The Spree is a super-awesome, comfortable divers’ ship. Every comfort for the diver is available. You sleep, eat, dive, dive, eat, talk poo, dive, dive, eat, share pictures, talk poo, and sleep. Naps are good! Everything a diver could want is here.
This is not one of those luxury-accommodation, have your own cabin, lamps, art on the walls, and pay excessively for types of liveaboards. Thank God, Frank, and Mel.
All the bunks are stacked two high. The four-person cabin has four bunks (Duh) and a curtain to the outside. Each bunk has its own privacy curtains and a most-excellent dimmable reading light. There is also a cargo net on the wall into which you can put ‘stuff’ like a cell phone. I do not recommend dropping in glasses – put an earpiece through one of the top holes and they won’t get spaghetti’d.
Under the bottom bunk is a ~two-foot high space and each person gets half. You can stack two suitcases and stack two dive bags and still not fill up your half. The bunks are comfortable and you have a blanket. Most people find it supremely comfortable. I am not most people. I am from AZ and like 84◦. Wookie helpfully suggested I bring a sleeping bag. I slept in a -30 degree British Army sleeping bag. Normal people slept in shorts and a t-shirt.
We have a chef and a galley helper, who is cheerfully referred to as the “galley wench” if she is female. Their job is to provide meals and munchies all day long. Warning: do not avail yourself of everything offered unless you want to really struggle into your wetsuit after day One! If you have a special diet, please let them know. This is not JUST because they want to meet all your needs (which they do!), but is also because boats have to be provisioned and your failure to mention your diet could cause imbalances.
The Spree has a boat cat; her name is Bearing. Her function is to be worshipped by the Cat People on board and ignored by everyone otherwise. She performs her functions magnificently.
The ship has two Captains, a day Captain and a night Captain. Do not disturb the sleeping Captain ever.
The Boat Mistress is Melanie, fondly known as Mel. Do not mess with the boat mistress. Mel takes the safety of the boat and the lives aboard very seriously. If you are lucky, you will see her dry wit and smooth pokes come by.
That said, she runs an extra-ordinarily well-organized ship! The tank gets filled as soon as you are back from your dive and remove your reg. You will analyze your tank and note that and its pressure in a log. Mel gives the dive briefs on the sites and notes the issues that may be on the site. Mel knows everything.
Respect! Mel has "a heavier Captain's License" than Frank . . . .
---------- Post added August 15th, 2015 at 07:23 PM ----------
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About the diving – Florida Wreck Trek
I don’t know how, but it seems this trip got the erroneous moniker of “semi-tec” or something. I am saddened, because it really was a trip for an Advanced Open Water diver. I say Advanced, only because of the depth. Generally, you would be 80 to 100 feet. For the tec divers, those that were certified did penetrate the depth, or go to the sand at 140’, but overall, this is a great trip for the Advanced Open Water diver who is ready to flex his or her skills. Unfortunately, the attendance was sparse and an opportunity lost for spectacular dives.
These are the wrecks on which we dove:
Spiegel Grove
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Spiegel_Grove_(LSD-32)
Adolphus Busch
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MV_Adolphus_Busch
USCGC Duane
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USCGC_Duane_(WPG-33)
USNS Vandenberg
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USNS_General_Hoyt_S._Vandenberg_(T-AGM-10)
We were supposed to dive the Bibb, but someone took one of her two balls. You heard it here first, folks.
What is super-cool about a liveaboard is that you dive. There is no “show up at the boat, take 30-60 minutes to load, take 30-60 minutes to get there, double dip, and your day is done. You dive, you take notes on what you want to see, you dive again, and again, and as you sleep or eat, you steam for another wreck.
---------- Post added August 15th, 2015 at 07:26 PM ----------
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Four-Dip on the Spiegel Grove
Due to the mixed divers, tec and rec, the Spree maintained a “pool is open” schedule of 8-12 and 2-6 generally. That allowed those diving more conservatively (“recreational limits”
to dive twice in the morning, and twice in the afternoon. The tec divers could run longer times.
I adore these wrecks. I could happily sit on them for several days so I could explore them fully. Our conditions were marvelous – glass-flat seas and currents less than 1.5 knots. Mostly 1 knot or less. You do a hand-over-hand down the current and drop line to the wreck. Mel placed an SMB that said “Spree” on the mooring to which we were hitched, so we would always be sure we were on the correct line going up. I can imagine what led to that procedure. :doh:
I chose to not penetrate (I am certified) and to not take a camera. I have noticed that a camera tends to make memories of photo-shots, while just diving makes incredible whole-picture memories. The Spiegel Grove is a massive ship. Due to the currents, my ship-buddy and I stayed on the lee side. We were handicapped by the two weeks of previous diving I’d done, as my Petrel was giving me shortened NDL (non-decompression limit) dives. Our dives were 40-60 minutes each of the four dives. Max depths ranged from 130 to 88, but average was around 70 fsw. The vis was better on the bottom at about 40 feet.
