In the winter breaks of 2005, 2006, and 2007, I ventured to Florida for three consecutive seasons for scuba diving. Back then I lived in Boston, where the winter was unbearable. For the first two trips, I was able to dive down. The driving made the exploration much easier. In 2017, I flew to Orland and the journey started there.
I am writing these journeys in 2017, nearly ten years after the trip. I am sorting through all the pictures. I remember there were some sunset and sunrise pictures taken with a point-and-shoot camera; unfortunately, I was not able to find them. But I do have a good record of the diving so most of the memory can be recovered.
Florida is one of my favorite destinations for scuba diving. What unique about the sunshine state is the diversity of the diving it offers: distinct coral reefs, a plethora of shipwrecks, springs, caves, and rivers, just to name a few. I have not come up with another place with a diversity even close to what Florida can offer.
Ten years ago, I was a newbie – both diving and photography. I had minimum knowledge back then on how to control my camera. While I was browsing pictures from dust-covered hard drives, I was amazed how horrible most of the pictures were: strange angle, horrible lighting, and unbearable back-scattering. I kept on thinking: ‘man, what was I doing?’
Despite the premature photography, I was able to pull out some shots that reflected the beauty and fun of the diving made a decade ago. I was glad that I made the commitment and effort to revive these pictures. The story has five parts based on different locations and different diving each offered:
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The great coral reefs of the Florida Keys are the only true coral reefs in the continental waters of the United States. Coral reefs recapitulate the most prime impression of the underwater world. I was so excited to see a large area of coral reefs and many animals living in the area. Back then, these creatures seemed exotic to me: trumpet fish, sea turtles, and spotted eagle rays. After years of diving in other areas, looking back, I can see a lot of damages to the area I dove. Especially after a submarine trip at the east coast of Mexico, I realized what healthy reefs could look like. I am not sure how the areas today are protected, but I hope that water activities can be confined within certain areas to minimize the potential damage.
Each time we visit a small wreck called ‘City of Washington’. The wreck pretty much collapsed but it was a place to see groupers, sea turtles, and nurse sharks.
It was truly exciting to finally see it in my first trip. In 2006, during my second visit, there came a group of kids, who jumped off a boat and snorkeled the statue. A few of them were brave and made a deep dive to touch the statue. As a diver underneath in the water, I was excited to see their silhouette. I wish the pictures would turn out better; but at that time I was just not that good.
Another fun memory of diving in Key Largo was the shipwreck of USS Spiegel Grove. I dove it in 2007 during my third visit to Key Largo. In that trip, I was having a pretty back cold and experienced sinus congestion. Despite the pain during desend and ascend, I finished all the dives. I don’t remember many details of the wreck, except it’s an enourmous wreck. I also remember the American flag tied to the deck and the encounter of a big grouper. [BACK]
Adventure in West Palm Beach
I came cross scuba diving in West Palm Beach (WPB) completely randomly through internet search. It’s only a short drive from Key Largo to WPB. But to my suprise, the diving was completely different.
The reef looked completely different with more darker tones. Instead of being flat barriers, at WPB there were more structures. Maybe this also explains a seemingly larger number of critters in the area. There were more fish schools and the fish was also different.
The highlight of my divings at WPB was sea turtles. I remember seeing them in every dive. I was following dive guides but they swam pretty fast. It’s even more difficult to follow when the current was drifting fast. In most dives, I tried to keep up with the group and shortly I would have to give up. I was nervous at the beginning, worrying about getting lost at the sea. But then I figured that we were all following the same current and eventually we were not going to surface together any way. Then I felt relaxed. I spent most of the time alone with sea turtles.
They normally just sit on the ocean floor, posing perfectly for the pictures. When I got too close or foght the current too hard, they would lift their head, turned away, and then took off.
In the following years after I dove WPB, I learned it as an amazing place with all kinds of critters to see underwater. The critters here range from large hammer-head sharks and groups of goliath groupers all the way to tiny sea horses. More interestingly, the encounters seem unpredictable and constantly changing. It’s a truly amazing place to live and dive. [BACK]
The Amazing Crystal River
What first brought me to Crystal River was not its name, it was the manatee. I got to know manatee when I was in primary school. Back then, I was in China. One afternoon sitting in front of TV and browsing the channels, I was totally absorbed by a documentary of manatees made by a group of Japaneses film makers. The exotic feature of the animal was fascinating to me. I though one would probably had to travel to remote places to see these creatures so the idea of seeing a manatee to me didn’t seem very likely. Years later after I became a diver, I was surprised to learn that manatees actually lived in warm and shallow springs close to villages and towns. It turned out that they were very accessible. So the adventure to swim with manatees started.
Crystal River is located on the west coast of Florida, away from the routes to the major tourist cities. As the result, the tranquility of the town is well preserved. Houses are seen behind the giant banyan trees and most of them are along the river. Herons and pelicans take over most of the branches. Far away from the open water, the boats are slow and you can still see the gentle wake traveling across the river. If this is not attractive to you, come in the early morning and ride the boat with sunrise – the view is breath-taking.
Going out to the the manatees was exciting, as the experience was different from most of the encounters. Manatees are mammals, just like whales and dolphins. Yet the environment compared to big open waters is much more confined and unique. Manatees are also pretty big in size, which makes seeing them a thrill. But most of all, these creatures are cute and humble. This is probably the reason why they are the mermaids, which makes seeing them a thrilling experience.
In addition to the manatee tours, there were a few caverns nearby that are worth diving. I dove King’s Bay Cavern, which attracted a great number of fish. As the opening of the cavern was very narrow, the fish gathered around the entrance and packed into a very high density. As a result, the scene was magnificent. There was not much deep into the cavern, but if you looked up, the fish and bright opening gave a quite unique feeling.
Another unique diving around Crystal River is the drift diving in a river. I dove the rainow river. It’s a very unique experience. It’s different from the ocean with shallow water, a lot of sunshine, and field of eel grass. In a few areas, I came across the spring holes where the water came out from the underground. Another highlight of the dive was the garfish. Seeing them was completely out of my expectation. A school of them swimming above the eel grass with a distinct pre-historic looking. I felt like in Jurassic Park. [BACK]
Caves and Springs
While driving through the central Florida, I also got chances to dive the springs. One memorable place was Ginnie Spring. Florida springs kept a water tempture of 72F year around and the water was crystal clear. Ginnie Spring has a large opening, forming a lake for diving. It was a Christmas Eve day so the park was very quiet. The sky was cloudy so the soft light made the water even bluer. There was a half cave under water. On the side of the lake, there was a small river. Further away from the lake, it became increasingly narrower and deeper, and eventually became a deep and narrow gorge.
Another cave I dove was Devil’s Den spring. The cave was small, a private property on an old lady’s backyard. The diving was operated as a family business. There was wooden stairs going from the opening into the water. So the diving was pretty easy. But the cave was dark and small. I remember a lot of catfish inside the cave. Underwater there were a few smaller crevice leading to deeper caves. Based on the warning sign, penetration into those crevices was obviously dangerous.
Another cave I dove was the famous Blue Grotto. Compared to Devil’s Den, this site had a much large opening. The wooden stairs were built from the cave entrance to the water and there were two stages, one was above the water and one was underwater. These man structures made the diving much easier. With a large opening, more light came into the cave and penetrated the water. Seeing from underneath, the water was blue and crystal clear. Another feature of this site was a deep cave that I was allowed to penetrate. There was a line put on the side of the wall. By following the line closely, it’s easy to find the outlet. The cave wide enough for two person side by side, but it was dark. It went down to almost 100 feet before the tunnel turned and started going up. [BACK]