I first wanted to scuba dive as a kid when I would visit Robby Sporting Goods store on Manatee Ave in Bradenton, FL and admire the scuba gear! My older brother began diving as a teenager and I always thought I'd get to join him when I was old enough. Unfortunately, by the time I did get old enough, he was attending college and sold all his gear! Fast forward to 2014, at the age of 55, with my daughter's encouragement, I finally began what had been a lifelong dream when she and I went through our Open Water Certification. The next year I purchased my first speargun, then a GoPro, and here we are!!!
After realizing my diving goals, I decided in 2018 it was time to tackle another long-time dream and purchase my first motorcycle! For years I had been riding friends bikes, but I had never felt the freedom to get my own. I am now blessed to own two bikes!
I am a retired Worship Pastor in NW Florida available for interim/supply leadership, and/or helping your band with backing tracks.
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The fish at 5:50 looked so betrayed lol!
Indeed!!!
Mount Pisgah Restaurant rocks!
Very nice video. What is the underwater camera you were using ?
Thanks! GoPro 7 Black
Great videos!!
Glad you like them!
I was on the parkway in the same location last weekend, same visibility!!!!!
It wasn’t pleasant! 😳
Nice video. Hitting a couple of roads you were on tomorrow as a day ride. We'll be coming out of Cosby TN on Hwy 32 (which we call the redneck dragon as it's the other end of the Smokies from the Tail of the Dragon, which becomes Mt. Sterling Rd and Cataloochee once you cross in the NC. We're then going to go on and do a loop that you passed, go off the Blue Ride Pkwy and down Balsam Mtn / Heintooga Round Bottom road (mostly one-way) into Cherokee and then back up Bunches Creek Rd. I've done the SM500 and want to do the northern half of the SM1000 at the end of summer / beginning of fall this year. I appreciate getting to scout it out with you here!
Soungs great! Enjoy!
Another great video, going to do the 500 in September, keep them coming
Thanks, will do!
Thanks for posting these! Look forward to seeing more.
Awesome!
Great video, those jeep guys brought the guy in the Toyota along in case they needed help, it’s like a bunch of ktm riders always invite one guy on a jap bike so he can go get parts 😅
😂
Nice job Wes. Enjoyed.
Glad you enjoyed it
well done !! great job on the video editing. love the slow-mo action.
Glad you enjoyed it
so cool...seems like a better way to do it.
Did you have to pay to leave your truck a suches while you were doing the 500?
At Two Wheels you do have to pay to leave your vehicle there. Some friends have found some hotels in Ellijay that if you stay there the night before and the night after, will let you leave your vehicle and trailer for free.
Do you have good coordinates for this area I no it’s big but I’m local And lost mine .
Because I don’t own one of the boats we dive from, I don’t keep many numbers. But, I know there are several good timberholes numbers available on some of the public number websites.
Awesome video Wes. I watched Day 1 as well. I'm looking to head down to Suches next weekend, and didn't even know this event was a thing. Do you have any maps/tracks of the route? I'd love to explore some of these routes! Thanks!
Hey Nathan! No problem. If you'll give me an email address, I'll send gpx files. I'm headed out of town tomorrow for a week, so hopefully you see this today and I can get those to you tonight. I'll delete your address from the comments asap.
Thank you for praying before you started. It’s something we should all do. 🙏🏻✝️
No issues sending them up on a lift bag? I always assumed that they would be a clump of fish heads by the time they hit the top if I didn't guard them.
No issue! Only once have I seen a shark hit a fish on a lift bag and it had floated for quite a while. Usually the boat picks them up pretty quickly.
@WesRatliffADV awesome! Thanks man, I'll have to give that a shot this year.
Outstanding 👍‼️🏆🥇💯
Wow I'm glad yall left. God is good.
That pass can be bad along with Perdido and all the rest.
That’s too bad! Looking forward to seeing some new vids soon! God bless you and hang in there!
Yeah that definitely blows
"I rather enjoy what he's doing to my bottom food eater"
Love the video's brother! Keep them coming.
