Of course it had to be coldest,worst Keys Jan in 40 years for my timeshare week in Key West. 42 degree nitetime lows and 20 mph N winds not only kept me inside the White Tarpon bar, the cold snap caused massive fish kills in the canals and shallows.And who knows how many corals and benthic criters bit the dust.
The winds and high seas kept the dive boats in for days. 8 am on thurs the call came. Bottomcrawler of the Keys Scuba Shack said " we got a trip Wade, get your azz down here." My dive gear was still in the truck so , this being the only game in town , I headed over to Stock Island to maybe dive the Vanenberg. Well.......9:30 am and the others walk ons are now a no show. So I ask Mike," how many divers you need to go out?" Mike said "2 divers". Game on!!! I said I would pay for 2 , lets GO!
Nice having the head boat to yourself for private charter.
Seas were rough outside the reef 4-5 footers. Boat tied on a ball 2nd from stern, as curent was rippin from the bow. I tucked my mask under my hood so it didnt get ripped off and hopped in w/ a 120 hp nitrox , camera and dacor scooter .Johnoly had dove it in the fall and told me to take the camera as the wreck is new.
69 degrees on top, 72 on the deck of the Vandy @85 fsw. Vis was 50 feet.Wreck is no longer white and has a nice brown and green coating of algae. I filmed amidships and dropped to 120ft on the sides to check out the swim thus in the hull. They were dark and still void of algae and fish so I didnt penetrate. 100 fat cuda on the decks, schools of bait,amberjacks, some tropicals. A good start for a new habitat.
Surface interval was colder than the dive.I had to cut the surface interval short at 1 hr as my stomac was about to energize the chum line. No more fussin w/the film in these waves as I was ready to hurl. 2nd drop I didnt take the camera and instead I toured the wreck ,circumnavigating it 1 and a half times on the scooter. Never could have done that in the current w/out the battery powered wheelchair and a dive computer.Sweet. Solo dive on the Vandenberg, well worth the agony of the trip out in rough seas.
I have dove w/ Mike before doing some deep drift spearing and when we were setting some mooring balls on the wreck of the Caymen that Steve had got from the Navy. So I wasnt an unknown he was sending out alone. Its good he knew me as I doubt another shop would have let me do a solo adventure like this one. Certainly the way to dive the Vandenberg. 15mm lens on the Nikonos w/800 speed film ,available light
it will take me a few minutes to up load the Vandy pics
The winds and high seas kept the dive boats in for days. 8 am on thurs the call came. Bottomcrawler of the Keys Scuba Shack said " we got a trip Wade, get your azz down here." My dive gear was still in the truck so , this being the only game in town , I headed over to Stock Island to maybe dive the Vanenberg. Well.......9:30 am and the others walk ons are now a no show. So I ask Mike," how many divers you need to go out?" Mike said "2 divers". Game on!!! I said I would pay for 2 , lets GO!
Nice having the head boat to yourself for private charter.
Seas were rough outside the reef 4-5 footers. Boat tied on a ball 2nd from stern, as curent was rippin from the bow. I tucked my mask under my hood so it didnt get ripped off and hopped in w/ a 120 hp nitrox , camera and dacor scooter .Johnoly had dove it in the fall and told me to take the camera as the wreck is new.
69 degrees on top, 72 on the deck of the Vandy @85 fsw. Vis was 50 feet.Wreck is no longer white and has a nice brown and green coating of algae. I filmed amidships and dropped to 120ft on the sides to check out the swim thus in the hull. They were dark and still void of algae and fish so I didnt penetrate. 100 fat cuda on the decks, schools of bait,amberjacks, some tropicals. A good start for a new habitat.
Surface interval was colder than the dive.I had to cut the surface interval short at 1 hr as my stomac was about to energize the chum line. No more fussin w/the film in these waves as I was ready to hurl. 2nd drop I didnt take the camera and instead I toured the wreck ,circumnavigating it 1 and a half times on the scooter. Never could have done that in the current w/out the battery powered wheelchair and a dive computer.Sweet. Solo dive on the Vandenberg, well worth the agony of the trip out in rough seas.
I have dove w/ Mike before doing some deep drift spearing and when we were setting some mooring balls on the wreck of the Caymen that Steve had got from the Navy. So I wasnt an unknown he was sending out alone. Its good he knew me as I doubt another shop would have let me do a solo adventure like this one. Certainly the way to dive the Vandenberg. 15mm lens on the Nikonos w/800 speed film ,available light
it will take me a few minutes to up load the Vandy pics
