INFO-Grove & Duane

[BUD53]

I am heading to the keys soon and I am planning a dive on both the Spiegel Grove and the Cutter Duane. I was just looking for some insight on things to expect. I know in this area the weather can make dive sites seem like 2 different places sometimes, but I was wondering about frequency and strength of currents (I know both sites have some regularly), average viz, etc. from maybe someone with multiple dives.About the area,.... maybe some other must dives around, or even the best shop to dive the wrecks with? Thx, BUD

 

[Florabama]

I am heading to the keys soon and I am planning a dive on both the Spiegel Grove and the Cutter Duane. I was just looking for some insight on things to expect. I know in this area the weather can make dive sites seem like 2 different places sometimes, but I was wondering about frequency and strength of currents (I know both sites have some regularly), average viz, etc. from maybe someone with multiple dives.About the area,.... maybe some other must dives around, or even the best shop to dive the wrecks with? Thx, BUD

I've made three or four dives on the Duane and one on the Grove (last summer). I've only caught the Duane once when there was not a ripping surface current. The good news is, that if you get past the surface current, you can get around the ship pretty easily -- at least that's been my experience.

Both are incredible dives. Expect huge schools of cuda's. If you have a camera, get a shot of the crow's nest on the Duane.

Every time we've gone to the Keys, we've stayed at Amoray Divers in Largo. We took the whole family and stayed for an entire week last summer. We get one of the cottages right by the dock, so we're two steps from the dive boat. Their big boat is a bit of a cattle boat, and you have to endure the shallow reef dives (which is not all bad if you have some inexperienced divers in your party) but they will take you to the Duane and the Grove and some other local wrecks if you ask. They have a small six pack boat that Amy's brother Justin runs for special charters if you want to do a custom trip. It's only a little more expensive than the big boat, and you get Justin's "tarzan of the sea" routine (all in a New Jersey accent) for entertainment. I highly recommend them if you're staying in Largo.

 

[BUD53]

Thanks for the info, I gotta ask, ...with your web handle, ...I guess you've made it by the infamous beach bar??!

 

[H2Andy]

Duane's a sweet little dive, one of the prettiest wrecks i've seen, sitting right up
on the bottom. deepest i went was 98 feet, but you could go down to the sand
which is at about 120 feet or so (give or take). lots of areas to explore. not a lick
of current most of the time at depth (sometimes surface current is there). sweet dive.

the Grove is a MONSTER. you won't see one quarter of the ship in one dive.
it is now sitting upright as intended (thanks to Hurricane Dennis). it sits
in 130 feet of water, but i never went past 70 feet and saw quite a lot.
this site is notorious for the currents. they can pick up on you in a blink of
an eye. be careful and ready to get back to your up line if the current picks up.

i'd try COnch Republic Divers. very nice crew and boats.

 

[billtylerjr]

As practice for a tec course I am planing a trip to sg, i am not finding a lot in information, or at least not what I would like.

I know the depths, general dimentions of the wreck and general currents (easily found with google) however how about orientation of the moorings? If I want to plan 3-4 dives as exploratory dives to orient myself and start to think of penetration. What is the layout? Where are openings? This mooring will take me where on the ship? If an issue comes up and I cannot get back to the line I came down on, where will this one put me in relation to the boat?

Being that this is my first time really thinking of this sort of dive planning, what is the best way to look for these answers? I figured this would be a good "project" type to plan since it shold be well known and a good practice area.

Sorry Bud53, I am not trying to hijack the thread. Hopefully we can learn together.

 

[Florabama]

Thanks for the info, I gotta ask, ...with your web handle, ...I guess you've made it by the infamous beach bar??!

Yeah, I grew up in Mobile and spent my teenage years hanging out in Gulf Shores when the only places over there were the Florabama, the Pink Pony Pub and the A&W Rootbeer.

I've lived in Pensacola for the last 30 odd years and still made regular trips to FB until Ivan wiped her out.

 

[TavernierBob]

I have over 1,000 dives on the Duane both day and night and several hundred on the Spiegel Grove. Both are advanced dives with potential currents that can change from day to day and hour to hour. Most divers that have problems on the wrecks suffer from over confidence or complacency with no plan or surface support. Both are essential. Some times the current isn't too strong and it gives divers a false sense of security and at other times the current and rip your mask off if you're not careful. The Duane has much more growth due to being down since 1987 and both have a large quantity and variety of sea life. Barracuda, Jacks, Permit, Eels, octopus, Amberjack, turtles and a large variety of smaller tropicals as well as a variety of hard coral growth. The Duane at night is beautiful with Orange and Gold Cup corals covering the entire Starboard side and usually adorned with Basket stars and a numerous anenomes throughout the wreck. As you can tell I am much more partial to the Duane as I've been on and in it for about 15 years and the Grove is just too new to have the character that the Duane has acquired over the years. Depending on the closeness to the Gulf Stream, the tides, and direction of wind visibility on either wreck can be well over 100' or as low as 10. Divers have had problems on both wrecks and generally because they either don't have a definite plan or lack of surface support. A great many operations down here tie up on one mooring ball and you must make your way back to that line. In a perfect world that always happens but this isn't a perfect world and conditions change, divers become disoriented, they don't have the training or experience for the dive and you must be ready to bail yourself and/or your buddy out to make it back to the dock safely. The Bibb and Eagle are also great dives, each with their own character, individuality and their own hazards. If you'd like more information feel free to get in touch with me and I'll share what I have.
Good and Safe Diving!

