Underwater With Projects

So the weather has been great lately and it's been a good time to work on projects and get in the water! After a week that was rainy and dreary, a high pressure system moved in it's been amazing. But even when it was raining, it was still nice and warm and there were several breaks of sunshine ;-) Gotta love living in a tropical paradise!

The kids and I went out on Wednesday to go diving and spearfishing. We took the new dinghy we picked up, it's a 12' Livingston cat hull and it's a very stable boat with a lot more room then our rollup. Our other dinghy is now stored so it won't get ruined with day to day, back and forth trips before we even go cruising. 

We left the dock before 10am and made our way to Washerwomen Shoal a little over 1 mile offshore for our first stop. The water there is shallow with some reef structure and there are a few ledges where it drops off to 20/25 feet. It has Yellowtail, Grouper, Snapper and Hogfish, as well as all the other reef dwellers. We dropped anchor, got in the warm water and the visibility was about 50 feet. We fished there for a while and did get one fish. 

Friends showed up and we moved to a few different spots, saw several things while diving including a pod of dolphin that swam up underwater to say hello. While that sounds sweet and all, the sight of something that large swimming up to you unexpected has a certain pucker factor until you realize what it is. They swam up to the kids and I at about an arms length away a couple times then took off (I guess we were boring) and Peyton took off after them! I had to use her full name to get her to turn around and come back to the boat. Any parent knows what I'm talking about ;-)

Colby also got his first fish and while it wasn't a keeper I know he was excited, though a little sad he wasn't big enough and became a part of the life cycle of the reef. We always try to be good stewards of the ocean when we are out, and only taking what we need is one of our rules. The fact is if you spear a fish and it's not legal it has to go back, which is sad since his life is already taken. 

Right before we got into the boat I spotted a Lionfish and grabbed Colby's polespear and went down to dispatch him. Lionfish are an invasive species here in the Florida Keys and are destroying the eco system. They eat all the young fish and are making quite an impact on the life cycle. They are also tasty, however poisonous and deliver a nasty sting. We were in the water for a total of 8 hours and to be honest we could have been there for 8 more, we were having so much fun. 

Our catch for the day.

Projects are getting done here at the dock and I'm working on re-bedding a port window at the moment the previous owner decided to permanently install with a product called 3M 5200. Lets just say that little decision he made has caused me a ton of grief, but I'll figure it out. The next project will be the renaming of our boat officially to Kainoa. The current name "Madison LynScott" has got to go! It's long, nobody ever gets it right and I'm sick of people asking if I'm Scott ;-)

Work is going well and I've moved up in the world to Assistant Manager at the store, Jessica is enjoying her job at Burdines Waterfront Tiki Chiki and things are all going as good as we could have ever imagined. 

My Grandparents will be in town Saturday and I'm hoping they can finally see why it is we made this move. I don't think they quite get why we uprooted our kids and sold all our stuff to move on a boat, then move to the Keys. I'm sure if they see how much the kids have grown and how good this environment is they will understand. 

More detailed updates to come after they leave with more pictures of projects etc.