June 8, 2002 — Naeco Stern
June 9, 2002 — Normannia
June 15, 2002 — Australia
June 16, 2002 — Liberator
June 29, 2002 — Cassimir
June 30, 2002 — Porta Allegra/Lobster Wreck
July 13, 2002 — Kassandra-Louloudis
July 14, 2002 — Empire Gem
July 27, 2002 — Lancing
July 28, 2002 — Australia
August 3, 2002 — Manuela
August 4, 2002 — Tamaulipas - Stern
August 17, 2002 — Liberator
August 18, 2002 — Kassandra-Louloudis
September 7, 2002 — Australia
September 8, 2002 — Empire Gem
September 21, 2002 — Proteus
September 22, 2002 — Yancey
October 12, 2002 — Tarpon
October 13, 2002 — Normannia
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| TRIP NOTES: | |
| Originally Scheduled Site: Normannia | |
| Actual Site: SCHURZ | |
| Divers: Joe, Paul, Julian, Jade, Marc, Hank, Brad (mate) | |
| Weather Conditions: Sunny and mild; wind NE 15 - 20 knots; forecast to drop to 10 knot before day break, but never did. | |
| Sea Conditions: following sea on the way out; banged at bit at anchor; straight into it on way back; | |
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| DIVE #1 DESCRIPTION: | |
| Maximum Depth: 111 ft | |
| Current: none | |
| Visibility: 50 ft at surface; 30-40 ft on bottom | |
| Water temperature: mid-high 70s on surface; mid 70s on bottom; | |
| Description: This is probably one of those dives that would have blown out if we had know the weatherman was going to be wrong; It blew 30 knots NE the day before, so the seas were already stirred up. Not a bad ride out with a following sea, but we all knew we would pay for it on the way back. Anchored just aft of the boilers...at the engine machinery area. Lots of gunk in the water and not much viz from the stirred up sea. Lots of bait on the wreck. Saw several morays. Julian and Brad managed to find some African Pompano down on the wreck...death struck from above! | |
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| DIVE #2 DESCRIPTION: | |
| Site: SCHURZ | |
| Maximum Depth: 110 ft. | |
| Current: slight | |
| Visibility: 30 feet | |
| Water temperature: mid-high 70s on surface; mid 70s on bottom; | |
| Description: Repeat of dive #1, except with wind seeming to pick up and more of a swell was noticed down on the bottom of the wreck. Ladder kicked my butt getting back in. | |
| TRIP NOTES: | |
| Originally Scheduled Site: Australia | |
| Actual Site: DIXIE ARROW | |
| Divers: Joe, Paul, Bruce, Lee, Cliff (mate) | |
| Weather Conditions: Partly Sunny; wind SW/W 15 knots after a steady SW wind for a couple of days; | |
| Sea Conditions: trip out headed into a 4-6 ft swell | |
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| DIVE #1 DESCRIPTION: | |
| Maximum Depth: 93 ft | |
| Current: none to slight | |
| Visibility: 50-60 ft on bottom | |
| Water temperature: mid-high 70s | |
| Description: The wind and waves washed out any attempt to hit the shoals, so we headed to the Proteus. But as the swells got bigger, we cut the trip short and went to the Arrow; Anchored in the stern near the engine; pretty dive; lots of fish; green algae growing along the bottom; saw server sting rays and sea turtle; Joe baptized his new Nikonos on the first dive | |
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Ladder to nowhere
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OUCH! That has got to hurt
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| DIVE #2 DESCRIPTION: | |
| Site: F.W. ABRAMS | |
| Maximum Depth: 87 ft. | |
| Current: slight to moderate on surface; slight on bottom | |
| Visibility: 70+ feet | |
| Water temperature: mid-high 70s | |
| Description: Sea dropped to slick calm by the end of the 2nd dive; beautiful dive; anchored in stern near the engine; could see most of the wreck from 20 ft on down; Joe flooded his new Nikonos on the second dive | |
| TRIP NOTES: | |
| Originally Scheduled Site: Liberator | |
| Actual Site: AUSTRALIA | |
| Divers: Joe, Paul, Bruce, Lee, Cliff (mate) | |
| Weather Conditions: Sunny and warm; wind dead or less than 10 knots most of day; | |
| Sea Conditions: flat calm | |
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| DIVE #1 DESCRIPTION: | |
| Maximum Depth: 99 ft | |
| Current: strong to very strong from surface to bottom across the wreck from port to starboard | |
| Visibility: 50 ft at surface; 30 ft on bottom | |
| Water temperature: mid-high 70s on surface; mid 70s on bottom; | |
