Rum Runner Alice B-Day

Day 163 Fri 09/21/2012

Alice’s B-Day

Birthday Girl Alice

“Party tonight for Sarah & Alice!  Everyone, including skipper Richie & the 2 replacements Bart from Holland & Julia from Germany came to Pier Bar.  The girls had face paint for ding dongs & expletives to be written on faces & arms.  They also somehow talked Richie into waxing one spot on his leg & arm.  Hilarious!  The only thing that got me down was I had to work the next morning.  TRAIN WRECK!  I will miss these 2 crazy gals.”

The girls waxing the skipper, Richie

            I remember not wanting to even go out tonight.  We had been off for a solid week now and done nothing but drink and sit at the lagoon.  Hell I assume that’s all we did because my journal has NOTHING in it until today.  Alice leaves Cairns tomorrow.  I can’t even remember where she was heading.  I think she had a ride down the east coast and was flying back to England soon.  We had yet to get Richie & Jase (the owners and skippers of the Rum Runner) out on the town with us.  Richie was driving the boat in the morning.  Even though he only stayed for a little while, in that short time the girls picked on him constantly. 

            Sarah & I started the night by wrapping a ton of silly gifts she had gone out and bought for Alice.   Gifts including party hats, party hats, noise makers, face paint, etc.  We met everyone at Pier Bar.  Tommy and I were immediately defiled, and after the girls were done drawing we each had a penis on our face.  Sev didn’t fare any better.  The girls actually did themselves up worst of all though.  By the time I got the markers all I could find room for on Alice was a GET on her right bicep and a WREKT on her left.

            The girls had pre-planned the waxing of Richie as well.  I cannot believe he went along with this, but he really loved these to gals.  He sat calmly as they drew all over him and waxed a spot on his arm and leg.

Bart was a victim as well, but the girls were somewhat nice to him since they didn’t know him just yet.  Julia was a gamer.  The girls weren’t going to mess with her, but she was quick to say “Where is my face paint?”  She was all in.  Respect!  Good stuff Julia.

DOLPHINS!

We ended up at the Woolshed downstairs with Jase lining up shots for all 8-10 of us.  Richie left and reminded me we had a trip the next morning.  I remember forcing myself to leave thinking, “This night is just getting started.”  Julia and Bart thought the same, but they were very excited about their trial run on the boat.

Day 164 Sat 09/22/2012

Bart & Julia’s First Trip

“Julz & Bart!  This is their first trip.  Julia would be the new hostee on the boat.  They offered for me to take half of the trips as hostee as well but I declined due to the fact that as hostee you are stuck below deck in the kitchen & not diving.  Enough said.  It was not even a question for me.

One funny dive occurred on this trip when I took Team Asia for a dive & SJ (one of Team Asia’s divers) jumped in the water with no weight belt on.  I didn’t realize this at first.  He was able to get down with no weights.  Near the end of the dive I took a group photo of them & he cannot kneel on the ocean floor like I signaled.  I think “What the hell is wrong with him?”  Very funny picture!  He knew he had no weight on him but was afraid to inform me of his mistake.  I carry extra weight, but by the time I realized he was without any the dive was over.  He should have known I wouldn’t have cared.”

SJ's giant stride entry with no weight belt

            The new guys were great.  Bart was stuck on lookout for most of the day.  First you learn how to watch for problems on the surface and learn how to keep track of the divers.  He was in control of the roster and had to get signatures from patrons as they came back onto the boat from the water to ensure we left no one behind.  Julia was learning how to cook in a kitchen the size of a bathroom that rocked back and forth constantly.  Bart had it easy compared to Julz down in the Gallery, but with Sarah’s help though all the meals came out on time and tasty.



Eric from Alabama



            There were five Americans on this trip too, which is extremely rare.  Actually, the most we had prior to this on one trip was three, counting myself.  One guy from Alabama named Eric, and four gals.  The girls were terrified of sharks, so I assured them they were safe diving because sharks only like prey on the surface that resemble seals.  The quickly told me they weren’t SCUBA divers and they were on the boat to snorkel.  So I handed them the black wetsuits we give to everyone on the boat and told them they will make cute seals.

USA Gals



            My dive notes say we had a few unusual dives.  I am almost sure this was the dive where Richie took lookout and relieved Bart so I could show him how to navigate our most popular site, 360.  I know Bart remembers this dive.  We get our group under the surface at the bow of the boat and must swim back under the boat.  Once we hit the reef we break left and sig zag in and out of the coral formations.  We took a heading from the boat.  Bart took the same bearing with his compass so he could see how it is done.  He had navigation courses previously, so this should all be familiar to him.  He seemed confident about his capabilities.



