43 replies to this topic

[Marvel]

Went down to Key Largo this AM with some of my local dive buddies to dive the newly righted Spiegel Grove. I've been on the wreck several times before while it was on it's side & always enjoyed the dive but man, what a difference! We went out with Blue Water Divers, an operation that I have heard good things about but have never dived with before. There were only 9 of us on the boat- it doesn't hold much more than that so we had plenty of room.

First stop was the Duane because it's actually a deeper dive than the Grove now to get to anything, even though the Grove sits in deeper water. The current was pretty strong- not exactly ripping but pretty darn close. Captain Glen Marvel (yes, really) tied off to the stern buoy, with the current running stern to bow. Instead of having to do the ol' "fight the current" thing, he told us to go down & allow the current to take us the length of the wreck & that he would move to the bow to pick us up. I was the first one in the water with my dive buddy, Oliver, close behind. went down to the structure as quickly as possible & just tooled around a little. The Duane has been in the water for quite some time & has a lot of growth on it- lots of good corals to look at. There are some resident turtles & a Goliath grouper but I did not see any this dive. We saw the usual assortment of jacks, groupers, & barracuda plus some damsels & other fish that I cannot name. All too soon we were nearing the bow & the end of our dive. We were on the superstructure of the boat & could not see the mooring line- the visibility still hasn't recovered from Dennis & a couple of months of east winds so, we dropped back down to the deck to ensure that we had adequate control & did not get blown off the wreck. As we reached the bowline, a whole bunch of divers from another boat descended onto the wreck.

The first wave consisted of about 5 divers & we waited for them to get off the line & onto the structure before proceeding up. Unfortunately, they were only the beginning of a herd of divers- all coming down & not looking too comfortable about it. Oliver & I stayed on one side of the line going up & gave them the other side. We got to about 30 feet & were doing a safety stop when we noticed that one of them had a tank that was falling out of his bc strap. I tried to signal him but he was not getting it at all so I went back down the line to try & help him out. He was last in line & his buddies did not see anything. Oliver followed me down & we tried to fix things but the diver was having no parts of it- he did not understand what we were trying to do & even though I put my hand right in his face & yelled "stop" 4-5 times he just didn't get it. By that time, the group had decided to call the dive & some of his buddies were jumping the line above him but below us. Again we tried to get them to see what was happening but they were just too stressed by the current to pay any attention. At that point, Oliver & I went back up the line & completed our safety stops. We came up on the bow of the other boat & just drifted past it right to the back of our own boat. Major kudos to Captain Gary for dropping us & picking us up that way. It made a dive that could have been a lot of work & rather stressful feel like a Cozumel drift dive.

Dive #2 was on the Spiegel Grove & let me tell you, it is AWESOME now that it's upright. If you've never been on the wreck before, you cannot imagine how BIG it is. Basically, before Dennis, you came down one of the lines onto the side of the boat & had to drop down to where the superstructure was laying on it's side. Oliver opted to sit out the 2nd dive- he had developed a stitch in his side on the first dive & didn't feel up to it. Besides, he had done two dives on it the day before with little or no current. Alas, not today. Although it wasn't ripping by any stretch of the imagination, there was a nice little cross current building throughout the dive. I went down with a couple of folks I met on the boat from the Clearwater area- they're regulars in the Keys & had been on the trip the day before too. I've never done any real penetration on it, aside from venturing in the one big hole. This time, however, I took a little guided tour of the front of the boat's superstructure, thanks to them. The Grove was originally cleaned out & ropes were strung through some of the passageways just so divers could go through relatively safely. We were almost never outside of the daylight zone & it was pretty darn cool to see the interior which has a lot more growth than much of the outside of the wreck. There was one doorway that had a door laying sort of at an angle across the middle but definitely not difficult to get through at all. once we went through the interior, the guy waved goodbye to us & went up the line. Brenda & I continued the dive & circled the structure outside before heading back up the line. We were kind of snickering a little with each other because we were waving bye to the wreck as it disappeared in the not so good visibility. Safety stops at 30 & 15 then back on the boat for the ride back. I cannot stress to you all enough just how much more of an interesting dive the Grove is than before. Despite the lack of growth, I much prefer it to the Duane, which is a great wreck itself.

