mrfixitchapman
Contributor
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....and so the day after Christmas we head down the chain and end up in Key West. We checked in at SubTropic and went down to Old Key West. Harpoon Harry's has been wet, up to 2 feet of flood water, three times this year. Hurricane Katrina, Hurricane Wilma and Tropical Storm Alpha,( the first storm after all the names were used up). The place has cleaned up nicely, thank you very much, and the food was extremely tasty. After a Cuban Mix sandwich for me and the egg and cheese sandwich for Margaret we circled around and parked at Subtropic. Island Diver backed up to the dock and the morning shift checked out and the afternoon shift,(that would be us), checked in. Five divers and two bubble-watchers, including Maragaret.
First stop was the Cayman Salvager. The wreck sits upright. The superstructure has been stripped by waves and weather leaving several interesting holes in the deck. My dive buddy this trip was Warren from London. On entry and descent we found that visibility was not good. We could not see the wreck until we were within 30 feet of it. The Island Diver was not visible at all from depth.
As we landed at the bow I did a quick equipment and instrument check. All okay for me. Warren, however, was holding one of his fins in his hand. The buckle has disintegrated on one side, leaving the strap dangling and no method to clip it to the fin. Hmmm. I took his fin from him and examined it.
Kneeling on the deck of the wreck, I removed my slate and pulled the rubber tubing and pencil from the slate. I tied the tubing to the fin post and then tied the other end to a knot that I made in the free end of the strap. He put the fin back on his foot and away we went all around the deck and just over the edge as we made a lap of the wreck. Dive saved. Lost the pencil, though.
At 1500psi we began the ascent up the mooring line. Safety stop at 15 ft and using the line provided we swam at 12-15ft depth to the stern. The bottom of the dive boat was barely visible from 20ft away.
Surface interval was spent travelling to the Nine Foot Stake site and rigging a less temporary repair using zip strips from the boat's save-a-dive kit.
Second dive was in 35-15ft of water on spur-and-groove formation. Moderately strong current at the surface with very milky water gave way to somewhat better vis at the bottom. Big surge down there, though. Sponges and sea grass tumbling around in the surge. We made two complete circuits, passing the bow line twice. Surge kept getting worse and by the time I was down to 2000psi we gave it up. The stern line float had a 5lb weight on a 15ft downline. From there we could not see the surface, much less the boat. Surface current has picked up even more and water near the surface was noticeably cooler than at the bottom. Not quite muck diving, but the closest thing to it that I've seen in the Keys.
Tonight the wind is whistling out of the west. Could be that tomorrow is blown out. We'll see
DC
First stop was the Cayman Salvager. The wreck sits upright. The superstructure has been stripped by waves and weather leaving several interesting holes in the deck. My dive buddy this trip was Warren from London. On entry and descent we found that visibility was not good. We could not see the wreck until we were within 30 feet of it. The Island Diver was not visible at all from depth.
As we landed at the bow I did a quick equipment and instrument check. All okay for me. Warren, however, was holding one of his fins in his hand. The buckle has disintegrated on one side, leaving the strap dangling and no method to clip it to the fin. Hmmm. I took his fin from him and examined it.
Kneeling on the deck of the wreck, I removed my slate and pulled the rubber tubing and pencil from the slate. I tied the tubing to the fin post and then tied the other end to a knot that I made in the free end of the strap. He put the fin back on his foot and away we went all around the deck and just over the edge as we made a lap of the wreck. Dive saved. Lost the pencil, though.
At 1500psi we began the ascent up the mooring line. Safety stop at 15 ft and using the line provided we swam at 12-15ft depth to the stern. The bottom of the dive boat was barely visible from 20ft away.
Surface interval was spent travelling to the Nine Foot Stake site and rigging a less temporary repair using zip strips from the boat's save-a-dive kit.
Second dive was in 35-15ft of water on spur-and-groove formation. Moderately strong current at the surface with very milky water gave way to somewhat better vis at the bottom. Big surge down there, though. Sponges and sea grass tumbling around in the surge. We made two complete circuits, passing the bow line twice. Surge kept getting worse and by the time I was down to 2000psi we gave it up. The stern line float had a 5lb weight on a 15ft downline. From there we could not see the surface, much less the boat. Surface current has picked up even more and water near the surface was noticeably cooler than at the bottom. Not quite muck diving, but the closest thing to it that I've seen in the Keys.
Tonight the wind is whistling out of the west. Could be that tomorrow is blown out. We'll see
DC