Guess which one is SJ in the photo (no weights) LOLOL



            We have dropped down to about 30 feet and I am following the compass reading.  Bart fins up next to me pointing at his compass.  What the heck does he want?  I wave him off.  I soon realize we are lost.  Bart was trying to show me his compass because it was obvious I was not following the correct heading.  We take a moment to compare compasses.  Mine is jacked up and off about 50 degrees.  Great.  I take his and attempt to salvage the dive.  We make our way across more deserted ocean floor.  Dive time is twenty five minutes.  We haven’t seen anything but a boat and sand.  As soon as we get back to reef we spend five minutes there and it is time to surface due to lack of air for a few divers.  Whoops.  Bart asked me later, “Are all the dives that boring?”

            “Not if you have a dive master who knows what he is doing,” I laughed. 

We saw dolphins too!  You think I would
add this in my notes somewhere.

Day 165 Sun 09/23/2012

Patricia’s English

“Great first trip with the 2 rookies.  Out to celebrate.  Patricia came with us.  It was good to have another fellow Dutchie, Bart, there to help Patricia with her communication, because when she has a few drinks she loses all capability to speak English.  She really needed a kebab at the end of the night.”

            Hahahaha, anyways.  When Patricia has a few beers she struggle even more with English.  Bart’s English is great, so he helps her out.  When she gets frustrated she just talks to Bart in her native tongue.  Her favorite English word is the F word.  If she stumbles on her words the F word is her go to word.  Sometimes she may use it 4 times a sentence.  For such a sweet gal it is hilarious to hear her say it over and over again.

She is going to LOVE this picture

Day 166 Mon 09/24/2012

Day Off

“Lagoon all day sitting by the water being lazy.  Patricia wore a red bikini and we ate ice cream pops.”

Julia from Germany!  The new DMT & hostee on the Rum Runner.

Day 167 Tue 09/25/2012

Jack Attack

“I was able to swim out away from the boat while moored to our overnight spot on the reef (Lagoon) for a sunset picture or two this late arvo (afternoon).  Today was also the Somalian pirate pictures with Jack.  This guy loved the boat!  We had a blast.  He helped with dishes, sails, ropes, filling tanks, amongst other things.  When he found out I sleep up on the roof of the boat most nights he had to ask if he could join.  Normally no one is allowed on the roof, but for him I made an exception.

His mother, Liz, is a super cool gal as well.  Loved having them on the Rum Runner.  We got some great pics.”

Jack & I

            These two guests were great.  We really had a good group as a whole on this trip as well.  To be honest, we had not had a bad group on this boat yet.  There were never any complaints about the boat, crew, dives (even when the DM swam out into vacant ocean), or the food.  We hadn’t had many younger guests on the boat.  Jack was full on involved with everything we were doing.  We worked him.  For a green horn he managed to do a great job filling the tanks and not overfilling the banks, which is very easy to do.

            As Jack was driving the boat I remembered the time I was in the Caribbean sailing a catamaran pretending to be a pirate.  I didn’t have any foam swords on this boat, but we could manage an outfit with what we had.  With a few towel wraps and mean faces we were instantly scary pirates on a boat with a name meant to be sailed by pirates. 

I have lead EVERY night dive on the boat so far.  If the night dive happens, I am in the water.





Masa took this photo I think.  Great picture!



            Masa had three Open Water students on this trip as well.  With all of the crazy times on the boat and in Cairns I have failed to write about our Japanese diving instructor, Masa.  He has worked on the boat for many years now.  he only comes on trips when there are students getting their diving certification.  I have yet to hear a mean word come from his mouth.  He is so patient with divers, and even more patient with the crew on the boat.  There is a fairly high turnover on the boat regarding crew members, so he has to train newbies fairly often.  He always sleeps in the Lounge area on the benches near the table.  When he is on the boat the skippers want him at the bow during mooring.  As we approach the mooring ball the skipper will usually lose sight of the target, so Masa will point to the ball at the surface with the gaff while giving distance to target notifications.  Since the skipper drives the boat from the stern Masa will not only give verbal confirmation of distance to the mooring ball but also hand signals in case the skipper cannot hear over the engine and/or wind.



TREVOR!!!!  He is our resident giant trevally who
follows us around the reef and hides under the boat.



