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Diving the Keys
October 16, 2009
Story by Sharon
On Oct 10-17, 2009, our fall, warm water adventure was here. Divers came from all over. Bernard and Gary from SFO and Sharon and Les were driving from North Florida after some caving. As we traveled south on Highway 1 from Miami, we could smell the ocean. Feeding our way along the Keys highway, first thru Key Largo and next Tavernier, we arrived at our destination for the warm water adventure.
Sunday night we settled in our condo at Ocean Pointe. We enjoyed the turquoise blue sea from our upper level condo. We had a beautiful view of the harbor and sailing vessels. For dinner, Sharon prepared burritos with all the trimmings. Meanwhile, the guys were getting the gear ready for the dives on Monday.
Monday morning we headed to the dive center. Getting our Nitrox fills, getting comfortable on the boat, 46’ Newton, we threw off the dock lines and were gone. As Captain Brett left the harbor, along the dock we sighted several bright green iguanas! Too Cool! It was clear this week would present a Caribbean flare without all the travel time and expense.
This trip we would dive doubles to get prepared for the deco dive on the Vandenberg.
Monday, the dives were on a couple of shallow reefs. We motored out about 3 miles to a site named Snapper Reef. Due to the recent storms, the surface presented 2-3’ chop and 6’ or so surge on the bottom. Bernard and Les jumped first, followed closely by Sharon and Gary. Ram and Michelle trailed along behind us. This was a shallow site offering 33’ but we enjoyed a 60 minute dive. We spotted 5 trumpet fish right away along with 2 lobsters. Checking the lavender sea fans for life, Sharon found a flamingo tongue cowrie stretch out over its shell. This was a great site for small critters, so we kept our eyes peeled. We encountered a green eyed puffer, shyly swimming in the soft corals. We swam thru large schools of yellow grunts and the fish never scattered! Les and Bernard found 2 more lobsters and a green moray. Ram shot some photos of the brightly colored fish. As we kicked along we observed a giant brain coral, bigger than a motor home! Xmas tree worms were in full bloom attached to brain coral. Sharon spied red, green, brown and white varieties. What made these little creatures unique was they didn’t pull in once you came near! All the regular reef creatures were present; grey and French angel pairs, damsels, triggerfish, and parrotfish.
Dive 2 was on Pickles Reef. The viz as consistent with dive 1, about 50’ with 6’ surge. Les and Bernard were first off and descended to 30’ and were gone. Soon Sharon and Gary were in and slowly kicking along looking for the small sea life. We found Christmas tree worms at the big brain coral and many schools of snappers and grunts. All the tropical regulars were about. The blue and stop light Parrot fishes, a pair of queen angels and wrasse darting everywhere. We looked in every nook and crack for the bugs and eels, but could find none. Soon back on the surface and heading in for lunch and tank fills.
A wreck dive was scheduled for Monday afternoon. We were ready after the warm up dives in the am. Capt Brett dropped us on the wreck of the Eagle for the third dive. The 287’ freighter caught on fire in Oct 1985 and the ship’s superstructure was destroyed. After declared a total loss, she was purchased by the Artificial Reef Program and further funded by Eagle Tire Company for sinking. She sits at 100’. The ship is in 2 pieces and the bow is on its starboard side. First off were Les and Bernard. A quick deflate and they were gone. Bernard and Les met up on the wreck and elected to penetrate the stern. They found the walls carpeted with colorful sponges, branching fire coral and black coral. It was actually so full of life; this was the way to do this dive! Next Sharon and Gary stepped off. Soon descending on the wreck, they explored the conning tower, crow’s nest and the lower decks. They encountered 2 pairs of grey angels, trunkfish, grunts and barracudas. As they looked closely, they found red banded shrimp hiding in the cracks of the crow’s nest. Another look revealed 3 arrow crabs. Each crab was about the size of your hand. These were too fun to play with. Along the port side at 98’, Sharon and Gary found a companion way, ventured along that to find the engines and supply room. Several tool chests and storage boxes were installed along the wall. The drawers encrusted shut by the coral. The viz on this dive was consistent, about 60’. As Sharon and Gary rounded the bow, from within the wreck came Bernard and Les. They were in the wreck a little deeper, exploring the lower decks. Now back on the mooring line, we could detect an increase in the current. But nothing we couldn’t handle. We did a rather long dive and the next dive was Snapper Reef. So we opted to share peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and off gas a bit more. We did Snapper earlier in the day so little would have changed.
Back in the condo, the guys prepped the gear for Tuesday’s wreck dive and Sharon prepared Swedish meatballs, rice, salad and brownies for dessert. A great close to a perfect day.
