Brian setup the trip WAY back at the end of January and I jumped at the chance to do some obscure wrecks, much less make my first foray out into the Gulf. We dove off the Nauti Gal which is operated by Headhunter Charters out of Ft. Meyers Beach; they are currently docked at Rick's Marina, the home port of the Ultimate Getaway. Along w/ Brian and myself, one of Brian's buddies Christos, E-Diver Terrence, James (Big Ass Money), Capt. Oliver and his GF Linda joined the trip.
Greg was the Captain for the day and treated us to an awesome day in the sun. The boat has a wide beam and gear is stowed at deck level on each side. A ice chest made for a decent gearing up station before giant-striding over the stern or for the more Cousteau inclined back roll off the side. We were looking at a full 12 hour day, 3 hours travel time ~53 miles offshore, 6 hours on site, and 3 hours back. The boat has two bunks in the main cabin and 4 v-berths up in the bow one of which I grabbed for most of the travel time.
A week prior to the trip, we started a weather watch as the winds were temperamental and the forecast was floating between 2-6', heading 50+ miles offshore, no one was pleasantly looking forward to a 3 hour elevator ride. The weather accommodated us and early Friday morning the call was made the trip was a officially a 'GO'. I drove out Friday night and grabbed a room at the La Quinta which was surprisingly affordable, Brian and Christos drove out early Sunday morning and kept us all waiting 30 minutes as he demanded a decent breakfast at the Waffle House and got lost in the process… Boat was quickly loaded and we headed out for the uneventful 3 hour run in 1-2' seas for most of the trip, which turned into 2-3' rollers as we approached the site. We planned for two 50 min BT dives with my runtime approaching 70mins, with a 2.5 hour SI between dives.
The Fantastico is a 200' Honduran freighter that was lost in the 'No Name Storm' of 1993. Out of a crew of 10, three were rescued, three bodies recovered, and four never found. The wreck sits in ~115' to the sand, and the top of the stern is about 85'. ADM has a nice three page spread in their archives, though everything fore of the main wheelhouse has flattened out with some structure at the bow still in place. The wreck is covered in arrow crabs and we were greeting by a few hundred amberjacks schooling amidships. The wheelhouse made for some twisting and turning penetration runs and a few small goliath groupers now called the wreck home. The shadows of a few larger goliaths were just beyond the limited visibility, which we estimated at 30'.
Tuesday, May 22, 2007
Tuesday, April 10, 2007
Easter Weekend
Saturday Afternoon w/ Parrot Island aboard Fathoms O' Fun
The forecast was calling for 2-4' and we were treated w/ 2' or less for the day...
Wreck Dive: The Jim Atria, ~135 fsw
For some reason I mixed up the depth on this wreck w/ the Guy Harvey and thought I was in for 145'. I had FX mix me up a cocktail using equal parts of 21/35 trimix and 36 nitrox to end up with 28/22. It was all good, I had a crystal clear head for the entire dive. I buddied up w/ another e-diver Bob and we planned on 20-25 minutes on the wreck and I slung a bottle of 50% for a little marginal deco and general cleanup. We splashed down, got organzied and headed in. As the video shows, almost as soon as I went in the wreck I bumped my light and it went off. If made for a few good seconds of video with all the shadows and ambient light... A short minute or two later I restruck it and was good to go, poked my head around a few corners and went back to check on Bob. We then headed back in and Bob did a tour of the engine room.
Reef Dive: Sunkist, ~50-70 fsw
I buddied up again w/ Bob and Matt, another e-Diver for a leisurely reef dive. Lobster season is over, just pretty fishies. We did spot a turtle during the dive and a school of spadefish on ascent.
Post Dive Festivities, hung out w/ e-Divers Bob and Kim McKinney, Brian (Deepstops - who is out for 4 week due to teeth issues), Matt and his GF. Chowed down on wings and jello shots while Jerry's nameless band treated their massive family of friends to a dockside show. I was playing name that tune and the band kicked off riffs and cords between songs. I got antsy as I swore I heard the intro to Rush's Tom Sawyer more than once. But there was no-joy for this diehard fan.... I hear the party went on til 2am, but alas, I had a full day of diving ahead of me I departed around 10.
