| Trip Report: Miami Night Dive 03/05/2008
It had been raining on and off much of the day leading up to this night dive, and this served to keep the ocean calm by the time we departed the dock for our destinations of the Orion, at 110 feet, and the DEMA Trader, at 70 feet. Netmage is still in recovery post PFO repair, and he is along for support and to take photos of the outing.
The trip was fast, and everyone was geared up and ready to go as Divemaster Amy hit the water to tie off. Unfortunately, upon her return to the surface, the report was that there was strong current most of the way down to the wreck. So, everyone got ready to deal with it.
Four of us on Optimas, and one diver on a Meg, hit the water along with others that were on open circuit. Almost immediately upon hitting the water, people began to get swept away in the current. One was able to halt his progression at the end of the safety line while another was swept beyond that, calling for the DM to swim out to try to assist. Meanwhile, the rest of us were inching forward and making our way down the line to the wreck against the strong Gulfstream currents that are routinely present here in South Florida.
At the bottom, we were able to shield ourselves agains the current by the wreck structure, and visibility was good. So, we had a nice dive of about 40 minutes or so of bottom time. The current actually improved somewhat over the course of the dive. So, the ascent was not so much of a problem.
On the second dive, the current situation was better. On this dive, we were able to travel through the wreck, spotting some nice creatures along the way.
After the return to the dock, everyone went for dinner and drinks, exchanging stories of our fun and misadventures of the evening. Another exciting chapter in Florida S.C.R.U.B. |