KBeck
Contributor
Seas 2 feet or less........man, I'm dying......can we go NOW!!!!!
7/24 Sunday 8:00 AM USS Speigel Grove
- Thread starter MikeJacobs
- Start date
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All is looking good! Spoke to Brant- got my fills accordingly. Seems we may do a doulbe dipper- Grove & the duane or Grove/Grove according to Mike. No worries- any combo therein- IT'S ALL GOOD! Up at 5 AM- on the raod by 6 with coffee in hand. Lucky, lucky me! :fruit:
All I can say is OMG!!! What a dive. Thank you to Brent and Bluewater Divers for a great trip, flat seas, clear skys, minimal current and good vis. WOW. Also thanks to Harley Diver for taking the time to show me around the forward part of the wreck on dive 2. We made it all the way to the mess hall, squeezed our way through an opening that was once a food serving line and into the galley where most of the appliances seemed to still be inplace. We wound our way up one level down a hallway through the bridge and back out to the port side of the ship where buoy #6 is attached. This is one great dive now with many swim throughs and lots to see. There are some big Grouper hanging around too.
On dive 1 the boat was tied to buoy #3 on the aft portion of the wreck on the starboard side of the well deck opening. It's wild to see the growth line in this area. As the ship was laying on her starboard side there is no growth on the last 3 feet or so of the starboard side (which was in the sand) it's completely clean and looks as though it was just sunk. Just forward of the moring point on one of the crane towers I added another American Flag. The other two flags on the wreck are in pretty bad shape so I thought a new one was in order. Mempilot and I entered the ship on the main deck, starboard side, and wound our way inside through several doorways before dropping through a hole in the floor and into the well deck (it looks like you're dropping into the abyss as the well deck is so massive) where we turned the dive heading back to the line.
It was a beautiful day a fantastic dive. The site was crowded with boats everywhere but that is to be expected. You folks diving it tomorrow are in for a real treat.
Have fun and dive safe.
On dive 1 the boat was tied to buoy #3 on the aft portion of the wreck on the starboard side of the well deck opening. It's wild to see the growth line in this area. As the ship was laying on her starboard side there is no growth on the last 3 feet or so of the starboard side (which was in the sand) it's completely clean and looks as though it was just sunk. Just forward of the moring point on one of the crane towers I added another American Flag. The other two flags on the wreck are in pretty bad shape so I thought a new one was in order. Mempilot and I entered the ship on the main deck, starboard side, and wound our way inside through several doorways before dropping through a hole in the floor and into the well deck (it looks like you're dropping into the abyss as the well deck is so massive) where we turned the dive heading back to the line.
It was a beautiful day a fantastic dive. The site was crowded with boats everywhere but that is to be expected. You folks diving it tomorrow are in for a real treat.
Have fun and dive safe.
Holy cow! I hope we get there early!!! Sounds as if you guys had a fantastic time, Scott. here's hoping our dive is as good!
Had a fantastic time today! Mike, Oliver, my neighbor Greg, & Mike's new cousins by marriage, Joe (dad) & Phillip (son) went down to dive the Duane & the Grove with Blue Water divers. I was quite impressed with their operation- starting on the dock where they took experience levels very seriously. It's a small boat & there were only a total of 9 divers on the boat- plenty of room & Captain Gary Marvel (yes, really!) was great! I proposed to him but think he was scared- can you see it now? Marvel Marvel 
. I never caught the DM's name but she was very good as well.