            When the boat is pulling up to a mooring the time for play is over.  Often times missing the mooring line means hitting reef.  The skippers are not happy when the person gaffing misses the line on the first try.  Sometimes the skipper just misses the target and there is no hope in grabbing the line, but usually if the line is missed it is the person at the bows fault.  I think I saw masa only miss the line one time, and he managed to run down the starboard side of the vessel to grab it before it was too late, so maybe that doesn’t even count as a miss.

 

Jack on the roof of the Rummy under the stars

Jack & I had the roof tonight, which meant Julia had a bed below deck.  The roof is hands down the place to sleep.  I may love having guest on the boat, but after four dives, filling 10-16 tanks four times each, and all the other tasks involved with running a dive boat when it is time to rest it is so nice to be able to go hide from everyone up here and rest under the stars.  Jack brought his sleeping pad up and some blankets while I setup the swag.  The boat rocks more up here as well, and like a baby being cradled we were fast asleep.

Day 168 Wed 09/26/2012

Juvenile Sweetlips

“Box Spotted puffer fish (actually called a porcupine puffer fish).  Juvenile sweet lips (they look similar to a clownfish but bigger & larger fins).”

            I had seen these juvenile sweet lips before and never known what they were.  They look nothing like the full grown sweet lips.  The babies are brown with big white spots, while the adults are black and white striped with yellow fins and mouth.

Julz!

Day 169 Thur 09/27/2012

TN Girls

“There were 2 American gals on the boat, Sarah & Amy from TENNESSEE!  They fought over my USA rashie in a game of paper, rock, scissors with Bart refereeing.”



The heated competition between Sarah & Amy



             We had lots of Americans on this trip, and two of the girls were from Tennessee.  I can’t believe I didn’t write down where in TN they are from.  Five Americans and me making six was a new record on the boat since I’ve been here.  Team America World Police might have played a few times on this trip.  Richie loves it!  Hahahaha, no really he does.  These Aussies love opportunities to sling out EFF bombs.  “Americaaaaaa, Fuk YEA!”

            During the night dive Bart and I found a HUGE white eel.  This guy was so massive we never saw the head and tail at the same time.  I swear it was 15 feet long.  I had my camera with me but the picture is garbage.  After the night dive we played Moon in the Spoon, Werewolf in Town, and Signs.







Sarah is the WINNER!



Richie started us off with Moon in the Spoon.  Basically the person who starts the game will hold up the spoon and say “I see the moon in the spoon.”  Then they will pass the spoon to the person next to them.  It doesn’t matter which direction you pass the spoon, but the next person will then have to repeat the phrase as Richie did.  If he or she gets the phrase or action correct Richie will inform them “Yes you do (see the moon in the spoon).”  The game is very fun to play IF you aren’t the last person to figure out the trick to getting Richie’s approval.  Well there is no trick at all really.  You just have to listen carefully.  If you are the last one left you feel very slow.



The eel is white and the spotlight is right on it's body here.



Julia then took over and showed us all a game she has played back in Germany called Werewolf in the Town.  I loved hearing her explain the rules, because she has such a strong German accent.  This game reminded me of a game we played back in school called Mafia.  Julia made everyone close their eyes while she chose someone to be the werewolf and another to be the priest.  Everyone else would be town folk.   Actually I am going to screw this up.  The game is fun to play and is very similar to Mafia.  Julia was a good coordinator for the game and we all were starting to feel like we were at summer camp again.  However, summer camp was held on the Great Barrier Reef off the east coast of Australia.

The girls on the deck

The last game we played was one a guest taught us, called Signs.  Leah, this is similar to the game Brent & Bruce taught us, African War Signs.  In this particular game everyone playing must form a circle and pick a sign that resembles an animal.  After everyone has displayed his or her sign a few times someone is chosen to go into the middle and close his or her eyes as the game begins.  Hell Wikipedia the game if you want to know how to play it.  We had fun with it.  Thanks for showing us how to play.

Three of the US gals wanted to sleep on the deck so we hauled up their mattresses and set them up right.  Once again the only place to be was on the roof with the stars.  I wonder how hard it would be to accidently roll off of here while sleeping.  Oh well, goodnight. 



Day 170 Fri 09/28/2012

Sombrero Lookout

“Purple anemone fish.  Mexican Woolshed sombrero lookout hat.  We finally took Tommy’s advice and created a crew tip jar to try and make some beer money for Bart, Julia, Tommy & I.”