So how many times have you been hit by your guardian. I know I’ve gotten wacked three times myself
I’ve lost count! LOL
you road right by our farm ... the Crawford deli is now the chicken shack and is open on the weekends .. you ever come this way again look us up !!!!
Spearing with power head is illegal
That is true in state waters. Only for personal protection in state waters.
Good job Wes! So happy for you! Keep the vids coming!
Fishing is awesome❤
I don't mind repetition, as long as it's from lionfish.
No offense but the boat momentum hitting you should never happen
Because of my body position in the water, as I hugged the fish, they thought a shark was right below me harassing me. So, they came a bit more aggressively. I was able to raise my gun enough to black the dive platform against my shoulder and deflect me over to the port side. It looked worse on video than it really was. But, thanks for the comment.
I see you’ve begun to master the power head
Getting better! Haven't had the opportunity over the winter to accompany my commercial diving friend, so the rapid reloads still need some work! LOL
Congrats on the cobia. Thats a nice boat.
It sure is! One of my amazing dive buddies!
😎nice fish
I wish I could, “like” this video more than once!
Wonderful video Mr. Wes thank you for sharing with us.
Nice work Wes. Filming, fishing and editing. Congratulations on your retirement.
Would you be willing to share your gpx files?
I apologize I didn’t see this sooner! A great resource is www.nwfer.group/trax. There is also a FB page for the group at m.facebook.com/groups/NWFLEnduroRiders/?ref=share and go to the files tab. Blackwater River State Forest is a great area!
A pastor friend and I plan to meet in Pensacola area next week to ride trails up into Alabama. Any suggestions on where to ride? Preferably not too much sugar sand.
I apologize I didn’t see this sooner! A great resource is www.nwfer.group/trax. There is also a FB page for the group at m.facebook.com/groups/NWFLEnduroRiders/?ref=share and go to the files tab. Blackwater River State Forest is a great area!
If you’re wanting to go further north into Alabama, let me know and I can email you some files.
@@WesRatliffADV to what address can I email you?
Good work! Keep the vids coming! It’s just getting warm enough here in NC.
Epic
38 special?
.357 Magnum
IS IT OK TO EAT THE LIONFISH AFTER THEY STING EACH ATHER IN THE CONTEINER?
Yes, the venom is protein based and it denatures with heat.
I’ve enjoyed your videos. After watching we went and Road a small portion today doing about 61 miles. Out of curiosity, what are you using for navigation? I downloaded the GPX file; however, whe. I import it into my Garmin Zumo it’s showing 120 tracks and I’m not able to establish a continuous route. To sure what I’m doing wrong. Any suggestions?
The GPX files from Vman1313 were like that for us also. It took some work to sort them all into the correct sequence and then join them. I'm not sure what he uses to create and export his files. If you'll email me, I can send you what we created for our trip.
@@WesRatliffADV I appreciate the response. One of the guys managed to fix it in base camp and I’ve got it loaded on my Zumo. Thanks!!
Great video as usual. Miss diving with you.
Likewise, my friend!
Nice job
Thanks!
Great to see you guys back in the water!
At 16:30 I hit that very same area and that was the toughest water to go through. Thick sloppy mud that sucks the bike in! You’re luck, I had to get a jeep to tow me out!
Oh wow!!! Glad you had some help! Bypassing that kind of muck is most often the best option, especially when you’re solo. Blessings!
Hey Wes. I just watched the series. Thanks for putting this out there, I enjoyed the whole thing!!
Glad you enjoyed it!
Great job against Lion fish...However, is it not forbiden spear fishing with tanks? In Europe it is... too easy and harmfull if everybody does it..
Spearfishing on scuba is restricted in some areas, such as in some areas of the Florida Keys, but that is rare in the USA. The fishing seasons are pretty strictly managed and enforced, so I suppose that is the way it is managed over here.
The US is nearly the size of Europe with less than half the population and more than double the length of coastline