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 20 divers clad
in an assortment of colorful dive gear, tanks hooked up and air turned on,
dive computers set, fins on their feet and masks in place, line the sides
of the Aquanut Divers dive boat waiting for Captain Jorge to give the go
ahead. The boat rolls a little in the 2-3 foot seas and one or two rubber
decked divers have grabbed the coveted seasick seats in case the wait is
just a little too much for them. The Aqua-Nut dive master, Darrell, appears
on the deck and gets the big ladder ready to drop into the 80 degree water
off Key Largo and to give the 5-minute warning that is necessary for many
of his trips, but obviously not for this one. Everyone has been ready for
a while. We’ve been briefed on boat safety, dive safety, emergency
equipment locations and the general information on the dive site that is
our destination for this first dive of the weekend. The Captain appears
and tells us about the orientation of the dive boat to the wreck and that
due to a pretty good current running, a “Granny Line” has been run from
the buoy to the stern of the dive boat.
It’s finally time and one-by-one we duck-walk our way to the back of the
boat, hand our camera housings over to the dive master to pass in after we
make our entry, and we giant stride into the ocean. We make a brief visit
to the swim platform, which is heaving uncomfortably above our heads, to
retrieve the cameras and then grab the Granny Line to pull our way to the
buoy. The captain is right about the current and those of us holding
camera housings in one hand find it challenging to get to the buoy but we
do get there and follow a stream of divers making a hand
over hand descent down the buoy line toward the bottom. Visibility is
quite good and in a short time, the Crows Nest of the Duane begins to take
form in the blue water. Bubbles drift with the current as divers spread to
explore the different areas of the wreck. So much to see and not nearly
enough time to really explore and of course the current keeps us close to
the ship where we can hold on to structure to keep from drifting too far.
All too soon, we are hanging like banners in the breeze as we make our
safety stops on the way up. It’s a little crowded at the 15 foot mark and
the current makes for an interesting stop but once on the surface, it’s an
easy drift to the stern of the boat. Holding on to the safety line, we
remove our fins and try to get both feet on the bottom of the ladder on
its downward motion. Back on the boat, the consensus is Wow! The crew
checks us in and calls the roll one by one before untying from the buoy
and cruising to our next destination which is closer to Islamorada than
Key Largo.
 We’ve got some surface time to accumulate so Captain Jorge
finds us a nice spot inside the reef and away from the waves while we
relax and wait. We learn that one diver in our group has reason to
celebrate – the dive on the Duane marks number 100 in her dive We swap
tanks, have some snacks and drinks and then suit up for dive number 2.
Again, we’re ready way too soon so we entertain the crew with our special
rendition of “Copa Cabana” accompanied by flapping fins on the deck. By
the time we are tied up to the buoy, we’ve warmed up with old classics
such as the Mexican Hat Dance and we think Captain Jorge is anxious to
get us back in the water – we are in full agreement.
The wreck of the Eagle awaits – this may be the best dive in the Keys
since the marine life and coral growth is spectacular. Even though the
Granny Line is available, we find it easy going with no current and the
visibility is so good we begin to see the wreck as soon as we start our
descent. We spread out over the two sections of the Eagle and easily swim
the full length of the wreck, stopping to explore and photograph the wreck
as we drift over its deck. A big, or I should say huge, barracuda lurks in
the space between the wreck sections appearing bored with another invasion
of creatures in rubber suits and bubbles coming out of their heads. As far
as we can see, divers poke and peek into every nook & cranny and the
lights from camera flash and video cameras can be seen all the way down
the length of the wreck. We end the dive by all hanging in a huge floating
clump at approximately 15 (or more or less) feet while we make our second
safety stop of the dive.