 

            Bart came back from the Woolshed one night this week with a sombrero on his head.  Today we designated it the official hat of the onboard lookout during dives.  I captured a great picture of a clown fish in a purple anemone at Mystery this morning as well.

            The lookout on the last dive of the day has more work to do than just lookout.  While keeping an eye on divers and snorkelers the final lookout of the day must also prep the dive gear area of the boat for the three hour journey back to the marina.  Usually by the second and final dive of the second day the snorkelers are spent.  They are sleeping on the deck of the boat soaking up sun or taking photos.  The lookout should have time to start cleaning all the gear not being used on the last dive.  This usually consists of at least eight sets of SCUBA gear plus all the wetsuits from the guests on the deck.  It all has to be washed.  The more you could get done while the last group is in the water the better off everyone is for lunch and the trip home.

Day 171 Sat 09/29/2012

Team China

There was a group on the boat this trip designated Team China.  We saw a sting ray, juvenile sweetlips, sea cucumbers, a big trigger fish.  Trigger fish will bite the hell out of you if you don’t stay clear of them during mating season.  Every time I see one I think of Britt in Fremantle at Dive Ski Surf.  On our checkout dive months ago I remember her showing us her teeth marks from a trigger fish that had bitten her through her wetsuit.

 

Day 172 Sun 09/30/2012

Striped Anemone Fish

Nemo pics & Team China

            After our trip we did our normal Sunday night party.  Pier Bar, PJ’s, maybe the Courthouse for cheap Coronas, then finally to the epic Woolshed.  Tommy’s girlfriend, Emily, came with us tonight, as did Patricia.  Emily is Canadian, but we like her.  Hahaha, I’m just playing with you Canadians.  I love Canadians, but lots of times they do NOT like me.  Emily has been hanging with us while on land many times now.  She is a cool chica.  She and Tommy are super goofs together though.

in PJ's Irish Pub



Lots of fish here at The canyons Dive Site



Looks like Pier Bar, maybe...

Day 173 Mon 10/01/2012

Winning

Today was another day sitting at the lagoon being lazy with Patricia.  We had lunch at Sushi Train.  I love this place!  How can one go wrong with conveyors belts of food?  On top of that, I had the hottest date.  Winning!

Bart

Day 174 Tue 10/02/2012

Epaulette Shark

Someone lost a blue towel overboard as we were pulling off our mooring at 360.  Sorry mate, that towel belongs to the ocean now.  We were under way and it was too risky to grab it with the reef so close.  I got some photos of Bart goofing off under water.  Also, we saw an epaulette shark.

Epaulette Shark

Day 178 Sat 10/06/2012

Blue Towel Found

”Big delay getting to the reef due to seasick wieners.  Took 3 over to the wharf on Fitzroy Island in the tender.  Big gal almost sank the damn thing.  Found a nice dive knife at the Lagoon.”

Like my dive log says, we had some major wimps on the boat today.  One gal demanded we take her back to the marina one hour into the trip.  Another thing I love about Australia is how up front you can be with people.  I think the answer to “Take me back” is something like “Get Fukt.”  No joke.  Jase was so mad.  Taking her back ruins our first two dives and delays food not factoring in the fuel to motor back to Cairns.  Jase steered the boat over to Fitzroy Island per a few guest requests.  The wanted off that badly.  We had to drop the dive platform in order to get the tender (dingy boat) down into the water.  I hopped in as bags were handed down to me.  Three guests were calling it quits and jumped in.  The last gal in almost flipped the boat over.  She did not enter the boat as she was asked.  I wouldn’t have cared to get wet as long as she didn’t hit her head on the Rummy.  It was a near miss in my book.

Team China

I motored over to the wharf and unloaded the passengers plus bags.  The Fitzroy Island ferry runs twice a day.  I told them they had at least three hours to kill before the next one would come around.  You could tell they were going to sit there on the dock until it came for them.  I never saw any of them actually get sick either.  I have sympathy for pukers, but I think this was three cases of “I showed up to the GBR with my C minus game face on.”  I wish I could have rallied them.  I hope they found some shade at least.

So we were about an hour and a half late, but we made it work.  Remember that blue towel that blue overboard three or four days ago at 360?  As I am leading our divers through this dive site I see the blue towel on some coral.  No way!  I swim up to it, shake it out, and tie it on like a bandana.

Next Blog:  Old friends return to the Rum Runner, underwater treasures, my deepest dive, solo night dive with no torch while bleeding, and then some.