Diving

Spears and Sharks, a epic dive adventure of the coast of Florida. by Nathaniel Harrington

Hey guys! 

So, I know it has been a long time since my last post on here... Sorry about that. I find it a lot easier to put my time and effort into other social media, but those don't really seem to get the right message across due to a complete lack of interest people give to social platforms. It's time to bring it back here where I can tell the whole story. 

Jack Hendrix, ready to hunt. 

Jack Hendrix, ready to hunt. 

Last week Captain Spencer Reilly ( AKA Captn Goop ) and Jack Hendrix invited me along to go spear some fish off the coast of Central Florida. Of course, I'm going. 

I've done this a handful of times but with every season the fish and water change, so everytime its something new. These two days we put in out there were very new to me! I had no idea what to expect other than I was going to be swimming with sharks and we were going to be finding lots of fish. Two things I love very much. 

Jack Hendrix, details of the underwater rifle. 

Jack Hendrix, details of the underwater rifle. 

Bethel Buoy of the coast of Ft Pierce, Florida. Photograph by Nathaniel Harrington

In my mind i'm thinking we'll get out there. Shoot some fish, maybe see some sharks, maybe and hopefully get a couple chances to get some cool shots of them, and yah see where it goes from there. In reality, we were going to see a lot of sharks and billions of fish. it was full throttle. 

 

 

Just being that far offshore during those flat, windless days watching the schools of blue runner disrupt the glassy surface of the ocean was great for me. It's not an experience I have had often enough to not be completely mesmerized by it, and its something I will never forget. However, seeing it from the boat and seeing it from 30 ft under is a whole different story. Most people won't jump in, and for good reason.  I found out why. 

Blue Shark in a school of Blue Runner. 

Blue Shark in a school of Blue Runner. 

I wanted to capture some of these heart pounding moments in motion, so I did and I made a little video. Watch as Jack shoots cobia off the back of Bull Sharks, takes beautiful mangrove snapper, and wrestles a nice king fish into the pathfinder. We also ran into a school of Mahi and captain goop catches a cobia that was able to stay out of the shark mouths. 

Wow. I still just think WOW when I see these. 

Wow. I still just think WOW when I see these. 

Sometimes the Bulls just want to take a closer look... Jacks experience shows as he stays calm and lets the shark know he's not what they want to mess with. 

Sometimes the Bulls just want to take a closer look... Jacks experience shows as he stays calm and lets the shark know he's not what they want to mess with. 

What a captain. Spencer is such a dedicated charter captain, day after day, getting folks into the right places, and keeping an eye out on everything going on from above. Thanks legend. 

What a captain. Spencer is such a dedicated charter captain, day after day, getting folks into the right places, and keeping an eye out on everything going on from above. Thanks legend. 

Curious Sharks in the lead, shadows behind. 

Curious Sharks in the lead, shadows behind. 

Jack, Locked and loaded. Where the snapper at? 

Jack, Locked and loaded. Where the snapper at? 

He found it, and took it home. A very tasty fish, possibly my favorite. 

He found it, and took it home. A very tasty fish, possibly my favorite. 

A baby sea turtle floated by in the current. This lil guy has come a long way and I continue to wish the best for it. 

A baby sea turtle floated by in the current. This lil guy has come a long way and I continue to wish the best for it. 

A stream of light hits this Bull Shark for a nice portrait setting. Fish everywhere underneath. It is a wild world out there. 

A stream of light hits this Bull Shark for a nice portrait setting. Fish everywhere underneath. It is a wild world out there. 

There's still more I could share believe it or not. But let us skip the repetitiveness and get onto something new. 

If you are curious about booking a fishing charter, and no it doesn't have to have anything to do with sharks, please contact my good friend Captain Spencer Reilly -  https://www.captaingoopcharters.com

He is an excellent angler in the Indian River County area, inshore and offshore. I highly recommend a trip with him. 

Thank you all for visiting my page, give my site a look, and please share. 

-Nathaniel Harrington

Myself - @natehphoto

Captain Goop - @captngoop

Waterman Jack Hendrix - @jackhendrix_

 

Exploring the World, Tatum Harrington. by Nathaniel Harrington

Hi guys! Hope you're all having a wonderful weekend!!

Well, today was pretty special for me because my beautiful wife joined me for a swim. The water was brilliant and the sky was clear making for one more amazing day in Vero Beach. We shot a couple fun photos of Tatum swimming that we wanted to share. 

Floating over the world. 

That was fun :) 

Thanks so much for checking in! Feel free to let Tatum know what you think of the photos. 

I love you Tatum! 

-Nathaniel Harrington

 

Diving with Buddy. by Nathaniel Harrington

I'm finding that the trade off of having no surf is having great water clarity! I won't complain too much... 

This last weekend Buddy Brown and I went out on a little diving adventure. We found some fun sea creatures while exploring the layout of Vero Beach's bottom floor. 

I'll let the photos tell the story. 

That was cool to find so many creatures including that Stone Fish! Beautiful. The Rays were one of my favorite parts as well, not to mention the Nurse Shark the size of Buddy. 

I look forward to sharing more times like these. 

Thanks for checking in! 

 

-Nathaniel Harrington

 

Worlds Ocean Day. by Nathaniel Harrington

What a day! I wasn't to sure how the water clarity was going to be due to the recent swell... turns out we just needed a short break from waves to calm the water down enough to make an excellent dive happen. 

I couldn't think of a better way to spend a few hours on Worlds Ocean Day than in the Ocean, duh. I don't know the reefs very well yet, but I am learning them quick! And with the clarity I was given today, I feel a lot more at home out there now. 