A few suggentions came up for possible band names: Hottie and the Blowmen & The Regulators
Sunday 3-Tanker w/ Lady Go Diver
An early start today, the yearly three tank dive trip to Tenneco capping off Wreck Week w/ Dixie-Divers... conditions topside were pristine for the long haul. LGD is moored up in Deerfield Beach. So, we headed south on the Intercoastal for 30 minutes, popped out of Hillsboro inlet and the cruised another hour plus south past Port Everglades. I noticed a familiar face, OneBrightGator, another regular on TheDecoStop and introduced myself.
Wreck Dive: Tenneco Towers, ~110 fsw
Huge oil drilling platform donated by the Tenneco Oil company. There are five in total. Three sections dropped in recreational depths, and another two sitting in technical depths. This was the deeper of the rec dives sitting in 100+ fsw. I used 32% w/ the leftover 50% from yesterday.
Wreck Dive: Jay Scutti and Tracy, ~70fsw
The original plan was to dive the Tracy. One of my favorite shallow wrecks due to its nive cavernous penetration opportunity. But alas, Oliver (Captain of the Avid Diver) was dropping folks there. So we opted for the Jay Scutti which lies about 400' south. The Scutti is a ocean tug which I didn't know much about. I strapped on my compass and followed the path of cinder bocks up to the Tracy. The current was quite heavy and going against us. I headed north and about 100' I was ready to give up. Next thing I know, this guy (we'll call him "Steve".... more below) who I was chatting w/ on the boat comes screaming by me is his set of doubles, doing the breaststroke underwater like an olympic swimmer. "Oh it's on".... there is no way I'm going to give up on this. I double my efforts, my normal frog kick isn't cutting it. I revert to a flutter and kick in full swing. I make it another 200' or so, and I can feel the CO2 accumulating, I drop down and grab a cinder block and catch my breath a bit and then kick in for the rest of the trip. Looks like I left the camera on for the entire time - I have great footage on the sand and seagrass. By the time I reach the Tracy, my batteries are dead. I do my dive, running around the wreck 3-4 times, and before I leave, I stick aft and look for signs of "Steve's" bubbles. Not seeing any, I drift off and let the current carry me south following the cinder blocks. I do another dive on the Scutti and surface. When I hit the top, Capt. Nick is standing watch asking "Is there anyone below you", "Nope". He heads up, and I think is chatting w/ Oliver making arrangments to pick up a diver. Mix was 33%
Here's the story I got from others on the boat.....
It appears in the haste of his swimming, "Steve" forgot about, or didn't notice the Cinder Blocks, so he drifted and missed the Scutti on the return trip. He surfaced a bit down current and popped a massive SMB. It seems this is when he got the urge to use the restroom... we're talking #2 here... Thinking he's going to be floating for a while, he peels out of his doubles, and pulls his shorty off a bit and well "drops the kids off at the pool".... Next thing you know - here comes a boat circling right after he's "takin the browns to the super-bowl"... and he's squirming to kick the "refuse" away and simulateously give a big "OK" signal to Oliver as what seems like the ENTIRE staff of Fill Express aboard the Avid Diver looking on trying to offer assistance to the floating diver.....
Wreck Dive: Peter B. McAllister, ~70 fsw
Didn't know much about this wreck, other that it's an Ocean going tugboat. Great, 14 divers on a tugboat, this is going to get crowded. Luckily, there is a VERY nice penetration run trough the engine room marked w/ heavy rope, easily 40' straight thru. There is also a nice curcuit around the engine block, this would be tight w/ doubles, but on a single tank I was able to shimmy around the pipes easily enough. I made 3-4 trips through here and I believe a few others did as well, it got a little grainy, nothing too bad. Ended up w/ 45 minutes in stiff current and headed to the surface. Mix was 36%.
