Hi Again All!  

Went back to Williston Florida for President's day weekend and picked up two specialty
ratings - Enriched Air Nitrox and Underwater Photographer. The Enriched Air Nitrox
was done at Blue Grotto (my 2nd visit there). Again, we went down to the 95ft bottom
and around the big boulder. I felt more "at ease" this time going around the boulder but
not enough to be completely confident. The light I was carrying helped (didn't have one
the first time).  We then went back up to Peace Rock.

Sadly, the peace sign itself is barely visible now as it's been worn away by time and
other divers. I didn't see it for the life of me. Apparently, the long branch of the
"Y" part faces back towards the open water area. If you attempt to look for it when
entering the enclosure where the rock is situated, it will appear upside down to you.
Furthermore, because of the wear on it, it appears "broken" in sections so you don't
see the full circle. Unfortunate.

Did a little photography on the 2nd enriched air dive, but of course, my buoyancy
control being what it is at this point, it made for a lot of missed fish tail fins and
other mishaps. But I'm getting better at it. Biggest mistake was not sufficiently
deflating the BCD at the safety stop at 15ft. I need to start deflating even before
hitting 15 ft. Otherwise, I'll be at the surface before I know or desire it, which
happened on 2 occasions over that weekend.

The 2nd day (my official dives for Underwater Photographer) were done at Devil's Den,
near Blue Grotto. We were the first to arrive, and the first one's in at 9:22am. It was
crystal clear and there were tons of catfish to photograph as well as some of the most
fantastic rock formations I've seen to date (which, admittedly, aren't that many). And
yes, there are three separate cave entrances, each with their own "grim reaper" sign and
one carven in the lower depth section with a "skull and cross bones" but I didn't see that
one (it is on the hand drawn diagram in the front office). Apparently, the water level had ]
risen several feet in the last few days, making some of the more tight and dangerous cave
entrances accessible (ie. one's that were not grated off). We were warned not to go near
them.

Devil's Den was by far the better of the two caverns from a diving and skills perspective
as there are a great many pass thrus and rough edges/holes to negotiate. At one point
on the 2nd dive, my camera batteries ran out so we spent the rest of the dive just navigating
and I even led the way for my instructor for part of that dive. On that particular dive I did
much better on my buoyancy control and had absolutely no trouble with the safety stop having
dumped my BCD beforehand as well as mastering the breathing cycle to keep the buoyancy changes
at a bare minimum.

I had to put a Powerpoint presentation together for my Underwater Photography Instructor. I've
put the slides for it on my website. If you're interested, you can view them at:

        http://www.mag3.biz/underwater_photos/underwater_photos.html

The Instructors I have for both Enriched Air and underwater photography (the Photography guy
is the same one that AOW'ed me) were fantastic, and I got to know them very well. I guess the
best compliment they gave to me was that they're both willing to workout a schedule with me
in the future to "DM" me when it's my time. I can't think of two better instructors to work
with. But of course, I have quite a way to go before that time, and one more certification
level (Rescue Diver) which I'll do this August, back in Bora Bora (the resort I go to is slated
to get their 5 * rating soon).

Next Stop - The "Altitude Diver" specialty rating in Lake Powell, AZ. in July, and then it's
back to Bora Bora in August, 2006 so I can show my first instructor what I've learned. Until
then, and in between, I'll just be diving for fun and practice at Dutch Springs, in Bethlehem, PA.
If you're nearby, give me a shout. zmpmag3-plongee@yahoo.com

____________________________________________
Regards,

Arnold