History of Diving Museum, FREE Presentation March 19, Dive Memorials, CLICK for details
19 Mar 20148:19 PM
Posted in Dive In |
Leave a comment
By Sue Cocking, Guy Harvey Outpost Travel Journalist
Pro team Member
Sue Cocking chronicles the Guy Harvey Outpost travel and adventure experience in regular blog posts on GuyHarveyOutpostNews.com.
Related Articles
Killing for Conservation? Lionfish are incredibly fertile and have no natural predators in the Atlantic Ocean. Reef Environmental Education Foundation (REEF) has been leading the fight against this …
Come celebrate 100 years of Diving History August 23rd with a wine & cheese reception at the Museum just up the road from the Islander Resort, a Guy Harvey Outpost. August 24th the Museum will …
The wreck of the MG-111 barge and the nearby pillars of Warrior Reef to the north aren’t very scenic as dive sites go– just a smooshed hull and a few tall vertical posts sunk 60 feet deep in …
The outdoors adventures that veteran writer Sue Cocking brought to the front door for Miami Herald subscribers over two decades are now reaching a national audience courtesy of a popular fan-interactive …
(Tavernier, FL) The five-foot-long green moray eel glides out of its coral reef cave and heads straight for the ballyhoo that Captain Spencer Slate dangles from two gloved fingers. The eel quickly …
Islamorada: Dive all day and learn about dive history in the evenings. A special series of events at the History of Diving Museum recognizing the contributions of Military Divers. May 21-26
Headquartered in Georgetown, Grand Cayman; the International Scuba Diving Hall of Fame recognizes the Pioneers of Diving. Neal has been a pioneering leader in dive tourism in the Bahamas and the Caribbean …
MARATHON, Florida Keys — A rehabilitated loggerhead sea turtle that convalesced about four months at the Florida Keys-based Turtle Hospital was fitted with a satellite-tracking transmitter and released …
General
Bon Appetit
Conservation Corner
Dive In
Got Photo
Get Hooked
Outdoor Adventure
SURF-UP
Travel Tips
![](mailto:?subject=History of Diving Museum, FREE Presentation March 19, Dive Memorials, CLICK for details&body=<img src="https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/dive-memorials.png" class="size-full" alt="Dive Memorials at the History of Diving Museum, FREE Presentation" /> https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/dive-memorials-at-the-history-of-diving-museum-free-presentation/){kind=link}
![](mailto:?subject=Killing for Conservation!&body=<a href="https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/green-turtle-lionfish-haul-2014.jpg"><img class="size-medium wp-image-2068" src="https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/green-turtle-lionfish-haul-2014.jpg?w=225" alt="Lionfish Derbies Work, 908 Dead Lionfish Cannot All Be Wrong!" width="225" height="300" /></a> Killing for Conservation?Lionfish are incredibly fertile and have no natural predators in the Atlantic Ocean. <a href="http://www.reef.org/">Reef Environmental Education Foundation</a> (REEF) has been leading the fight against this Indo-Pacific invader and after six years of Lionfish Derbies at Green Turtle Cay the evidence is clear: Lionfish Derbies Work! Lionfish now range from Brazil to North Carolina and beyond. They can live in fresh water too! The 908 Lionfish killed in this one day event was fewer than in previous years even with more divers and better weather. AND those fish that were killed this year were smaller than in previous years; another good sign. Lionfish Derbies will not send the fish back to the Pacific; they can however help local communities keep the population in check.