Trip Report: Sea Emperor, United Caribbean and Noula Express Wrecks 11/18/2007

***ScubaDadMiami*** · 19th November 2007, 18:23

Luck was with us yesterday as the winds lulled just long enough for us to get out on Scubatyme for a two hour 15 minute dive. The group consisted of five Optima divers:

MarcLaukien
SFlDiver
ScubaDadMiami
N2Diving
Lisa (N2Diving's Sister)

There was also one poor open circuit soul lugging double 95s and an 80 stage (but soon to be on CCR--or so he keeps claiming).

We started off in about 70 feet of water as we descended to the Sea Emperor. Current was pretty mild (though not absent), and visibility was pretty good for Winter conditions in South Florida, averaging between 50 and 60 feet. Bottom temperature was 78 degrees, which had some of us in drysuits.

The Sea Emperor typically has a friendly moray eel that hangs out on the wreck. It loves to come out to swim with divers, and today was no exception. We also saw a nice sized stingray and a couple of 300+ pound Goliath Grouper.

After about 45 minutes, N2Diving untied the float, and our group made its way past a rock pile loaded with fish and another large stingray that burried itself in the sand before our eyes, allowing us to come within inches of it. (Maybe it was one of the stingrays from the first wreck that wanted to escape the crowd but relented when we approached a second time.)

From the rock pile, we swam over to the United Caribbean wreck. This wreck has some tight penetration spots that leads to the engine room, and I swam down its narrow hallways to have a look. We played around outside of the wreck for about 40 minutes or so, spotting a few more of the Goliath Groupers. Then it was time to navigate to the third wreck.

Thanks to N2Diving's local knowledge, we made it to the wreck, which was located a bit deeper than the first two sites, in just shy of 80 feet. This wreck is pretty broken up. So, it really doesn't take more than a few minutes on this site to see what is left of the structure.

After about two hours total on the bottom, our group ascended, doing about 15 to 20 minutes of decompression. Arriving at the surface, we found rolling waves of up to six feet passing by. Luckily, they had large wave periods, and things were not so severe as they might sound.

We signaled the boat, and everyone made it aboard during a nice lull in the waves. However, right after taking our seats, we were reminded of our need to thank the Diving Gods as a nice set of six footers hit our vessel abeam, sending us for a nice ride as the boat rolled back and forth over the wave tops and troughs.

After arriving at the dock, four of us spent a couple of hours dining, drinking and remembering another great day of diving.

netmage · 19th November 2007, 18:51

I hope you all are up for a few weekends of that exact same dive, and or multi hour putzing on the reef over and over again... I'll need to rack up some hours before I can go back into the caves.

Class is scheduled for 1/24 - 1/28 w/ Jill up in cave country....

-Tim

airbornediver · 19th November 2007, 21:01

That was a very good dive yesteray. Especially being greeted by a school of dolphins during the deco stop. Yes a rebreather is in my future plans.

JCdesign97 · 19th November 2007, 21:34

Great report, Howard and sounds like an equally great trip. You guys just better not use up all of your favors with the Weather Gods before next Friday!!

**sfldiver** · 19th November 2007, 22:39

Thanks Howard for the great trip report. Yes, I was one of the fortunate one's to make it on this trip; consequently, I got the opportunity to meet a few more of the RebreatherWorld members who I actively communicate with online. I also got the opportunity to again share some good times with fellow Florida S.C.R.U.B.S.'s who I had previously met, and most improtantly, I got the opportunity to do some amazing diving!

As Howard indicated, N2Diving was kind enough to take the helm and give us a great guided tour of a few nice local wrecks - Thanks again Mark!

Dinner after the dive was fun and we got the opportunity to share some stories of each of our diving adventures. It was a great end to the weekend and I'm looking forward to the next Florida S.C.R.U.B.S's event!

As usual, I took my little camera down underwater and did my best to memorialize the event, so here's a few shots so the rest of you can share the experience with us as well!