First stop was the Duane because it's actually a deeper dive than the Grove now to get to anything, even though the Grove sits in deeper water. The current was pretty strong- not exactly ripping but pretty darn close. Captain Glen Marvel (yes, really) tied off to the stern buoy, with the current running stern to bow. Instead of having to do the ol' "fight the current" thing, he told us to go down & allow the current to take us the length of the wreck & that he would move to the bow to pick us up. I was the first one in the water with my dive buddy, Oliver, close behind. went down to the structure as quickly as possible & just tooled around a little. The Duane has been in the water for quite some time & has a lot of growth on it- lots of good corals to look at. There are some resident turtles & a Goliath grouper but I did not see any this dive. We saw the usual assortment of jacks, groupers, & barracuda plus some damsels & other fish that I cannot name. All too soon we were nearing the bow & the end of our dive. We were on the superstructure of the boat & could not see the mooring line- the visibility still hasn't recovered from Dennis & a couple of months of east winds so, we dropped back down to the deck to ensure that we had adequate control & did not get blown off the wreck. As we reached the bowline, a whole bunch of divers from another boat descended onto the wreck.
The first wave consisted of about 5 divers & we waited for them to get off the line & onto the structure before proceeding up. Unfortunately, they were only the beginning of a herd of divers- all coming down & not looking too comfortable about it. Oliver & I stayed on one side of the line going up & gave them the other side. We got to about 30 feet & were doing a safety stop when we noticed that one of them had a tank that was falling out of his bc strap. I tried to signal him but he was not getting it at all so I went back down the line to try & help him out. He was last in line & his buddies did not see anything. Oliver followed me down & we tried to fix things but the diver was having no parts of it- he did not understand what we were trying to do & even though I put my hand right in his face & yelled "stop" 4-5 times he just didn't get it. By that time, the group had decided to call the dive & some of his buddies were jumping the line above him but below us. Again we tried to get them to see what was happening but they were just too stressed by the current to pay any attention. At that point, Oliver & I went back up the line & completed our safety stops. We came up on the bow of the other boat & just drifted past it right to the back of our own boat. Major kudos to Captain Gary for dropping us & picking us up that way. It made a dive that could have been a lot of work & rather stressful feel like a Cozumel drift dive.
Dive #2 was on the Spiegel Grove & let me tell you, it is AWESOME now that it's upright. If you've never been on the wreck before, you cannot imagine how BIG it is. Basically, before Dennis, you came down one of the lines onto the side of the boat & had to drop down to where the superstructure was laying on it's side. Oliver opted to sit out the 2nd dive- he had developed a stitch in his side on the first dive & didn't feel up to it. Besides, he had done two dives on it the day before with little or no current. Alas, not today. Although it wasn't ripping by any stretch of the imagination, there was a nice little cross current building throughout the dive. I went down with a couple of folks I met on the boat from the Clearwater area- they're regulars in the Keys & had been on the trip the day before too. I've never done any real penetration on it, aside from venturing in the one big hole. This time, however, I took a little guided tour of the front of the boat's superstructure, thanks to them. The Grove was originally cleaned out & ropes were strung through some of the passageways just so divers could go through relatively safely. We were almost never outside of the daylight zone & it was pretty darn cool to see the interior which has a lot more growth than much of the outside of the wreck. There was one doorway that had a door laying sort of at an angle across the middle but definitely not difficult to get through at all. once we went through the interior, the guy waved goodbye to us & went up the line. Brenda & I continued the dive & circled the structure outside before heading back up the line. We were kind of snickering a little with each other because we were waving bye to the wreck as it disappeared in the not so good visibility. Safety stops at 30 & 15 then back on the boat for the ride back. I cannot stress to you all enough just how much more of an interesting dive the Grove is than before. Despite the lack of growth, I much prefer it to the Duane, which is a great wreck itself.
Once we got back to the dock, the guys all picked up their wives, we all got cleaned up a little & headed up the road apiece to the Buzzard's Roost for lunch (minus Greg & his wife). Food was good, service was mediocre but the company was fabulous. Walter was down in the Keys diving with a friend of ours from Northern Virginia, who was down getting certified. She brought a friend also so we had a table of 11 with lots & lots of cross talk the entire time.
Mike, thanks for putting this together! Oliver, as always, it's a pleasure to dive with you! We were all so excited about the dives that I think that we've piqued the interest of a couple of the other ladies, too.
