ChrisF
Contributor
I did a couple of fun dives off of Pompano Beach FL the weekend before last. GregP and I met Bob, a friend from work, at the docks of South Florida Dive Headquarters on Saturday morning.
The water temperature on the Gulf side is too darn cold this time of year for us warm water wimps (approx. 60 deg.), so Pompano provides a great alternative to our usual stomping grounds off of Clearwater Beach. That and the fact that there's some awesome diving off Pompano Beach assures that we usually get a couple trips to Florida's East coast during the winter months.
Our first dive was on the Rodeo 25, a 215-ft Dutch freighter sunk in May 1990 by the Pompano Beach Fishing Rodeo. I think 1990 was their 25th aniversary. The wreck sits upright in about 125 fsw. The deck is about 110 feet deep. On this particular day, the current was hardly noticeable which was a welcome treat since its not unusual to find currents in that area that will have you hanging on the down line like a flag on a pole. We were the first ones off the boat and as we dropped to the deck, a cool Loggerhead sea turtle welcomed us to the wreck. I couldnt help thinking about Crush from Finding Nemo and smiled as I imagined him saying (in your best surfer dude voice) Aww dudes. Welcome to my most excellent home. Have a good dive dudes. And dive safe.
I really enjoy this wreck because it has lots of easily accessible compartments. Most I just stuck my head in. We went into a few, always maintaining a clear view of a nearby exit. The Rodeo also has a pair of companionways that run along the sides of the ship. Theyre covered, but the seaward side is open above the handrail allowing for an easy exit if needed. Swimming down these companionways is a hoot because the close quarters seem to amplify the feeling of weightlessness you get when diving. We also explored the cargo hold, which contains what appears to be one of the ships engines. All too soon it was time to head back up the line. Since this was a deep dive (for me), we did some deep stops on the way up to increase our safety margin (1 @ 50, 2 @ 40 and 30, 4 @ 15).
Our second dive was a drift dive on Lighthouse reef. There was a slight current running North. The front side of the reef is 50 60 fsw. The back side of the reef drops to 90 feet or so, but we stuck to the front side. There were lots of pretty fish to see at this site. This place is definitely an underwater photographers playground. Unfortunately for Bob, who brought his spear gun along on this dive, there was nothing to shoot. GregP was gracious enough to carry the flag for the entire dive, which allowed me to dedicate the dive to dialing in my buoyancy. I purchased a new Halcyon BP and wing late last year and only have a handful of dives on it at this point. I immediately fell in love with it when I test dove it in the pool at my LDS. I was blown away by how easy it was to maintain a good horizontal position in the water compared to the jacket-style BC that I had been diving for the past 10 years. I mean Ive always had a problem with my feet sinking. After a lot of trial and error, I had settled on a configuration that included a 1.5 lb. ankle weight around the tank yolk and 3 lbs. around my waist (w/ no exposure protection). This solved most of the problem, but even so it was sometimes an effort to keep my feet up, even with the tank positioned as high as I could get it on the BC. With the BP and wing it was just effortless -- no ankle weight required. I could just hang there like I was on a string. Unfortunately Im still working the kinks out for diving in the real world. Im finding that things are a bit different out in the open ocean with a 1.5 mm steamer, a 5 mm hooded shorty, and 8 lbs of lead on my belt. My feet are sinking again. I had hoped I could get rid of the ankle weight for good, but I may need to revive it when diving with the full wet suit. On our drift dive on Lighthouse reef, I found that if I stopped fining and remained motionless, I wouldnt sink or rise in the water column, but my feet would slowly drop and I would eventually end up vertical. It didnt matter how much I bent my knees or arched my back. I think on the next dive Ill put the ankle weight back and go with 6 lbs. in the weight belt instead.
This is fun. Its like learning to dive again
Oh I almost forgot. After coming up from the second dive, we had to wait on the surface for a while for the boat to come pick us up. After floating for a few minutes, the rear dump on the wing started burping as if it was over pressure. Hmmm I must have put too much air in it after I got to the surface I thought. I pushed the deflator button to let out some air. After a few more minutes the darn thing was burping again! Once back on the boat, I determined that air was slowly leaking into the wing, filling it over a period of 3 to 4 minutes. I am almost certain that I wasnt having that problem at depth. If I had, my buoyancy would have been majorly screwed up, not just the trim. The problem didnt happen consistently (and fortunately I didnt have to deal with it on the Rodeo) but sometimes the inflator would get stuck on (very slightly) and slowly fill the wing.
I took the wing back to my LDS this week and, to their credit, they replaced the inflator with a brand new one on the spot and said theyd deal with sending the faulty one back to Halcyon for repair.
I cant wait to get in the water again.
Dive 1
Location: Rodeo 25
Time at depth: 33 minutes
Mix: 30%
Max depth: 122 feet
Water temp: 75 dF
Vis: 50 ft.
