Trip Report: United Carribbean Wreck and Drift Dive, 10/21/2007

***ScubaDadMiami*** · 22nd October 2007, 18:19

Yesterday, DSix36, SFlDiver and I had a couple of fun dives out of Pompano Beach aboard the Fish Food. With the run of bad weather we have had locally, we were just thankful to finally be back in the water.

Our first dive was on the United Carribbean, a freighter located in about 70 feet. The wreck has broken into two halves over time, and we could easily locate and explore each half of the site given that each section was within eye sight of the other.

My favorite part was exploring the engine room inside the stern section of the wreck. There is some pretty tight going to get to this portion of the wreck, and it is not large once you get there, but it was fun to work our way through the restrictions to our destination.

Visibility was only about 50 feet, which is not so bad. There was not a drop of current. So, at the end of the dive, I took the opportunity to practice making a free ascent from the bottom, a good thing for me to do since it had been over a month since I was last in the water.

On our second dive, we went to the 55-60 foot reef line for a drift dive. Again, however, there was virtually no current on this dive. So, we headed north along the coral ledge for about an hour. With our group of three staying well away from the open circuit divers, we had a very nice, quiet dive, and the fish were all around us for much of the dive.

After arriving back at the dock, we headed to a local establishment to dine and re-live the day's events. Coincidentally, all of us rebreather divers on the outing were on Optimas. So, we spent a great deal of time talking about procedures and configuration options. VidoDvr (who dives a unit other than an Optima) and significant other stopped in to join us for dinner, and the three of us went to work on making another convert to the in-crowd of Optima divers.

**sfldiver** · 22nd October 2007, 19:16

As Howard indicated, it was nice to get out there after a few weeks of less than ideal weather. Even though the Wreck of the United Carribbean was small, we certainly enjoyed ourselves practicing our wreck penetration skills by squeezing in and out of the engine room compartments. The wreck also contained a resident moray eel that was free-swimming around parts of the wreck at different times. I even got the opportunity to pet him as he swam by me, which is always a treat.

The reef dive was also enjoyable. It definitely had its fair share of marine life and gave us the opportunity to log some more rebreather time while getting close to the reef's residents.

Upon returning to the dock we encountered a group of open circuit divers loading up the boat for a late afternoon tech dive. It was especially nice seeing all of the divers drag their heavy doubles accross the dock and onto the boat and reminded me of one of the main reasons I started diving closed-circuit - Did I mention that, I TOO HATED DRAGGING MY HEAVY OMS LOW PRESSURE STEELS AROUND!

The debriefing/dinner after the dives was a lot of fun and educational. I suggest that whenever possible, we make an effort to meet for lunch/dinner after all Florida S.C.R.U.B. dives. Sitting down to share some time together is a great opportunity to get to know other fellow RW divers face-to-face, talk about the dives and to discuss and share ideas about equipment configuration, future dives/trips, rebreather designs and training ideas.

barney · 22nd October 2007, 21:49

You should have opted for one long single dive and hit the SEA EMPEROR, UNITED CARIBBEAN, NOULA EXPRESS, and then the reef. Makes for a great dive, and you can get a little exercise from the swim.

***ScubaDadMiami*** · 22nd October 2007, 21:52

Due to the run of bad weather, all of the boats were already booked. This was about the best we could do. After DEMA is over, we hope to get back to our regular schedule where we do one long dive for our outings.

Speaking of which: why don't you join us on our post DEMA Hydro Atlantic Dive on November 4?

**Dsix36** · 22nd October 2007, 22:18

How do you guys aways beat me to the post???

Well, not much more to say than what SFLDIVER and SCUBADADMIAMI have said, but since someone forgot their camera

I will post some pics from my cheap camera as soon as I can get them developed.

barney · 23rd October 2007, 01:05

I always enjoy the HYDRO, but I am headed to Eagles Nest with some friends after DEMA.

**Dsix36** · 25th October 2007, 23:41

I am getting an error message when I try to post the pics here.