Run time on the Duane: 30 mins, max depth 102
Run time on the Grove: 34 minutes, max depth 94
Oh, & the water was so warm that I could have done both dives in just a bathing suit!
. I never caught the DM's name but she was very good as well. First stop was the Duane because it's actually a deeper dive than the Grove now to get to anything, even though the Grove sits in deeper water. The current was pretty strong- not exactly ripping but pretty darn close. Captain Glen Marvel (yes, really) tied off to the stern buoy, with the current running stern to bow. Instead of having to do the ol' "fight the current" thing, he told us to go down & allow the current to take us the length of the wreck & that he would move to the bow to pick us up. I was the first one in the water with my dive buddy, Oliver, close behind. went down to the structure as quickly as possible & just tooled around a little. The Duane has been in the water for quite some time & has a lot of growth on it- lots of good corals to look at. There are some resident turtles & a Goliath grouper but I did not see any this dive. We saw the usual assortment of jacks, groupers, & barracuda plus some damsels & other fish that I cannot name. All too soon we were nearing the bow & the end of our dive. We were on the superstructure of the boat & could not see the mooring line- the visibility still hasn't recovered from Dennis & a couple of months of east winds so, we dropped back down to the deck to ensure that we had adequate control & did not get blown off the wreck. As we reached the bowline, a whole bunch of divers from another boat descended onto the wreck.
The first wave consisted of about 5 divers & we waited for them to get off the line & onto the structure before proceeding up. Unfortunately, they were only the beginning of a herd of divers- all coming down & not looking too comfortable about it. Oliver & I stayed on one side of the line going up & gave them the other side. We got to about 30 feet & were doing a safety stop when we noticed that one of them had a tank that was falling out of his bc strap. I tried to signal him but he was not getting it at all so I went back down the line to try & help him out. He was last in line & his buddies did not see anything. Oliver followed me down & we tried to fix things but the diver was having no parts of it- he did not understand what we were trying to do & even though I put my hand right in his face & yelled "stop" 4-5 times he just didn't get it. By that time, the group had decided to call the dive & some of his buddies were jumping the line above him but below us. Again we tried to get them to see what was happening but they were just too stressed by the current to pay any attention. At that point, Oliver & I went back up the line & completed our safety stops. We came up on the bow of the other boat & just drifted past it right to the back of our own boat. Major kudos to Captain Gary for dropping us & picking us up that way. It made a dive that could have been a lot of work & rather stressful feel like a Cozumel drift dive.
Dive #2 was on the Spiegel Grove & let me tell you, it is AWESOME now that it's upright. If you've never been on the wreck before, you cannot imagine how BIG it is. Basically, before Dennis, you came down one of the lines onto the side of the boat & had to drop down to where the superstructure was laying on it's side. Oliver opted to sit out the 2nd dive- he had developed a stitch in his side on the first dive & didn't feel up to it. Besides, he had done two dives on it the day before with little or no current. Alas, not today. Although it wasn't ripping by any stretch of the imagination, there was a nice little cross current building throughout the dive. I went down with a couple of folks I met on the boat from the Clearwater area- they're regulars in the Keys & had been on the trip the day before too. I've never done any real penetration on it, aside from venturing in the one big hole. This time, however, I took a little guided tour of the front of the boat's superstructure, thanks to them. The Grove was originally cleaned out & ropes were strung through some of the passageways just so divers could go through relatively safely. We were almost never outside of the daylight zone & it was pretty darn cool to see the interior which has a lot more growth than much of the outside of the wreck. There was one doorway that had a door laying sort of at an angle across the middle but definitely not difficult to get through at all. once we went through the interior, the guy waved goodbye to us & went up the line. Brenda & I continued the dive & circled the structure outside before heading back up the line. We were kind of snickering a little with each other because we were waving bye to the wreck as it disappeared in the not so good visibility. Safety stops at 30 & 15 then back on the boat for the ride back. I cannot stress to you all enough just how much more of an interesting dive the Grove is than before. Despite the lack of growth, I much prefer it to the Duane, which is a great wreck itself.