<a href="https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/credit-ellie-splain.jpg"><img class="size-medium wp-image-2071" src="https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/credit-ellie-splain.jpg?w=300" alt="Three Contestants for the Smallest Lionfish Caught. Photo Credit: Ellie Splain" width="300" height="200" /></a>Three Contestants for the Smallest Lionfish Caught. Photo Credit: Ellie Splain Click Image to Enlarge<a href="http://www.guyharveyoutpost.com/destinations/bahamas/green-turtle-cay-abacos/overview.html">The Green Turtle Club</a>, a <a href="http://www.guyharveyoutpost.com/index.php">Guy Harvey Outpost</a> Expedition Lodge hosted the event. For six years, REEF scientists have conducted a Lionfish Census before and after each event to assess the impacts of the Derbies. REEF estimates that had these 908 demons been allowed to roam Abaco waters for another year they would have consumed between 700,000 and 2.2 MILLION! Native prey fish.Congratulations and Thanks to REEF & to The Green Turtle Club for executing a great event for an important conservation mission!For more information on <a href="http://www.reef.org/">Reef Environmental Education Foundation</a> and other <a href="http://www.REEF.org/lionfish">Lionfish Derbies</a>.For More information on <a title="The Green Turtle Club" href="http://www.guyharveyoutpost.com/destinations/bahamas/green-turtle-cay-abacos/overview.html">The Green Turtle Club</a>For More information on <a href="http://www.guyharveyoutpost.com/index.php">Guy Harvey Outpost</a> https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/killing-for-conservation/){kind=link}
![](mailto:?subject=Plunge into the History of Diving Museum, Islamorada, Florida&body=Come celebrate 100 years of Diving History August 23rd with a wine & cheese reception at the Museum just up the road from the Islander Resort, a Guy Harvey Outpost. August 24th the Museum will have FREE KIDS ACTIVITIES from noon to 3pm. The reception begins at 7pm Saturday August 23rd and includes admission to the History of Diving Museum, raffle prizes & silent auction. Tickets are $10 for adults or $5 for Museum members. There will be special video footage from the Abyss with some familiar faces.
<a href="https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/deep-dive-suits.png"><img class="aligncenter wp-image-2166 size-full" src="https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/deep-dive-suits.png" alt="Deep Dive Suits" width="545" height="362" /></a>
To purchase tickets or for more information about the <a href="http://www.divingmuseum.org/">History of Diving Museum, CLICK NOW</a>.
Sunday starting at noon, the free Kids' Activities will include: designing your own deep diving suit, deep sea coloring, "Fun with Pressure," and learning about deep deep-sea creatures. The History of Diving Museum is just a mile from the Islander Resort. While you are at the Museum, check out the tiger shark Guy Harvey painted by the front door. For more information on the <a href="http://www.guyharveyoutpost.com/destinations/florida/islamorada-fl/islamorada-fl-overview.html">Islander Resort, a Guy Harvey Outpost in Islamorada</a> call (800) 513-5257.
History of Diving Museum
82990 Overseas Highway; Islamorada, FL 33036<br /> (Mile Marker 83, Upper Matecumbe Key, Florida Keys)
The Islander Resort, a Guy Harvey Outpost
82100 Overseas Hwy, Islamorada, FL 33036
(Mile Marker 82, Upper Matecumbe Key, Florida Keys) https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/plunge-into-the-history-of-diving-museum-islamorada-florida/){kind=link}
![](mailto:?subject=Diving with Goliaths off Jupiter&body=The wreck of the MG-111 barge and the nearby pillars of Warrior Reef to the north aren't very scenic as dive sites go-- just a smooshed hull and a few tall vertical posts sunk 60 feet deep in the sand off Jupiter, FL. But for the opportunity to visit with some really large marine creatures-- some of them the size of Mini Coopers --there's no better place to visit in Florida right now.
Beginning with the August new moon, and likely through early October, scores of huge Goliath grouper hang around these motley artificial reefs getting to know one another and perpetuating their endangered species. They station themselves up- and down-current and inside the structures, occasionally making booming noises that sound like submerged bass drums. If you refrain from chasing them and remain stationary on the bottom, they may approach closely enough for you to shoot some amazing photos and video.