I do want to give credit to the creator of the Oceans today. God created a beautiful world for our enjoyment. I'm in awe every time I go into the water. What a wondrous work. It is our duty to take care of this planet during our time here also. I want to stress that God put us in charge, to subdue and take care of earth during our stay here, and we aught to put in our efforts to nourish both the land and sea. Laziness is the biggest culprit of trash in the sea, and that laziness starts here on land. I hate going to the beach just to spend my time picking up slackers trash, I don't like doing it, but it is better than finding it in the water on my next dive. 

If you read my blog even one time you'll know that I love the ocean and I spend a lot of time in it. I need to ask that we all do our part to keep the waste at a minimum. If you must use 5 plastic bottles a day go ahead, just please, take them of the sand when you leave. Lets be responsible. 

Nough said. Hope you got to enjoy the Oceans today! If not just enjoy these pics! Start your Sea Dreaming now!! 

Hello there Reef! 

Hello there Reef! 

Meet blue eyed Nurse Shark. She setup a great portrait for me. 

Comfy Cozy in her cave. 

I ran into at least five nurse sharks today. it seemed that they were all over. I even got to swim with this one for a bit. 

The fish are plenty! 

I never would have guessed to find structures like this in Florida. I could not be happier!! I enjoy underwater caves more than anything else. They are always teeming with life! 

I never would have guessed to find structures like this in Florida. I could not be happier!! I enjoy underwater caves more than anything else. They are always teeming with life! 

I even found a couple Honus today! Man, its not like Maui. These turtles take of the second they know you are there. Skittish fellows... Just glad to get a couple shots of a few turtles. 

This one was pretty large and very old looking. I'm calling it the "Ugly Turtle". It looked like its been down there a few thousand years... Still, Stoked for such a find! 

Very amped on the day! Hope you also had a great day and I look forward to sharing my next Sea Dreaming adventure with you. 

Thanks for checking in! 

-Nathaniel Harrington

 

Early Surf & Dive. by Nathaniel Harrington

Winds: 0mph

Surf: 1-2ft

Sounds good to me! 

Here's some shots from this mornings adventures! I found some fish including a school of Snook, a couple Nurse Sharks, Stingrays, and lots of reef fish. The visibility was still only a few feet, but that'll work for me. It's just good to be out there. 

Morning Motion. 

Another blury cave. 

I love getting into the water early to watch the day begin! 

Big Snook! 

Here's a little nurse shark I found close to shore. This is the first Nurse Shark I have ever swam with! Really stoked to see her this morning! 

And I saw this Nurse Shark's tail sticking out from under the ledge. I dove down to find that she was pretty big! I would say close to six feet or so. 

Reef fish in the structure. /;

Soo Fun! 

It's always good to see life on the reefs! 

Thanks for checking the Blog and I hope you have a great weekend! 

-Nathaniel Harrington

 

Sailing Saturday with Called-Higher! by Nathaniel Harrington

One of my most anticipated days happened yesterday, a sail out of Ft. Pierce, Florida. 

As a practice run for the Called-Higher group, to help them get their sea-legs established, Donothan Williams setup a fun day of sailing on two beautiful vessels! The "Sunshine Too" and the "Luric".  

We started out the day knowing that we had some big storms cruising in, so we prayed for safety, thanked the Lord for the opportunity to enjoy the ocean, and we're off! We set our sail with a light south easterly wind(which was creating offshore perfection for the surfers at the jetty...) and relaxed our way out to sea. The water stayed glassy with barely any wind for the first couple of hours which gave us a great opportunity to go for a swim at about 3 miles off shore giving a fun opportunity to shoot some photos. :) 

 

The 40+ ft "Sunshine Too" 

The 40+ft "Luric"

Tatum, Heather, and our brave and fearless leader Donothan! 

Watershots are so much fun. The abilities of an iPhone in the sea.. brilliant! We're letting Dono borrow our old iPhone and the Housing so he can bring home the adventures from the Bahamas trip. :) I think he likes it. 

The Fishbowl Look. I was trying to get an image thats in my head, but due to the lack of sun it was really hard to focus on objects above the water.. these still turned out pretty "Sea Dreamy"! 

We got to hang out about an hour before we realized that this storm wasn't passing us to the north, it was cruising straight for us. The "Luric" was looking beautiful and confident with the fast approaching weather. 

No wonder Dono gets so much done and so sea worthy! He's half way to being an Octopus! 

Last photo right at the Calm before the Storm. With sky's like that a few miles offshore you know its time to go! 

As I got back onto the boat the storm began to fill in. I tucked beneath into the cabin for about a minute to put away some gear, when I came out it was already blowing about 40mph wind with heavy rain. The visibility dropped to 100ft and the waves picked up immediately. There was never any threat of our safety, it was more or less just an awesome example of the power of storms on the ocean and how quickly things can change out there. Great practice for the Called-Higher crew as they continue to prepare for their 2 week sailing trip. 

 

Soaking wet and a little cold, my wife Tatum was loving every second of it. :)  

This is Captain Keith. He has spent a life on the water sailing. His stories and experience are inspiring, both him and his wife Roberta.  it was a pleasure to be welcomed onto their boat. We very much enjoyed out day with him and his wife aboard the "Sunshine Too". 

Keep the Called-Higher Crew in your prayers as they head off later this month. I know the Lord is doing an awesome work in Donothan's life and its just so fun to be watching all this happen and to be apart of it! Stoked. 

Thanks again to both boat captains for taking us out! 

 

-Nathaniel Harrington