 Finally!
The long dry spell is over. We found a free day mid-week and headed down
to Key Largo to see how the water was warming up – that is because I’m
always concerned with how warm it is and how close it is getting to my
ideal underwater temperature of about 88 degrees. Oh, you can sigh and
call me a wimp and it won’t hurt my feelings at all. I know what I like.
Obviously, this early in the season, that warm dream isn’t even close
but we did find some nice water and managed to get our dive gear wet for
the first time since Thanksgiving weekend.
We contacted one of our favorite dive operators, Darrel & Ann of
Island Ventures (www.islandventure.com) on Key Largo. It turned out that
they were sprucing up their boats so they would be ready for our planned
trip in April but they contacted another group who would be able to get
us diving mid-week. We ended up on a small charter with an underwater
video photography instructor who was wrapping up a class, and another
diver on the charter who was finishing his advanced certification with
the dive operator. We ended up in an area that was new to us – the outer
edge and deeper part of Molasses Reef. Although we were looking for an
easy reef dive, we ended up doing a quick drift of this area where still
photography wasn’t even an interesting option – you couldn’t just stop
and shoot something. My camera stayed on the boat but Gary did manage to
get his video camera in. The current was swift on the bottom and when
the dive guide handed me the surface float after he got low on air, I
discovered that the surface current was impressive as I was whisked off
quickly to parts unknown, being towed by the surface float. We wrapped
up the 2nd dive of the day at a nice spot on French Reef called Woody’s
Ledge. The drift was quite a bit slower and for the first time that I
can remember we saw a fair amount of Bull Sharks cruising the reef area.
They appeared at an elbow shaped part of the reef and just glided
smoothly underneath without getting too close for comfort. Both of these
dives were new to us but we also noticed that while they were a little
deeper than usual, the marine life was decidedly absent. We saw very few
fish on the first dive and the coral wasn’t impressive. On the second
dive, there were a few more fish and we found a nice moray in an
overhang but we’re not sure this is a repeat performance on subsequent
visits. |
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Meanwhile, on the southwest coast of Florida, the place we call home – we
were again blessed with a favorable weather report and with our friends
on their 23’ Surface Interval we worked our way out to the Pegasus. The
weather report wasn’t exactly correct but once we were committed we kept
going anyway. It’s a long trip out to the Pegasus but we have been there
several times and thought that it would be worth the trip. Back in March
of 2001, we first dived this wreck. It had been sunk as an artificial
reef in the southwest Florida Gulf in July 1999. It was an amazing
sight. The wreck was fairly new but it was already populated with huge
schools of baitfish that swarmed around the stack and upper bridge area
of the ship. Closer to the sand and in the shadows of the ship’s hull,
there was a family of Goliath Grouper – back then we knew them as
Jewfish. I can still picture the dark outline of the wreck appearing as
we pulled our way down the line of the marker buoy. Visibility was good
for the Gulf and the lines of the wreck were diminished by the thick
layers of snapper and baitfish that hovered in some mysterious dance
over the discarded metal hulk. You literally had to push through them
and they would immediately close up as your fins slipped through their
curtain. An impressive school of large Amberjack glided back and forth
over the top of the wreck, seemingly undisturbed by the divers adorned
with black rubber and the bright lights of the video cameras.
As time passed, we made several more dives on the Pegasus. It’s not
always easy due to the distance and there are many natural ledges that
offer more to divers and spearfishermen. We noticed over time that the
impressive stack had fallen into the wreck and that time and motion had
begun a slow erosion of the structure. Still, the sea life continued to
be abundant and the Goliath Grouper family seemed to have grown in size
and numbers. So, on this sunny April day in 2006, the lure of the
Pegasus sent us out for another adventure. The numbers were right on and
we reached our spot mid-morning. As we descended, we noted that the
visibility was around 25-30 feet – very nice for Gulf diving and good
enough to allow us to spread out and explore without losing sight of our
team members.
To our surprise, the schools of fish were absent. In fact, we spotted
one very small school of snapper that hung over the top of the wreck and
that was it. It doesn’t take long to circle the wreck and look over the
bottom. The Goliath Grouper that previously guarded the underside of the
ship were missing. The only one that we noted at all was a medium sized
creature that moved along the lower hold of the ship and disappeared
into a hatch. The biggest population of any sea life on the ship belongs
to the tiny spiny sea urchins that decorate almost all flat surfaces and
railings. There is also a nice population of small clams that are tucked
into every corner and crevice of the wreck. We spotted a good sized Deer
Cowry on the underside of a rusting metal railing, its mantle partially
covering the shiny brown shell.
The fact that rust is beginning to overtake the wreck is not
surprising but the absence of fish is puzzling and disturbing. It’s
possible we just hit the wreck on an off day and we hope that is the
case. Between hurricanes, red tide and the nasty waters of the Peace and
Caloosahatchee Rivers, the Gulf has taken a beating that may take years
to recover from.
We had planned to make another dive on the 12-mile culverts but the
wind and seas just weren’t cooperating that day. We reluctantly pointed
the bow towards Redfish Pass and made our way back home.
Still, we did get wet and we had a better day than we would have if
we were sitting in front of the TV watching the local weather reports.
And by the time this report hits the streets, we hope to have many more
dives listed in our log books.
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