Sadly, the water temperature at depth was 83 Petrel, 84 Sol. It got only warmer during our trip, and at
85F, coral begins bleaching.
---------- Post added August 15th, 2015 at 07:27 PM ----------
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Day Two: Double-Dip on the Duane
This ship was my second wreck ever, and I was so happy to see her again. We did not have the steller 100’ clear water, zero current of my first visit, but it was an awesome dive anyway. This time, I was able to go deeper as the first time, my insta-buddy was limited. My ship-buddy had this thing about propellers, so he visited as many as he could. I would not do overhead – If you are going to embrace the standard, embrace the standard. I wasn’t equipped properly, so I wasn’t going in. It was hard . . . it is so easy to say, “just this once”, and it is so easy to get into trouble that way. But if you are trained – these are awesome wrecks to park on!!!!
This wreck brought back hilarious memories . . . those who attended the "ScubaBoard Invades the Keys" of 2009 will remember!
---------- Post added August 15th, 2015 at 07:29 PM ----------
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Day Two, Afternoon – The Eagle
Cap’n Wookie comes into the mess and says, “The Bibb is booked – we need to call it now – do you want to go to the Eagle?” What happened was that someone took the 2nd of two mooring balls off the Bibb – one assumes for repair – and that the other mooring ball had a ‘tenent’. Off to the Eagle we went!
I love this wreck. I want a four-dipper on this wreck!
The vis was less – about 30 feet. This massive wreck is on her side, broken in the middle. The rest of it is just a shadow in the visibility – are you jumping into nothingness, or is there really the rest of the ship there? Thanks to Mel’s great brief, we knew the rest of the ship was there, but it was SO difficult to perceive the massiveness and breadth of beam of this ship in the ‘fuzzy fog’. My buddy went to the props & rudder . . . I held above him per agreement so that I would not incur the nitrogen loading so much. We then explored the catawampus structure on the way back. The anchor chain for this beast was incredibly massive – had the vis and my photography skills been better, I’d have brought the camera! What a great dive!
---------- Post added August 15th, 2015 at 07:30 PM ----------
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Day Three – The Thunderbolt & the Busch in the afternoon
I hate to say it – these two wrecks did not significantly affect me to create memories.
Well, maybe the cable ship.
The Thunderbolt was an Army cable ship, and so has different and therefore more interesting structure to swim about. It was the USS Randolph and laid mines during WWII.
The Busch is a cargo ship. Both were well-cleaned up to become diveable wrecks.
By this point, my ship-buddy was longingly looking at a father-son pair and their long runtimes. I suggested he dive with them, then, as I am solo certified and I was unwilling to make my trips more aggressive after three weeks of average 80-100 feet of diving.
I am very grateful to the Spree crew for their support to the properly trained and certified Solo divers.
I will also admit to pulling a groin muscle while (I think) doing a squat into my wetsuit. I’m telling you, man; you just cannot play “pig at the trough” with all the good food this ship provides!!!
Okay, yes; I am blaming my age on the Spree's food.
---------- Post added August 15th, 2015 at 07:31 PM ----------
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Day Four – Triple-dip the Vandenberg!!!!
I LOVE this ship, because my first exposure to it was as a class-B (maybe) science-fiction flick.
The ship received its most public exposure when cast as a Russian science ship in "Virus," a 1999 motion picture starring Jamie Lee Curtis, William Baldwin and Donald Sutherland.
The Vandy is the first wreck I dove. Unfortuantely, it was in a group scenario where we were all motioned to the surface after 15 minutes.
It was sad to see the passages of time have caused the satellite dishes to fall apart. Still, it was like visiting an older, if a bit more decrepit, friend. Since I was solo, I could take my time spiraling from the deck up the superstructure, and peering into every nook and cranny. I found a nursery! Arrow crabs that could fit legs and all on a dime. Spiral snail shells not as long as my pinky nail is wide, jerkily moving on a seam – a Hermit Crab!!! Teeny little scorpion fish – do they really come in that size?!?!?! I love critters, and just held there, breathing, watching . . .
There are always Goliath Grouper on the Vandy, as are normally on the other wrecks. I seem to have done a darned fine job of avoiding them -
- darn them!
---------- Post added August 15th, 2015 at 07:32 PM ----------
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Day is done
Sadly, the day was over and we docked at the end of Shrimp Road. The Spree family – crew and customers; we were family by then – normally meet for dinner afterwards. I had family matters, damnit, and after much teeth-clinching and responsibility-shredding, decided to skip out and head north. For those who wish it, they may stay a final night on the Spree to catch flights or rest before travels.
I’d like to thank the Spree for the tremendous time and support for this trip. I must make this at least an Annual event!
