The Group Stayed at (or at least returned to) the Breezy Palms Resort for a Friday Party (Oh that toooo much rum feeling on Saturday Norning!!)!!
Dive Trip Report to: Islamorada in the Florida Keys
Purpose:
To Dive the Wrecks and Reef’s of the Keys (and get out of
Melbourne for a weekend)!
Dive #1:
Saturday, 25-Mar-2000, Morning Dive. My Dive #280
A. Dive Boat / Location:
Lady Cyana Divers
/ Davis Ledge:
B. Conditions:
Visibility:
40 ft
Seas:
2 - 3 (a little rough for this group)
Water Temp:
74 - 76 (Still need a full wet suit)
Skies:
SCBS (Sunny Clear Blue Skies)
Air Temp:
70’s with some air blasts in the 60’s
C. Dive Information:
Depth & Time:
Me: Genesis Nitrox Dive Computer - 26 ft for 28 min,
Air consumption:
Me: 3300 - 2000 (80 cu ft) - dive partner ran out first!
Current:
Mild with a mild surge
Description:
Well, this dive was to help my dive partner get ears cleared and down to the
bottom. The pills and concoctions used worked, the diver did get to the
bottom. We swam around the various formations of Davis Ledge.
There was nothing very spectacular to note! Not too many fish, no bugs, some
color, some schools of various small fish. I did spy two 2 ft grouper - Ummmm,
Grouper Sandwich!! There was one long 3’ ledge, which we followed from the
sand depth - wanted to see if my dive partner could easily get from the 15 ft
cruse depth to the 25 ft bottom without any ear problems! We did rub the
Budda’s tummy! There was a small nurse shark (3 - 5 ft) under a ledge near
the shark. An interesting dive, had better, had worse!
Dive #2:
Saturday, 25-Mar-2000, Late Morning Dive. My Dive #281
A. Dive Boat / Location:
Lady Cyana Divers
/ Hens and Chickens
B. Conditions:
Visibility:
20 ft (Poor Visibility)
Seas:
2 - 3 and 4 ft (a little rough for this group)
Water Temp:
74 - 76 (Still need a full wet suit)
Skies:
SCBS (Sunny Clear Blue Skies)
Air Temp:
70’s with some air blasts in the 60’s
C. Dive Information:
Depth & Time:
Me: Genesis Nitrox Dive Computer - 20 ft for 23 min (Dive partner ran low 1st)
Air consumption:
Me: 3300 - 2000 (80 cu ft)
Current:
Weak with a weak surge
Description:
Well, this reef has some very very large coral growths - from the bottom at 23
ft to almost the surface. The reef is not structured, but randomly laid out -
so navigation is fun, exciting and difficult. You keep going around the big
coral structures and loose your sense of direction. This requires the divers
to surface every 10 minutes or so to get a bearing to the boat! The constant
surfacing and going back down to 20 ft is hard on the ears after a while! The
reef structure is not all live coral, about half the coral is dead, about half
is live and colored. There are some really huge coral mountains and coral
fans! With the poor underwater vis and surge, I rated it as only a fair dive!
With better conditions it would have been a great dive! We wondered around the
coral mounds, I spied one 30 inch snook and could taste it in the frying pan!
Unfortunately it was a sanctuary - no taking anything! My dive partner also
got to the bottom again on this dive with minimal ear discomfort! The wonders
of medicine - Better Living Through Chemistry
Dive #3:
Sunday, 27-Mar-2000, Morning Dive. My Dive #282
A. Dive Boat / Location:
Lady Cyana Divers
/
The Duane (1)
,
(2)
B. Conditions:
Visibility:
70 ft
Seas:
less than 1 ft!