On my recent dive, I quit counting the gigantic fish at 50. They were cautious around me, but not spooky. One hovered inside the MG-111 about four feet away from me, opening and closing its wide mouth as I watched. As if that weren't enough live entertainment, a five-foot Southern stingray glided by overhead. And at the Warrior Reef, a really large loggerhead turtle sat calmly in the sand while a small, tagged green turtle nibbled on sponges. All around them milled more Goliaths. To call it an epic dive is a vast understatement.
<a href="https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/DSC1783.jpg"><img class="size-large wp-image-4258" src="https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/DSC1783-1024x598.jpg" alt="Credit Alan Cegan" width="1024" height="598" /></a>Credit Alan Cegan
Florida State University research scientist Dr. Chris Koenig and his colleagues have identified some 20 Goliath grouper spawning sites off Florida's Atlantic and Gulf coasts-- including the one I visited. Most of them are wrecks and rocky outcroppings extending from Fort Myers south to the Dry Tortugas in the Gulf and from Jupiter south to Boynton Beach in the Atlantic. The Jupiter wrecks are the prime hot spots for viewing-- easily accessible located only a few miles offshore.
Spawning, Koenig says, takes place late at night during new moon phases from August through October. Goliaths travel from as far as 300 miles away to join these aggregations and most depart when spawning is over, leaving a few stragglers year round. Koenig and colleagues have collected millions of Goliath eggs in their nets around the reproduction sites and hope someday to rear them so fish can be stocked in areas where they are heavily depleted.
The seasonal Goliath dive tours are an important economic driver for local businesses whose owners are vehement advocates for the gentle, mottled-brown fish. Goliaths have been protected from all harvest in Florida since 1990 when they were nearly wiped out by overfishing. In recent years, their recovery has prompted some hook-and-line and spear fishers to urge managers to re-open the fishery, but that's not likely to happen anytime soon.
The most recent scientific stock assessment that might have led to a re-opening flunked peer review because it was inconclusive--lacking baseline information on Goliaths before they were hammered to near extinction in the 1970s and '80s. Another potential obstacle to resuming harvest is that larger animals show high levels of mercury-- a toxic heavy metal that can cause an array of health problems in humans who consume it. Koenig says Goliath mercury levels are so high that the fish themselves get sick and die of it. And, he says, the species is still threatened by poaching, recreational catch-and-release fishing, and bycatch in the bottom longline commercial shark fishery.
So, for right now, it seems the function of the Goliath grouper is to be the star of underwater safaris and video documentaries like the lions of the Serengeti. Take the plunge to see them before they split for the season. https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/diving-with-goliaths-off-jupiter/){kind=link}
![](mailto:?subject=Guy Harvey Outpost’s Outdoors Blog Gathering Growing National Readership&body=<a href="https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/sue-cocking-with-tarpon.jpeg"><img class="size-medium wp-image-2937 alignleft" src="https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/sue-cocking-with-tarpon.jpeg?w=300" alt="Sue Cocking with Tarpon" width="300" height="200" /></a>The outdoors adventures that veteran writer Sue Cocking brought to the front door for Miami Herald subscribers over two decades are now reaching a national audience courtesy of a popular fan-interactive website hosted by <a href="http://www.guyharveyoutpost.com" target="_blank">Guy Harvey Outpost Resorts</a>.
Considered the preeminent woman outdoors writer in America, Cocking’s first-person accounts of her travels cover a colorful, action-packed and sometimes edgy series of field reports covering Florida, The Bahamas and beyond.
Cocking, now the outdoors staff writer for Guy Harvey Outpost Resorts, built a legion of fans in South Florida over the past 21 years as the Outdoors Writer for the Miami Herald. The highly respected journalist was also a news reporter and anchor for several South Florida radio stations, including WINZ and WIOD, both in Miami. She was also the co-host of “The Weekly Fisherman”, aired weekly on WQAM-560.
Sponsored by the Guy Harvey Outpost Resorts—a unique collection of waterfront destinations— Cocking’s blog is no passive stroll in the park. She literally dives right in and can be found chasing grey ghosts in the Florida Keys flats; gator hunting in Lake Okeechobee; diving with hammerhead sharks in the Bahamas; and kayaking in the Everglades back country.
