First Cooper trip

I have been enjoying the posts on this board for a couple years now and figure its time to pitch in. Up to this trip my fossil hunting experience was limited to digging in the Peace River and diving off Venice here in Florida. I spent countless hours searching the internet for any and all info on diving the famed Cooper River. Current, darkness, and alligators....Oh my! I knew I wanted to do this but I have to admit, I was a little uneasy based on what I had read. I had dove in very low vis and in lots of current and alligators....they taste like chicken...right? But I couldnt help but wonder, maybe its just way worse than what I have ever seen. As I stood on the bow all geared up I knew the "wondering" was about to come to an end. The vision my mind had created of instantly being swept away in a raging current of pitch black water and smashed and stuck into a log jam where I was supposed to look for bottles crossed my mind one last time. I turned and asked my guide, "how will I know when I am on the bottom" and immediately realized how much of a sissy I sounded like and jumped in to avoid the verbal abuse I had earned. He started us off easy, about 17 feet, and when the silt settled I could see a little even without the light. I immediately started finding teeth. I also learned what the spike he told me to bring was for. Everytime I would find something I would get washed down river 10 feet or so while trying to get it into my bag. The spike helps ya stay put. I found my biggest whole meg at just under 4 inches and kinda nicked up on this first dive. We did three dives the first day and two the second. My best finds are the two Great Whites. The one is red/orange and nearly perfect and just under two inches. I found around 100 pieces and parts with a couple half megs that were around six inches. I also found a old flat button with a pattern on it and my buddy found a almost complete clay pipe. I was very impressed with the variety of stuff you can find and hope to go back soon. Sorry about the poor pic quality. I will work on it before my next trip.