BillDomb Miscellany

Palm Beach boat parade 2023. Hundreds of boats with hundreds more anchored nearby and following along to enjoy the festivities and fireworks.

Family of raccoons has been ransacking my bee feeders nightly. This is the 5th iteration, and this time we've installed a high hangar out from the porch of my lab. But the buggers have figured out how to crawl up the screen and shinny out the thin support bar. Next, think we'll put a slippery surface over the screening. More may follow.

MastersingersUSA conducted by Bruce McInnes. European tour overview.

Lux Concordia performed by Mountainside Master Chorale and filmed in Antelope Canyon, Arizona. Dedicated to the Assistance League.

Northern edge of the Everglades. No gators or big birds following Hurricane Nicole.

The video of our boat that's been circulating for some years needed some updating, so grabbed a camera and got us closer to current.

It's been about two weeks since Hurricane Ian blasted Florida, and we got back in the water on the 12th of October. Visibility was still very compromised. Estimating around 20 feet or so diving the Ana Cecilia wreck just off the Lake Worth Inlet of Palm Beach. Plenty of schooling fish. And two BIG goliath groupers that were modestly interested in two divers. At around 0:20, note the grouper lurking up above my dive buddy. No current; water temp around 85. The Ana Cecilia was sunk as an artificial reef in 2016 but has already plenty of growth on its 170 ft. hull. You can get inside in numerous deck openings. Even with reduced viz, this was a fun dive.

Burial Mound Cave Grand Bahama. Easy access, but a pretty hot walk. Bring some drink. Some Indian remains were found in the deep sections. Some of the indigenous plants are identified along the way.

Back in the water in a shallow dive under the Blue Heron Bridge. Dedicated to Dr. Emilio Garcia. Without his help, probably wouldn't be diving. Water temp 81; poor visability; no current.

Diesel engine guru Ron Doerr takes us on a short tour of a marine diesel engine looking at its components and sharing some highlights on maintenance. These are Detroit 692 TA turbo-aftercooled units, around 500 horsepower. Ron is the principal of Diesels Plus in Florida and is an old school master mechanic. He knows diesels inside and out and is determinedly relentless at making them behave.

Sayonara D. Bongino Great work, YT.

Diving the infamous Blue Heron Bridge, several reefs at around 60 feet, a barge near the Palm Beach Inlet, then a night blackwater drop in around 750 feet of water near the edge of the Gulf Stream. Crazy critters come up then go back down before daylight. Stuff you never, ever see otherwise. Drifted around four miles. Water temp a comfortable 78.

Hurricane Dorian tore through the northern Abacos in 2019, but much of the area still has not recovered, particularly around Marsh Harbour. Trees stripped bare and broken like matchsticks in multiple directions. Steel girders twisted like yarn. Whole houses tossed upon others.

Patchy reef structures around 55 feet. Visibility over 100'. Water temp 85. No current.

Diving in a shallow weedy area around fifteen miles north of Grand Bahama West End. Loaded with sharks coming surprisingly close without any aggression. We suspect that some dive boats may be coming here and doing hand feeding. On surfacing, at least twenty-five sharks of different species like lemon and tiger followed our boat around during our pickup. Minimal current. Viz around 70 feet. Water temp 85.

Anchored near a beautiful head off Fowle Cay near Man O War Cay in the Abacos, northeast Bahamas. Many swim-throughs and small caves with a gazillion minnows and a curious/lonely Nassau Grouper for a face-to-face encounter. Showing one of two. Water temp 84. Light surge/no current. Viz around 50 feet. Shallow, around 20 feet. This site is what diving's all about.

Diving at Nunjack Cut, around 35 feet. Light surge. Water temp 83. Then over to Great Guana Cay to anchor and kayak.

Grand Cay, Spanish Cay, Green Turtle Cay. Diving on hold thanks to heavy swells but plenty other things to do. Craziest was bike riding around the microscopic Grand Cay island. Roads are basically small sidewalks with some serious up and down hills, potholes, marauding golf carts and perambulating locals. Found some small caves while kayaking south of Green Turtle Cay.

A young, very relaxed turtle browsing the smorgasbord at Ron's Rock offshore Mar-a-Lago in Florida. Around 50'. No current. Water temp oddly variable from 82 to 78 degrees. Really nasty visibility; around 30'.

Kerry Brennan conducts Mastersingers USA in a performance of the spiritual Good News in L'Eglise de La Madeleine, Paris, France. MUSA is a men's chorus made up of doctors, lawyers, clergymen, and a host of other professionals from around the US and Europe. Music is issued a few months in advance, then the group gets together for just few rehearsals and then performs on tour. The group has has been heard around the globe and is the winner of the coveted Choir of the World award from the Eisteddfod competition.

Kerry Brennan conducts Mastersingers USA in a performance of the spiritual Good News in the Cathedral in Chartres, France. MUSA is a men's chorus made up of doctors, lawyers, clergymen, and a host of other professionals from around the US and Europe. Music is issued a few months in advance, then the group gets together for just few rehearsals and then performs on tour. The group has has been heard around the globe and is the winner of the coveted Choir of the World award from the Eisteddfod competition.

Out of Chub Cay around 5 miles north to Whale Cay. Some nice reef diving. 125' visibility. 77 degrees. Light to moderate current. Depths around 50'. One shark getting cleaned. Looks tickly. Drone shots over Chub Cay. Marina quite busy with at least a half billion $$$ of boats, some rather fancy. Just after a big fishing tournament with $10 million custom sportfishers. Ate some superb fresh mahi mahi and caught a couple good size conchs that made a fantastic chowder. Good kite flying wind.

Biking across southern France following the beautiful Canal du Midi through cities and lush countryside ending up Medieval Carcassonne. Then train and hydrofoil through Italy and then north of Sicily to climb Stromboli Volcano. Complete with fireworks. Most of the music is from MastersingersUSA, a men's chorus that gets together to make music on a yearly basis. See www.Mastersingersusa.org.

Nice barge wreck off Palm Beach. Budweiser was one of the funders to pay for the cleanup to scuttle her in '87. Goliath groupers, around 200+ lb. Some current; water temp 73 F. Average depth around 80'. Also called the m/s Havel.

Barker and Tuna Alley reefs off Cat Cay, south of Bimini in the Bahamas. 55-70 ft viz; 77 F. temp. No current to speak of EXCEPT down the wall that first drops to 100' abruptly and then to thousands in a short distance. Used buoyancy compensator to go back up the wall. Nice turtle and plenty of crevices and swim-throughs. Anchored off Gun Cay.