Tuesday, Capt Brett headed to the wreck of the Duane. She is a Coast Guard Cutter from WW II. Part of the Reef Program for 16 years now, she lies upright in 120’. As we tied in on the wreck at the bow, Capt Brett detected a 2 knot current. Setting out the float lines, we readied ourselves. Yep, but it would be challenging. Les jumped first, hit the tag line and quickly descended to get under the current. Next off was Bernard. He fought the current a bit and finally transitioned from the tag line to the down line. Soon he descended. Brett gave Sharon the “ok” to jump. Sharon stepped off. Oops, missed the tag line and there was no recovering it even though at first it was only 2 feet away. Sharon got caught in the surface current and was rapidly moving away from the boat. After what seemed like forever of kicking and making no progress of getting back to the boat, Brett deployed a swimmer with the float and line. The current sent the swimmer right to Sharon. They pulled hand over hand to travel the 75 yards back to the boat. Well, needless to say, Sharon called the dive, opted to rest and do the second dive. Meanwhile her buddy, Gary was waiting his turn to jump but opted out as well. Meanwhile Bernard and Les dropped to 90 feet, ventured in the 2d deck to explore the engine and supply rooms, finding shelving and cupboards, all items key to missions of years gone by. They were a bit silty as they emerged and were greeted by the current. They swam along the hull to avoid the push of the current. Residing on the wreck were large barracudas. Like a sentinel guarding the site. They didn’t seem to really bother with the divers. There were lots of yellow cup coral all over the hull of the ship. This was a big yellow wreck. As Bernard and Les moved along, watching their air as by now they had been deep for about 20 minutes. Now they were on the mooring line, ascending. Due to the current, the line vibrated violently. Also one did not want to lose contact because you would be headed for Cuba! Just ask Sharon. Les’ mask flooded and clearing in the conventional means just didn’t work. He had to put his back to the current, turn upside down and clear from the top of mask. Whatever works!
Now back on the boat, we motored to another site for dive 2. Moving to a reef for this next dive, Capt Brett selected Snapper Reef. A rerun for us but ok because Sharon and Gary were ready to jump after missing the first dive. The depth was 42’ and allowed for a 50 minute dive. The beautiful site was named for the large schools of snapper. Today the surge was nonexistent. So Sharon and Gary slowly drifted along, passing to the right of the giant brain coral, spying the Christmas tree worms as they passed. At about 30’ we spotted a moray curled in his hole and more flamingo tongues on the sea fans. Today the viz was about 70’. We swam thru large schools of grunts, so thick you could barely see thru them. Just amazing! Now back on the dock, we rinsed our gear. Sharon packed a picnic lunch of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, chips and fruit, a great lunch for now. Next we got our fills and headed to the condo to set up for the dives on the Vandenberg.
We ventured out at 5:30 am to drive to Key West to dive the USS Vandenberg. She was sunk in May 09 as the second largest wreck in the Reef Program. This would be a dive to remember as she was a military missile tracking vessel, stretching 523’. There are no other diveable wrecks like her. Soon we met George of Eco Scuba at Hurricane Hale Marina. There we loaded twin 85s, 72cu ft slings with 50/50 and all the gear we would need for the deco dive on the wreck. We boarded the 28’ Downeaster and motored 6 miles to the site. The seas were shining today. The surface was flat and the skies clear. We planned one long dive on the Vandenberg. Now tied to mid ship, we geared and Bernard and Les stepped off. The ship is upright on the sea floor at 140’. They entered the wreck and explored decks 2 and 3. There were many openings to allow easy access. Les ran a line to insure their safety. Meanwhile Sharon and Gary descended over the boilers and conning tower. They swam along the port side of the deck to the satellite dish which was mounted on the wreck like a giant cereal bowl. It was amazing just how large the dish was. As we kicked along the deck, we entered the wheel house. There were lots of cabinetry, all abandon of its contents. Next to the wheelhouse was another satellite dish. This was broken free of its mount upon sinking. It is secured with several cables to hold it in place. It is resting on the sea floor against the starboard side of the wreck. The next big hurricane just might rearrange that a bit. Now at the bow, Sharon spotted the large grouper that calls the radar tower home. Looking in every crack, we found arrow crabs taking up residence. Some were 8” from one tip of the leg to the other. Gary found a companion way, which he and Sharon slipped in to view the supply room. More Cabinets, void of their once ago contents. After about 25 minutes at 90’, it was time to start our ascent. As we turned toward mid ship, we saw Bernard and Les exiting the 3d deck. A bit silty, they joined us for the exit. At about 70’, we switched to 50/50 and hung for awhile. We ascended 10’ per minute and stopped at 30’. There we hung for 30 minutes. Now back on the surface, we stowed our gear and motored back. Special thanks to Eco Scuba, George as his boat was very accommodating to our doubles. The bottles sat up in the racks and we could kit up easily and just step off the boat. Climbing back on the boat was just as easy. George supported our long, deco dive as planned. We look forward to diving with Eco Scuba again.