Hit the dock around 4pm and had dinner w/ OBG and two of his friends at "The Whale's Rib" a little fish place and raw bar just next to the Flannigan's in the tourist district of Deerfield Beach.
Headed home and crashed..., Wiped out I hit the bed around 7pm and slept intil 8am.
The forecast was calling for 2-4' and we were treated w/ 2' or less for the day...
Wreck Dive: The Jim Atria, ~135 fsw
For some reason I mixed up the depth on this wreck w/ the Guy Harvey and thought I was in for 145'. I had FX mix me up a cocktail using equal parts of 21/35 trimix and 36 nitrox to end up with 28/22. It was all good, I had a crystal clear head for the entire dive. I buddied up w/ another e-diver Bob and we planned on 20-25 minutes on the wreck and I slung a bottle of 50% for a little marginal deco and general cleanup. We splashed down, got organzied and headed in. As the video shows, almost as soon as I went in the wreck I bumped my light and it went off. If made for a few good seconds of video with all the shadows and ambient light... A short minute or two later I restruck it and was good to go, poked my head around a few corners and went back to check on Bob. We then headed back in and Bob did a tour of the engine room.
Reef Dive: Sunkist, ~50-70 fsw
I buddied up again w/ Bob and Matt, another e-Diver for a leisurely reef dive. Lobster season is over, just pretty fishies. We did spot a turtle during the dive and a school of spadefish on ascent.
Post Dive Festivities, hung out w/ e-Divers Bob and Kim McKinney, Brian (Deepstops - who is out for 4 week due to teeth issues), Matt and his GF. Chowed down on wings and jello shots while Jerry's nameless band treated their massive family of friends to a dockside show. I was playing name that tune and the band kicked off riffs and cords between songs. I got antsy as I swore I heard the intro to Rush's Tom Sawyer more than once. But there was no-joy for this diehard fan.... I hear the party went on til 2am, but alas, I had a full day of diving ahead of me I departed around 10.
A few suggentions came up for possible band names: Hottie and the Blowmen & The Regulators
Sunday 3-Tanker w/ Lady Go Diver
An early start today, the yearly three tank dive trip to Tenneco capping off Wreck Week w/ Dixie-Divers... conditions topside were pristine for the long haul. LGD is moored up in Deerfield Beach. So, we headed south on the Intercoastal for 30 minutes, popped out of Hillsboro inlet and the cruised another hour plus south past Port Everglades. I noticed a familiar face, OneBrightGator, another regular on TheDecoStop and introduced myself.
Wreck Dive: Tenneco Towers, ~110 fsw
Huge oil drilling platform donated by the Tenneco Oil company. There are five in total. Three sections dropped in recreational depths, and another two sitting in technical depths. This was the deeper of the rec dives sitting in 100+ fsw. I used 32% w/ the leftover 50% from yesterday.
Wreck Dive: Jay Scutti and Tracy, ~70fsw
The original plan was to dive the Tracy. One of my favorite shallow wrecks due to its nive cavernous penetration opportunity. But alas, Oliver (Captain of the Avid Diver) was dropping folks there. So we opted for the Jay Scutti which lies about 400' south. The Scutti is a ocean tug which I didn't know much about. I strapped on my compass and followed the path of cinder bocks up to the Tracy. The current was quite heavy and going against us. I headed north and about 100' I was ready to give up. Next thing I know, this guy (we'll call him "Steve".... more below) who I was chatting w/ on the boat comes screaming by me is his set of doubles, doing the breaststroke underwater like an olympic swimmer. "Oh it's on".... there is no way I'm going to give up on this. I double my efforts, my normal frog kick isn't cutting it. I revert to a flutter and kick in full swing. I make it another 200' or so, and I can feel the CO2 accumulating, I drop down and grab a cinder block and catch my breath a bit and then kick in for the rest of the trip. Looks like I left the camera on for the entire time - I have great footage on the sand and seagrass. By the time I reach the Tracy, my batteries are dead. I do my dive, running around the wreck 3-4 times, and before I leave, I stick aft and look for signs of "Steve's" bubbles. Not seeing any, I drift off and let the current carry me south following the cinder blocks. I do another dive on the Scutti and surface. When I hit the top, Capt. Nick is standing watch asking "Is there anyone below you", "Nope". He heads up, and I think is chatting w/ Oliver making arrangments to pick up a diver. Mix was 33%
Here's the story I got from others on the boat.....