| Description: With calms seas, we headed to the shoals. Easy, flat ride out to the Australia. The current was strong, requiring "hand-over-hand" all the way to the bottom and getting on the lee side of the wreck to make progress along the bottom. Water was a bit green and dark on the bottom and the current limited the exploring. Lots of white coral heads, sea bass and triggerfish. | |
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Bruce working for treasure — sea bass working for food
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Bristle worm
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| DIVE #2 DESCRIPTION: | |
| Site: Kassandra Louloudis | |
| Maximum Depth: 73 ft. | |
| Current: moderate to strong on surface; moderate on bottom, running from starboard-to-port from the bow quarter; | |
| Visibility: 60-70 feet | |
| Water temperature: mid-high 70s on surface; mid 70s on bottom; | |
| Description: Looking for less current, we moved to the Kassandra; could see the wreck from 10-15 ft on down; anchored just aft of the middle boiler; good viz; saw a large nurse shark on the port side of the wreck; | |
| TRIP NOTES: | |
| Originally Scheduled Site: Porta Allegra | |
| Actual Site: PORTA ALLEGRA | |
| Divers: Joe, Paul, Julian, Marc, Kim, Rick, Cindy, Brad (mate) | |
| Weather Conditions: Sunny and warm; wind 10 knots; | |
| Sea Conditions: moderate chop but smooth ride with an occaisional swell at anchor; we were sitting side-to due to slight current; we guessed wrong yesterday, as the 18 knot SW wind dropped off 2 hours after we called the dive, so nothing short of a hurricane was going to keep us at the dock today! | |
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Namesakes are still around
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Rick payin' his dues
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| DIVE #1 DESCRIPTION: | |
| Maximum Depth: 123 ft | |
| Current: slight on surface; very slight on bottom | |
| Visibility: 100 ft at surface; 60 ft on bottom | |
| Water temperature: lo 80s on surface; mid-high 70s on bottom; | |
| Description: The blue clear Gulf Stream water on top didn't quite live-up to its promise once we were on the wreck— water was a bit cloudy and dark on the bottom — but the conditions were still good; While Brad and Julian practiced the art of "swimming-silent death", the rest of us were concentrating on finding the lionfish reported on the wreck; everyone was successful — 2 lionfish were spotted — as Brad and Julian came back with either lobster or fish and the rest of us came back with more footage and frames of lionfish than the world will ever need. We anchored on the starboard side, just forward of the engine; large female lobsters — with eggs — were numerous on the wreck, much to the frustration of our hunters; Captain Bill saw a large octopus; | |
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| DIVE #2 DESCRIPTION: | |
| Site: PORTA ALLEGRA | |
| Maximum Depth: 121 ft. | |
| Current: slight | |
| Visibility: 100 ft at surface; 60 ft on bottom | |
| Water temperature: lo 80s on surface; mid-high 70s on bottom; | |
| Description: Repeat of dive #1, except the large lionfish seemed to have headed for the hills — only the smaller one was spotted; Julian scored on some nice hog snapper while Brad and several others caught some lobster | |
| TRIP NOTES: | |
| Originally Scheduled Site: Kassandra-Louloudis | |
| Actual Site: KESHENA | |
| Divers: Joe (injured reserve), Paul, David, Greg, Steve, Ann, Dave, Cliff | |
| Weather Conditions: Sunny and warm; winds 15-20 knots; SE | |
| Sea Conditions: 4-6 ft swell on the way out, growing as the day progressed; not a great day for a boat ride, let alone going out to the shoals, so we headed south and stopped at the tug; already one boat on the site; no spotting of the lionfish that was seen last week; viz and other in-water conditions, considering the seas, were good; anchored up on the bow; couple of small morays on the bow; | |
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| DIVE #1 DESCRIPTION: | |
| Maximum Depth: 89 ft | |
| Current: slight on surface; very slight on bottom | |
| Visibility: 70-80 ft at surface; 50-60 ft on bottom | |
| Water temperature: lo 80s on surface; mid-high 70s on bottom; | |
| Description: Went to the south because of the wind and seas and didn't get far; | |
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| DIVE #2 DESCRIPTION: | |
