Arguably the most famous 'feature' off the coast of Key Largo is not the Speigel Grove or even Molasses Reef but our very own Christ of the Deep Statue, or as some of the locals call it: Touchdown Jesus. Placed off of Dry Rocks in 1965, the statue has attracted millions of snorkelers and divers over the years adding hundreds of millions, if not a billion dollars to our local economy. It has been the inspiration for untold numbers of photographs and has been the genesis of many, many 'deep' prayers.
I'm not sure how many times I've been to the statue, but it's been a lot. I've always enjoyed the dive but today I got to see the statue through the hands of Gabe Spataro. That may not mean much to you, but Gabe is the reason the statue is in Key Largo. A gift from the Cressi family to the US, there were three main contenders for the statue. California, Texas and Florida all wanted the statue and Gabe is the one who chose where it would go. Why is that? Well, Gabe was the one who talked to all the right people and got the statue shipped from Italy to the US for free. Gabe then went to the three places that wanted the statue to figure where it should go. After a lunch with John Pennekamp, Gabe knew where the statue needed to go. After a few false starts, be managed to finagle the statue down to Miami: again for free. He never saw it again until a couple of years ago when he dove the statue for the first time.
That's when I first met Gabe and I was even on that dive as a photographer. I was just learning how to handle adaptive divers with Diveheart, so I watched from afar. I was challenged watching the care Willie put into guiding Gabe on that day and wondered if I would ever get there. Amazingly enough, after lots of training under the tutelage of Jim Elliot of Diveheart, I finally achieved the status of being an adaptive instructor earlier this year and got the privilege of teaching with him this past Saturday, getting adaptive buddies ready for this week of diving. On Sunday, I got to help out a highly functioning quadriplegic named Andy get weighted correctly and re-introduced to diving at Penenkamp's Canon Beach. The vis was the worst I had ever seen, but Andy graduated from me being his DPV to him actually adjusting his buoyancy and swimming on his own. It was great to see and even greater for him to achieve so much.
The next day, I got to be the DPV for Gretchen, a paraplegic on Snapper Ledge, one of my favorite spots here in the Keys. It was awesome to swim her through schools of thousands of fish and see her play with Christmas Tree worms. This is the ultimate 'trust me' dive. The adaptive diver's fun and safety are dependant on the adaptive dive buddies' skill, patience and caring.
But Tuesday was the big payoff for me as I got to guide Gabe to 'his' statue. I thought it was kind of cool that the Miami Herald sent a reporter to cover it, but this wasn't about me. It was about Gabe. Then I saw the buddy roster. Kay and I were assigned to be Gabe's adaptive buddies. This was going to be fun! Kay and I went over Gabe's requirements and decided that she would be watcher and I would be the DPV (Diver Propulsion Vehicle). If you've never seen it, an adaptive dive is just like a dance. One partner leads, and the other follows the lead while maintaining communication between all three of us. She's the spotter, allowing me to concentrate on the adaptive buddy, keeping us out of trouble and finding the cool stuff. This was a pretty straight forward dive though. All we had to do was get Gabe to the statue and so we did.
That's when the magic happened for me. As I approached the statue with Gabe, his hands came up almost mimicking the statue. Earlier, Gabe had put two wreaths in the water to memorialize those who had played, fought and even died in the sea. Someone had taken the thought to place each wreath on the statue's hands. It was beautiful, but I had no idea if Gabe could see them. I watched as Gabe's hands started to caress Jesus' face. He started with the eyes and cheeks, tracing the outlines and the curves. After he had explored all of the face, his hands followed the shoulders, up the arms and to the hands. I could feel his whole body attitude change as he felt his offerings in the statue's hands. I did my best to hold him steady and level. I slowly moved him counter clockwise around the statue so he could caress every side. As we finished the first revolution, I descended a bit and started his journey around the statue again. We did this five times and then As I was bringing him back up to the face, he stopped, folded his hands and prayed. I kept there as long as his hands were folded. I could feel the reverence, the fondness and the emotions. Kay kept others at a good distance so that Gabe could enjoy his time with his statue in peace.
I'm not sure how many times I've been to the statue, but it's been a lot. I've always enjoyed the dive but today I got to see the statue through the hands of Gabe Spataro. That may not mean much to you, but Gabe is the reason the statue is in Key Largo. A gift from the Cressi family to the US, there were three main contenders for the statue. California, Texas and Florida all wanted the statue and Gabe is the one who chose where it would go. Why is that? Well, Gabe was the one who talked to all the right people and got the statue shipped from Italy to the US for free. Gabe then went to the three places that wanted the statue to figure where it should go. After a lunch with John Pennekamp, Gabe knew where the statue needed to go. After a few false starts, be managed to finagle the statue down to Miami: again for free. He never saw it again until a couple of years ago when he dove the statue for the first time.
That's when I first met Gabe and I was even on that dive as a photographer. I was just learning how to handle adaptive divers with Diveheart, so I watched from afar. I was challenged watching the care Willie put into guiding Gabe on that day and wondered if I would ever get there. Amazingly enough, after lots of training under the tutelage of Jim Elliot of Diveheart, I finally achieved the status of being an adaptive instructor earlier this year and got the privilege of teaching with him this past Saturday, getting adaptive buddies ready for this week of diving. On Sunday, I got to help out a highly functioning quadriplegic named Andy get weighted correctly and re-introduced to diving at Penenkamp's Canon Beach. The vis was the worst I had ever seen, but Andy graduated from me being his DPV to him actually adjusting his buoyancy and swimming on his own. It was great to see and even greater for him to achieve so much.
The next day, I got to be the DPV for Gretchen, a paraplegic on Snapper Ledge, one of my favorite spots here in the Keys. It was awesome to swim her through schools of thousands of fish and see her play with Christmas Tree worms. This is the ultimate 'trust me' dive. The adaptive diver's fun and safety are dependant on the adaptive dive buddies' skill, patience and caring.
But Tuesday was the big payoff for me as I got to guide Gabe to 'his' statue. I thought it was kind of cool that the Miami Herald sent a reporter to cover it, but this wasn't about me. It was about Gabe. Then I saw the buddy roster. Kay and I were assigned to be Gabe's adaptive buddies. This was going to be fun! Kay and I went over Gabe's requirements and decided that she would be watcher and I would be the DPV (Diver Propulsion Vehicle). If you've never seen it, an adaptive dive is just like a dance. One partner leads, and the other follows the lead while maintaining communication between all three of us. She's the spotter, allowing me to concentrate on the adaptive buddy, keeping us out of trouble and finding the cool stuff. This was a pretty straight forward dive though. All we had to do was get Gabe to the statue and so we did.
That's when the magic happened for me. As I approached the statue with Gabe, his hands came up almost mimicking the statue. Earlier, Gabe had put two wreaths in the water to memorialize those who had played, fought and even died in the sea. Someone had taken the thought to place each wreath on the statue's hands. It was beautiful, but I had no idea if Gabe could see them. I watched as Gabe's hands started to caress Jesus' face. He started with the eyes and cheeks, tracing the outlines and the curves. After he had explored all of the face, his hands followed the shoulders, up the arms and to the hands. I could feel his whole body attitude change as he felt his offerings in the statue's hands. I did my best to hold him steady and level. I slowly moved him counter clockwise around the statue so he could caress every side. As we finished the first revolution, I descended a bit and started his journey around the statue again. We did this five times and then As I was bringing him back up to the face, he stopped, folded his hands and prayed. I kept there as long as his hands were folded. I could feel the reverence, the fondness and the emotions. Kay kept others at a good distance so that Gabe could enjoy his time with his statue in peace.