It appears in the haste of his swimming, "Steve" forgot about, or didn't notice the Cinder Blocks, so he drifted and missed the Scutti on the return trip. He surfaced a bit down current and popped a massive SMB. It seems this is when he got the urge to use the restroom... we're talking #2 here... Thinking he's going to be floating for a while, he peels out of his doubles, and pulls his shorty off a bit and well "drops the kids off at the pool".... Next thing you know - here comes a boat circling right after he's "takin the browns to the super-bowl"... and he's squirming to kick the "refuse" away and simulateously give a big "OK" signal to Oliver as what seems like the ENTIRE staff of Fill Express aboard the Avid Diver looking on trying to offer assistance to the floating diver.....
Wreck Dive: Peter B. McAllister, ~70 fsw
Didn't know much about this wreck, other that it's an Ocean going tugboat. Great, 14 divers on a tugboat, this is going to get crowded. Luckily, there is a VERY nice penetration run trough the engine room marked w/ heavy rope, easily 40' straight thru. There is also a nice curcuit around the engine block, this would be tight w/ doubles, but on a single tank I was able to shimmy around the pipes easily enough. I made 3-4 trips through here and I believe a few others did as well, it got a little grainy, nothing too bad. Ended up w/ 45 minutes in stiff current and headed to the surface. Mix was 36%.
Hit the dock around 4pm and had dinner w/ OBG and two of his friends at "The Whale's Rib" a little fish place and raw bar just next to the Flannigan's in the tourist district of Deerfield Beach.
Headed home and crashed..., Wiped out I hit the bed around 7pm and slept intil 8am.
Wednesday, November 29, 2006
Dry Tortugas - The Ultimate Getaway
Spent thanksgiving w/ a group of folks from Scubaboad and ZenDiving on a live-aboard charter to the Dry Tortugas. The operation is first rate, and my no-carb diet lasted all of a day as they keep you well fed. The weather was less than optimal with high winds and the winter water temps coming in arond 75 degrees. The sun poked out a few times, but it was mostly overcast and very chilly. The cold air just sucks your strength. I'll definately go back, but aiming for sometime in August, when the sun is still shining and lobster season in full swing. I managed to bag 8 bugs on three dives, not awesome, but not shabby as I had the largest take of bugs for the trip.
Pics posted here
Somehow I managed to be right on time, but the last to arrive, and therefore, received the absolute worst bunk on the entire boat. The upper bunk at the tip of the v-berth. I had all of 18" to squirm in and out of the bunk. The seas didn't bother me much, and I bought my bose noise cacelling headphones, so I slept relitevely peacefull.
Pics posted here
Somehow I managed to be right on time, but the last to arrive, and therefore, received the absolute worst bunk on the entire boat. The upper bunk at the tip of the v-berth. I had all of 18" to squirm in and out of the bunk. The seas didn't bother me much, and I bought my bose noise cacelling headphones, so I slept relitevely peacefull.
Tuesday, November 14, 2006
Cave Weekend 11/11
Its been a bit of a diving drought...., last weekend was blown out by strong East winds gushing at 20-25 knots that kept the boats out of the water until Tuesday afternoon. The gang (Lesley, Raphael, Erin and Chris), met up for another leisurely weekend of cave diving.
I picked up my new (to me) suit after having the rings and a few inches of fabric cut off and replaced w/ wrist seals. The arm length fit was spectcular, first dry dive I've had in a long while.