“Sue is the perfect correspondent for our Travel With a Purpose Outpost theme,” said Mark Ellert, President of Guy Harvey Outpost Resorts. “She stands directly in the center of where adventure mixes with education, science and conservation. Her tales are fun, evocative and educational and her experiences open the door for anyone who wants to participate, whether it be recreational fishing and diving, hunting, sailing, powerboating, camping on simply advocating the conservation of the outdoors and oceans.”
“Reader interaction is key to the success of this blog,” said Cocking. “I’m always open to new experiences and story ideas, and invite readers to share their stories, images and videos with me.”
Cocking can be reached at <a href="mailto:scocking@guyharveyoutpost.com">scocking@guyharveyoutpost.com</a>. https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/guy-harvey-outposts-outdoors-blog-gathering-growing-national-readership/){kind=link}
![](mailto:?subject=Capt. Slate’s ‘Creature Feature’ Dive – New Location, New Thrills&body=<a href="https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/slate.jpg"><img class="alignnone wp-image-2903 size-large" src="https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/slate.jpg?w=660" alt="Slate" width="660" height="256" /></a>
(Tavernier, FL) The five-foot-long green moray eel glides out of its coral reef cave and heads straight for the ballyhoo that Captain Spencer Slate dangles from two gloved fingers. The eel quickly gulps the bait then allows Slate to cradle it in his arms and stroke its slick sides. Slate holds the eel out to a ten-year-old diver sitting nearby who gives it a pat, and it returns to its cave.
"A sweetheart, a doll," Slate says later of the eel, who he has named Wasabi.
Slate has been making friends with eels, sharks, barracudas, Goliath groupers, and numerous other Upper Keys reef denizens since the late 1970s. His twice-weekly 'creature feature' feeding dives on Fridays and Sundays conducted from Captain Slate's Scuba Adventures Dive Center, a Guy Harvey Outpost outfitter in Tavernier, regularly draws a sell-out audience.
On a recent Sunday, two families from Fort Pierce-- both with newly certified scuba diving ten-year-old daughters-- travelled to the Keys for the third time to participate. Both girls thoroughly enjoyed the dive, and declared they would share photos and videos upon returning to school.
"They were cute!" one girl said of Wasabi and Lester, another green moray befriended by Slate.
Slate escorted his guests to the first dive at Davis Reef, a shallow, scenic coral ledge about 25 feet deep where Wasabi makes her home. Slate dropped to the bottom carrying a PVC canister filled with chum and bally hoo, quickly attracting a school of yellowtail snapper and grunts that followed the scent trail.
The captain stopped in front of a shallow cave near a large Southern stingray that rested half-buried in the sand and kept a wary eye on the food fest. The swarming snapper and grunts were so thick around the chum canister that the divers could barely see Slate. The divers settled down in the sand to see what would happen next.
<a href="https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/10924171_770345289702868_1772420048942809884_o.jpg"><img class="alignnone wp-image-2907 size-large" src="https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/10924171_770345289702868_1772420048942809884_o.jpg?w=660" alt="10924171_770345289702868_1772420048942809884_o" width="660" height="339" /></a>
Wasabi appeared pretty quickly after Slate took out the first bally hoo. Her jaws flexed open and closed as she approached the bait, then devoured it. She held pretty still for all the public displays of affection by the humans, then went back to her cave to digest the meal. She never snapped at anybody.
The stingray, tired of the hoopla, slowly dusted itself off and swam away.
Slate let the schooling fish have their way in the chum slick for a little while, then got out another bally hoo for Wasabi. She re-emerged from her cave, ate her snack, indulged the divers, then departed.
None of Slate's guests has been injured by his featured creatures in decades, but he has. Following numerous nips to the fingers requiring multiple visits to a hand surgeon over the years, Slate began wearing chain-mail gloves. Even today, he has very little feeling in his digits. Trying to feed barracudas bally hoo clasped between his teeth, Slate has suffered split lips, a black eye and a severed nerve in his cheek.
