Sounds really good. I remember my mom making flounder with a crab meat stuffing years ago - back then it was a "special" meal for a special occasion.
Sea Stories
- Thread starter CraigC
- Start date
Great story, you and Medtran49 should write a book on your diving adventures coupled with your culinary delights!
ElizabethB
Legendary Member
CraigC
Guru
Jimmy B. had a song about them.
rascal
Forum GOD!
One Xmas while renting a house at takamatua, we decided to get some flounders, about 5 of us in 4 to 6 inches water with torches and spears. There was alcohol involved, dead lucky no one got stabbed. Never caught one. Great night though, funny as.
Russ
Russ
CraigC
Guru
Salvage
When I returned from working in the Gulf of Mexico (commercial oil industry) out of Harvey, LA, I hooked up with a Salvage company that was going after $17,000,000.00 worth of copper ingots from a sunken Liberty ship off of Titusville, FL. in 250' of water. The ship was called the "Elizabeth Massey". Except for myself the rest of the dive personnel were ex navy including one ex seal. I was initially hired as a recompression chamber operator. Though we used premixed 80/20 heliox, we had to build our own umbilicals and supply/dive operations panel. The operation was surface supplied with two dive teams consisting of a tender and diver, controlled by a dive supervisor. The idea was to load a decent platform with precoiled umbilical for two divers. one diver to explore the wreck while the other diver acted as a tender from the platform. A cable from one of the surface ship's cranes lowered the cable with heavy weights to the bottom and the platform was to operate as an "elevator" to be lowered and raised on the first cable by another of the ship's cranes. The first two days the current was ripping and diving was out of the question. The third day was dead calm. I was up for the dive with another guy named Windy. We started our decent on the platform. Now the control panel operator is supposed to keep gas flow 10' below the divers but for some reason that wasn't happening for me. Each umbilical has a pneumofathometer hose that is positioned at the divers chest and is connected to a pneumogage at the surface on the control panel. I had to go on my bail out bottle a couple time until the operator finally caught up with the depth.
The platform was position next to the wreck. About 100' of umbilical was coiled inside the platform which I cut the securing ties and off goes Windy to check out the wreck. Several large grouper had come around to check us out, including one massive Warsaw. After Windy returned to the platform I started reeling in the umbilical for the trip topside. That Warsaw grouper started messing with Windy, who kept pushing it away. I guess it got irritated as it decided to lay it's head on Windy's shoulder. Windy finally punched it on the side of the head. It took off and the wash from it's tail spun Windy around. We were both using KMB-18A masks and his got knocked sideways. After he got squared away we started our ascent. We do what are called Sur-Ds. This is where we switch to pure O2 at our 50' deco stop which is completed, then we do part of our 40' stop, still on O2, then we are brought to the surface and returned to 40' in the recompression chamber on O2. They have 5 minutes to bring you up from 40' and back down to 40' in the chamber. Well the hydraulics stopped working on the crane operating the platform so we had to complete our deco in water. We got out of the platform, letting the topside tenders pull all the umbilical slack up, then clipped onto the main cable for the trip topside, finishing our 40', 30', 20' and 10' stops. once back on the ship, Windy described the wreck, which turned out to be a tanker. Upon further research, which should have been done before hand, it was discovered that there was never a Liberty ship named the Elizabeth Massey. The captain had snockered the rich Texan who funded this operation.
If you want to look at a Warsaw grouper, google 403' Warsaw grouper. You'll also see the idiots that killed it for no reason. I hate trophy hunters.
When I returned from working in the Gulf of Mexico (commercial oil industry) out of Harvey, LA, I hooked up with a Salvage company that was going after $17,000,000.00 worth of copper ingots from a sunken Liberty ship off of Titusville, FL. in 250' of water. The ship was called the "Elizabeth Massey". Except for myself the rest of the dive personnel were ex navy including one ex seal. I was initially hired as a recompression chamber operator. Though we used premixed 80/20 heliox, we had to build our own umbilicals and supply/dive operations panel. The operation was surface supplied with two dive teams consisting of a tender and diver, controlled by a dive supervisor. The idea was to load a decent platform with precoiled umbilical for two divers. one diver to explore the wreck while the other diver acted as a tender from the platform. A cable from one of the surface ship's cranes lowered the cable with heavy weights to the bottom and the platform was to operate as an "elevator" to be lowered and raised on the first cable by another of the ship's cranes. The first two days the current was ripping and diving was out of the question. The third day was dead calm. I was up for the dive with another guy named Windy. We started our decent on the platform. Now the control panel operator is supposed to keep gas flow 10' below the divers but for some reason that wasn't happening for me. Each umbilical has a pneumofathometer hose that is positioned at the divers chest and is connected to a pneumogage at the surface on the control panel. I had to go on my bail out bottle a couple time until the operator finally caught up with the depth.
