jadairiii
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Had a fantastic day of diving with my two regular dive buddies on Friday and it was a real testament to team diving, proper training and technique and the use of scooters just not for fun but the added benefit of safety.
The original dive plan was to drop on the Hydro Atlantic (max 175 FSW), do 30 min on the wreck then do our deco on the fly while scootering into shallower water. Our mix that day was 21/35 trimix with a deco gas of 50 EAN for 70’. That planed changed a bit when Capt Conrad, of Miss Conduct charters, suggested that on the way in we aim for the United Caribbean wreck. Once we arrived on site of the Hydro, Conrad gave us a heading for the United Caribbean and our plan changed to 20 min on the Hydro then head to the other wreck. Conditions were exceptional top side, calm water and sunny. Conrad lined us up, we rolled in, he handed us our Suex xJoy 37 scooters and we hit the triggers laying out the line on the torpedo float so Conrad could follow. I should stop here and give credit where credit is due, there are not many captains in South Florida that could do what Conrad did, taking all that time to let us roll and set up and we hit the Hydro perfectly. Good hot drops start with the captain!
Once on the wreck my buddy Errol tied off the torpedo float to the one crane and off we went scootering all through the wreck, in, out and all around. We made 3 circuits of the wreck, did some penetration, checked our time and decided to head for shore and the United Caribbean. So we untied the line and headed off on our predetermined compass heading. This did not last long since I see a gray suit coming in on us fast so I flash my buddies with my HID so we had to pause for a bit until a 8’+ dusky (oceanic white tip) shark got tired of trying to bite one of us. That boy must have had a bit too much caffeine, arched back and pectoral fins down and all. Just a bit of excitement but once that passed it was back on the triggers and on our way. It is amazing to just scooter and watch all the fish and the bottom, we scootered at about 100’ and passed the first deep ledge then into another awesome ledge that was just in about 120’ and soon we are scootering right off the bottom zooming through huge coral heads and schools of fish. Then we were out of that reef line and back into sand. In the sand we came across a huge southern sting ray that had to be at least 6’ wide. Then we came upon another reef line and this point we are in 70’ of water so it is time to switch to our deco mix. Here is where the safety of the scooter is so amazing, had we just drifted off the wreck we would still be in deep water doing our gas switches and having to deal with any contingency that may arise without a fixed bottom. Here we were just inches off the bottom, in horizontal trim, doing our gas switches. Once the switch was done we hit the triggers and within just a few minutes we are at the rock piles just south of the 2nd wreck. We turn south and are greeted by 5 massive goliath grouper milling about the wreck. We explore that wreck and head west again to find some more reef. Bit of sand then on to a really beautiful shallow reef in about 35’ of water, we buzz that reef and then west again. By this time our deco obligation is over and we call the dive in about 25’ of water less than 500 yards from the beach. As we surface there is Conrad with a big smile on his face since he knew we hit all of our objectives and he knew right where we were the whole dive. Nothing makes a captain happier then knowing where all his divers are at all times, he just watched our torpedo float and knew we were good.
For a total run time of 63 minutes we used less than 70 cuft from our back gas and a little less than 20 cuft from our 40 cuft deco mix, well within minimum gas standards. On top of that our Suex xJoy 37’s, running at about ¾ power the whole time, still had 73% battery life. So rather than a nice wreck dive and 30+ minutes deco while drifting and looking at each other, we did 2 wrecks (Conrad said we missed a third wreck by about 100’…next time) and explored 4 reef lines, not bad.
The original dive plan was to drop on the Hydro Atlantic (max 175 FSW), do 30 min on the wreck then do our deco on the fly while scootering into shallower water. Our mix that day was 21/35 trimix with a deco gas of 50 EAN for 70’. That planed changed a bit when Capt Conrad, of Miss Conduct charters, suggested that on the way in we aim for the United Caribbean wreck. Once we arrived on site of the Hydro, Conrad gave us a heading for the United Caribbean and our plan changed to 20 min on the Hydro then head to the other wreck. Conditions were exceptional top side, calm water and sunny. Conrad lined us up, we rolled in, he handed us our Suex xJoy 37 scooters and we hit the triggers laying out the line on the torpedo float so Conrad could follow. I should stop here and give credit where credit is due, there are not many captains in South Florida that could do what Conrad did, taking all that time to let us roll and set up and we hit the Hydro perfectly. Good hot drops start with the captain!
Once on the wreck my buddy Errol tied off the torpedo float to the one crane and off we went scootering all through the wreck, in, out and all around. We made 3 circuits of the wreck, did some penetration, checked our time and decided to head for shore and the United Caribbean. So we untied the line and headed off on our predetermined compass heading. This did not last long since I see a gray suit coming in on us fast so I flash my buddies with my HID so we had to pause for a bit until a 8’+ dusky (oceanic white tip) shark got tired of trying to bite one of us. That boy must have had a bit too much caffeine, arched back and pectoral fins down and all. Just a bit of excitement but once that passed it was back on the triggers and on our way. It is amazing to just scooter and watch all the fish and the bottom, we scootered at about 100’ and passed the first deep ledge then into another awesome ledge that was just in about 120’ and soon we are scootering right off the bottom zooming through huge coral heads and schools of fish. Then we were out of that reef line and back into sand. In the sand we came across a huge southern sting ray that had to be at least 6’ wide. Then we came upon another reef line and this point we are in 70’ of water so it is time to switch to our deco mix. Here is where the safety of the scooter is so amazing, had we just drifted off the wreck we would still be in deep water doing our gas switches and having to deal with any contingency that may arise without a fixed bottom. Here we were just inches off the bottom, in horizontal trim, doing our gas switches. Once the switch was done we hit the triggers and within just a few minutes we are at the rock piles just south of the 2nd wreck. We turn south and are greeted by 5 massive goliath grouper milling about the wreck. We explore that wreck and head west again to find some more reef. Bit of sand then on to a really beautiful shallow reef in about 35’ of water, we buzz that reef and then west again. By this time our deco obligation is over and we call the dive in about 25’ of water less than 500 yards from the beach. As we surface there is Conrad with a big smile on his face since he knew we hit all of our objectives and he knew right where we were the whole dive. Nothing makes a captain happier then knowing where all his divers are at all times, he just watched our torpedo float and knew we were good.
For a total run time of 63 minutes we used less than 70 cuft from our back gas and a little less than 20 cuft from our 40 cuft deco mix, well within minimum gas standards. On top of that our Suex xJoy 37’s, running at about ¾ power the whole time, still had 73% battery life. So rather than a nice wreck dive and 30+ minutes deco while drifting and looking at each other, we did 2 wrecks (Conrad said we missed a third wreck by about 100’…next time) and explored 4 reef lines, not bad.