Chris had finished eidting the video of the dive shot during our previous trip. Its looks awesome on a laptop (It was shot in HD), I took it down a notch before posting to Google..., It's a little green and hazy at the beginning due to backscatter and the basin. Once we get into the tunnel and Chris has a chance to adjust the lights, its crystal clear. Enjoy....
I picked up my new (to me) suit after having the rings and a few inches of fabric cut off and replaced w/ wrist seals. The arm length fit was spectcular, first dry dive I've had in a long while.
Chris had finished eidting the video of the dive shot during our previous trip. Its looks awesome on a laptop (It was shot in HD), I took it down a notch before posting to Google..., It's a little green and hazy at the beginning due to backscatter and the basin. Once we get into the tunnel and Chris has a chance to adjust the lights, its crystal clear. Enjoy....
Monday, October 23, 2006
Three for One.....
No audio visuals for this update....
Wednesday I headed down to South Beach for some night diving w/ RJ Diving
Dives were on the Proteus and The Patricia.
Saturday the gang got together for a tech dive on The Clinton. Brian and Matt splashed first, followed by Scott and Eric (who ended up doing a sand dive), and Vince and I were team #3. There was a nice current (Brian estimates 1 knot - did you know a knot is 1.6'/sec? I did knot.. ;)
Captain Oliver on the Avid Diver dropped a hook and float ball on the wreck and had us dive bomb the wreck. I'm not terriably negative in my AL80's so swimming down 160' of water takes a little time. We hit the far side of the wreck, if we were a minute later, I imagine we would have beenout of sight of the wreck (60 seconds * 1.6 = 100' away!) Viz wasn't spectacular.... The wreck is nice, with lots of interesting machinery on the deck, some massive cranes, and monofiliment strewned about. A few passageways scattered about the ship made for some limited penetration opportunities. This was my first dive carrying two stages, so I didn't want to push my luck getting into any tight spaces... One goliath grouper inhabited the wreck and quickly hid out of view when approached. Vince and I planned on 30 minutes on the wreck and a runtime of ~67 minutes using 50% and O2 for deco.
We left the wreck on time and I shot the bag to let Captain Oliver track us from the surface as we drifted. I felt the bag hit the surface and we settled in for a nice slow ascent to our first deco stop. Then wham! Next thing I realize we've been pulled up 20-30' in the span of a few seconds as my computer is flashing a big hand indicating "slow yer ass down", thinking my bouyancy is out I start dumping air to re-stabalize. We're off the wreck and in a sea of blue - nothing but our guages to tell us if we're going up or down. I feel my reel taught and loosen up the screw and the reel continues spinning letting off line - I'm wondering WTF....! Realizing we're going to be out of line soon - I reach for my knife and cut the line.
I look over to Vince and give him the signal to blow his bag.... He shoots it to the surface and we settle in for deco on contingency tables as if we were on the wreck for 40 minutes. My VR3's deco schedule came within a minute of his schedule, and we surfaced after a total runtime of 90 minutes in the water.
We get on the boat and find Eric and Scott out of their drysuits and Brian tells us how he and Matt were deco'ing out and they run across a line at a low angle cutting through the water wodnering if there is a diver attached to the other end... Captain Oliver had picked up my bag which was floating at the surface with ~300' of line spooled out.
Sunday I spent the day on the Lady Go Diver with the typical Pompano rereational fare. The morning treated us to a leisurely dive on the Sea Emporer followed by a kick butt tag team lobster hunt w/ Heather, another regular on the boat; together we managed to snare 8 bugs.
In the afternoon we hit the Rodeo 25 and another reef. For all our good fortune in the morning - we came up blank in the afternoon. Oh well, we each left with enough for two meals each.
Wednesday I headed down to South Beach for some night diving w/ RJ Diving
Dives were on the Proteus and The Patricia.
