heftysmurf
Registered
Happy Sunday all. I do NOT want this weekend to end! I went out yesterday with my LDS (Aquatic Ventures) for a Spiegel Grove double dip to finish up my deep speciality. We headed south to Sail Fish Scuba. When I found out it was going to be with Sail Fish, I tried looking for posts on here and I'm not sure why not much shows up about them, but, they're a small outfit but a pleasure to dive with. Should you want a smaller operation to go with, here's the details!
The Spiegel Grove was a hoot to dive aside from it being sought after, but I was a Gator sailor stationed on board an LPD. While SG is an LSD, they're similar.
Took about an hour and a half to get to the shop in Key Largo from Fort Lauderdale. Pro tip: take Card Sound Road to avoid slow downs. You'll see the shop on your right as you're heading south and both Waze and Google dropped us off right there. You unload your gear at the tiki hut/picnic table and go inside and sign waivers, pet the shop dog, buy things 25% off, or just hit the head before getting underway.
You're pretty much responsible for taking your gear to the back AND DOWN some stairs to where the boat is docked. This was a first and got tedious, especially if you wanted to help. Speaking of the boat, we (our Aquatic Ventures group) pretty much had the boat to ourselves. There was one other fella not part of ours and we had a total 15 people on board which included Bill (Capt), Chris (Owner/Mate), and Tom (DM for this trip). The boat is a bit older with one ladder and a rarely functioning head. That's not to say it's bad, just know this is a smaller operation. Since it is a smaller boat, we unloaded EVERYTHING we were to bring with us and then put our bags in a locked room on the dock since there is room for people, tanks, kit, and that's about it. So be mindful should you venture with them.
Boat briefing by the skipper was great and I felt safe. DM gave us a briefing of what to expect. Annnnddd -- underway, shift colors!
It's a nice little ride as Sail Fish is on the Gulf side so we have to go through some no wake zones and such to get to the Atlantic side and once there, we're off. The day couldn't have been nicer and seas were maybe 1.5'. We moored on the port crane buoy (I think!) and the pool was open. Granny line was on the port side of the dive boat and there were 4 of us getting our deep rating with two instructors with us so it was chill. First dive was on air and current was almost non-existent. Got to 135' to experience narcosis then started zigzagging up going through a few swim thru's, checking out the plaque, the flag, the cuda's, and the sharks! We saw blacktip, reef, and bulls on the wreck. after about 35 mins, we're back topside.
Once back on board, the crew had candies and water for us and we hung out for an hour before tossing on our nitrox tanks. Fun note: On the ride out, I was going to go forward and put my shorty on while I put my camera together for the second dive so it's prepped. I toss my shorty on a tank to my right and fiddle with my housing, look over for my wetsuit and it's no where to be found! It got sucked out the window and folks aft said, "I saw something, but didn't know what it was"....So, I dove in board shorts and a rash guard! Water was 78 though and felt amazing!
Back on the wreck for our second dive we stayed a bit shallower and hit a few swim thru's. I got to explore on this one and take some pics and piddle around. Once we began to head back to the line, current had definitely picked up! Viz got a little fuzzy but all in all, spectacular dive!
Got back to the shop and they had two rinse bins -- one for masks, regs, BC's and one for wetsuits. Hauled our stuff back up the stairs, loaded up the truck, and stopped at the first McDonald's we found to survive!
Hopefully this helps someone else who is interested in a more low key operation.
The Spiegel Grove was a hoot to dive aside from it being sought after, but I was a Gator sailor stationed on board an LPD. While SG is an LSD, they're similar.
Took about an hour and a half to get to the shop in Key Largo from Fort Lauderdale. Pro tip: take Card Sound Road to avoid slow downs. You'll see the shop on your right as you're heading south and both Waze and Google dropped us off right there. You unload your gear at the tiki hut/picnic table and go inside and sign waivers, pet the shop dog, buy things 25% off, or just hit the head before getting underway.
You're pretty much responsible for taking your gear to the back AND DOWN some stairs to where the boat is docked. This was a first and got tedious, especially if you wanted to help. Speaking of the boat, we (our Aquatic Ventures group) pretty much had the boat to ourselves. There was one other fella not part of ours and we had a total 15 people on board which included Bill (Capt), Chris (Owner/Mate), and Tom (DM for this trip). The boat is a bit older with one ladder and a rarely functioning head. That's not to say it's bad, just know this is a smaller operation. Since it is a smaller boat, we unloaded EVERYTHING we were to bring with us and then put our bags in a locked room on the dock since there is room for people, tanks, kit, and that's about it. So be mindful should you venture with them.
Boat briefing by the skipper was great and I felt safe. DM gave us a briefing of what to expect. Annnnddd -- underway, shift colors!
It's a nice little ride as Sail Fish is on the Gulf side so we have to go through some no wake zones and such to get to the Atlantic side and once there, we're off. The day couldn't have been nicer and seas were maybe 1.5'. We moored on the port crane buoy (I think!) and the pool was open. Granny line was on the port side of the dive boat and there were 4 of us getting our deep rating with two instructors with us so it was chill. First dive was on air and current was almost non-existent. Got to 135' to experience narcosis then started zigzagging up going through a few swim thru's, checking out the plaque, the flag, the cuda's, and the sharks! We saw blacktip, reef, and bulls on the wreck. after about 35 mins, we're back topside.
Once back on board, the crew had candies and water for us and we hung out for an hour before tossing on our nitrox tanks. Fun note: On the ride out, I was going to go forward and put my shorty on while I put my camera together for the second dive so it's prepped. I toss my shorty on a tank to my right and fiddle with my housing, look over for my wetsuit and it's no where to be found! It got sucked out the window and folks aft said, "I saw something, but didn't know what it was"....So, I dove in board shorts and a rash guard! Water was 78 though and felt amazing!
Back on the wreck for our second dive we stayed a bit shallower and hit a few swim thru's. I got to explore on this one and take some pics and piddle around. Once we began to head back to the line, current had definitely picked up! Viz got a little fuzzy but all in all, spectacular dive!
Got back to the shop and they had two rinse bins -- one for masks, regs, BC's and one for wetsuits. Hauled our stuff back up the stairs, loaded up the truck, and stopped at the first McDonald's we found to survive!
Hopefully this helps someone else who is interested in a more low key operation.
