DennisW
Contributor
First of all we could not have had better weather or conditions. Well, the viz could have been better, but it was acceptable. Donna and I flew from Newport News, VA to Fort Lauderdale, FL on Thursday. Cathy and Allen picked us up exactly on time at the airport. Cathy and Allen are friends from California. Cathy and Donna are friends from North Miami. Donna and Cathy have known each other since 4th grade. After a short visit with Donnas parents, we drove to the keys, stopping at Divers City to check out the dive shop. We then drove on down to Tavernier where we stayed at the Ocean Pointe Condos.
We were not going to dive until Friday afternoon, so we had a leisurely morning on Friday. We arrived at Divers City at 12:30pm as instructed and Donna picked out a shorty. Captain Bob took the tanks to the dock for us to set up our gear. I thought the fills were low until I discovered that we were going to be using 85 Steel tanks. You would like this shop OC. Cathy requested a 65 steel and in a minute, there it was. The only unusual thing I can say about this operation is that Captain Bob will not let you carry gear on and off his boat. He is very insistent about this.
Unfortunately, Allen could not dive nor was he allowed to go out on the boat. He dislocated his shoulder two weeks prior and his Dr. wanted it completely immobile. So, Cathy, Donna and I went diving. Our first dive was the Benwood. I have dived this site before and it is a good wreck to get back in the swing of things with. I had not dived since the New Years Eve dive. It was fun watching Cathy since she is a relatively new diver, but she is pretty comfortable in the water and is a good diver. She will only get better with experience. She and Allen intend to take the LA County course for training purposes. I understand that it is a tough course.
Max Depth 42 fsw
Total Time 57 minutes
Viz 20 30 ft
Water Temp 83 deg F
Oh yes, Donna and Cathy came up with about 1500 psi when I had 700.
The next dive was on Molasses reef at Permit Ledges. We entered the water and Donna led us to the Spanish anchor. I understand it is really a Dutch anchor. Then I led the dive back past the boat to the area the great big Permit hangs out. They are big and they keep circling around in a seemingly purposeful way. Anyone know why they do that? There were 10 to 15 of them circling. Donna pointed out a huge Coral Crab that I swam right past. There were some really nice Grouper, several Black Grouper, a Nassau Grouper, and a small Tiger Grouper. There were many other species as well, but I cant name them all.
Max Depth 28 fsw
Total Time 64 minutes
Viz 40 ft.
Water Temp 83 deg F
We dove the next day with Quiescence. I dived my 100th dive with them a couple of years ago and they are a good operation. Captain Ron is pretty good and very personable. He is the same Captain I had a couple of years ago. Donna, Cathy, and I met up with Augie and Marla from Diverlink at Quiescence. It was great to see some Diverlinker buddies. The first dive was the Spiegel Grove. One word describes this wreck. Humongous!!! Anyway, we dropped down on ball number 5 which is tied off a little aft of the wheelhouse. I was leading and decided to go towards the stern. We had decided to not descend below 80 fsw since Donna is on tables and Cathy is not as experienced as us with deep dives. There is lots of structure to explore. I think the SG is best on her side. Its like a wall dive, only its a ship. We swam aft past the guns that are cut off just above the recoil springs. All of the aiming mechanisms still work and I thought seriously about sitting in the gunners seat. It turns out that Donna was thinking the same thing. On the deck there are these steel plates held on by chains that cover holes that are shaped like an X. I suppose these crosses are used to tie things to the deck by hooks of some type. We continued until we reached the large open area used for docking the landing craft. Ill bet the Duane would fit in there. At this point, we had actually gone further than intended since I was down to 1600 psi. So Donna grabbed me by the hair and dragged me back. Well not really, but I was reluctant. I was having a blast. There isnt a lot of fish on the wreck yet, but Augie says there is more than the last time he dove the SG. We made our way back to the buoy line and began our ascent making two safety stops. I was back on the boat with air to spare, a whole 700 psi.
Max Depth 79 fsw
Total Time 37 minutes
Viz 40 ft.
I forgot to look at the temperature on this and the next dive; I assume it was 83 deg F.
Marla claimed 70 ft of Viz, maybe it was from the surface to the wreck, and maybe at some points during her dive, but I thought the Viz was not that good. What do you think Augie? Now see if he bites on that one and gets kicked for disagreeing.
The next dive was French Reef. Not only did Donna lead this entire dive, she did her first ever back roll entry off of a boat. I was having a blast just watching her have fun. She actually led us through a swim through. That is getting pretty brave for Donna. I played with some yellow head jaw fish for a while. They are neat little guys. Donna actually swam through a place I chose not to. It was a bit small for me. And when I had to go back to the boat because, I was down to 700 psi, Donna actually stayed down with Cathy for another 10 minutes. Walter, you missed this. Not only that she really enjoyed the SG.
Max Depth 42 fsw
Total Time 53 minutes
Viz 40 ft.
