The wife and I needed some R&R so we went to one of the prettiest and classiest places in Florida, Sanibel Island. Sure, Hurricane Charley did a number on this place but the locals had restored the island back minus the invasive Australian Pines. They are now mostly gone. We also wanted to get in a couple of dives. With air temps in the 60s and water temps to match we packed dry suits. Neither of us owns a 6mm wetsuit.
We contacted four dive boats and all said the same thing. Too much wind and the viz is 5 feet (five miles out)! I really wanted to dive offshore where the viz is usually good. But, the winds would not allow the relatively small dive boat (size) fleet to make the 30 mile journey with small craft warnings up all week.
So, I call Barbara at Diver City and we made the four hour drive to Tavernier Key. Rain was following us all the way there but somewhere on the connector to the keys the skies brighten and the wind died down. Barb was ready and the boat was running. She had 30% mix in four steel tanks (with DIN) for us to dive the Eagle and again if conditions were OK. The ride out was smooth but as soon as we tied into the buoy I saw that the surface current was ripping. We turned around the boat and did a stern tie off and into the water we went. This was a hand over hand trip all the way down. On the stern, (where a 150 pound grouper meet us) I could then tell the current was awash over the ships side and not stern to bow. I dropped down to the sand and the current was so strong that in pushed me almost under the wreck. The wife was still near the top of the stern where the current was shadowed but still strong. I pulled myself back up to the top of the stern and we both attempted to penetrate the rear deck bridge. The currents allowed no free swimming and after a few futile minutes of hand over hand exploring, we gave up and decided to call it a dive. Maximum depth was 110 feet. W did our 55 foot hang and then five minutes at 20 feet. Popped to the surface and let the current drift us back to the drift line (the boat had turned around and the bow was now tied to the buoy). Total dive time was 28 minutes. We usually do a 45 minute multi level dive on the Eagle. This was a disappointment. We then decided on a drift dive for the second dive. The ripping currents on this dive pushed us too quickly into the sandy areas and away from the ledges and trenches where the wild life lives and made for a second, boring dive.
We were the only two divers on the boat. Barb was great as usual. The four hour drive back seemed to never end. I was really tired. I would also do it again!
We contacted four dive boats and all said the same thing. Too much wind and the viz is 5 feet (five miles out)! I really wanted to dive offshore where the viz is usually good. But, the winds would not allow the relatively small dive boat (size) fleet to make the 30 mile journey with small craft warnings up all week.
So, I call Barbara at Diver City and we made the four hour drive to Tavernier Key. Rain was following us all the way there but somewhere on the connector to the keys the skies brighten and the wind died down. Barb was ready and the boat was running. She had 30% mix in four steel tanks (with DIN) for us to dive the Eagle and again if conditions were OK. The ride out was smooth but as soon as we tied into the buoy I saw that the surface current was ripping. We turned around the boat and did a stern tie off and into the water we went. This was a hand over hand trip all the way down. On the stern, (where a 150 pound grouper meet us) I could then tell the current was awash over the ships side and not stern to bow. I dropped down to the sand and the current was so strong that in pushed me almost under the wreck. The wife was still near the top of the stern where the current was shadowed but still strong. I pulled myself back up to the top of the stern and we both attempted to penetrate the rear deck bridge. The currents allowed no free swimming and after a few futile minutes of hand over hand exploring, we gave up and decided to call it a dive. Maximum depth was 110 feet. W did our 55 foot hang and then five minutes at 20 feet. Popped to the surface and let the current drift us back to the drift line (the boat had turned around and the bow was now tied to the buoy). Total dive time was 28 minutes. We usually do a 45 minute multi level dive on the Eagle. This was a disappointment. We then decided on a drift dive for the second dive. The ripping currents on this dive pushed us too quickly into the sandy areas and away from the ledges and trenches where the wild life lives and made for a second, boring dive.
We were the only two divers on the boat. Barb was great as usual. The four hour drive back seemed to never end. I was really tired. I would also do it again!