 

[Florabama]

I have over 1,000 dives on the Duane both day and night and several hundred on the Spiegel Grove. Both are advanced dives with potential currents that can change from day to day and hour to hour. Most divers that have problems on the wrecks suffer from over confidence or complacency with no plan or surface support. Both are essential. Some times the current isn't too strong and it gives divers a false sense of security and at other times the current and rip your mask off if you're not careful. The Duane has much more growth due to being down since 1987 and both have a large quantity and variety of sea life. Barracuda, Jacks, Permit, Eels, octopus, Amberjack, turtles and a large variety of smaller tropicals as well as a variety of hard coral growth. The Duane at night is beautiful with Orange and Gold Cup corals covering the entire Starboard side and usually adorned with Basket stars and a numerous anenomes throughout the wreck. As you can tell I am much more partial to the Duane as I've been on and in it for about 15 years and the Grove is just too new to have the character that the Duane has acquired over the years. Depending on the closeness to the Gulf Stream, the tides, and direction of wind visibility on either wreck can be well over 100' or as low as 10. Divers have had problems on both wrecks and generally because they either don't have a definite plan or lack of surface support. A great many operations down here tie up on one mooring ball and you must make your way back to that line. In a perfect world that always happens but this isn't a perfect world and conditions change, divers become disoriented, they don't have the training or experience for the dive and you must be ready to bail yourself and/or your buddy out to make it back to the dock safely. The Bibb and Eagle are also great dives, each with their own character, individuality and their own hazards. If you'd like more information feel free to get in touch with me and I'll share what I have.
Good and Safe Diving!

Where would you recommend staying in the upper Keys? I really enjoyed Amoray because I like having the whole package in one place. Nice accomadations and dive boat close to the rooms. Any place else that comes to mind that you would recommend?

 

[TavernierBob]

If you want to stay at an all inclusive resort, there are very few in the Keys. Amoray is very popular for that reason and if you just want to go diving and don't care where then that is a good choice. If you have specific places you want to dive or have, shall I say, out of the ordinary types of dives you want to do then you generally would need to hook up with a smaller operator that is willing to do what you want to do. For example, we get a lot of people that want to do nothing but wrecks every day for several days in a row. If you're on a larger boat that also has beginner divers or people that want to snorkel or people that just want to do reefs, the chances of doing a lot of wrecks is pretty slim. A great many people that come to the Keys just want to get wet and don't really care what type of diving they do and variety is fine but if you have specific ideas as to what you want to do then it simply isn't practical for the larger operations. You also need to be very specific when you book your trip, if you want to do something, that the operator will actually meet your requests. We get divers in quite often that said they had booked a trip on a boat, that they would be able to go where they wanted and then found on the day of the trip that others were not qualified or had the interest and the operator changed the itinerary due to the majority. Many of the smaller operators will book a charter for a specific location or purpose and then sell that trip. If others want to do something else then they're told that they need to book a different trip, so everyone gets to do what they want to. Most operations can recommend lodging accommodations and in many cases get you a discount. There are all types of accommodations in the Keys from bare bones, no frills to luxury resorts. It just depends on what you are looking for. There's something for everyone.
Dive Safe!

 

[darylm74]

I dove the Spiegel Grove and the Duane in early March. We dove the Spiegel Grove on back to back dives because the current that day was nil. It was a great set of dives and I dropped down to 114 feet on the first. There are cut outs on the side of the wreck where you can penetrate it. I would definitely do several dives on it before I even thought of a serious penetration. There is a lot to see and several places to get lost. We went into areas where we could see a clear exit, such as 10 foot rooms with doors on each side. There is also a hallway that you can swim through, up on the super structure, that is about 50 feet long.. The Duane had a moderate current, however the water tempearture was colder there than anywhere else. It must have just been how currents were flowing. I had a bit more exposure suit and was fine but I know many in my crew got narced on that dive.

If you're looking for a shop to do technical diving out of, go with Diver's City. Bob and Barb are great people and their prices are reasonable. They took us pretty much anywhere we wanted to go and when we had some conflicts in what needed to be done (for a few classes people were taking such as wreck), they made suggestions that were right on the money. You would definitely want to get a larger group together for a trip like that. I think we had around 11 or 12 people.