As I first heard it, the year was 1975. A terrifying wind blew a Northeasterly swath of horizontal rain and mountainous waves. A lone ship limped from one monstrous swell to the next, its frightened crew praying for help, but knowing full well none could arrive in time.Like a drowning man trying desparately to stay afloat, the great ship struggled again and again, but began to tire. Less than three miles from shore, surely the safe harbor of the Boca Inlet could be reached. But with one last angry surge, the once proud HydroAtlantic was plunged beneath the surface by the near infinite power and will of the ocean itself.
The captain and crew, prepared for the inevitable, rode the ship down to its comfortable resting spot 185 feet below the surface. Landing smoothly, completely intact and upright, the great ship and her crew had a few final moments together of surreal calm, these giving way to a peaceful co-existance with nature and eternity.
Actually, the year was 1987, the seas were 4-6, and the once proud ship was being towed to a salvage yard where uncaring men would soon rape, pillage and rip apart every last vestige of grace and dignity the great ship had ever known..The crew on the tow boat, incompetent or perhaps "preoccupied", somehow managed to miss the telltale signs of the huge ship filling with water. Suddenly, a surprised tow crew stared incomprehensibly as the great ship escaped their greedy world, and fled to the safe haven of great depth and perpetual tranquility.Somehow there's a romance and a passion in most divers for the unknown mysteries surrounding a shipwreck.
It begins as an awe inspiring sight, and we want explanations, although sometimes marvel and fantasy work well 'till we know better.As the years passed, the ship gave birth to a rich underwater community, far surpassing the near shore reefs in complexity and profusion of marine life. Massive columns of baitfish thrived from its decks to the surface, from the distance looking almost like an "enormous, fish filled upside-down tornado". Big jacks and grouper and barracuda would blast through this column like freight trains, and eddies would form in the great column until the temporary assaults would subside.
The past...Scuba divers came to South Florida reefs in the 50's. There was no instruction, no knowledge of decompression, and little appreciation for the potential dangers of diving to great depth. At first, the 60 to 100 foot deep reefs were explored, but most of these divers were out chasing the big fish. By the early 60's, the 500 pound fish were gone from the shallow reefs, and the old time divers headed out to deep reefs and deep wrecks to find them. Many were concerned that commercial overfishing was hurting the fish population, but fisherman or the public never listened. So the old time divers went deep, where nature was still pure; but many found unseen dangers like the "bends" and "nitogen narcosis" ---then called "rapture of the depths". Still in its infacy, but now in the news, diving appeared to be a dangerous sport.Death became a frequent visitor to these early deep divers, and only "macho", Navy frogman types were comfortable with this stigma. Great ships like the Hydro found near 200 feet deep or beyond, promised the biggest fish. Some dived on the deep ships and entered the pristine ecosystems, coming back with tales of mermaids, sharks, and extreme depth. And the stories and unknown dangers kept the great ship's secrets for many years to come.Certification agencies springing up like NAUI and PADI began teaching safe diving and safe diving depths. They created an adage, "There are old divers and bold divers, but no old, bold divers", and this further protected the great ship's from the new "hordes" of scuba diving tourists. A whole new image of scuba diving had formed by the 80's, and diving had developed the safety necessary to be a wonderful, relaxing, pleasureable experience for virtually anyone. By 1990, over 3 million people were certified divers, all enjoying the pretty coastal reefs and Island diving at depths less than 100 feet.Out of these 3 million divers, a small group arose. They harbored a deep, unrelenting desire to dive areas not yet spoiled by commercial overfishing. In search of primordial conditions where fish amassed in seemingly infinite numbers, and huge fish flourished to rule these kingdoms, this small group of divers turned to the deep reefs and pristine wrecks like the HydroAtlantic. These divers were overexposed to sites with pretty reefs and little fish, and the masquerade of nature they represent. Of course the practice was not and is not condoned by PADI or NAUI. And most divers would not safely dive the Hydro or other deep wrecks like it. But there are some who can and do!