I have posted them here:
http://www.rebreatherworld.com/photo...r/8736/cat/500

My camera is cheap and I am not much of a photographer, but have a look anyways

See if you can find the one where sfldiver is petting the moray eel!!!!

**vidodivr** · 26th October 2007, 02:01

it was good to meet up with you guys, thanks for the invite.

22nd October 2007, 18:19	#1 (permalink)
*ScubaDadMiami* Moderator Current Rebreather/s: Optima Other Rebreather/s: Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Florida, USA Posts: 2,132	Trip Report: United Carribbean Wreck and Drift Dive, 10/21/2007 Yesterday, DSix36, SFlDiver and I had a couple of fun dives out of Pompano Beach aboard the Fish Food. With the run of bad weather we have had locally, we were just thankful to finally be back in the water. Our first dive was on the United Carribbean, a freighter located in about 70 feet. The wreck has broken into two halves over time, and we could easily locate and explore each half of the site given that each section was within eye sight of the other. My favorite part was exploring the engine room inside the stern section of the wreck. There is some pretty tight going to get to this portion of the wreck, and it is not large once you get there, but it was fun to work our way through the restrictions to our destination. Visibility was only about 50 feet, which is not so bad. There was not a drop of current. So, at the end of the dive, I took the opportunity to practice making a free ascent from the bottom, a good thing for me to do since it had been over a month since I was last in the water. On our second dive, we went to the 55-60 foot reef line for a drift dive. Again, however, there was virtually no current on this dive. So, we headed north along the coral ledge for about an hour. With our group of three staying well away from the open circuit divers, we had a very nice, quiet dive, and the fish were all around us for much of the dive. After arriving back at the dock, we headed to a local establishment to dine and re-live the day's events. Coincidentally, all of us rebreather divers on the outing were on Optimas. So, we spent a great deal of time talking about procedures and configuration options. VidoDvr (who dives a unit other than an Optima) and significant other stopped in to join us for dinner, and the three of us went to work on making another convert to the in-crowd of Optima divers. __________________ Howard Packer IANTD CCR Instructor Miami Beach, Florida CCRDiveTraining.com Last edited by ScubaDadMiami : 22nd October 2007 at 18:23.
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22nd October 2007, 19:16	#2 (permalink)
sfldiver S.C.R.U.B.'S Photographer Current Rebreather/s: Optima Other Rebreather/s: Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Pompano Beach, FL Posts: 792	Re: Trip Report: United Carribbean Wreck and Drift Dive, 10/21/2007 As Howard indicated, it was nice to get out there after a few weeks of less than ideal weather. Even though the Wreck of the United Carribbean was small, we certainly enjoyed ourselves practicing our wreck penetration skills by squeezing in and out of the engine room compartments. The wreck also contained a resident moray eel that was free-swimming around parts of the wreck at different times. I even got the opportunity to pet him as he swam by me, which is always a treat. The reef dive was also enjoyable. It definitely had its fair share of marine life and gave us the opportunity to log some more rebreather time while getting close to the reef's residents. Upon returning to the dock we encountered a group of open circuit divers loading up the boat for a late afternoon tech dive. It was especially nice seeing all of the divers drag their heavy doubles accross the dock and onto the boat and reminded me of one of the main reasons I started diving closed-circuit - Did I mention that, I TOO HATED DRAGGING MY HEAVY OMS LOW PRESSURE STEELS AROUND! The debriefing/dinner after the dives was a lot of fun and educational. I suggest that whenever possible, we make an effort to meet for lunch/dinner after all Florida S.C.R.U.B. dives. Sitting down to share some time together is a great opportunity to get to know other fellow RW divers face-to-face, talk about the dives and to discuss and share ideas about equipment configuration, future dives/trips, rebreather designs and training ideas. __________________ *Currently piloting & shooting...* Dive Rite O2ptima FX Rigged w/ a Dsix Custom Aluminum Frame, Nomad Wing, Transpac Harness and VR3 Computer w/ VPM-B/E & a 4th Cell Sensor Link.* Canon PowerShot G9 Digital Camera *Rigged in a Patima-PDCH 2008 G9 Aluminum Housing w/ an Inon UWL-100 Achromat Wide Conversion Lens, 2 Inon UCL-165M67 Close-Up Lenses and 2 Inon Z-240 Strobes.
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22nd October 2007, 21:49	#3 (permalink)
barney Custom Title Allowed! Current Rebreather/s: Megalodon Other Rebreather/s: Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: St. Petersburg, FL Posts: 288	Re: Trip Report: United Carribbean Wreck and Drift Dive, 10/21/2007 You should have opted for one long single dive and hit the SEA EMPEROR, UNITED CARIBBEAN, NOULA EXPRESS, and then the reef. Makes for a great dive, and you can get a little exercise from the swim. __________________ Michael C. Barnette ASSOCIATION OF UNDERWATER EXPLORERS
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22nd October 2007, 21:52	#4 (permalink)
*ScubaDadMiami* Moderator Current Rebreather/s: Optima Other Rebreather/s: Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Florida, USA Posts: 2,132	Re: Trip Report: United Carribbean Wreck and Drift Dive, 10/21/2007 Due to the run of bad weather, all of the boats were already booked. This was about the best we could do. After DEMA is over, we hope to get back to our regular schedule where we do one long dive for our outings. Speaking of which: why don't you join us on our post DEMA Hydro Atlantic Dive on November 4? __________________ Howard Packer IANTD CCR Instructor Miami Beach, Florida CCRDiveTraining.com
(Offline)