Water Temp:
74 - 76 (Still need a full wet suit)
Skies:
SCBS (Sunny Clear Blue Skies)
Air Temp:
70’s
C. Dive Information:
Depth & Time:
Me: Genesis Nitrox Dive Computer - 124 ft for 25 min ,
Air consumption:
Me: 3500 lbs to
1200 lbs (120 cu ft)
Current:
Mild to medium for this dive
Description:
Well, I really wanted to dive the
Eagle
again, but had missed my chance the day before as the boats were runing very
late. So, the Duane is a fun dive - done it many times before! It can be a
challenging dive if the current is strong - turn you head the wrong way and say
good by to your face mask! And, at 100 ft, loosing our face mask could be
interesting! Today the current wasn’t so strong! I latched onto some
Miami College Students that hadn’t dove this wreck and offered to give the
grand tour! Those with computers would get to see the prop, those without
would stay at the 100 depth. We discussed the dive several times - important
thing to do on this dive! The boat mate discussed the dive - great briefing!
We jumped in off the Stern of "LC IV" (Lady Cyan’s smaller dive
boat) and held onto the stern ropes! When the 5 member dive team was in the
water, we pulled ourselves down the various rope combinations. There were
quite a few divers hanging out around the 20 - 40 ft level - we went around
them! On the stern of the Duane, it took a few minutes for the group to get
together - a few divers had minor clearing problems! I escorted the other
computer equiped diver from the 100 ft level of the stern of the Duane to the
prop buried in the sand. My depth was 123 ft! After rubbing the one visible
prop blade for good luck, we headed back up to the group. From there, we
pulled ourselves along the deck, against the current to the swim-through at mid
ship level. These go from one side to the other through open doors! We had
discussed many times about not trying to swim against the current - you use up
all your air. The group was good about pulling themselves along the rivets on
the deck. Two divers were spotted attempting to swim against the current - I
got their attention and they came back down to deck level. After the 1st
swim-through, one diver was noted as having the tank strap off - the air tank
was drifting in the current. With the help of another, we managed to re-attach
his air tank to the BC at 100 ft below the surface! The group moved forward to
the next swim-through and again went back to the other side. From here we went
to the front deck then up to the pilot house! There was a 6 ft cuda in there
and there really wasn’t enough comfortable room for the cuda and me in the
same room at the same time! After a few minutes, the big black monster was
coaxed out! We all took turns standing where the steering wheel would be!
After exiting the other side of the pilot house, we drifted with the current
back to the stern! One of the dive team was approaching the magic 1000 lbs of
remaining air - we had discussed that at 1500 lbs we would start back and all
of us must be back on the ascent rope when the 1st diver hit 1000 lbs or when
the bottom time hit 20 minutes! I picked up someone’s integrated weight
belt from the deck and brought it up! That must have been exciting to loose
your weights at any depth! The group ascended the line, performed the required
3 minute safety stop and returned to the boat! They all agreed, it was a fast
pace, great dive, and they saw the entire ship on their first dive!
Dive #4:
Sunday, 27-Mar-2000, Late Morning Dive. My Dive #283
A. Dive Boat / Location:
Lady Cyana Divers
/
Pickles Ledge
B. Conditions:
Visibility:
40 ft
Seas:
Flat
Water Temp:
74 - 76 (Still need a full wet suit)
Skies:
SCBS (Sunny Clear Blue Skies)
Air Temp:
70’s
C. Dive Information:
Depth & Time:
Me: Genesis Nitrox Dive Computer - 18 ft for 38 min ,
Air consumption:
Me: 3300 - @2000 (120 cu ft)
Current:
Weak, no surge
Description:
Well, the boats always make two dives! After the Duane, most divers said there
could be no comparison and didn’t want to do a second dive. I talked one
College Student into joining me diving, two others snorkeled above us. We were
told we could get bugs here (Florida Lobster), this was the last week of the
season. Well, my bug stuff was in the van. I did borrow a tickle stick. We
played with several legal size bugs. They were well hidden in the cracks, but
we managed to get them out to the sand to play with them. They were too fast
to grab and the tickle stick was too thin to hold them down - but it was a fun
experience for those that never saw a Florida Bug before. I saw my first
shovel nose bug - didn’t know what it was, so left it there! Later we were
told it was better tasting then the normal bugs! We saw the remains of the
wreck. Several large steel plates and a piece of cement in the shape of a
pickle barrow. This was a fun place to dive. There were lot’s of large
ledges and lots of fish! My dive partner got cold, so we called the dive
short! It was a fun day / fun dive!