Diving French Reef - Xmas Tree and Hour Glass caves.

March 5, 2016 -French Reef Dive

Xmas Tree Cave, named for the coral structure at the top of the coral formation.

With the 3rd day of calm seas, David Rufft and I again headed to the reef for some diving.  This trip was 11 miles East to French Reef for our first dive of the day.  We tied to a mooring that would take us close to Xmas Tree cave, which can be somewhat difficult to find.  Winds were out of the west, which is unusual and can put your mooring location in a far different place.

We not not only found Xmas Tree ( a nice long swim- through) but also Hour glass cave.  Although there were 2 other dive boats onsite when we arrived, they were gone when we surfaced.  Water was a little choppy, but visibility was normal for this site.  With water temps at 74 degrees I'm using a 5-4-3 wetsuit and a beanie hood.  It kept me plenty warm.   Hoods like David wears below, really help retain your body heat. 

 I really enjoy the swim-through caves at French reef.  Some interesting scenes in the video below.

Diving the Benwood Wreck

On Thursday March 4, David Rufft and I set out to dive the Benwood Wreck, located on the reef line about 4 miles off Key Largo - between Dixie Shoal and French Reef.  The Benwood collided with the Robert C Tuttle in 1942 while running dark during WWII.  The Benwood was run onto the reef by its captain as it begin taking on water.   It now rests in 25-40' with the bow facing seaward.  In the decades the wreck has been there, the upper hull has been blown off to protect navigation.  The remaining lower hull has become a haven for coral and fish.  On this dive we see parrot fish, angelfish, various types of snapper, filefish, lobster and even a spotted drumfish.

We had the wreck to ourselves for this dive.  Although it was cloudy and the water was a cool 74 degrees, the seas were light and the dive was very enjoyable.

Click the link below for a 3 minute video of the dive.  You can also find in on the New Content Page as well as my Youtube channel:  youtube.com/markhewitt3.

FINALLY - Back on the Water!

So far 2016 has been frustrating for divers.  Windy, windy, windy.  I only made it out once in January - and the visibility was terrible.  Never made it out at all in February.  My brother was down here for 10 days in February, and we never made it out all.

Mark pets a StingRay at Conch Reef

Finally winds have subsided as we entered March.  I did a solo dive at Conch Reef about 5 miles out from my house.  I had the reef to myself and visibility was good.  The dive started out slow, but I came across a friendly StingRay that allowed me in close enough to pet him.  I ended up with a pretty good video.  The water has cooled down considerably - 74 degrees.  This required a 3-5 mil wetsuit to keep warm on a 45+ minute dive.  I have found that a hood or beanie to keep the heat in really makes a huge difference.  I might not look great, but I stay warm.  

You can check out the video Petting a StingRay  clicking above or in the video gallery on this website.  It is also posted on my YouTube Channel:  markhewitt3.

Shark encounters at Molasses Reef in poor visibility.

Nurse Shark at Molasses Reef - Jan 9, 2016

Back on the water Saturday with calm seas.  However, the water was really "milky" and visibility was the poorest I've seen in decades.  This led to poor video, but some surprise encounters with sharks.  I startled a black tip shark as it cruised down the sand channel.  I converted the video to black and white.  Check it out on the new content page our youtube link: https://youtu.be/nP_4O0fyd4k

Diving Snappers and Pickles with David Rufft.

David Rufft and I went diving at Snappers Ledge and Pickles Reef.  We were greeted at Snappers once again by large schools of snappers and grunts, with a appearance by a nurse shark.  At Pickles we visited the Pickle Barrel wreck area and came upon this crab feeding on the reef.  Click on the Youtube video link below for a brief video of this dive.  Video can also be found  on the New Content page of this website. 

David Rufft

Video highlights of large schools of fish at Snappers. Also includes close-up of crab eating off the reef.

Diving Molasses Reef with my son Scott

I had the pleasure to once again dive the Keys reefs with my son Scott.  Although visibility was not the best, we had a nice dive with encounters with sting rays, sharks, barracuda.  I captured some good video of the dive, including a very colorful Queen Angelfish.  The water was about 5 degrees above normal, making for a very nice experience.  Its alway fun to share my passion for scuba diving with my son.  The video of this dive has been posted on the new content page of this website and can also be found on my Youtube channel: markhewitt3.  Or click below to watch.

Video highlights of of a Dec 15th, 2015 dive at Molasses Reef with my son Scott. Featuring sting ray, barracuda, hogfish, queen angel fish, sea cucumber and a nurse shark..

Scott Hewitt

Back on the water

Three weeks after suffering engine failure, I'm back on the water.  My Hydra Sports 2800CC is now outfitted with 2 new Yamaha Fx250s.  I took delivery on Saturday the 12th.  It was way too windy to do much boating, but I like the smooth and quiet running engines.  It will take some time to adjust to the electronic shifting. 100 pounds lighter and 100 more horsepower should make this boat perform better also.  I'm looking forward to getting out when the wind subsides.

NEW WEBSITE REVEALED!

After a few weeks of work, I'm ready to reveal my new website www.scubamark to the world.

I've decided to develop one location to share my underwater images and videos - with an easy to remember name.  In addition to a home page to draw you in, this site contains a page for new content - both images and videos; another page of images by categories; another page of videos taken in recent years - including my favorites at the top of the list.

 Additional pages will tell a little about me and my diving experience.  The blog page will keep you current on what I'm up to in the diving world.  This is a work in progress that I will continue to update.

I hope you will take time to fully explore the site as well as share it with family and friends.  Hopefully it will inspire those certified divers out there to get out diving more, and maybe get some of you non divers to consider taking up the sport.

Your comments about the site will be appreciated as will any suggestions on how I can improve it.

Thanks

Mark Hewitt

www.scubamark.com

I'm grounded!

Engine problems on Friday (oil warning) has grounded me while I await repairs at Plantation Boat Mart.  I missed a couple of great weather days for diving.  Hopefully I can get on with things soon and the repairs are not too extensive.

A great day for diving!

November 10, 2015

Today the sun is shining brightly and the seas are dead calm.  I just have to go diving.  'm finally feeling better and decided it was time to get back out on the water.  I headed out to Molasses Reef.  Visibility in the water was superb on my 10 mile trip to the reef.  I could easily see turtle in 20 feet of water.  I decided to try a new location on the reef - Buoy #2 on the west end.  Located in about 25 feet of water, this turned out to be a good location.  The reef structure was just a little bit different than I was used to.  More sand bottom pockets than channels.  I could easily see the bottom below as I tied up to tholMe buoy and got geared up.  

Molasses Reef Buoy#2

Once in the water, I noticed the visibility underwater was not a good as I expected, given what I'd seen on the surface.  I captured some good video of 3 types of angelfish as well as a colorful blue parrotfish.  Also got a decent video of an eel swimming by the reef wall.  I felt great underwater and managed 70 minutes of dive time and still had 1400 psi left in the tank.

Back on the water

Saturday, December 12th I took delivery of my re-powered Hydra Sports boat.  Two new Yamaha Fx 250s on the stern.  It was very windy, so not much of a test ride was possible, but all seems OK.  The engines are very quiet and smooth running.  It will take some time to adjust to the new electronic shifting.  At nearly 100 lbs less in weight and 100 hp more in power, the boat performs well out of the hole.  I'm looking forward to getting out diving when the wind subsides.