Dive 2
Location: Lighthouse Reef
Time at depth: 50 minutes
Mix: 40%
Max depth: 55 feet
Water temp: 75 dF
Vis: 50 ft.
The water temperature on the Gulf side is too darn cold this time of year for us warm water wimps (approx. 60 deg.), so Pompano provides a great alternative to our usual stomping grounds off of Clearwater Beach. That and the fact that there's some awesome diving off Pompano Beach assures that we usually get a couple trips to Florida's East coast during the winter months.
Our first dive was on the Rodeo 25, a 215-ft Dutch freighter sunk in May 1990 by the Pompano Beach Fishing Rodeo. I think 1990 was their 25th aniversary. The wreck sits upright in about 125 fsw. The deck is about 110 feet deep. On this particular day, the current was hardly noticeable which was a welcome treat since its not unusual to find currents in that area that will have you hanging on the down line like a flag on a pole. We were the first ones off the boat and as we dropped to the deck, a cool Loggerhead sea turtle welcomed us to the wreck. I couldnt help thinking about Crush from Finding Nemo and smiled as I imagined him saying (in your best surfer dude voice) Aww dudes. Welcome to my most excellent home. Have a good dive dudes. And dive safe.
I really enjoy this wreck because it has lots of easily accessible compartments. Most I just stuck my head in. We went into a few, always maintaining a clear view of a nearby exit. The Rodeo also has a pair of companionways that run along the sides of the ship. Theyre covered, but the seaward side is open above the handrail allowing for an easy exit if needed. Swimming down these companionways is a hoot because the close quarters seem to amplify the feeling of weightlessness you get when diving. We also explored the cargo hold, which contains what appears to be one of the ships engines. All too soon it was time to head back up the line. Since this was a deep dive (for me), we did some deep stops on the way up to increase our safety margin (1 @ 50, 2 @ 40 and 30, 4 @ 15).
Our second dive was a drift dive on Lighthouse reef. There was a slight current running North. The front side of the reef is 50 60 fsw. The back side of the reef drops to 90 feet or so, but we stuck to the front side. There were lots of pretty fish to see at this site. This place is definitely an underwater photographers playground. Unfortunately for Bob, who brought his spear gun along on this dive, there was nothing to shoot. GregP was gracious enough to carry the flag for the entire dive, which allowed me to dedicate the dive to dialing in my buoyancy. I purchased a new Halcyon BP and wing late last year and only have a handful of dives on it at this point. I immediately fell in love with it when I test dove it in the pool at my LDS. I was blown away by how easy it was to maintain a good horizontal position in the water compared to the jacket-style BC that I had been diving for the past 10 years. I mean Ive always had a problem with my feet sinking. After a lot of trial and error, I had settled on a configuration that included a 1.5 lb. ankle weight around the tank yolk and 3 lbs. around my waist (w/ no exposure protection). This solved most of the problem, but even so it was sometimes an effort to keep my feet up, even with the tank positioned as high as I could get it on the BC. With the BP and wing it was just effortless -- no ankle weight required. I could just hang there like I was on a string. Unfortunately Im still working the kinks out for diving in the real world. Im finding that things are a bit different out in the open ocean with a 1.5 mm steamer, a 5 mm hooded shorty, and 8 lbs of lead on my belt. My feet are sinking again. I had hoped I could get rid of the ankle weight for good, but I may need to revive it when diving with the full wet suit. On our drift dive on Lighthouse reef, I found that if I stopped fining and remained motionless, I wouldnt sink or rise in the water column, but my feet would slowly drop and I would eventually end up vertical. It didnt matter how much I bent my knees or arched my back. I think on the next dive Ill put the ankle weight back and go with 6 lbs. in the weight belt instead.
This is fun. Its like learning to dive again
Oh I almost forgot. After coming up from the second dive, we had to wait on the surface for a while for the boat to come pick us up. After floating for a few minutes, the rear dump on the wing started burping as if it was over pressure. Hmmm I must have put too much air in it after I got to the surface I thought. I pushed the deflator button to let out some air. After a few more minutes the darn thing was burping again! Once back on the boat, I determined that air was slowly leaking into the wing, filling it over a period of 3 to 4 minutes. I am almost certain that I wasnt having that problem at depth. If I had, my buoyancy would have been majorly screwed up, not just the trim. The problem didnt happen consistently (and fortunately I didnt have to deal with it on the Rodeo) but sometimes the inflator would get stuck on (very slightly) and slowly fill the wing.
I took the wing back to my LDS this week and, to their credit, they replaced the inflator with a brand new one on the spot and said theyd deal with sending the faulty one back to Halcyon for repair.
I cant wait to get in the water again.
Dive 1
Location: Rodeo 25
Time at depth: 33 minutes
Mix: 30%
Max depth: 122 feet
Water temp: 75 dF
Vis: 50 ft.
Dive 2
Location: Lighthouse Reef
Time at depth: 50 minutes
Mix: 40%
Max depth: 55 feet
Water temp: 75 dF
Vis: 50 ft.
