I am trying to get something going regarding the tire reef off Fort Lauderdale....

[911_abuser]

See this link...

www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/broward/sfl-ctires13jul13.story

So after reading that and being totally unaware, I was thinking maybe someone could come up with an EFFICIENT way of getting these tires off the seabed/reefs.

I was thinking of maybe making an event of it.

If anyone has any input, suggestions or anything let me know.

Fernando

 

[MikeJacobs]

Hey, I'll dive just about anything once.

The second reef is a nice, easy dive from here (I live at A1A and Sunrise). The third is supposed to be a 15 minute kick past the second, so if the tires are between the two it should be doable in a normal shore dive as long as you don't suck air. We usually spend 90+ minutes on these shallow shore dives (see Humpday Sunrise dive threads).

Maybe the newspaper would be interested in what we find.

I haven't checked the maps, but if we can put a group of divers capable of sustaining the bottom time and/or kicking a while on the surface, it seems like something to try.

Otherwise, we're looking at a boat. Or, maybe we could enlist a couple of kayakers to tag along to drag anybody back who tires out. I have some friends among the local Florida Trail Association and the Palm Beach Pack & Paddle Club who would probably consider it an adventure.

Jenny, Marvel and I use very little air. Maybe the four of us (at least) should give it a shot and report back before opening it up.

There is some risk. We've done shore dives with a couple of people lately who might not make it on a single tank. I'm not tremendously fit, so I'd guess 75 percent of us would do it easily but why take the chance?

Name the place, date and time and I'll be there. Marc... we'll need you and your camera. Are you up for it?

 

[Wendy]

How are you planning on bring the tires back if you are doing a shore dive? It would take you forever to get that many tires to shore. Maybe some lift bags and a surface support boat and a boat dive would be a better route.

I would actually wait and see what the city plans on doing. Although your intentions are good I wouldn't just go out and start removing them.

Also you may want to get in touch with the Palm Beach County Reef Research Team and see what they have planned. They get state grants to do research, so maybe they could get funding for a tire clean up.

 

[911_abuser]

Well the problem actually belongs to the State and to Broward County not just City of Fort Lauderdale. I was thinking if the State/County would supply the logistics such as boats/food/tank fills then divers could volunteer to assist bringing them back up.

I believe lift bags in this case would be very inefficient considering the amount of tires. I was thinking a better solution would be some type of system where in we could string together maybe 10-20 ( or more ) tires at a time using ropes with a loop on one end and a hook on the other. Then they could be winched on board a barge or whatever.

I can make the swim no problem although I would do it on the surface. I will be calling the Department of Planning and Environmental Protection in the morning.

Fernando

 

[showboat]

We are going to need a committee going on this and looking for boaters to help out on this subject.

Also Ocean Watch Foundation is also working on this project since there is still about 1 million tires out there and will take a lot of planning and volunteers and man/woman hours

http://oceanwatch.org/tireremoval.htm

Count me in and lets all get together somewhere and have a meeting over dinner and drinks and plan our mission...

Dan

 

[darkmoon3d]

Sounds like an interesting shore dive to do. If and when the tires do get cleaned up doing so by a beach dive would be odd. Beach goers would be interested in seeing someone picking up beach shells while divers are hauling in piles of tires! =0

 

[darkmoon3d]

For the recovery of the Hunley submarine liquid foam was sprayed under sub which would then solidify and cushion vessell. If this stuff floats and is not too expensive I suppose this could be sprayed inside tires so they float to surface. Would be safer than roping them together and using lift bags. If bag or ropes break its not one tire falling but 10-20 tires falling. Also are there any plans as to what might be done with tires once recovered? I read somewhere that if tires are cleaned and shreded can be used to replace gravel or mulch at playgrounds. Makes for safer playgrounds while keeping reefs clean.

 

[911_abuser]

I wrote Robin Sherman from Ocean Watch/NOVA and hopefully I will have a response shortly that I can post here.

 

[MikeJacobs]

Wendy once bubbled...
How are you planning on bring the tires back if you are doing a shore dive? It would take you forever to get that many tires to shore. Maybe some lift bags and a surface support boat and a boat dive would be a better route.

lol I don't think anybody's actually talking about doing a clean-up here on our little dive. There are 35 ACRES of old tires, Wendy.

 

[Marvel]

Sounds like a great project! I hope that I will be able to participate (moving to the West Coast soon).