Hello,
My 2 dive buddies and myself will be diving in Key Largo next month and I plan to do some advanced penetration of the Spiegel Grove wreck. What follows is my intended plan written as instructions to my dive buddies, and I'd appreciate feedback and tips and possible drawbacks if any.
I am solo certified with close to 500 dives including many on wrecks using a reel. I carry a 30cf pony bottle with redundant cutting tools, signalling devices, second reel and smb for deployment at depth if necessary. My buddies are experienced AOW Nitrox certified divers but no experience with a reel. I will show them how to use the reel and probably even do a practice run through a building prior to our dive. I have dived the Spiegel Grove about a dozen times over the past few years, more recently with a divemaster who knows the wreck well and took us on a personal tour down a few of the internal corridors of the wreck.
Ideally we will tie off to one of the cranes amidships. If we tie off near the stern we will have a long swim and it will deplete our gas supply but we should still be able to do a significant penetration if conditions allow (meaning not too much current and reasonable visibility).
Should we tie off near the bow we will have to modify our penetration and do it in reverse from what is described below.
We will enter just forward of amidships on the port side lowest level just above the expansive open bay area that originally housed the amphibious landing vehicles when the Spiegel Grove was in operation.
Just prior to entering the ship I will tie off the reel and deploy it as I swim down the first corridor which as I recall is the longest stretch and there will be no visible light at the end. If memory serves me correctly we make a right turn and will find the Snoopy Mascot. As you follow me you use the line as a guide and you can even make a circle around it with your fingers but do not pull or put too much strain on it! Keep your fins clear of the bottom, it can easily silt out.
After the first long corridor there are a few more turns and we should end up in a very open area that has several large windows with egress to the outside of the ship.
At this point we don't need the reel, and if gas remaining allows us to do so, rather than us ultimately retracing our steps, I will hand the reel off to someone and rapidly go back along the path we just took, untie the reel and wind it around my hand as I swim back. You can continue deploying the line and exit the wreck. As soon as you see me coming down the final stretch you can begin reeling in the line. It won't be possible to do it any sooner because the reel line will probably be tied off in a few places to avoid slack and avoid it cutting into a corner which gives the illusion that the line has disappeared into a side wall of the wreck and can result in disorientation when returning along the line.
At any time when two divers are handling the reel and line, one quick pull means "STOP" and 2 quick pulls means "Continue Reeling".
At that point we have the option of returning through a different corridor using the same technique or heading back to the mooring line swimming outside the ship.
If we should run low on gas we can ascend on any of the other mooring lines on the wreck.
There are some interior stairs to lower darker levels of the wreck, if possible I'd like to check those out, if only for a quick look around.
My 2 dive buddies and myself will be diving in Key Largo next month and I plan to do some advanced penetration of the Spiegel Grove wreck. What follows is my intended plan written as instructions to my dive buddies, and I'd appreciate feedback and tips and possible drawbacks if any.
I am solo certified with close to 500 dives including many on wrecks using a reel. I carry a 30cf pony bottle with redundant cutting tools, signalling devices, second reel and smb for deployment at depth if necessary. My buddies are experienced AOW Nitrox certified divers but no experience with a reel. I will show them how to use the reel and probably even do a practice run through a building prior to our dive. I have dived the Spiegel Grove about a dozen times over the past few years, more recently with a divemaster who knows the wreck well and took us on a personal tour down a few of the internal corridors of the wreck.
Ideally we will tie off to one of the cranes amidships. If we tie off near the stern we will have a long swim and it will deplete our gas supply but we should still be able to do a significant penetration if conditions allow (meaning not too much current and reasonable visibility).
Should we tie off near the bow we will have to modify our penetration and do it in reverse from what is described below.
We will enter just forward of amidships on the port side lowest level just above the expansive open bay area that originally housed the amphibious landing vehicles when the Spiegel Grove was in operation.
Just prior to entering the ship I will tie off the reel and deploy it as I swim down the first corridor which as I recall is the longest stretch and there will be no visible light at the end. If memory serves me correctly we make a right turn and will find the Snoopy Mascot. As you follow me you use the line as a guide and you can even make a circle around it with your fingers but do not pull or put too much strain on it! Keep your fins clear of the bottom, it can easily silt out.
After the first long corridor there are a few more turns and we should end up in a very open area that has several large windows with egress to the outside of the ship.
At this point we don't need the reel, and if gas remaining allows us to do so, rather than us ultimately retracing our steps, I will hand the reel off to someone and rapidly go back along the path we just took, untie the reel and wind it around my hand as I swim back. You can continue deploying the line and exit the wreck. As soon as you see me coming down the final stretch you can begin reeling in the line. It won't be possible to do it any sooner because the reel line will probably be tied off in a few places to avoid slack and avoid it cutting into a corner which gives the illusion that the line has disappeared into a side wall of the wreck and can result in disorientation when returning along the line.
At any time when two divers are handling the reel and line, one quick pull means "STOP" and 2 quick pulls means "Continue Reeling".
At that point we have the option of returning through a different corridor using the same technique or heading back to the mooring line swimming outside the ship.
If we should run low on gas we can ascend on any of the other mooring lines on the wreck.
There are some interior stairs to lower darker levels of the wreck, if possible I'd like to check those out, if only for a quick look around.
ETA2: This is a joke don't leave line on the SG.
