Dry Tortugas and Key West deep wrecks

[aue-mike]

Just got back from yet another great trip out to the deep wrecks off the Dry Tortugas and Key West off the M/V SPREE. Great weather, good visibility, and lots of critters. Had the standard turtle and dolphin encounters, and also saw a lot of mahi and wahoo on deco (especially off Key West).

While I didn't take as many shots as usual, I did sneak in a few...

A couple shots of the USS WILKES BARRE:

Divers over the USS CURB:

Frolicking dolphins on the trawler TIKI II:

The twisted remains of the midship superstructure on the RHEIN:

Can't wait until next year!

Cheers,
Mike

 

[stangd1909]

Aweosme pics man.....I hope to dive those one day!!

 

[Capt Gary]

Nice pics Mike....thanks for sharing them with us.

Good Diving,

 

[SFLDiver3445]

I too was on this trip with Mike. He organizes a great deep wreck trip - Thanks again Mike!

I've been to Dry Tortugas many times, but this was my first time diving the deeper wrecks in this area. It was awesome diving non-artificial reefs with a bit of history!

As Mike mentioned, the weather really cooperated, and when you combine that with the rich blue water and abundant marine life in the Dry Tortugas, it made for one excellent week of diving!

The crew of the Spree also went out of their way to accomidate our heavy equipment and deeper diving logistical needs. The Spree is primarily a recreational diving liveaboard, but they are also provide nitrox to their divers, and will accomidate rebreather and technical diving needs with a bit of advance coordination. Definitely give the Spree consideration for your next livaboard trip, especially for you Floridians, because they're now based in Key West all year round.

Great pics Mike - I especially love the shot with the dolphins!!

Here's a few shots I managed to take on the trip.

Here's a shot of a large Goliath Grouper on the stern of the Araby Maid:

Here's a shot of Jeff (SWADIVER) hovering over one set of the many big guns on the USS Wilkesbarre:

Here's a shot of the bow section of the U-2513 sub:

Here's a shot that shows the marine life at the top of the king posts on the Rein:

Here's a shot of Brandon in full tech gear while on the deck of the USS Curb:

Here's a shot of bait fish swirling around the king posts on the Rein:

And here's a shot of a couple of divers completing a long decompression after their dive on the USS Curb:

Enjoy!

Adrian

 

[stangd1909]

Very nice....how deep is the USS curb?

 

[aue-mike]

Very nice....how deep is the USS curb?

About 185 feet to the sand.

 

[cdreamer]

Really nice pictures and thanks for sharing. I have a trip scheduled with the Spree
next month and I cannot wait. Did Flower Gardens last year with them and they
are outstanding!

 

[Jupiter31]

Thanks, Mike for the pix's

BTW, I met you at the Dive Show in West Palm (Fairgrounds) a year or so ago - we purchased a couple of your books.

 

[DennisC]

Are there any dive operations that still dive these sites? I watched 2 of them on deep sea detectives (Rhein and U-2513). They both looked like awesome dives.

 

[Wookie]

I'm going September 5-9. Same trip. 2 spots left, I think.