Key Largo, FL Dive trip, Part two: Survival of the Wettest

Before the fall.

Key Largo, FL  Dive trip, Part two

Author's recap:  Andrew, Ben and I are in the Florida Keys for scuba diving and parasailing.   We arrived in Key largo Thursday night.  We did our scuba diving on Key Largo much of the day on Friday.  On Sat. we hired a boat for parasailing.  Then we drove an hour to get back to Key West for the last part of the trip.  Enjoy your read.

Andrew, Ben and I had our first dive on Friday morning.  We were on a flat, open pontoon boat, floating above one of the thousands of reefs that make up the chain of islands (Keys) known as the Gilligan’s, which sweep westward from the tip of the Florida peninsula.  Ginger, Skipper, the Professor, and Mary Ann were not on board.  I took that as a good sign since I only had four days for this trip.  The weather was spectacular.  Calm seas, 80’s water temperature, and no pirates or two headed sharks.  It looked like a good day to finally begin the sport of scuba diving.

We donned our gear.  It is always stressful on the first dive when you struggle to get into the water with the fins, mask and tank on.  I look forward to the day when we evolve back to sea creatures and don’t need this equipment.  But, as mentioned before, I only have four days for this trip, so I don’t have time to wait.  I stepped off the boat, like a leap of faith, hoping that I did not do something stupid like leave my bilge plug open or put my mask on backwards.  (Now that I do not have a mustache, the mask orientation is a bit tricky). I successfully made the transition to underwater swimming.  The reef below us was spectacular.  The variety of fish and plant life was mind blowing.  I cannot believe there are so many odd varieties and shapes of fish in one little spot on the globe.    This would make Dr. Seuss proud.

We did a total of four dives that day.  I was cramping up at the end since my leg muscles are not used to having giant duck fins strapped to my feet.  I had a few jellyfish stings, but that was the worst that happened to me.  I cheated death underwater and it was exhilarating.

The next day was Saturday and we paid our money to go parasailing.  This is where a boat tows a parachute with a human being strapped to it, a thousand feet in the air over the water.  I went first.  They strapped me in to the harness and deployed the giant parachute behind the boat.  Then the boat accelerated and I was suddenly elevated by the pull of the chute.  In no time at all I was 1000 ft high over the inlet where dozens of boats were darting about.  The only time I felt a bit concerned was when I saw a figure down on the deck of the boat, who appeared to be hacksawing the rope attached to my harness.  Hmmm?  Before long, I was cranked back in by the winch and was safely back on the boat. 

Andrew and Ben decided to do a tandem ride, where both are strapped side by side in to the same harness.  The chute deployed and they went quickly went up in the sky, just as I had.  The boat captain toyed with them a bit while they were way up high, by shaking the cable, and darting the boat around.  He slowed the boat down which caused them to be dragged near the waterline and get wet.  I suggested he go between the pilings of the nearby bridge.  He did not quite hear me and said “Go between them?  Are you Crazy? … OK !”  So he promptly began weaving in and out of the concrete pilings of the bridge.  The tow rope, parachute and passengers, were slung from side to side as he made the sharp turns. I could hear Andrew and Ben screaming like little girls as they ricocheted off the hard bridge supports.  There is only time for so much fun, so the captain speeded up and the chute lifted them back up to the 1000 ft level.  That is when we heard an audible “crack”.  The captain said “uh-oh”. 

I knew something was amiss.  The D-ring that connected the rope and pulley to the boat had just broken and the guys plummeted to earth like a stone...that was attached to a large parachute.  It is amazing how gentle the landing of a parachute is even when there is one guy crawling up the leg of the other guy, like a cat trying to get up a tree to escape a dog.  I heard one of them pathetically say to the other: “hold me!” before they finally ditched into the sea.  The boat captain raced out to their location for the rescue and yelled for them to unhook.  Ben got undone first, but that just caused the rigging to shoot up out of the water.  Andrew could not get undone without lifting his entire body weight with one arm while he desperately unhooked his rigging.

It was all over in just a few seconds and it did not seem serious, at the time, to me.  I was busy finishing off a refreshing Pina Colada.  But I did manage to snap a few photos for the lawyers to use in court.   I hope I get a piece of the compensation for the terror inflicted on these innocent young men.

The remainder of the day we strolled around the small city of Key West, sampling the local beverages in many establishments.  In fact, this sampling went on well into the night and early in to the next day.  I was exhausted from trying to stay up with the young pups.  I finally quit trying at 1am and went to bed.

We flew home the next day, and recapped our favorite moments of the trip.  Mine was doing my first real dive and not drowning.  I guess Andrew and Ben’s favorite moments were right after they were rescued from the ocean.  But there were many great memories made.  I hope to go back and do some more diving one day.  There are many reasons for people flock to Florida.  I am sure that not all are there to see two grown men drop out of the sky and scream like little girls.