Bad Day at the Spiegel

[freedive]

Wow, thanks folks this is what makes this board such a success it is, LOTS of support.
I had been starting to second guess myself once I got home (maybe if had jumped in this way instead and I would not not have missed the rope or I should have tried the second dive anyway I may have felt better underwater than on the boat). After reading some of your experiences also I have to agree "better a safe diver than no diver"

 

[simbrooks]

Glad you made it back to the boat and decided not to hit the second one!

For some reason i get sick as a dog sitting in the diesel fumes during an SI and so far its been about 50/50 sick/not sick and that is only in about 2-4 feet of swell - once we are moving again or i am in the water i am great - i am not as accustomed to the gas fumes as you city dwellers!

I can only imagine what conditions were like this last weekend, it didnt look that good on paper! Out on the gulf coast we had pretty sweet diving with only a foot or so of swell coming in for the shore dives.

I know the SG is quite a popular AOW deep/wreck dive, but isnt it a bit much for that level really? I am not even going to consider hitting it for another 50 or so dives - and it would have to be decent conditions, none of this x ft of waves smashing the boat all about! I grew up on boats (sailing) and have been out in some pretty nasty seas (about 12-14ft swells that were large enough in wavelength to fit a good sized yacht into and 50mph winds battering you when you get to the crest), but not with about 50# of gear strapped on me and an engine chugging away and belching out fumes all over - doesnt sound like much fun!

 

[freedive]

I know the SG is quite a popular AOW deep/wreck dive, but isnt it a bit much for that level really?

No not at all, and unless you are doing some heavy penetration it's a fairly easy dive.....As long as you favorable conditions.
For my first deep/wreck I did the Duane with flat seas and no current and it was fantastic. Both are approx 130' depth and I wouldn't consider the Duane any more difficult than the Spiegel just a alot smaller. The outfit I like to use runs a 45 foot catamaran with twin ouboards and I have never smelled gas fumes in the dozen times I have been out with them so that certainly isn't a problem.

 

[simbrooks]

As long as you dont go inside the wreck itself wouldnt be bad, but its just the conditions that are talked about all the time with ripping currents (most of the time it seems), making it a more advanced (not talking AOW course, but actual diving experience) in my mind. You even say yourself in "favorable conditions", this weekend was not favourable by most divers means (and stomachs from the sound of it).

I am probably at the same point in my diving career as you (doing AOW and probably about 40-50 dives so far), but personally i wouldnt go near that wreck for a good while from what i hear, there are plenty of other wrecks to enjoy in SE FL for me for now up to the same depth etc. and i am comfortable learning at the pace i am currently going at and the direction i am going in. I would like one day to hit all those wrecks along the keys and around the rest of FL.

Nice about the cat and no fumes - lucky so and so! For some reason wherever i sit (usually as almost always no wind in FL) the fumes follow me, will keep trying though!

 

[GrierHPharmD]

If you're still looking to complete your deep and wreck dives, I might suggest something like the Sea Emperor or the United Carribbean, off Boca. Those are nice, relatively deep (>60') wrecks that will satisfy the AOW requirements. The Diversity, out of Boca/Deerfield goes to them, and the conditions are usually much less intense at those sites than at the Spiegel.

Just a suggestion, 'cause I agree with simbrooks regarding using the Spiegel for the AOW dives. No rating is worth diving beyond your experience and getting hurt.

-Grier

 

[simbrooks]

Actually one of my LDS's in Orlando (who i get many fills and tank rentals from) does their AOW weekend down around Boca, over the course of the weekend they get in 6 dives inc deep, night, nav, wreck and reef from what i have seen (we arent doing it with them, but if we were i would be happy enough). SG will be there another day, its not worth killing yourself to get on it on a bad day though - i am waiting til i have about 150 dives or so (probably about this time next year) to get to that one, depends on the conditions mainly and any trips organised at the time.

 

[Scubaguy62]

Thank you Don for that phrase. I'm certainly going to adopt it!

Juan, you made the best call. I've done the SG 8 times now, and I have to say that the last 3 - 4 times I dove it, I've had 5 - 7' seas and about a .5 - 1.5 knot current. Now, that doesn't seem like a lot of current, but id enough to make you do your safety stop at 25 fsw because if not you're likely to get blown off the line due to the swells, then you're a flag on a post because you're involuntarily horizontal, and last, you're likely to be dealing with a fast dwindling gas supply due to all the added stress. That's enough to put a crimp in someone's day, especially if they lack experience in deep diving. Dealing with a current, in general, is not that much of a problem, despite the changing currents at the SG, but dealing with 5 - 7' seas, a current, and an overcrowded wreck (like the SG), can prove challenging even to experienced divers. Imagine if you had to deal also with a sticking inflator.. It's easier to get down in those conditions than it is to come back up, especially when the final ascent (from the safety stop) is the most critical. In those conditions, it's hard to keep yourself from just shooting up the line; that's as dangerous, if not more, than not doing the safety stop.

Grier is right. Try the Sea Emperor, or the Ancient Mariner, or the Mercedes, or the RSB1. The first two are in 72 fsw, and the other two are in about 100 - 110 fsw; plenty deep for the AOW.

 

[simbrooks]

then you're a flag on a post because you're involuntarily horizontal

I know its off-topic, but there is nothing wrong with doing a stop horizontal or ascending like that - but i can see with a hefty current attempting to pull you off the line that its not pleasant and comfortable to hang for that time there.

Ok, back on topic, how strong does the SG current get? 0.5-1.5 doesnt sound much, its about normal for drift diving off Broward i thought.

I am enjoying those SE FL wrecks though, even though i have only hit two so far, but going to get through them!!

 

[GrierHPharmD]

For that matter, I always enjoy doing the wrecks off of Sunny Isles (Concepcion, C-One, etc. They're also deep enough for AOW, and can be accessed through Haulover Cut, just off the beach. (Yes, you can see the beach during the surface interval!) H2O Scuba is a nice little operation in Sunny Isles if you're interested. (www.h2oscuba.com)

-Grier

 

[Scubaguy62]

I know its off-topic, but there is nothing wrong with doing a stop horizontal or ascending like that - but i can see with a hefty current attempting to pull you off the line that its not pleasant and comfortable to hang for that time there.

See how I qualified the remark? Actually, it's advisable for the safety (deco) stop be done while horizontal because there is more of the diver at the same depth and thus the decompression is more uniform, but that's a totally separate thread.

Ok, back on topic, how strong does the SG current get? 0.5-1.5 doesnt sound much, its about normal for drift diving off Broward i thought.

You're right, it doesn't sound like a lot, until you have to swim against it to get to your line 'cause if you don't you'll end up staring at a different boat, and then your captain might just not like you very much. Then you add a number of divers that can range from 3 to 10 doing the safety stop at the same time.....see why I say it can get hairy??