| Site: KESHENA | |
| Maximum Depth: 89 ft. | |
| Current: slight | |
| Visibility: 70-80 ft at surface; 50-60 ft on bottom | |
| Water temperature: lo 80s on surface; mid-high 70s on bottom; | |
| Description: Repeat of dive #1 — even those that could get up the motivation to do the 2nd dive, couldn't get the motiviation to move elsewhere --- BLAH! | |
| TRIP NOTES: | |
| Originally Scheduled Site: Empire Gem | |
| Actual Site: EMPIRE GEM | |
| Divers: Joe (injured reserve), Paul, David, Greg, Steve, Ann, Dave, Cliff | |
| Weather Conditions: Cloudy, warm and rainy; wind 10 knots; | |
| Sea Conditions: wind was dead calm in the morning; smooth ride out; Occasional swell, but quite a change from yesterday and very unexpected | |
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| DIVE #1 DESCRIPTION: | |
| Maximum Depth: 143 ft | |
| Current: slight on surface; very slight on bottom | |
| Visibility: 100 ft at surface; 25 ft on bottom | |
| Water temperature: lo 80s on surface; high 60s on bottom; | |
| Description: we anchored on the stern section; water was clear and warm until about 90 feet then strong thermocline and a considerable drop in viz — dark, green and cold. We anchored between boilers and engine on the port side; stern section is intact, but listing on its starboard side; 4 bladed prop and rudder can be seen on the port side, still attached to the shaft, but rudder is laying almost completely flat to the sand -- rudder/prop are exposed but it was too dark for photos; fan tail is intact; the port side is the highest side of the wreck; Cliff reported lots of sandtiger sharks when he first went down, hovering above the thermocline, but I didn't spot them | |
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What flounder?
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Dave peekin' thru the doorway
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| DIVE #2 DESCRIPTION: | |
| Site: NORTHEASTERN | |
| Maximum Depth: 51 ft. | |
| Current: slight to none | |
| Visibility: 40 feet | |
| Water temperature: mid-high 70s | |
| Description: no current and not much swell at the Northeastern - pretty unusual! anchored near the stern on the port side; nice comfortable dive and as much bottom time as you wanted; couple of flounder spotted on the wreck with lots of tautog and sheepshead; | |
| TRIP NOTES: | |
| Originally Scheduled Site: Lancing | |
| Actual Site: KASSANDRA-LOULOUDIS | |
| Divers: Paul, Charles, Ann, Dave, Cliff | |
| Weather Conditions: Sunny | |
| Sea Conditions: Easy ride out and what seemed like a perfect day to attempt the Lancing; current of 1.4 knot (with a dragging anchor and not much wind) forced us to try other wreck sites | |
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| DIVE #1 DESCRIPTION: | |
| Maximum Depth: 72 ft | |
| Current: moderate to strong on surface; moderate on bottom running across the wreck from the bow/starboard quarter. | |
| Visibility: 60 ft on bottom | |
| Water temperature: hi 70s on surface; mid 70s on bottom; | |
| Description: Well, we tried to get on the Lancing. Three times in fact, but 1.4 knt. (82 degree Gulf Stream water) current made anchoring impossible and the "turtled" Lancing hull. That was probably a lucky break for us. The second choice — Liberator — had the same current. Kassandra was our last choice and we got lucky as the water temp dropped 3-4 degrees which resulted in somewhat less current — sub - 1 knot. We anchored aft of the boilers on the midships/port side of the wreck. | |
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Spare prop blades
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Engine — fallen over on the starboard side
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| DIVE #2 DESCRIPTION: | |
| Site: KASSANDRA-LOULOUDIS | |
| Maximum Depth: 71 ft. | |
| Current: some to moderate, declining throughout the dive | |
| Visibility: milky 20 feet, declining throughout the dive | |
| Water temperature: mid-high 70s | |
| Description: the current dropped on the 2nd dive, but so did the visibility — to a milky sand storm of about 20 feet. | |
| TRIP NOTES: | |
| Originally Scheduled Site: Australia | |
| Actual Site: TARPON | |
| Divers: Paul, Charles, Jackie, Joel, Ann, Dave, Cliff | |
| Weather Conditions: Sunny | |
