25 July 2011

Another beautiful day in Paradise. This morning we tried something different called SNUBA diving. Divers don't carry the tank on their backs, but instead the tank floats on a raft at the surface and two divers connect top the same tank via 20-foot hoses. It's a great way to get kids and novices experience with a regulator without having to go through hours of instruction (something 8-year olds don't like so much) and without having to wear all the equipment (a weight belt and a small harness that holds the regulator and the hose attachment. Jonathan, George, and Logan enjoyed the experience but I found the tether a bit constraining. Below are videos of Jonathan's first SNUBA dive.

To recover from the SNUBA experience we of course had to enjoy several libations at the Cane Bay beach side bar where we ran into Calvin again. We first met Calvin last summer when we stopped at the same bar and he and Jonathan had a great time riding bikes together. This summer they went on an adventure collecting genips. Jonathan agreed to share 50% of the profits from selling the genips to the vacationers at Cottages By The Sea. I think he sold two bunches so he owes Calvin $1!

My field crew is a little on the young side this year - Jonathan (age 8), George (age 8), Logan (age 9), Stella (age 5), and Trianna (age 5). But we managed to get 25 traps set after returning from our SNUBA adventure.