Saturday the gang got together for a tech dive on The Clinton. Brian and Matt splashed first, followed by Scott and Eric (who ended up doing a sand dive), and Vince and I were team #3. There was a nice current (Brian estimates 1 knot - did you know a knot is 1.6'/sec? I did knot.. ;)
Captain Oliver on the Avid Diver dropped a hook and float ball on the wreck and had us dive bomb the wreck. I'm not terriably negative in my AL80's so swimming down 160' of water takes a little time. We hit the far side of the wreck, if we were a minute later, I imagine we would have beenout of sight of the wreck (60 seconds * 1.6 = 100' away!) Viz wasn't spectacular.... The wreck is nice, with lots of interesting machinery on the deck, some massive cranes, and monofiliment strewned about. A few passageways scattered about the ship made for some limited penetration opportunities. This was my first dive carrying two stages, so I didn't want to push my luck getting into any tight spaces... One goliath grouper inhabited the wreck and quickly hid out of view when approached. Vince and I planned on 30 minutes on the wreck and a runtime of ~67 minutes using 50% and O2 for deco.
We left the wreck on time and I shot the bag to let Captain Oliver track us from the surface as we drifted. I felt the bag hit the surface and we settled in for a nice slow ascent to our first deco stop. Then wham! Next thing I realize we've been pulled up 20-30' in the span of a few seconds as my computer is flashing a big hand indicating "slow yer ass down", thinking my bouyancy is out I start dumping air to re-stabalize. We're off the wreck and in a sea of blue - nothing but our guages to tell us if we're going up or down. I feel my reel taught and loosen up the screw and the reel continues spinning letting off line - I'm wondering WTF....! Realizing we're going to be out of line soon - I reach for my knife and cut the line.
I look over to Vince and give him the signal to blow his bag.... He shoots it to the surface and we settle in for deco on contingency tables as if we were on the wreck for 40 minutes. My VR3's deco schedule came within a minute of his schedule, and we surfaced after a total runtime of 90 minutes in the water.
We get on the boat and find Eric and Scott out of their drysuits and Brian tells us how he and Matt were deco'ing out and they run across a line at a low angle cutting through the water wodnering if there is a diver attached to the other end... Captain Oliver had picked up my bag which was floating at the surface with ~300' of line spooled out.
Sunday I spent the day on the Lady Go Diver with the typical Pompano rereational fare. The morning treated us to a leisurely dive on the Sea Emporer followed by a kick butt tag team lobster hunt w/ Heather, another regular on the boat; together we managed to snare 8 bugs.
In the afternoon we hit the Rodeo 25 and another reef. For all our good fortune in the morning - we came up blank in the afternoon. Oh well, we each left with enough for two meals each.
Friday, October 20, 2006
Cave Weekend
So, after the North Carolina trip, I drove 5 hours west to Winston-Salem as I began to re-realize the "seasons" we just don't experience down in South Florida. Fortunately I have a virtual office job, so I camped out at a client office with some friends for the week, burned up a few Marriott points, and enjoyed some southern hospitality. This sidestep also helped break up the tedious 13 hour drive back home, as I was meeting up w/ Lesley, Chris and Erin for some cave diving on the return trip.
We rented one of the mobile homes Cave Excursions has available, well hidden off the beaten path just north of Lauraville. Compared to previous trips - this was care-free no stress diving. I mean - we were downright lazy, we managed to squeeze in two dives a day...
Saturday we dove at Madison Blue. Since the summer is officially over, there were no swimmers, occasionally another dive team would show up, or a family doing some sight-seeing - nothing compared to labor day...!
Erin is cavern certified, so Lesley and Chris alternated buddying up for cavern dives
Lesley and I teamed up first and followed the main line out past the half-hitch restriction (864'), I don't recall exaclty how far we got, but I want to say 12-1300' and 40 minutes, definately before the Mount Offshoot @ 1347'. On the return trip through the cavern zone Lesley decided to slow down and take a scenic tour and check things out. Unfortuately for me, I had a few cups of coffe w/ breakfast and a liter of soda on the drive out, so nature had been calling since shortly after we turned - I've been lazy and don't have a p-valve in my drysuit, nor do I go the diaper route. I gave her the signal for 'I gotta pee!' and we high-tailed it out. With these larger tanks, we've been seeing 70-80' dive times easily - this was a scene repeated often during the weekend.
