My So-Called Dive Life

7/19/2006 - Dive report and Pics!! The Eagle, SB Invades the Keys, Key Largo, FL July 15, 2006

Dive #1

Max Depth: 105 feet
Bottom time: 40 minutes
Gas mix: 26% enriched air

Saturday dawned sunny and bright. After a phone call to my friend and favorite instructor, I was able to get my computer programmed correctly to pick up the transmitter and read my tank pressure! WOOHOO!! Thanks, Michael! And I didn't even have to call you back at 5 am Pacific time (Aren't you glad??!!)

We headed out with Conch Republic divers for a dive on the Eagle. I buddied up with George and Ann on this dive. As the mooring lines were taken, the boat did a live drop of all the divers for this dive. All technical difficulties seemed to have been resolved and I splashed down without incident. The surface was a little choppy but we made it across the granny line to the mooring and descended. Viz was great, maybe 80 feet, and soon the remnants of the ship came into view.

At work the previous night, a co-worker and fellow diver gave me a hint on where to find the goliath groupers. As I descended and got my bearings, I headed straight for the crack in the hull where the ship was split in two. As I hovered through this space, i could see two groupers hanging out just outside the hull. Moving in for a closer picture, I could make out the protruding metal in which he said he saw the big daddy grouper the last dive. I was not disappointed, and as I moved closer I saw him hiding (can a 500 pound fish hide???) behind the rusting metal that protruded from the hull. He was a MONSTER!

I was so excited. I snapped a few pictures of him and the other retreating groupers, then headed back to explore the rest of the wreck.

This dive is so different than the dives I've done thus far. Being in an area known for slack currents, it doesn't have the large clusters of growth on the hull. The area around the ship is sandy, giving it a barren, almost lonely feel. It definitely has a different flavor to it, but it's beautiful none the less.

We headed up the line, and after our deep stop and safety stop at 15 feet, surfaced. The boat had not been able to tie up to a mooring, so I started swimming towards the boat. They met me halfway and I climbed aboard.

When we surfaced, we learned that the other boat had suffered engine problems and was dead in the water. After dropping her divers, our boat went over and hooked up and towed her away from the other dive boats, where she was becoming quite a nuisance. The other divers had yet to splash down, and we gazed over the water the dejected faces of our friends on the other boat. Soon, however, the Macgyver talent's came to light and Danny, DiveMaster Extroidinaie...managed to get the boat started. I don't know EXACTLY what happened, but I did hear stories of fuel line problems and parts from the head being used to fix the engine. The head was out of commission for the rest of the day, but at least they got to dive!!

Because of the engine trouble, it was decided that we would make a SECOND dive of the day on the Eagle. Hmmm...two deep wreck dives in one morning... twist my arm.

Dive #2

Depth: 112 feet
Bottom time: 34 minutes
Surface conditions: choppy 1-2 foot seas
gas mix: 26% enriched air

We ascended down the line again, and commenced with our tour of the Eagle. As I was focusing in on a section of the ship (as was recommended to me to find more photo ops) I found several little arrow crabs. Alot of the pics were out of focus, but I found this one along with an anemone, and thought the picture came out quite nicely. I love arrow crabs. :)

This dive was quite short, due to the length/depth of the first dive. Let's just say after about 15 minutes we made a VERY SLOW ascent to the surface. I snapped this picture of Ann on the way up. I told her she looks like Pebbles when she dives! We had a great time diving together and hope to get the chance to dive alot more in the future!

On the way up we learned that Loonie Son of Moonie had been snatched from MissDirected (without her knowledge...isn't that great?) and was found sunning his rather prominent behind topside. Below is Loonie in all his glory, as well as the other pics snapped from my dives on the Eagle.

The only downside on this dive was as we were getting ready to pull away, a small fishing boat was fishing in the area. For one thing...I instantly thought they were idiots. Anyone knows that divers and bubbles scare fish. Duh? What were they going to find? We were just down there...there wasn't any good game fish in the area. And THEN...they started chumming. CHUMMING??!! Wtf??? What MORONS!!! The dive captains wasted NO time telling them this, either. I have learned to enjoy fishing, and esp. offshore fishing, but I just can't imagine the idiocy and selfishness that one must possess to chum in waters where there are 30 divers under the boat. IDIOTS!! ANYWAY...

I have to say that this was my first large scale SB get together and I had a BLAST! I met so many great people, dived, socialized, and overall had a wonderful time! What impressed me, of course in addition to the great stories to share and all the fun, was the sense of selflessness. The raffle on Saturday night was to help TekDiveGirl, and so much effort went into making the trip, the dives, the raffle, and the party a success. It was a great time...but it was also more, ya know? Just a really special time...and I'm SOOOO ready for SB Invades the Keys 2007!!!