Once we got back to the dock, the gang that I went down there with got cleaned up a little & headed up the road a piece for lunch where we were met by- BAHAMASITA & WALTER! That's right- CJ was down getting certified (she passed yesterday) & Walter met up with her at Tavenier to dive the Benwood with her & the rest of her gang from Northern Virginia. So, after their dive, the two of them plus her friend Steven, drove up to have lunch with us at the Buzzard's Roost. She is a lovely, lovely lady & a lot of fun to be around! We spent the entire lunch talking away as if we had been friends forever. Walter & I are hoping to lure her back down soon to do some beach & boat diving with us both.

Run time on the Duane: 30 mins, max depth 102
Run time on the Grove: 34 minutes, max depth 94

Oh, & the water was so warm that I could have done both dives in just a bathing suit!

[Mishelle]

Wow! Sounds like you had an awesome time! Thank you for sharing!!

[ddierolf]

Sounds like a very good pair of dives. It seems like you never know what match up of divers you wil get on some of these trips! Thanks for sharing your experience with us!


Dennis

[Cold_H2O]

Ok, I need to come down and dive.. I love Puget Sound but... really getting envious of all these great Florida dive reports..
I just need to go over the budget and get my Nitrox cert and I will be ready.

[chinacat46]

Marvel,

Sounds like a great time. When I come back to FL to dive with you I want to a simlar trip.

- Chuck

[Marvel]

You are all more than welcome to come down! BTW, I proposed to Captain Gary but think he was scared- can you see it now? Marvel Marvel

[RICHinNC]

They uprighted it??? When did that happen?? Man have I been on the road too long. I dont remember seeing zip in any dive mag about it.

[Walter]

I'm exhausted! I left home at 4 AM and got back home at 7:20 PM. A full report will have to wait, but the biggest thrill of diving with CJ on her first post certification dive was she's excited about everything! Of course, this dive had enough going for it to even excite an old salt like me. On the Benwood, CJ saw her first shark! It was an 8 ft nurse that cruised by us, the cruised by again about 10 minutes later. The woman has catlike reflexes and as Marvel reported, everyone is either a current friend or a friend she hasn't met yet.

Rich, Hurricane Dennis did that task.

[RICHinNC]

So, is it sitting perfectly upright...or just at a lot less tilt?? I guess that would give you an idea of what those few divers experienced that were in the water when the tsunami came by.

[Latitude Adjustment]

Thanks for a great report and no the world isn't ready for a Marvel Marvel

[Dennis]

Marvel,

Thanks for the report. I've got to get down there and dive the SG again, now that she's upright.

Rich, the word is that she is completely upright. I imagine there is some tilt, but from what I've heard. Not much.

[ScubaDadMiami]

Nice report. Any pics?

[Walter]

It was a joy meeting CJ (Bahamasista) yesterday morning. She arrived at the dock with Steve, Sue and Colin. After meeting everyone and taking care of minor details, we settled in for a long boat ride from Tavernier to the wreck of the Benwood.

I was impressed with CJ's instructor. This was to be CJ's first dive after certification. She told her instructor, "You don't have to worry about me, I've got Walter." His reply was, "No, you've got you." He let her know right away that she needs to depend on her own abilities. There's not enough of that attitude out there.

We sat on the bow and chatted for the hour plus ride. When we dropped down, it was hard to tell she wasn't an experienced diver. She has good instincts and good skills. On the ride in, I complimented her instructor. He did an excellent job with her.

The Benwood went down in April 1942 after a collision with the Robert C. Tuttle. Both ships were running without lights to avoid detection by German U boats. While most of the wreck is no longer intact, there's still enough of the wreck to get the feel of diving a wreck and there's always lots of life to see on a visit. We saw everything from an 8 ft Nurse Shark (twice) to Butter Hamlets, Yellow Goatfish, various & sundry grunts, Mahogny Snapper, Schoolmasters and about everything else imaginable. We ended the dive in just under an hour and a huge smile on CJ's face.

The second dive was at Molasses Reef. We didn't get deeper than 30 feet, but had a blast exploring the reef, we went through a few swim throughs and generally had a grand time. CJ spotted another Nurse Shark, but I missed it.

After the last dive, but before our late lunch, CJ demonstrated her catlike reflexes. Steve, CJ & I headed up to the Buzzard's Roost to meet Marvel and several other friends for lunch.

[TheSassyRabbit]

Okay, I see I'm going to have to raid the penny jar and get over to FL soon - too much fun going on without me :-)

Sounds like a great dive, Marvel. Congratulations Bahamasita, and cheers to good ole Walter - always there to dive for a friend!

[Walter]

Katie, come on down and bring Sandy with you. I'd love to dive with you both!