NEW YEAR'S EVE dives on the USCGC DUANE, pics,,,,,,,,,,,,

[reefman]

splendid day on the water offshore the upper keys; mix of warm sun/clouds, light NNE winds, seas <1FT. double dip on the DUANE, mooring buoy D3(stern. all 3 buoys brand new along with the lines courtesy of the OCEAN DIVERS crew!). negligible current early, gently increasing to light by the end of dive #2, blue water, viz 70-80FT, water temp 77F @ 60-110FT. conditions don't get much better than today on the reefs and wrecks off the keys in late December! most excellent dives! vibrant blue water and viz approx. 80FT @ MOLASSES REEF on our cruise home. pics from timg,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,


reefman
key largo

 

[drrich2]

I'm impressed with how warm that water is this time of year. I still don't have a good handle on water temp.s, sea conditions, & the likelihood of bad weather blowing out diving for a given day, during the winter months. I know the Bahamas get rather cold in winter (did a cruise 12-13 - 12-20-14; stopped in Nassau & did a Blue Lagoon Sea Lion excursion; waist deep in some chilly water!), and figured the Keys got similarly chilly. 77 Degrees 12-31-14 does not sound bad!

Of course, I travel out of Nashville, so unlike a local, I can't decide day of I want to dive; I have to plan well in advance, put in for time off, buy a plane ticket and hope to blessed with a good trip.

I'm just a snap shooter with little eye for composition, but TimG's shots show considerable skill with pleasing composition, where people, animals & structural objects 'relate' to each other in terms of presence & position. The diver & coney relative to the flag in pic 2 was particularly pleasing in this regard.

Richard.

 

[timg]

I'm just a snap shooter with little eye for composition, but TimG's shots show considerable skill with pleasing composition, where people, animals & structural objects 'relate' to each other in terms of presence & position. The diver & coney relative to the flag in pic 2 was particularly pleasing in this regard.
Richard.

Thank you Richard. I have a great teacher and mentor (Stephen Frink).

 

[scubadada]

Wow! Happy New Year and thanks to Ocean Divers for the new lines and buoys. The Duane is my favorite wreck off Key Largo. I haven't had the opportunity to dive in Key Largo since 2009 and am really looking forward to ScubaBoard's Spree4All aboard the M/V Spree in July and the chance to dive the Duane, Bibb, Spiegel Grove, Thunderbolt, Adolphus Busch, and the Vandenberg. There are still some spots available for other SBers to join in the fun.

Gorgeous photos, as usual Tim. I particularly like the shots of the Porkfish, the silhouette of the crow's nest, and my favorite, the shot of the Smooth Trunkfish that looks like it is shadowing the Bluestriped Grunt. Your photos always make me wish I was there with you, diving. Thanks very much to you and Reefman for sharing your Key Largo adventures with us on an ongoing basis. I look forward to vicariously enjoying your activities again in 2015.

Good diving, Craig

 

[timg]

Wow! Happy New Year and thanks to Ocean Divers for the new lines and buoys. The Duane is my favorite wreck off Key Largo. I haven't had the opportunity to dive in Key Largo since 2009 and am really looking forward to ScubaBoard's Spree4All aboard the M/V Spree in July and the chance to dive the Duane, Bibb, Spiegel Grove, Thunderbolt, Adolphus Busch, and the Vandenberg. There are still some spots available for other SBers to join in the fun.

Gorgeous photos, as usual Tim. I particularly like the shots of the Porkfish, the silhouette of the crow's nest, and my favorite, the shot of the Smooth Trunkfish that looks like it is shadowing the Bluestriped Grunt. Your photos always make me wish I was there with you, diving. Thanks very much to you and Reefman for sharing your Key Largo adventures with us on an ongoing basis. I look forward to vicariously enjoying your activities again in 2015.

Good diving, Craig

Happy New Year to everyone on SB!
Thank you Craig. I appreciate your kind comments.
Ocean Divers really stepped up, and I agree, all of the diving community should be thanking them, big time!

Elena - the mooring balls are a SAC issue, hope you and Rob are all over that at the next meeting. No excuse for FKNMS to allow that to happen. None.

 

[arokdad]

Great vis! You can see the dive boat in pics 10 and 14. Does anyone know the depth at the Duane's bow?

 

[reefman]

Great vis! You can see the dive boat in pics 10 and 14. Does anyone know the depth at the Duane's bow?

approx. 125FT to the sand

reefman
key largo

 

[CajunDiva]

Great report and wonderful pics! Happy New Year to our KL dive buddies :balloons: See you guys in May...

 

[scubadada]

Shots of the boat hull appear to be from about deck level, maybe 105 feet. It's about 125 feet to the sand

 

[timg]

Great report and wonderful pics! Happy New Year to our KL dive buddies :balloons: See you guys in May...

Thank you CajunDiva. Looking forward to Gumbo!

---------- Post added January 1st, 2015 at 07:38 PM ----------

Shots of the boat hull appear to be from about deck level, maybe 105 feet. It's about 125 feet to the sand

Shots with the boat in background were from the crow's nest, 60 to 70 feet.