We have a long ride back towards Key Largo so we dig into the giant
coolers for sandwiches, fruit & drinks. We are looking for that energy
burst for our third and final dive of the day on the gigantic Spiegel
Grove. All of the research on the wreck says it would take days to see all
510 feet of this ship. Captain Jorge breaks the news to us that there is
a swift current and that dragging big camera housings on this dive might
not be a good option. His idea is to tie up stern to buoy so we’ll have an
easy time getting to the line. We’ll drift the entire length of the ship
from stern to bow and he will pick us up at the bow marker buoy. What does
this mean to us? We are going to be the lucky ones who actually get to see
the entire length of the Spiegel Grove on one dive. As promised, the trip
to the buoy is smooth and while there is a fairly swift current on the
surface, it isn’t as bad at depth as we thought it might be. It’s hard to
describe the feeling when you reach the wreck – it is massive and your
eyes dart everywhere trying to take in as much as you can in such a short
time. We drift along as a loose group, some dipping deeper to see the
plaque bearing the ship’s name, others taking a level cruise along the
rail and in and out of various swim throughs. Again, visibility is pretty
good and again, the dive ends before any of us are ready to ascend, but we
do head up and find our boat waiting at the promised location. The crew
counts heads and collects the ID tags that go on each diver’s gear to make
sure we’re all where we are supposed to be. It’s a short trip back to
Kelly’s on Key Largo where we unload, rinse gear, stow it for the night
and wander off to explore the dining opportunities. We’re all starved and
manage to pack away some excellent food before presenting a signed dive
flag and special diver decorated cake to our 100th dive celebrant. The
socializing ends early because we have to be up and ready to go first
thing in the morning.
We’re up with the sun or so it seems. Captain Jorge is with us again but
dive master Darrell has been replaced by his charming wife Ann. We rib her
a little about all of the wonderful things Darrell did for us the day
before and we tell her we hope she can top that – she is probably thinking
she’ll do anything as long as she doesn’t have to listen to “Copa Cabana”
all day. We’ve only got 2 dives on our schedule since we plan to head back
to the Cape Coral area later in the day.
The first dive is a repeat of the Spiegel Grove but not a repeat of the
previous day’s spectacular drift. The visibility is better today, water a
comfy 80 degrees or so and the waves and current have both diminished
overnight. We tie up to the mid-section and drop down to a big area of the
ship. Schools of tropical fish swarm in and out of hatches and around
pieces of metal that twist and turn along the deck. Big angel fish dart
among the group of divers and seem to pose when the cameras appear. We
venture into a large swim through and discover that it is totally covered
in growth that glows red and orange when we turn on the camera lights. We
spend our entire dive exploring just a small area that is diverse enough
to hold our attention for even more dives if we had the time. Once again,
it’s back to the line and a little hanging around before climbing the
ladder back to the swim deck. We’re done with the wreck part of the
weekend and plan to wrap up with a leisurely reef dive at Molasses Reef.
On the way to the reef, Captain Jorge says we’re over the wreck of the
Benwood and the visibility looks really good but we all hesitate to dim
the memory of the big wrecks we’ve spent the last two days exploring and
we opt to chill out at Molasses.
Molasses might just be one of the most beautiful reefs in the area. It is
the picture perfect coral reef with swaying, purple and gold sea fans amid
schools of Butterfly Fish and Grey Angels. A very large Moray Eel rests in
a sandy spot under a coral overhang seemingly unconcerned about all of the
divers peering into its home. A single, tiny wrasse travels over the eel’s
face busily removing bits of matter that we can’t even see. A bonus is
that we have plenty of bottom time to burn on this shallow reef so we have
fun exploring the fingers of coral that wind back and forth over the sandy
bottom.
After a summer of bad weather accented by 4 hurricanes, boarded up
windows, leaky roofs and slow repairs, we feel we have earned this reward
of fabulous diving, exciting adventure and the good company of our
friends. We certainly appreciate the professionalism of the Kelly’s on the
Bay & Aqua-Nut Divers staff and crew and are amazed at their tolerance of
bad singing and fin flapping for 2 days. We’ve already programmed them
into our schedule for 2005 along with more exciting dive opportunities. So
until next time, wishing for calm seas and sunny skies.
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