"Like getting a haymaker from Sonny Liston," he said.
A Goliath grouper he fed regularly at the wreck of the City of Washington off Key Largo once swallowed his arm and part of his head in its haste to score a meal.
He just laughs off the injuries and vows to keep hanging with the sea life.
"You know me. If I find an eel, I am going to make a buddy out of it," he said.
On the second dive with the group from Fort Pierce, Slate headed to nearby Pleasure Reef where he is trying to cultivate a more solid friendship with Lester, another moray. Lester responded a bit slowly to the offered bally hoo and didn't want to hang around too long for the requisite love fest. But he didn't display any hostility, just shyness.
During that dive, the guests also spotted a large nurse shark and a sea turtle passing by. Nobody was scared -- just excited.
That's the whole purpose behind the creature feature, Slate said -- showing visitors that residents of the underwater world are not out to get them.
"I've done this my whole life, so people will respect them and get over the idea they'll eat you alive," Slate said.
That message certainly went a long way with two very exhilarated ten-year-old girls.
Sue Cocking chronicles the Guy Harvey Outpost travel and adventure experience in regular blog posts on GuyHarveyOutpostNews.com/. For 21 years, Cocking covered the full spectrum of outdoors adventure opportunities in South Florida and beyond for the Miami Herald, including fishing, diving, hunting, paddling, camping, sailing, and powerboat racing. She is a certified scuba diver and holder of an IGFA women's world fly fishing record for a 29-pound permit. https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/capt-slates-creature-feature-dive-new-location-new-thrills/){kind=link}
![](mailto:?subject=Neal Watson Inducted into the International Scuba Diving Hall of Fame!&body=Headquartered in Georgetown, Grand Cayman; the <a title="International Scuba Diving Hall of Fame" href="http://www.scubahalloffame.com/main.html">International Scuba Diving Hall of Fame </a>recognizes the Pioneers of Diving. Neal has been a pioneering leader in dive tourism in the Bahamas and the Caribbean for 40+ years.
<a href="https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/10687291_967342136615595_9222110115519309721_o.jpg"><img class="wp-image-2280 size-large" src="https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/10687291_967342136615595_9222110115519309721_o.jpg?w=550" alt="10687291_967342136615595_9222110115519309721_o" width="550" height="366" /></a>
Congratulations to the “Dive God!” Neal picked up his nick name for his record setting feats and well known sense of humor. He set the deepest compressed air dive at 437 feet. Neal also holds the longest underwater non-stop distance record of 66 miles starting off Islamorada, Florida and finishing 19 ½ hours and 25 tanks later off Miami.
Neal Watson serves as Director of Dive Operations for <a href="http://www.guyharveyoutpost.com/">Guy Harvey Outpost</a> and operates <a href="http://www.guyharveyoutpost.com/destinations/bahamas/bimini-bahamas/bimini-sands-dive.html">Neal Watson’s Bimini Scuba Center</a>, a Guy Harvey Outpost Dive Outfitter. Among those on hand in Grand Cayman for Hall of Fame induction ceremony were two other ISDHF Inductees, Dr. Guy Harvey and <a href="http://www.captainslate.com/">Capt. Spencer Slate</a>. Also on hand to help celebrate were Neal’s daughter Beth Watson, Director of Sales for Guy Harvey Outpost and Outpost CFO Kevin Denell.
<a href="https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/1798909_716052288475986_2053445800531585921_o.jpg"><img class="wp-image-2278 size-large" src="https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/1798909_716052288475986_2053445800531585921_o.jpg?w=550" alt="Neal & Beth Watson, happy father and daughter." width="550" height="366" /></a>Neal & Beth Watson, happy father and daughter. Photo Courtesy of Courtney Platt.