The platform was position next to the wreck. About 100' of umbilical was coiled inside the platform which I cut the securing ties and off goes Windy to check out the wreck. Several large grouper had come around to check us out, including one massive Warsaw. After Windy returned to the platform I started reeling in the umbilical for the trip topside. That Warsaw grouper started messing with Windy, who kept pushing it away. I guess it got irritated as it decided to lay it's head on Windy's shoulder. Windy finally punched it on the side of the head. It took off and the wash from it's tail spun Windy around. We were both using KMB-18A masks and his got knocked sideways. After he got squared away we started our ascent. We do what are called Sur-Ds. This is where we switch to pure O2 at our 50' deco stop which is completed, then we do part of our 40' stop, still on O2, then we are brought to the surface and returned to 40' in the recompression chamber on O2. They have 5 minutes to bring you up from 40' and back down to 40' in the chamber. Well the hydraulics stopped working on the crane operating the platform so we had to complete our deco in water. We got out of the platform, letting the topside tenders pull all the umbilical slack up, then clipped onto the main cable for the trip topside, finishing our 40', 30', 20' and 10' stops. once back on the ship, Windy described the wreck, which turned out to be a tanker. Upon further research, which should have been done before hand, it was discovered that there was never a Liberty ship named the Elizabeth Massey. The captain had snockered the rich Texan who funded this operation.
If you want to look at a Warsaw grouper, google 403' Warsaw grouper. You'll also see the idiots that killed it for no reason. I hate trophy hunters.
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CraigC
Guru
I have no idea of what the age might be. As far as being edible, a pedatory fish that size will be full of worms and possibly other parasites. Ciguatera toxin is pretty much a given in a fish that size. I think mercury is mainly a freshwater concern.
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CraigC
Guru
Messing with Ringa!
My first month at Divers Unlimited, this piece of work Frank Ringa horned in and took over a sale I was working on. I would never make a customer uncomfortable by telling someone off in front of them. Now Frank was about 5'5" tall and probably weighed 135' soaking wet. I was about 180' and 5' 10", worked out and could bench press 400'. I pulled him aside and told him if you ever do that again, I'm going to stuff you in a trash can upside down. He never did that again. He looked like what his family business represented, morticians. One day he was filling some tanks at the fill station (the shop used a water bath that the tanks were submerged in while being filled). The wooden platform surrounding the fill station would often be very wet when we were busy. Now Frank goes to pull a tank out of the water bath and falls in head first. Next day there was a life ring hanging at the fill station with his name on it. Frank rides a bicycle to work. Everyone hated him. One day the guy who did scuba equipment repairs rigs up an adapter to attach to a garden hose with a tire fill adapter. He bleeds some air out of Franks tires and puts some water followed by air in them. Now once you start going you won't notice anything wrong, but when you apply the brakes the centrifugal force jerks the bike back and forth violently. Frank came back in the store after riding the bike screaming some choice words ending in "did this"? Everyone burst out laughing. He used to ask people walking in the door "Hi, I'm Frank want to by a tank?" I used to say, in his hearing range, "You get a free Ringa doll with every tank purchase."
The best one though was when he packed a couple of boxes of items to take down to the Marathon location when that store manager sent a list up. He had students for the afternoon boat trip. When he left for the night, we opened his boxes, nailing one to the platform deck and filling the other one with bricks, replacing the items on top and resealing the boxes. Next morning he comes in to pick up the boxes, grabs the one nailed to the deck and keeps tugging on it until the bottom rips out. By this time he is so bent out of shape he grabs the box full of bricks and wrestles it into his car, places the stuff from the other box in a new box at heads down to the Keys. Nothing that was originally in the boxes he put together weighed more than 5' between them. We called the store manager Dave and filled him in on what was going on. When Frank got there and pulled the boxes out of his car, Dave opened the one with the bricks in it and said "Dang it Frank, these aren't the bricks I ordered!" Later Dave told us that the look on Frank's face was priceless!
My first month at Divers Unlimited, this piece of work Frank Ringa horned in and took over a sale I was working on. I would never make a customer uncomfortable by telling someone off in front of them. Now Frank was about 5'5" tall and probably weighed 135' soaking wet. I was about 180' and 5' 10", worked out and could bench press 400'. I pulled him aside and told him if you ever do that again, I'm going to stuff you in a trash can upside down. He never did that again. He looked like what his family business represented, morticians. One day he was filling some tanks at the fill station (the shop used a water bath that the tanks were submerged in while being filled). The wooden platform surrounding the fill station would often be very wet when we were busy. Now Frank goes to pull a tank out of the water bath and falls in head first. Next day there was a life ring hanging at the fill station with his name on it. Frank rides a bicycle to work. Everyone hated him. One day the guy who did scuba equipment repairs rigs up an adapter to attach to a garden hose with a tire fill adapter. He bleeds some air out of Franks tires and puts some water followed by air in them. Now once you start going you won't notice anything wrong, but when you apply the brakes the centrifugal force jerks the bike back and forth violently. Frank came back in the store after riding the bike screaming some choice words ending in "did this"? Everyone burst out laughing. He used to ask people walking in the door "Hi, I'm Frank want to by a tank?" I used to say, in his hearing range, "You get a free Ringa doll with every tank purchase."
