Capt Jim Wyatt
Hanging at the 10 Foot Stop
Staff member
ScubaBoard Business Sponsor
Scuba Instructor
A few weeks ago I surveyed a lot of passageways on the Spiegel Grove in advance of an advanced wreck diver class I have scheduled in September. Last weekend I showed Lamar Hires, John Jones, Jared Hires and others from the Dive-Rite crew these passageways. Lamar video taped a lot of that dive and it can be seen at: Lamar Hires | Facebook
The depth of this part of the ship is 105 fsw. There are a few sections where outside light comes in, but only a couple of places where a diver can exit. This is definitely an advanced wreck dive. There is a good bit of silt on the bottom so good cave/wreck technique is mandatory. There are several places where obstructions exist and where cabling hangs down to impede passage.
There are places along this "traverse" where one can look down several decks to see some pretty deep places that look pretty dang dangerous to me. I spent two years serving on her and I recall the machinery spaces on the 5th deck down being huge and full of equipment. I have no interest or plans to penetrate down to those depths yet...I suspect we will see depths of up to 140 fsw in the bottom of the machinery spaces.
This traverse takes about 25-30 minutes to complete....Of course part of the gig is being told what the spaces are as I lived on her for over two years and served as Command Duty Officer & OOD underway.
In any event these areas on Lamars' video is where I will be running this advanced wreck class. There is a line in there ... looks like #24 braided nylon. I saw only one directional marker on that line. The line is very well run. The best gas for this dive will be EAN32, deco gas 100% O2.
Divers undertaking dives in these areas MUST be properly trained in advanced wreck diving techniques. Running lines, anti-silting techniques, navigation, gas management and bailout.
Many of the wrecks I have trained on for advanced wreck are 180+ feet deep and bottom times are limited. This wreck presents a golden opportunity for excellent advanced wreck training in warm / shallow/ clear water.
The depth of this part of the ship is 105 fsw. There are a few sections where outside light comes in, but only a couple of places where a diver can exit. This is definitely an advanced wreck dive. There is a good bit of silt on the bottom so good cave/wreck technique is mandatory. There are several places where obstructions exist and where cabling hangs down to impede passage.
There are places along this "traverse" where one can look down several decks to see some pretty deep places that look pretty dang dangerous to me. I spent two years serving on her and I recall the machinery spaces on the 5th deck down being huge and full of equipment. I have no interest or plans to penetrate down to those depths yet...I suspect we will see depths of up to 140 fsw in the bottom of the machinery spaces.
This traverse takes about 25-30 minutes to complete....Of course part of the gig is being told what the spaces are as I lived on her for over two years and served as Command Duty Officer & OOD underway.
In any event these areas on Lamars' video is where I will be running this advanced wreck class. There is a line in there ... looks like #24 braided nylon. I saw only one directional marker on that line. The line is very well run. The best gas for this dive will be EAN32, deco gas 100% O2.
Divers undertaking dives in these areas MUST be properly trained in advanced wreck diving techniques. Running lines, anti-silting techniques, navigation, gas management and bailout.
Many of the wrecks I have trained on for advanced wreck are 180+ feet deep and bottom times are limited. This wreck presents a golden opportunity for excellent advanced wreck training in warm / shallow/ clear water.