On the motor back, the sky clouded up and dropped buckets of rain on us. But it was cooling and gave us a good rinse. We needed to drive back to Tavernier for fills for Thursday. We didn’t get a chance to see much of Key West, maybe next time. The drive back was beautiful. The clouds cleared and we could see the ocean for miles. The Keys highway, meandered thru each island. We saw a few stretches of the old Flagler Railroad bridges that are still left today. A bit of Keys history, Henry Flagler was the millionaire that connected the Keys to the mainland in the 1920s via the railroad. Several hurricanes later, the government rebuilt the route with a highway. That is what is now known as the Overseas Highway. Despites of our rush to get back to Tavernier, we stopped for lunch in Marathon. We sought out the lobster rueben sandwich we had heard so much about. It was all it was billed as. We loved it. At the diner, we were greeted by sandpipers and a white crane at the outdoor deck. Of course we picked up a few gifts for friends at the gift shop.
Now back in Tavernier and after we got our fills for Thursday’s dives, we rushed over to Islamorada to catch the Diving Museum. This was well worth the stop! Outside you were greeted with a commercial diving suit and a small chamber. Inside they took you through time. Several of the first diving bells and suits were displayed. The first weight belts had a row of leather pockets and drop weights slid in. Then there was a display of over 150 diving helmets from all over the world! Greece, Sweden, France, Korea, China and the list went on. The museum boasted about how diving started in the Keys and how it grew to what we see today. Of course diving icons Cousteau and L Bridges aka Mike Nelson were showcased. Today’s rebreathers look very similar to the 1930s earlier model. Some things don’t change. There was a Halcyon BC on display, comparing it to early BCs. There were 3 deep sea pressure suits. The exhibit offered much more too. Again this is a great time capsule for any level of diver.
Thursday was now upon us. This would be our last day of diving. Now on the boat, we headed to dive the Eagle again. At first we were not thrilled at the duplicate dive but once we arrived on site, the conditions were so nice, it would be great. Still diving twin cylinders, we would go deep but watch our time to stay out of deco. Les and Bernard geared and were gone. Next off were Sharon and Gary. Today the conditions were exceptional! The surface was Lake Atlantic! And there was no current. We descended mid ship and kicked to the stern. We explored the bowels of the ship, down a couple of decks and about 103’. The viz cleared from the other day too, viz was about 80’! We were greeted by pairs of grey and queen angels. What a beautiful wreck, lots of orange and yellow sponges, whip coral and hard and soft corals. Grunts and snapper schooled around the wreck. We dropped to a lower deck and swam thru it. She is diver friendly as day light shines thru the hull. Sharon found the largest grey angel ever about 18” in diameter. What a beauty. Now it was time to ascend. We spent about 20 minutes on the mooring line. Now back on the boat, we motored to the site for the last dive of the trip.
We settled on Pleasure for our dive. A shallow reef, the sand was at 25’. The bottom presented several coral heads forming the reef. We found a very large green moray under the rocks. He just glared at us. He wiggled around inside to reveal the widest part of his body. He was about 15’ long. What a monster. Soon Bernard rapped on his cylinder; he found a spotted eel, just a little guy. Then we found another green eel just barely peeking out of the rocks. As we kicked along from one coral head to another, we finally found a nurse shark way under the rock overhang. He could have been easily missed if Gary had not been shining that HID under every rock. He was about 5’ long; a full bodied female. Next Gary found another green moray and this one was larger that the first one. We found more morays on this one dive than on the entire trip! All too soon, the dive was over. Now back on the dock we rinse the gear to later pack up.
Once back at the condo Sharon and Les packed gear as they would leave for High Springs, FL in the early am to drop off the rented doubles. Gary and Bernard followed suit and pre-packed to allow for playing and relaxing on Friday before the flight home.
On Friday, Bernard and Gary did a little site seeing in the Keys, visited some of the waterfront cafes and kicked back by the pool. They spent a great day just soaking in the atmosphere. Now that is a way to conclude a trip.
Saturday as Bernard and Gary were flying and Sharon and Les were in north Florida, some tragic news from California came over the cell phones. Joel Young, one of our ADT Team members, passed away on Friday, October 16th. We were all eager to get home to see and help Noelle, his wife. Joel loved diving and was one of our top instructors. We will miss Joel yet keep him in our dives!

We had a wonderful time in the Keys; diving and exploring the area. Oh yes, we must not forget the record high temperatures. Oh well, we survived just fine and now it is all a memory. But we are ready to do it all again. Join us next October for the trip to Bermuda.




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