Once we got back to the dock, the guys all picked up their wives, we all got cleaned up a little & headed up the road apiece to the Buzzard's Roost for lunch (minus Greg & his wife). Food was good, service was mediocre but the company was fabulous. Walter was down in the Keys diving with a friend of ours from Northern Virginia, who was down getting certified. She brought a friend also so we had a table of 11 with lots & lots of cross talk the entire time.
Mike, thanks for putting this together! Oliver, as always, it's a pleasure to dive with you! We were all so excited about the dives that I think that we've piqued the interest of a couple of the other ladies, too.
Run time on the Duane: 30 mins, max depth 102
Run time on the Grove: 34 minutes, max depth 94
Oh, & the water was so warm that I could have done both dives in just a bathing suit!
Marvel:
I'd like to see that.
KBeck
Contributor
Padipro:I'd like to see that.
Hey, now, buddy......
I'll just add that the Grove is now the most incredible dive.....there was no less than 13 dive boats/private boats moored to the wreck, and I never felt overcrowded.......there were significant stretches of time that we didn't see a soul.
Sage, can't wait to see some pics...........
OP
MikeJacobs
Guest
What can I add to Marve'ls great review - nothing but I will anyway. First of all, thanks Marvel for picking up the Burger King breakfast on the way in... that was a treat!
Second, I'll second Marvel's appreciation of Brent & crew - Blue Water Divers - they really enhanced the trip. I highly recommend them. In fact, they'll always be my first choice from now on.
Finally, a new thought, perhaps: the 'Grove seemed SMALLER to me because we spent all our time around the superstructure and didn't head back down to the stern along the well deck rim as usual... nothing back there anymore! The superstructure impressed me as much more "compact," probably because (a) there was always that "forbidden starboard-side" at 130' plus falling away beneth me before, and (b) we (as humans) must be better conditioned to orient to horizontal scale rather than vertical.
Greg, Marvel, Oliver, Joey & Phillip - GREAT dives and a GREAT weekend! How blessed we were by calm seas and relatively low temperatures above the water this time of year... you wouldn't have known it was hurricane season!
Second, I'll second Marvel's appreciation of Brent & crew - Blue Water Divers - they really enhanced the trip. I highly recommend them. In fact, they'll always be my first choice from now on.
Finally, a new thought, perhaps: the 'Grove seemed SMALLER to me because we spent all our time around the superstructure and didn't head back down to the stern along the well deck rim as usual... nothing back there anymore! The superstructure impressed me as much more "compact," probably because (a) there was always that "forbidden starboard-side" at 130' plus falling away beneth me before, and (b) we (as humans) must be better conditioned to orient to horizontal scale rather than vertical.
Greg, Marvel, Oliver, Joey & Phillip - GREAT dives and a GREAT weekend! How blessed we were by calm seas and relatively low temperatures above the water this time of year... you wouldn't have known it was hurricane season!
Finally got internet access again, so I will add my 2psi.
Yes, we had two great dives Sat AM. (would have been a better day if we did not have $1500.00 woth of gear stolen Fri night.)
Anyway, It was great seeing you again Krista, enjoyed meeting you, Scott, Eric & Oliver.
I always loved the Grove, but now it's even better.
Did another dive on the Grove today & another planned tomorrow.
There is still a lot of ship to see.
Yes, we had two great dives Sat AM. (would have been a better day if we did not have $1500.00 woth of gear stolen Fri night.)
Anyway, It was great seeing you again Krista, enjoyed meeting you, Scott, Eric & Oliver.
I always loved the Grove, but now it's even better.
Did another dive on the Grove today & another planned tomorrow.
There is still a lot of ship to see.
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