22nd October 2007, 22:18	#5 (permalink)
Dsix36 Going Down? Current Rebreather/s: Optima Other Rebreather/s: Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Deerfield Beach, Florida Posts: 1,062	Re: Trip Report: United Carribbean Wreck and Drift Dive, 10/21/2007 How do you guys aways beat me to the post??? Well, not much more to say than what SFLDIVER and SCUBADADMIAMI have said, but since someone forgot their camera I will post some pics from my cheap camera as soon as I can get them developed. __________________ THE MORE THAT I LEARN, THE MORE THAT I STILL NEED TO LEARN!!!!!!
(Online)

23rd October 2007, 01:05	#6 (permalink)
barney Custom Title Allowed! Current Rebreather/s: Megalodon Other Rebreather/s: Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: St. Petersburg, FL Posts: 288	Re: Trip Report: United Carribbean Wreck and Drift Dive, 10/21/2007 I always enjoy the HYDRO, but I am headed to Eagles Nest with some friends after DEMA. __________________ Michael C. Barnette ASSOCIATION OF UNDERWATER EXPLORERS
(Offline)

25th October 2007, 23:41	#7 (permalink)
Dsix36 Going Down? Current Rebreather/s: Optima Other Rebreather/s: Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Deerfield Beach, Florida Posts: 1,062	Re: Trip Report: United Carribbean Wreck and Drift Dive, 10/21/2007 I am getting an error message when I try to post the pics here. I have posted them here: http://www.rebreatherworld.com/photo...r/8736/cat/500 My camera is cheap and I am not much of a photographer, but have a look anyways See if you can find the one where sfldiver is petting the moray eel!!!! __________________ THE MORE THAT I LEARN, THE MORE THAT I STILL NEED TO LEARN!!!!!!
(Online)

26th October 2007, 02:01	#8 (permalink)
vidodivr swims in fishes toilets Current Rebreather/s: Classic Kiss Other Rebreather/s: Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Florida/Michigan Posts: 499	Re: Trip Report: United Carribbean Wreck and Drift Dive, 10/21/2007 it was good to meet up with you guys, thanks for the invite. __________________ Have a good one, Rob LaLonde Rec and Tek Media, Inc. Full Service Film and Video Production CK #087, Narked@90 stand, URM
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