The best one though was when he packed a couple of boxes of items to take down to the Marathon location when that store manager sent a list up. He had students for the afternoon boat trip. When he left for the night, we opened his boxes, nailing one to the platform deck and filling the other one with bricks, replacing the items on top and resealing the boxes. Next morning he comes in to pick up the boxes, grabs the one nailed to the deck and keeps tugging on it until the bottom rips out. By this time he is so bent out of shape he grabs the box full of bricks and wrestles it into his car, places the stuff from the other box in a new box at heads down to the Keys. Nothing that was originally in the boxes he put together weighed more than 5' between them. We called the store manager Dave and filled him in on what was going on. When Frank got there and pulled the boxes out of his car, Dave opened the one with the bricks in it and said "Dang it Frank, these aren't the bricks I ordered!" Later Dave told us that the look on Frank's face was priceless!
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rascal
Forum GOD!
We have red and blue cod here, no one I know buys red cod, renown for worms. I wouldn't eat it if you paid me. Blue cod is top of the line here. Around $45 to $ 55 kilo.
Russ
rascal
Forum GOD!
I like to play jokes on my workmates as well. Always at their expense, funny as hell. I like your humour.
Russ
CraigC
Guru
These weren't meant as jokes. This guy had no friends at work.
rascal
Forum GOD!
That's sad then. I only joke with people who can take it. There are some fragile souls out there.
Russ
CraigC
Guru
My friends, in the mid 80's, jokingly said I was the president for life and founding member of the "Reef Rapers Dive Club". Never knew why, as I was a strict follower of all laws, seasons and size limits in place. Maybe, because I embarrassed the drift fishing boat that docked next to us, by bringing more fish back to the dock than all the fishermen on their boat.
CraigC
Guru
Ah Jamaica!
Back in the early 90's, I was sent to Kingston, Jamaica to service some breathing air compressors. This company did commercial conch and lobster harvesting. At the time they were working 40 miles off their coast because they had pretty much wiped out the resources closer in. Now the boats they were operating had compressors on board. I started servicing them. I was given a helper. I drained the oil from one of the compressors and told my helper to dispose of the oil properly. He takes the pan, walks over to the rail and dumps the oil into Kingston Harbor. To say the least, I was totally shocked. I told the captain of this boat and he just shrugged his shoulders.
These boats had a Jamaican captain, engineer and cook. The divers were all Dominican. They were doing multiple dives per day to 80' or more on air. I asked the captain how they dealt with the decompression issue. He told me they just gave them ganja to deal with the pain. The expected longevity of these divers was about 2 years.
I had to rebuild one of the compressor blocks. They set me up near where they did the processing of the lobster catch. I'll get to that later. I needed some mineral spirits to clean parts. They had no clue what that was and sent someone around Kingston to find it. While waiting for them to find some, a huge commotion started outside the gate. The police were at the gate demanding to be let in. All were brandishing their side arms. Once the gate was opened they all went running down the docks. I found out later that a man had stolen one of their whistles. They were going to kill the thief if they caught him! Good thing he wasn't found.
Getting back to the compressor block rebuild, in Jamaica Mineral spirits is known as white spirits, so I got what I needed. While working on the rebuild, they started cooking the lobster catch, which was bound for Japan. They took every lobster they could get their hands on! I watched in shock as the put what would be undersized in the US and Bahamas in the pot, including females with eggs. They had no lobster season! At that time they thought there was a never ending source.
Worst part, I was only there for 1 day. Didn't have a change of clothes. The way I looked at the airport, I was pulled aside and searched.
Back in the early 90's, I was sent to Kingston, Jamaica to service some breathing air compressors. This company did commercial conch and lobster harvesting. At the time they were working 40 miles off their coast because they had pretty much wiped out the resources closer in. Now the boats they were operating had compressors on board. I started servicing them. I was given a helper. I drained the oil from one of the compressors and told my helper to dispose of the oil properly. He takes the pan, walks over to the rail and dumps the oil into Kingston Harbor. To say the least, I was totally shocked. I told the captain of this boat and he just shrugged his shoulders.
These boats had a Jamaican captain, engineer and cook. The divers were all Dominican. They were doing multiple dives per day to 80' or more on air. I asked the captain how they dealt with the decompression issue. He told me they just gave them ganja to deal with the pain. The expected longevity of these divers was about 2 years.
I had to rebuild one of the compressor blocks. They set me up near where they did the processing of the lobster catch. I'll get to that later. I needed some mineral spirits to clean parts. They had no clue what that was and sent someone around Kingston to find it. While waiting for them to find some, a huge commotion started outside the gate. The police were at the gate demanding to be let in. All were brandishing their side arms. Once the gate was opened they all went running down the docks. I found out later that a man had stolen one of their whistles. They were going to kill the thief if they caught him! Good thing he wasn't found.
Getting back to the compressor block rebuild, in Jamaica Mineral spirits is known as white spirits, so I got what I needed. While working on the rebuild, they started cooking the lobster catch, which was bound for Japan. They took every lobster they could get their hands on! I watched in shock as the put what would be undersized in the US and Bahamas in the pot, including females with eggs. They had no lobster season! At that time they thought there was a never ending source.
Worst part, I was only there for 1 day. Didn't have a change of clothes. The way I looked at the airport, I was pulled aside and searched.