You can see video of Neal’s induction into the <a href="http://www.dema.org/">Dive Equipment Manufacturers’ Association</a> (DEMA) <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CBirs8XTH2M">Hall of Fame 2005 Induction</a>. Also available on YouTube is Neal’s 1978 appearance on <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H3CJBj6aYao">To Tell The Truth</a>.
More Information on Guy Harvey Outpost & their other great resorts: <a href="http://www.guyharveyoutpost.com/">http://www.guyharveyoutpost.com/</a>
For the Guy Harvey Outpost Blog <a href="http://www.guyharveyoutpostnews.com/">www.guyharveyoutpostnews.com</a>
For Guy Harvey Outpost on Facebook: <a href="https://www.facebook.com/GuyHarveyOutpost">https://www.facebook.com/GuyHarveyOutpost</a>
For Guy Harvey Outpost on Twitter <a href="https://twitter.com/GHOutpost">https://twitter.com/GHOutpost</a>
For Guy Harvey Outpost on YouTube <a href="http://www.youtube.com/user/GuyHarveyOutpost">http://www.youtube.com/user/GuyHarveyOutpost</a>
https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/neal-watson-inducted-into-the-international-scuba-diving-hall-of-fame/){kind=link}
![](mailto:?subject=Rehabbed Turtle Released off Florida Keys to participate in Tour de Turtles’ Event&body=<a href="https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/11754301_733884743406613_3971705450198939655_o1.jpg"><img class="wp-image-2826 size-medium" src="https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/11754301_733884743406613_3971705450198939655_o1.jpg?w=293" alt="11754301_733884743406613_3971705450198939655_o" width="293" height="300" /></a>Photo Courtesy of Andy Newman.
MARATHON, Florida Keys -- A rehabilitated loggerhead sea turtle that convalesced about four months at the Florida Keys-based Turtle Hospital was fitted with a satellite-tracking transmitter and released Friday off the Florida Keys.
Named Aaron, the subadult reptile crawled into the Atlantic Ocean in front of several hundred cheering spectators at Marathon's Sombrero Beach.
It is the only rehabilitated turtle of 12 that is part of the Tour de Turtles initiative created by the Sea Turtle Conservancy.
Beginning Aug. 2, the online education and awareness program will track the reptiles for three months. Turtles will be followed after releases in Panama, Costa Rica, Nevis, W.I. and Florida.
"It's the sea turtle who goes the furthest distance in three months that wins the marathon and wins the Tour de Turtles," said Dan Evans, research and technology specialist with the Sea Turtle Conservancy. "The takeaway from the whole program is to really raise awareness about sea turtles, to get people interested in sea turtles through technology and to also let people know what they can do to help protect sea turtles."
Aaron was discovered floating in a Key Largo boat basin in March. It was treated at the Turtle Hospital in Marathon for an intestinal impaction and parasites in its digestive system with antibiotics, anti-parasitic medications, lactulose, vitamins and a diet of squid and fish
Learn more here:
Tour de Turtles: <a href="http://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.tourdeturtles.org%2F&h=tAQHKPX4B&enc=AZNRUuCt5hIJx33XuBw3zcy-tyIGy6-uvyaKnyWxJIqBOGXfS-FZhNUD9qYelatOGq5nvUvQfLji-c1LuPjQIHfPRp0Ozwei5hGNAK5NXO43BlJOoeO3jgyaOvEHeYj8yzW6Q_4HWMe16xT2rBmfZnbMniNaxUwTNHRt1sglx8RB5_g9jX-9IilW42_-LENnsnAnqxdwHfydNJWMKTInmj71&s=1" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">http://www.tourdeturtles.org</a>
The Turtle Hospital: <a href="http://www.turtlehospital.org/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">http://www.turtlehospital.org</a>
https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/rehabbed-turtle-released-off-florida-keys-to-participate-in-tour-de-turtles-event/){kind=link}
TRAVEL DESK : 800.513.5257
Connect & Follow