For the next dive, Chris and I headed down the main line and turned just past the half-hitch restriction, probably ~900'. I had two sets of doubles for the trip, however Chris was using the same set he did the cavern dive w/, so thats why it was somewhat shorter...
Lesley and I made the drive back to CE for fills while Erin and Chris went on an expedition to locate a birthday cake for Lesley. We had intentions to do a night dive, Cow or Telford, but after a big dinner at Two Sisters BBQ and cake, we settled in for watching "The Cave" on my laptop - I made it about 20 minutes then crashed.
We woke around 8am, and SLOWLY got moving. I think we made it to Peacock around 10am for our first dives. The brown muck from our previous trip was gone as Chris and I explored the mainline in an attempt to get to Olsen sink, we were a few hundred feet short as we called thirds.
Headed back to CE for fills, and this time we talked Chris into shooting HD video..., the plan was to head down the pothole line, make a jump off to the Nicholson tunnel, then jump onto the line heading to Cisteen sink. Chris had the camera, so I got to model and do all the work - nice huh? We managed to get back in there, and despite having plenty of gas - we got to that point in the back of your head where you start saying "man - we are WAY back in here"... I don't believe we got to the wishbone, so we were a few hundred feet from Cisteen before we turned.
Hopefully the video comes out nice... I'll post a link here when available...
We rented one of the mobile homes Cave Excursions has available, well hidden off the beaten path just north of Lauraville. Compared to previous trips - this was care-free no stress diving. I mean - we were downright lazy, we managed to squeeze in two dives a day...
Saturday we dove at Madison Blue. Since the summer is officially over, there were no swimmers, occasionally another dive team would show up, or a family doing some sight-seeing - nothing compared to labor day...!
Erin is cavern certified, so Lesley and Chris alternated buddying up for cavern dives
Lesley and I teamed up first and followed the main line out past the half-hitch restriction (864'), I don't recall exaclty how far we got, but I want to say 12-1300' and 40 minutes, definately before the Mount Offshoot @ 1347'. On the return trip through the cavern zone Lesley decided to slow down and take a scenic tour and check things out. Unfortuately for me, I had a few cups of coffe w/ breakfast and a liter of soda on the drive out, so nature had been calling since shortly after we turned - I've been lazy and don't have a p-valve in my drysuit, nor do I go the diaper route. I gave her the signal for 'I gotta pee!' and we high-tailed it out. With these larger tanks, we've been seeing 70-80' dive times easily - this was a scene repeated often during the weekend.
For the next dive, Chris and I headed down the main line and turned just past the half-hitch restriction, probably ~900'. I had two sets of doubles for the trip, however Chris was using the same set he did the cavern dive w/, so thats why it was somewhat shorter...
Lesley and I made the drive back to CE for fills while Erin and Chris went on an expedition to locate a birthday cake for Lesley. We had intentions to do a night dive, Cow or Telford, but after a big dinner at Two Sisters BBQ and cake, we settled in for watching "The Cave" on my laptop - I made it about 20 minutes then crashed.
We woke around 8am, and SLOWLY got moving. I think we made it to Peacock around 10am for our first dives. The brown muck from our previous trip was gone as Chris and I explored the mainline in an attempt to get to Olsen sink, we were a few hundred feet short as we called thirds.
Headed back to CE for fills, and this time we talked Chris into shooting HD video..., the plan was to head down the pothole line, make a jump off to the Nicholson tunnel, then jump onto the line heading to Cisteen sink. Chris had the camera, so I got to model and do all the work - nice huh? We managed to get back in there, and despite having plenty of gas - we got to that point in the back of your head where you start saying "man - we are WAY back in here"... I don't believe we got to the wishbone, so we were a few hundred feet from Cisteen before we turned.
