Bob wrote:

[surfacing to find boat - miscommunication]
>By whom, to whom, on what?

DM, Feesh, dive rules. It's impossible for them to keep track of heads
popping up everywhere, even when there's only one boat. Not bloody likely
in Pennekamp Park. And I'm quite certain that you didn't believe it either.


>That's what made those DM "idjits".  Without going into the top hundred
reasons why "pop to the surface every 15 minutes" is a BAD advice for
ANYONE,<

Most sites on Molasses are around 25ft deep. Unless you specifically
request one of the outer buoys, where the water is a bit deeper. So what
problem do you have with an ascent from 25ft? Most tourists run out of air
after about 40min out there, so they'll do that maybe twice.

> how would YOUR "tourist divers" know where the boat is if
they pop up even 50m out -- how would they know WHICH of the 50 boats are
theirs? <

Not all boats look alike. At least not to me.

>  Besides, they told it to EVERYONE, indiscriminantly,
including me and Sue who could find our way back to the boat quite well.<

Unless you had dived with them before, how would they know that?

[MD - on same subject]
>We never do that, of course. It's dead easy to find the way back to the
>boat or anchor line. We also don't use snorkels, even though that is
>another Keys diving "rule".  And we do "forbidden" deco dives, etc. DMs
are
>on the boats for insurance reasons. Feel free to ignore them. Or dive from
>six-packs and you'll never see one. No DMs on beach dives either.

[Feesh]
>Lee's "Yogi-like" LOGIC must be contagious.  What does the above have
anything to do with what the Key Largo (Molasses Reef) idjit DMs should or
shouldn't do?

Nothing, really. I simply don't care what the DMs should or shouldn't do.
If a site is new to me, I may listen to the site briefing, if they give
one. Then go and compare it to reality. Half the time they got me thinking
that we were dropped in the wrong spot.
I generally ignore lectures on dive practices. If they give "idjit" advice,
I don't care. If the annoy me, I will not use the boat again. And not tip.
Real simple concept. If you chose to follow idjit advice, blame yourself.

[Rodale's, Molasses]
I don't read Rodale's but I do remember their lists (I used to get the
thing unsolicited and free a few years back), which I always found
hilarious. 

So what are your own experiences with FLA diving besides Molasses, which
was really a poor choice of location to begin with. Maybe I shouldn't say
that, cause I'll dive it again on Aug. 8, but only as a second dive after
going to the wreck of the Bibb again, and we'll do the outer buoys. And
that will be on a six-pack. No DM, find the wreck yourself type of dive. 

In the FLA Keys I would rather recommend Islamorada, which has some wrecks
and some nice steep slopes on the outside reef which mostly bottom out at
100ft. Have seen dolphins there on several occasions. Although I usually go
down there mainly for the nightlife a Lorelei's and the Tiki bars.
Different dives altogether.

Up here in the Delray/Boynton area the reefs are completely different. Move
up a few miles to Riviera Beach, and you have another totally different
reef, with exciting high speed drift dives. As different from Molasses as
Stoney is from Oban.

> not until the Floridian (Molasses Reef) divers
go there en masse and kick all the corals dead.  ;^)<

The typical local divers dive all the time. They are unlikely candidates.
Anyway, FLA reefs are not being destroyed by divers. The main culprits are
beach "restoration" (even where there was none before), pollution and
hurricanes. And pollution is clearly #1.

Mika, Delray