nolatom
Contributor
I, who dives seldom, was happy to get a day trip over to Pensacola on a beautiful Saturday for two dives with Scuba Shack, on the MV Wet Dream.
The dives:
I'd done both a few times, but always enjoy them, the PETE TIDE, then the "Russian freighter" a/k/a the SS SAN PABLO. The Pete was fun and fish-ful, vis just so-so at 25 feet, but fun nevertheless. 33 min, 101 feet. Water about 78 deg high 74 low, little current. I saw a shark down low that apparently no one else did. Cool
Second dive, on the "Russian Freighter", old 1916-built United Fruit freighter, lots of "bones", some tailshaft, and three huge museum-worthy Scotch (firetube) boilers sitting there like big beehives with all the firetube holes. 35 min, 89'.
The boat:
The WET DREAM has always been fun for me. Captain Gene who knows everything since who knows when, cool DM Liz, and wonderful cook Kathy. A cook on a day boat?? You betcha--grilled hot dogs between dives, and homemade strawberry pound cake topped with homemade (on the boat, with the real deal, crank, salty ice, and all) strawberry ice cream, after the second dive. I had two helpings.
The buddy, and the stupid stuff he helped me through:
Jimmy, from Cali but lately from Tuscaloosa, whom I'd met as an insta buddy last June. Excellent diver and a level head. Which was useful 'cause I forgot to "refresh" my computer and failed to notice the screen was blank, splash, nada data. So I did what you're not 'sposed to, I dived on Jimmy's computer. Worked great.
Second dive, I decided for some reason to use my "old" mask because it had the side windows, it's not prescription like my new one but it'll be fine, yada yada. So this time my computer worked, but I couldn't see s#*t, really, it was like an impressionist painting versus a photograph. Had to rely on Jimmy again, who could see, and found the upline at the end when I really couldn't and was about to suggest a free ascent. He was definitely the better buddy that day.
The San Pablo / Russian freighter "secret":
I hadn't heard this before, but Capt Gene told us the ship did not sink accidentally after WW2 torpedo damage in Costa Rica, and being towed toward a Mobile AL shipyard when she just sank. Instead, she was a target ship for a secret OSS operation to test a remote-control speedboat loaded with explosives (and which could be disguised as a local fishing boat complete with fake engine noise and exhaust smoke to defeat the axis hydrophones so as to sneak past their harbor defenses) which had forward-looking television broadcast back to a control station (on a B-17 just above) who could "see" by TV and steer her and work the throttle by radio. Well, it worked just fine, check out the waterspout when the submerged charges went off on starboard side midships on the PABLO:
San Pablo
Wow.
So that's what I learned about the Russian freighter. Gene showed us the full movie at the shop after we got in.
Diving is definitely educational, n'est-ce pas? I re-learned two "don't do's", learned the "real story" about one of my favorite Gulf dives, and had a nice day on the third coast.
The dives:
I'd done both a few times, but always enjoy them, the PETE TIDE, then the "Russian freighter" a/k/a the SS SAN PABLO. The Pete was fun and fish-ful, vis just so-so at 25 feet, but fun nevertheless. 33 min, 101 feet. Water about 78 deg high 74 low, little current. I saw a shark down low that apparently no one else did. Cool
Second dive, on the "Russian Freighter", old 1916-built United Fruit freighter, lots of "bones", some tailshaft, and three huge museum-worthy Scotch (firetube) boilers sitting there like big beehives with all the firetube holes. 35 min, 89'.
The boat:
The WET DREAM has always been fun for me. Captain Gene who knows everything since who knows when, cool DM Liz, and wonderful cook Kathy. A cook on a day boat?? You betcha--grilled hot dogs between dives, and homemade strawberry pound cake topped with homemade (on the boat, with the real deal, crank, salty ice, and all) strawberry ice cream, after the second dive. I had two helpings.
The buddy, and the stupid stuff he helped me through:
Jimmy, from Cali but lately from Tuscaloosa, whom I'd met as an insta buddy last June. Excellent diver and a level head. Which was useful 'cause I forgot to "refresh" my computer and failed to notice the screen was blank, splash, nada data. So I did what you're not 'sposed to, I dived on Jimmy's computer. Worked great.
Second dive, I decided for some reason to use my "old" mask because it had the side windows, it's not prescription like my new one but it'll be fine, yada yada. So this time my computer worked, but I couldn't see s#*t, really, it was like an impressionist painting versus a photograph. Had to rely on Jimmy again, who could see, and found the upline at the end when I really couldn't and was about to suggest a free ascent. He was definitely the better buddy that day.
The San Pablo / Russian freighter "secret":
I hadn't heard this before, but Capt Gene told us the ship did not sink accidentally after WW2 torpedo damage in Costa Rica, and being towed toward a Mobile AL shipyard when she just sank. Instead, she was a target ship for a secret OSS operation to test a remote-control speedboat loaded with explosives (and which could be disguised as a local fishing boat complete with fake engine noise and exhaust smoke to defeat the axis hydrophones so as to sneak past their harbor defenses) which had forward-looking television broadcast back to a control station (on a B-17 just above) who could "see" by TV and steer her and work the throttle by radio. Well, it worked just fine, check out the waterspout when the submerged charges went off on starboard side midships on the PABLO:
San Pablo
Wow.
So that's what I learned about the Russian freighter. Gene showed us the full movie at the shop after we got in.
Diving is definitely educational, n'est-ce pas? I re-learned two "don't do's", learned the "real story" about one of my favorite Gulf dives, and had a nice day on the third coast.
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