the best dive day of the season.  It does seem to me that there is some new growth on the reef and that it is recovering from Hurricane Irma.

April 19, 2018 - Finally a perfect day for diving Molasses Reef again.

Click above for YouTube video of the dive

Nurse Shark with the hook of a large lure in its mouth.

After days of wind, the seas finally settled down.  Morning broke with lots of sunshine and flat seas.  The only trouble was I had a board teleconference meeting at noon.  If Dave and I could get an early start, we could get in a long dive - it ended up being 70 minutes of bottom time and I just make it back in time for the meeting.  We then planned to go again in the late afternoon since it was so nice.

We went to the southern portion of Molasses - it seems to look a lot less damaged than other parts of the reef.  Our first interesting sighting was a barracuda with a hook and leader in its mouth.

Then a nurse shark with a large lure stuck in its mouth.  When we came back the next day - it was still in exactly the same location.  We also found some caves and swim throughs that I had not discovered in dozens of dives on this reef.  Is it possible the were formed by the storm?

For out afternoon dive we headed to Conch Reef.  A breeze had picked up and I also left my camera on shore.  We did another hour of bottom time at this location.

March 19-20- My son Scott and I dive Conch Reef and Snappers Reef

This Youtube video is about dives in March 2018 at Conch and Snappers with Mark, Scott and Dave

My son Scott came down for 5 days in March to visit and do some diving.  He has been diving for over 15 years with me.  Of course the weather forecast was calling for windy conditions and building by the end of the week.  When I picked him up at the airport in Fort Lauderdale I suggested we needed to get in the water right away before the seas built up.  So we headed out to Conch Reef on Monday March 19 around 4:30 pm and got in 40 minutes of diving.  It was a bit choppy with 14 knot winds, but visibility wasn't bad and the dive was good.

Goliath Grouper

The next morning it looked as if it would be our last chance to get out for awhile and the winds were freshening to 20 knots later in the day.  Scott and I and my regular dive buddy Dave headed out to Snappers for our first visit since Irma.  My favorite photo site, the giant brain coral had been destroyed!  A real bummer.  There were lots of fish and i did get some decent photos and videos 

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March 18, 2018 - Back to Molasses -Flat seas and good visibility, but strong current

Sharks, Barracuda, Scorpionfish - click link for YouTube video

Hooray!  On March 15th I finally got my boat back to the house.  A brand new dock and a repaired lift.  A pretty sight indeed and just in time for a great day for diving on March 18th.  It is so much easier to head out from my home on the Atlantic side than hauling all the gear and boating from Mangrove Marina on the Bayside.  Its only 15 minutes to Molasses from my house compared to 1.25 hours from Mangrove.

We were greeted with flat seas at Molasses but a very strong current.  I watched a snorkeler drift the length of his boat in a matter of seconds.  We did not feel comfortable in our 1st location on the reef, so we move to the far NE side where the current was a bit less ferocious. 

This was a deep dive and we were able to get some protection from the current in the sand channels.  But we still were careful to swim up current so we could drift back to the boat.  For our second dive we went back to mid reef and by then the current had subsided.

A well camouflaged  scorpionfish swims off.  A large barracuda below the boat.

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Feb 27, 2018 - Dave and I dive Conch Reef

Although my new dock has been built, I still don't have the lift repaired, so we once again picked up the boat at Mangrove Marina.  Dave and I have not done much diving as we have been busy with continuing hurricane repairs and conditions have not bee good for diving anyway.  So we were looking forward to this dive.

Click the link to see a video of Scorpionfish, Balloonfish, Lobsters

We were surprised to find so much sand had had washed away on the SW end of the reef, exposing lots of rock.

Although the reef took a pretty good hit from Hurricane Irma and you could see the coral damage, we did find lots and lots of fish, including a well hidden Scorpionfish, lobsters, Balloonfish and large schools of snappers.

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At the end of the dive, I noticed that the boat's bilge pump was pumping a steady stream of water.  Upon boarding and checking things out, I discovered that a scupper hose and clamp in the bilge had failed.  This scupper hose drained the cockpit deck down through the bilge and out the side - right at water level.  You could now see daylight where the hose used to exit and water flowing into the bilge as the boat rocked in the waves.  Although the bilge pump was handling the water flow - it was a dangerous situation if the pump should clog or fail.  It would not take long to fill the bilge and as the boat sank lower - water would begin to pour in through the 1" hole.  Time to make a beeline for shore!  With repairs to take 2 weeks - I'll be shore bound again!

January 23rd, 2018 - Diving Davis Ledger

My brother John visited us here in the Keys for a week in January.  He and I have been diving together since 1973.  He was the one that got me interested in diving.  He was having some health issues this trip and elected to snorkel this time while I went diving.  We picked up the boat at Mangrove Marina, where is has been stored since Hurricane Irma, while my dock is being rebuilt.  I thought I'd try Davis Ledge since in was closest to the Tavernier Creek outlet.

Conditions were a bit breezy and visibility was not great.  I forgot to bring my camera.  The dive was a disappointment as the inside of the reef was barren of sand and there was a lot of rubble and exposed rock.  Not much coral, although a decent amount of fish.