USCG DUANE dive report, monday, 3/3/14, a few pics,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

[reefman]

once again fantastic winter diving for early march in Monroe county. sunny skies, air temp 80F, light SE winds, seas 1-2FT decreasing to < 1FT. double on the DUANE. DIVE # 1, buoy D2(smokestack); blue water, viz 70-80FT, light current, water temp 77-78F @ 70-110FT. wreck to ourselves both dives; very approachable brilliant yellow phase coney, bull sharks, goliath groupers. DIVE # 2, moved north to buoy D3(stern). blue viz 70FT, current increased to mdt, 77F @ 60-100FT. elusive bull sharks(at least 3 healthy individuals), goliath groupers, overall very enjoyable dives. marine weather looks super tomorrow as well! TIMG provides the photos,,,,,,,,,,,,,,


reefman
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[CajunDiva]

Gloves noted

Great pics Tim!

 

[reefman]

Gloves noted

Great pics Tim!

gloves are nearly imperative on the duane and bibb. both wrecks are prone to erractic/strong currents and the railings/superstructure are covered in orange cup coral/fire coral. mooring lines are also dense with barnacles from the surface to about 20FT. I usually don't wear gloves on the SG, however I have a pair stowed away in my BC pocket just in case,,,


reefman
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[timg]

Gloves noted

Great pics Tim!

Thank you Cajun Diva. Very nice day, hope to have similar conditions tomorrow.

 

[scubastingray]

Awesome photos! You really know all the buoy sites well it seems.

Are the photos shot with a filter, or raw mode and wb adjusted? The colors really come out well.

 

[timg]

Awesome photos! You really know all the buoy sites well it seems.

Are the photos shot with a filter, or raw mode and wb adjusted? The colors really come out well.

Thank you scubastingray. I shoot in raw at 5600k, manual settings, ISO 200 and adjust wb as needed. Two ikelite 160 strobes, nikon d300, 17-55mm lens in superdome port, seacam housing

 

[scubastingray]

Gotcha, I know I've seen some of your photos before so sorry if I'm making you repeat yourself. I shoot a d300s and d70 (for electronic shutter & 1/8000 flash syncs), and dream of being able to afford a nice housing and lights. Even then I'm sure you've put considerable time into your art to perfect it! A tool is just that, right?

Again, you guys are living the dream, and are making me jealous. It is currently 2 degrees out, and i'm afraid that's not celcius.

 

[timg]

Gotcha, I know I've seen some of your photos before so sorry if I'm making you repeat yourself. I shoot a d300s and d70 (for electronic shutter & 1/8000 flash syncs), and dream of being able to afford a nice housing and lights. Even then I'm sure you've put considerable time into your art to perfect it! A tool is just that, right?

Again, you guys are living the dream, and are making me jealous. It is currently 2 degrees out, and i'm afraid that's not celcius.

I have the best teacher and mentor in Stephen Frink. He has helped me in more ways than I can count. I hope I have seen my last snowflake!

 

[scubadada]

Beautiful photos of one of my favorite wrecks, thanks Tim. After I read reefman's intro, I was hoping you had caught the Bull Sharks. I have seen them on the Duane, especially on descent, but they have always been quite skittish and have kept their distance during the dive

 

[reefman]

Beautiful photos of one of my favorite wrecks, thanks Tim. After I read reefman's intro, I was hoping you had caught the Bull Sharks. I have seen them on the Duane, especially on descent, but they have always been quite skittish and have kept their distance during the dive

skittish is the best description of their behavior. we observed another large bull today cruising off the the duane @ 125FT(pics tonite but no shark!). unless your in the sand/rubble @ 125FT and wait patiently, you have only a slim chance of getting a worthy capture. only rarely since the duane was sunk I have seen a bull shark off the sand and on the wreck superstructure. likewise on it's sister ship, the bibb,,,,,,,,,,,,,


reefman
key largo