Hopefully the video comes out nice... I'll post a link here when available...
North Carolina - October 2006
Made the long drive from South Florida to North Carolina. I started the drive on the 5th. The plan was for three days of diving from October 6,7,8. Each day we faced the uncertainty of a rough ride, but it was relatively painless once we arrived on site.
Friday - Dive 1 - the Schurz
We tied up to the site, and the current was challenging. The sun was out and conditions above water were perfect. Below, the currents were pretty strong, the crew estimated 2 knots. The safety rigging under the boat was due for a good workout. The wreck is more debris field than shipwreck, the reel is a must-use for this dive.
Friday - Dive 2 - The U-352
Check out this page for its history... I'll let the video speak for the dives...
Saturday - Dive 1 - The Indra
Weather conditions called for 3-5' seas, and the crowd was expecting the worst from the weather. Unfortunately enough, the calls for "sunny and warm" fell on deaf ears for the first half of the day as overcast clouds and a cool breeze fell upon the area... The Indra is an artificial reef that has been down for a number of years, as represented by the amount of coral growth. The main deck is non-remarkable, as the gems of this wreck lie in the decks below. Large cut-outs have been prepared for divers to easily penetrate swim-throughs through most of the wreck.
Saturday - Dive 2 - The W.E. Hutton (possibly the Ario?) The weather gods must have heard the calling as the sun decided to peak out and make its presence known. The wind was still blowing, but the 3-5' seas never materialized in-shore as anticipated as we experienced calm 1-2' conditions for the day...
We loaded up the boat Sunday morning and made our way to the fill station at Olympus to pick up tanks. The captain then made the call that it was going to be too rough to run that day. When we got to the dock, the rain was coming down - hard, and the tide was still coming in. The gangplank was easily nearing a 50 degree angle... It was a challenge unloading people and gear, I decided to leave my doubles on the boat until after it settled down some and we headed back to the Fisherman's Inn for a few hours sleep and a VERY lazy day.
This was my first group trip with the folks from SingleDivers.com, a wayward home for single and married but buddyless divers. The boat was the "Good Ship Mutiny (aka the Diver Down II).
Friday - Dive 1 - the Schurz
We tied up to the site, and the current was challenging. The sun was out and conditions above water were perfect. Below, the currents were pretty strong, the crew estimated 2 knots. The safety rigging under the boat was due for a good workout. The wreck is more debris field than shipwreck, the reel is a must-use for this dive.
Friday - Dive 2 - The U-352
Check out this page for its history... I'll let the video speak for the dives...
Saturday - Dive 1 - The Indra
Weather conditions called for 3-5' seas, and the crowd was expecting the worst from the weather. Unfortunately enough, the calls for "sunny and warm" fell on deaf ears for the first half of the day as overcast clouds and a cool breeze fell upon the area... The Indra is an artificial reef that has been down for a number of years, as represented by the amount of coral growth. The main deck is non-remarkable, as the gems of this wreck lie in the decks below. Large cut-outs have been prepared for divers to easily penetrate swim-throughs through most of the wreck.
Saturday - Dive 2 - The W.E. Hutton (possibly the Ario?) The weather gods must have heard the calling as the sun decided to peak out and make its presence known. The wind was still blowing, but the 3-5' seas never materialized in-shore as anticipated as we experienced calm 1-2' conditions for the day...
We loaded up the boat Sunday morning and made our way to the fill station at Olympus to pick up tanks. The captain then made the call that it was going to be too rough to run that day. When we got to the dock, the rain was coming down - hard, and the tide was still coming in. The gangplank was easily nearing a 50 degree angle... It was a challenge unloading people and gear, I decided to leave my doubles on the boat until after it settled down some and we headed back to the Fisherman's Inn for a few hours sleep and a VERY lazy day.
This was my first group trip with the folks from SingleDivers.com, a wayward home for single and married but buddyless divers. The boat was the "Good Ship Mutiny (aka the Diver Down II).
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