| Sea Conditions: The current of the previous day scared us down to the south. It was an easy ride out but the seas were building along the way and continued to do so the remainder of the day. There was a quick stop at the Proteus where another boat was about anchor, so we moved to the Tarpon. | |
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| DIVE #1 DESCRIPTION: | |
| Maximum Depth: 138 ft | |
| Current: moderate to strong on surface; moderate on bottom from stern to bow down thte wreck; swells were felt on the anchor line down to 30+ feet. | |
| Visibility: 80 ft on bottom; 100 ft . on surface | |
| Water temperature: hi 70s on surface; mid 70s on bottom; | |
| Description: We anchored between the stern and conning tower. Cliff had to tie us in due to the current and "sewer pipe" nature of the Tarpon. One large sandtiger on the wreck made a couple of close passes. A couple of lionfish were spotted on the wreck — but not by me. Hang was no fun above 30 feet — big swell and current — Nobel prize to the inventor of the Jon Line. | |
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The "alpha" dolphin
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What is this?
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| DIVE #2 DESCRIPTION: | |
| Site: F.W. ABRAMS | |
| Maximum Depth: 83 ft. | |
| Current: slight at bottom; slight to moderate at surface | |
| Visibility: milky 40-50 ft at surface; clearer 50 feet a depth; | |
| Water temperature: mid-high 70s | |
| Description: Searching relief from the growing swells, we headed to the Abrams. We anchored on the port side of the stern, next to the boilers; A very large school of spadefish floated off to the port side of the wreck and there were several large stingrays off in the sand as well; Cliff trashed his speargun on a cobia. the highlight of the dive happened at the very end while finishing my hang — a pod of 7 dolphin came busting thru a large school of barracuda hanging just below the surface. The 'cuda scattered and the dolphins swam right under me, checking me out as they came by. | |
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Rough-tail Stingray and remora
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Atlantic Spadefish
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| TRIP NOTES: | |
| Originally Scheduled Site: Manuela | |
| Actual Site: MANUELA | |
| Divers: Paul, Charles, Jackie, Tony, Rick, Cindy, Julian, Brad, David | |
| Weather Conditions: Sunny and hot | |
| Sea Conditions: The forecast for less than 10 knots turned into 15+ and we were heading right into it as we went through the shoals and headed up to the Manuela | |
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| DIVE #1 DESCRIPTION: | |
| Maximum Depth: 138 ft | |
| Current: moderate to strong on surface; moderate on bottom running over the stern | |
| Visibility: 80 ft on bottom; 100 ft . on surface | |
| Water temperature: hi 70s on surface; mid 70s on bottom; | |
| Description: We anchored between the stern and conning tower. Cliff had to tie us in due to the current and "sewer pipe" nature of the Tarpon. One large sandtiger on the wreck made a couple of close passes. A couple of lionfish were spotted on the wreck — but not by me. Hang was no fun above 30 feet — big swell and current — Nobel prize to the inventor of the Jon Line. | |
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Some in-your-face 'cuda on the Caribsea
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Out of the gloom…
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| DIVE #2 DESCRIPTION: | |
| Site: CARIBSEA | |
| Maximum Depth: 90 ft. | |
| Current: slight at bottom; slight to moderate at surface | |
| Visibility: milky 20-30 ft at surface; milky 15 ft. on bottom | |
| Water temperature: mid-high 70s on surface; lo 70s on bottom; thermocline at 50 ft. | |
| Description: Following sea on the ride back to the Caribsea. We anchored in the stern cargo hold area on the port side; Sharp thermocline and very cool water at about 50-60 feet. Very milky and low viz. Not much left of the bow anymore, but it still attracts fish and sharks, but the viz made it tough to see the sharks until they were right on top of you. Lots of baitfish in the water. The barracuda on the hang were more disconcerting than any of the sharks — they were literally all of over you. Often times less than a foot away and closing until I would smack them with a camera or a loop of the hang line. Very wierd. | |