The Future...There are many spectacular reefs and wrecks in South Florida. Luckily they have not succumbed to the ravages of the last decade's commercial fishing(netting, long-lining), and the average open water certified diver has the ability and opportunity to enjoy them. For now, the Gulf Stream offers Palm Beach divers this last chance at great beauty and abundant fish life--'though the monster fish and big sharks which once ruled here have since left for deeper, safer waters.The good news is , the HydroAtlantic is still pristine and awe inspiring. The bad news is that your chances of diving it are slim--assuming you are an "average diver". If you have technical diver training, and can produce log books of your many deep dives signed by the boat captain and your buddies, you have an excellent chance of diving it. Typically, those wishing to deep dive in South Florida start with the only real tech diving operator in Pompano Beach, Jim Mims of Ocean Diving Schools.
The present...Today, one of the few dive operators who take divers to this wreck, Lynn Simmons of Splashdown Divers does not advertise her trips to the HydroAtlantic. Her trips are for her friends, instructors, divemasters, and several of the local technical diving community. Each began as a novice many years ago, and wanted more; more sight, more adventure, more excitement. Each was tired of the depopulated reefs of the "famous dive sites". In time, each found the as yet, unspoiled South Florida diving, and a new class of diver was born.Luckily for today's divers who want more, there is some hope. It's not easy to get to the Olympics, to be a world class skier, or to run a four minute mile. If you want it bad enough you might get it, but only with alot of work.
On our last outing, 12 divers did the HydroAtlantic with Lynn. Each is infinitely competent, loaded with redundant backups, and the best that mid-90's technology has to offer. Lasting a little over an hour, the dive brought 12 people into a strange alternate universe. As our group descended into the inner sanctum of this great ship, an eerie feeling of eternal transcendence and mystery merged with the "Rapture of the Depths". Our imaginations breathed life and purpose into the great ship, and each of us knew the hidden secrets of the ocean were crying out before us to be realized. Each additional minute we could spend on the ship would bring us that much closer to absolute understanding and total harmony. As one diver stood confidently at the wheel house, steering the great ship on its final journey, another gazed over the massive bow, both imagining the final moments, but now only feeling the calm serenity in its wake. In this home to untold numbers of fish, what reincarnations of human spirit may now reside in its hold? And do these large and curious fish know something of life as a human, or do they just appear friendly or arrogant?
We leave this ship in several waves, each group unready to go, but with little choice. Each will return again many times, in the weeks and months ahead. One of the 20 or 30 deep dive sites in which the underwater world can still be seen as it should, we are in no hurry to bring the rest of the world to these last sanctuaries. Still, we can't help believing that if more divers were exposed to this "natural", healthy underwater world, a world prehistoric to mankind's commercial plunders and overfishing, that more concern would develop in the public consciousness about what we have lost...If today's average diver could see the difference between the underwater world they see, and the world as seen by the old time divers, or today's "technical divers", each would be overcome by a profound sense of loss, and a commitment to do something to help save our last frontier. And yet, in a selfish sort of way, perhaps it is good that most divers do not aspire to dive the deep, pristine wrecks and reefs of Palm Beach, leaving us a world all the more unspoiled for their reluctance.Today' new divers see the last vestige of a once thriving underwater world. Most will see only corals and small tropical fish too small to be caught by commercial fisherman. As new divers, these newcomers have no way of knowing how severely the oceans have changed in the last 30 years, and the natural beauty which still remains convinces most that all is well. Those who push on achieving advanced skills, reaching unspoiled realms, will be the last adventurers. In as little as ten to fifteen years, probably no unspoiled sites will exist. Just as Cayman, Jamaica, Haiti, and the Florida Keys have already lost their major fish populations, 15 years from now Palm Beach will be deserted too, soon to be followed by Stuart, and the demise of the entire South Atlantic Fisheries.
For now, the wreck of the HydroAtlantic lies safe and timeless, an oasis within a drastically depleted ocean. Its surreal existance, fed by estuarine nutrients, and cleansed repeatedly by the Gulf Stream, seems safe for the moment. Few locations left in the our hemisphere can boast of the abundant life brought to Palm Beach by this Gulf Stream current. And fewer still will pity Palm Beach after it allows itself to be ruined in the next 10 to 20 years.And who will be luckier, the elite divers who now see the last unspoiled frontiers in the final decade or two of their existance, or the average divers, never exposed to the "real ocean", and never knowing what they've missed? |