It was a great weekend with great friends and guess what, the Dolphins won!!!
Beachman, thanks very much for the information on the SG. Since you live in Virginia Beach and I live in Williamsburg, we should get together sometime to dive locally. I would really like to check out the area with someone that knows it well.
We were not going to dive until Friday afternoon, so we had a leisurely morning on Friday. We arrived at Divers City at 12:30pm as instructed and Donna picked out a shorty. Captain Bob took the tanks to the dock for us to set up our gear. I thought the fills were low until I discovered that we were going to be using 85 Steel tanks. You would like this shop OC. Cathy requested a 65 steel and in a minute, there it was. The only unusual thing I can say about this operation is that Captain Bob will not let you carry gear on and off his boat. He is very insistent about this.
Unfortunately, Allen could not dive nor was he allowed to go out on the boat. He dislocated his shoulder two weeks prior and his Dr. wanted it completely immobile. So, Cathy, Donna and I went diving. Our first dive was the Benwood. I have dived this site before and it is a good wreck to get back in the swing of things with. I had not dived since the New Years Eve dive. It was fun watching Cathy since she is a relatively new diver, but she is pretty comfortable in the water and is a good diver. She will only get better with experience. She and Allen intend to take the LA County course for training purposes. I understand that it is a tough course.
Max Depth 42 fsw
Total Time 57 minutes
Viz 20 30 ft
Water Temp 83 deg F
Oh yes, Donna and Cathy came up with about 1500 psi when I had 700.
The next dive was on Molasses reef at Permit Ledges. We entered the water and Donna led us to the Spanish anchor. I understand it is really a Dutch anchor. Then I led the dive back past the boat to the area the great big Permit hangs out. They are big and they keep circling around in a seemingly purposeful way. Anyone know why they do that? There were 10 to 15 of them circling. Donna pointed out a huge Coral Crab that I swam right past. There were some really nice Grouper, several Black Grouper, a Nassau Grouper, and a small Tiger Grouper. There were many other species as well, but I cant name them all.
Max Depth 28 fsw
Total Time 64 minutes
Viz 40 ft.
Water Temp 83 deg F
We dove the next day with Quiescence. I dived my 100th dive with them a couple of years ago and they are a good operation. Captain Ron is pretty good and very personable. He is the same Captain I had a couple of years ago. Donna, Cathy, and I met up with Augie and Marla from Diverlink at Quiescence. It was great to see some Diverlinker buddies. The first dive was the Spiegel Grove. One word describes this wreck. Humongous!!! Anyway, we dropped down on ball number 5 which is tied off a little aft of the wheelhouse. I was leading and decided to go towards the stern. We had decided to not descend below 80 fsw since Donna is on tables and Cathy is not as experienced as us with deep dives. There is lots of structure to explore. I think the SG is best on her side. Its like a wall dive, only its a ship. We swam aft past the guns that are cut off just above the recoil springs. All of the aiming mechanisms still work and I thought seriously about sitting in the gunners seat. It turns out that Donna was thinking the same thing. On the deck there are these steel plates held on by chains that cover holes that are shaped like an X. I suppose these crosses are used to tie things to the deck by hooks of some type. We continued until we reached the large open area used for docking the landing craft. Ill bet the Duane would fit in there. At this point, we had actually gone further than intended since I was down to 1600 psi. So Donna grabbed me by the hair and dragged me back. Well not really, but I was reluctant. I was having a blast. There isnt a lot of fish on the wreck yet, but Augie says there is more than the last time he dove the SG. We made our way back to the buoy line and began our ascent making two safety stops. I was back on the boat with air to spare, a whole 700 psi.
Max Depth 79 fsw
Total Time 37 minutes
Viz 40 ft.
I forgot to look at the temperature on this and the next dive; I assume it was 83 deg F.
Marla claimed 70 ft of Viz, maybe it was from the surface to the wreck, and maybe at some points during her dive, but I thought the Viz was not that good. What do you think Augie? Now see if he bites on that one and gets kicked for disagreeing.
The next dive was French Reef. Not only did Donna lead this entire dive, she did her first ever back roll entry off of a boat. I was having a blast just watching her have fun. She actually led us through a swim through. That is getting pretty brave for Donna. I played with some yellow head jaw fish for a while. They are neat little guys. Donna actually swam through a place I chose not to. It was a bit small for me. And when I had to go back to the boat because, I was down to 700 psi, Donna actually stayed down with Cathy for another 10 minutes. Walter, you missed this. Not only that she really enjoyed the SG.
Max Depth 42 fsw
Total Time 53 minutes
Viz 40 ft.
It was a great weekend with great friends and guess what, the Dolphins won!!!
Beachman, thanks very much for the information on the SG. Since you live in Virginia Beach and I live in Williamsburg, we should get together sometime to dive locally. I would really like to check out the area with someone that knows it well.
. I wear a shorty wetsuit all year round here, but you might want a wet suit.
