The Chairman
Chairman of the Board
Steaming at night with the lights out in 1942 to avoid Nazi U-Boats, the Norwegian SS Benwood ran into the much larger Robert C Tuttle, collapsing it's bow. The captain tried to make it into shore, but the boat with it's load of phosphate rock reefed in the coral sand off of Key Largo. The details are pretty sketch after this point, but I've heard that they had parties on the boat, that it was refloated and they tried to move it to sink it in deeper waters. They didn't get far enough so it still posed a hazard to navigation, so it was used as target/demolition practice by the US Navy. It's now a mostly flattened wreck and it's awesome.
Many consider the Benwood an easy dive, which it is, and so don't give it much credence. In fact, due to it's benign currents and depths (45 fsw max), it's a popular night dive. Few come to Key Largo just to dive the Benwood and that's a shame. After all, it's a real wreck, what I call a 'Screamer' and not just an artificial reef like the Speigel Grove, Eagle, Duane and Bibb. Actually, it's my favorite dive here in Key Largo.
So why is it my favorite dive? It has scads of structure with an almost infinite amounts of hiding places for all sorts of species of fish. Even more important, it has a ton of tight places a diver can squeeze into to test their control and buoyancy. Bring a light, even on a day dive, and expect to see more critters than you can most places. Today, I had the distinct pleasure of finishing up AOW with REEF.org's intern Jim off of Rainbow Reef's Voyager. He's come a long way since we first splashed in the pool earlier this week and his trim/buoyancy/propulsion have improved dramatically. We made a single trip around the boat today in a perfect 60 minute dive and he ID'ed 62 species of fish. Yes, he kept track on a REEF.org slate designed just for the Caribbean. 62 species!!! Not bad for a single dive. FWIW, I require my AOW students to do a REEF count as part of their Fish ID. This was the first time I was able to watch a REEF intern do their thing. Quite impressive, and it was cool to point out a fish and have him point to the fish name on the slate. He showed me a few cool critters and I got to show him a few too. We even disagreed over one species: he called them glassy sweepers and I called them copper sweepers. I'm going to point Jim to this thread... it would be nice to hear his take on my favorite wreck.
So when you get the chance to discover our awesome diving here in Key Largo, be sure to ask for a dip on the Benwood. You won't be disappointed and maybe you'll get to find more than 62 species of fish while you're there.
BTW, a special shout out to Capt Corbin, Jack, Baxter, Brody and Edin of Rainbow Reef. You made that an awesome trip today! Also, mucho congo rats to Jim for doing an awesome job on his AOW. May you ever be trim and neutral.
Many consider the Benwood an easy dive, which it is, and so don't give it much credence. In fact, due to it's benign currents and depths (45 fsw max), it's a popular night dive. Few come to Key Largo just to dive the Benwood and that's a shame. After all, it's a real wreck, what I call a 'Screamer' and not just an artificial reef like the Speigel Grove, Eagle, Duane and Bibb. Actually, it's my favorite dive here in Key Largo.
So why is it my favorite dive? It has scads of structure with an almost infinite amounts of hiding places for all sorts of species of fish. Even more important, it has a ton of tight places a diver can squeeze into to test their control and buoyancy. Bring a light, even on a day dive, and expect to see more critters than you can most places. Today, I had the distinct pleasure of finishing up AOW with REEF.org's intern Jim off of Rainbow Reef's Voyager. He's come a long way since we first splashed in the pool earlier this week and his trim/buoyancy/propulsion have improved dramatically. We made a single trip around the boat today in a perfect 60 minute dive and he ID'ed 62 species of fish. Yes, he kept track on a REEF.org slate designed just for the Caribbean. 62 species!!! Not bad for a single dive. FWIW, I require my AOW students to do a REEF count as part of their Fish ID. This was the first time I was able to watch a REEF intern do their thing. Quite impressive, and it was cool to point out a fish and have him point to the fish name on the slate. He showed me a few cool critters and I got to show him a few too. We even disagreed over one species: he called them glassy sweepers and I called them copper sweepers. I'm going to point Jim to this thread... it would be nice to hear his take on my favorite wreck.
So when you get the chance to discover our awesome diving here in Key Largo, be sure to ask for a dip on the Benwood. You won't be disappointed and maybe you'll get to find more than 62 species of fish while you're there.
BTW, a special shout out to Capt Corbin, Jack, Baxter, Brody and Edin of Rainbow Reef. You made that an awesome trip today! Also, mucho congo rats to Jim for doing an awesome job on his AOW. May you ever be trim and neutral.
