diving is a great family sport...other than its expensive...
this is guide Hadriam Vega guiding a family of three, father, son, daughter (starting her education in marine biology). they are ascending a fixed line from the Spiegel Grove wreck to a permanent mooring. you can see the wreck in the background -- it is massive. the current can pull you off the line for a long float in the ocean, so Hadriam is setting good example for the family to ascend slowly, and to continuously grasp the line. when Hadriam flashes the hawaiian shaka at me, he's saying that they are ok, and, having lot's of fun. he is carrying a spare pony bottle of air for emergencies, which the guides frequently carry, along with divers such as myself who frequently dive solo. the yellow tube on his belt is an inflatable surface-marker-buoy/signal that is used to signal the boat where to find you in case you get pulled off the line in the current and cannot get back to the boat. pretty much all florida divers carry one. they will stop on the line for three minutes to perform a safety decompression stop at about 15 feet.
if you every need a dive guide or instructor from the Jupiter florida area down to the keys, let me know and i can recommend some good ones; Hadriam is one of the good ones �