MarcLaukien · 19th November 2007, 22:48

Thanks for the trip report and the pictures. The camera might be small, but the pictures are great!

**sfldiver** · 20th November 2007, 10:39

In an effort to round out the trip report and thank all those who helped make this great Florida S.C.R.U.B.'s trip possible, let's not forget to thank the staff of the Scubatyme - Proprietor Enzo, Captain John and Divemaster extrordinaire Amanda!

LEDiveVideo · 26th November 2007, 21:22

Great pictures sfldiver!

It was a very nice trip, ScubaTyme is a great boat with a great crew and very rebreather friendly. After goliath groupers, a stingray, and a moray eel, seeing the dolphins at the deco stop was the icing on the cake!

Hopefully the weather gods will smile on us again this Friday for the all rebreather trip on ScubaTyme.

19th November 2007, 18:23	#1 (permalink)
*ScubaDadMiami* Moderator Current Rebreather/s: Optima Other Rebreather/s: Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Florida, USA Posts: 2,073	Trip Report: Sea Emperor, United Caribbean and Noula Express Wrecks 11/18/2007 Luck was with us yesterday as the winds lulled just long enough for us to get out on Scubatyme for a two hour 15 minute dive. The group consisted of five Optima divers: MarcLaukien SFlDiver ScubaDadMiami N2Diving Lisa (N2Diving's Sister) There was also one poor open circuit soul lugging double 95s and an 80 stage (but soon to be on CCR--or so he keeps claiming). We started off in about 70 feet of water as we descended to the Sea Emperor. Current was pretty mild (though not absent), and visibility was pretty good for Winter conditions in South Florida, averaging between 50 and 60 feet. Bottom temperature was 78 degrees, which had some of us in drysuits. The Sea Emperor typically has a friendly moray eel that hangs out on the wreck. It loves to come out to swim with divers, and today was no exception. We also saw a nice sized stingray and a couple of 300+ pound Goliath Grouper. After about 45 minutes, N2Diving untied the float, and our group made its way past a rock pile loaded with fish and another large stingray that burried itself in the sand before our eyes, allowing us to come within inches of it. (Maybe it was one of the stingrays from the first wreck that wanted to escape the crowd but relented when we approached a second time.) From the rock pile, we swam over to the United Caribbean wreck. This wreck has some tight penetration spots that leads to the engine room, and I swam down its narrow hallways to have a look. We played around outside of the wreck for about 40 minutes or so, spotting a few more of the Goliath Groupers. Then it was time to navigate to the third wreck. Thanks to N2Diving's local knowledge, we made it to the wreck, which was located a bit deeper than the first two sites, in just shy of 80 feet. This wreck is pretty broken up. So, it really doesn't take more than a few minutes on this site to see what is left of the structure. After about two hours total on the bottom, our group ascended, doing about 15 to 20 minutes of decompression. Arriving at the surface, we found rolling waves of up to six feet passing by. Luckily, they had large wave periods, and things were not so severe as they might sound. We signaled the boat, and everyone made it aboard during a nice lull in the waves. However, right after taking our seats, we were reminded of our need to thank the Diving Gods as a nice set of six footers hit our vessel abeam, sending us for a nice ride as the boat rolled back and forth over the wave tops and troughs. After arriving at the dock, four of us spent a couple of hours dining, drinking and remembering another great day of diving. __________________ Howard Packer IANTD CCR Instructor Miami Beach, Florida CCRDiveTraining.com Last edited by ScubaDadMiami : 19th November 2007 at 18:25.
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19th November 2007, 18:51	#2 (permalink)
netmage Hello Kitty...... Current Rebreather/s: Megalodon Other Rebreather/s: Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Coconut Creek, FL Posts: 440	Re: Trip Report: Sea Emperor, United Caribbean and Noula Express Wrecks 11/18/2007 I hope you all are up for a few weekends of that exact same dive, and or multi hour putzing on the reef over and over again... I'll need to rack up some hours before I can go back into the caves. Class is scheduled for 1/24 - 1/28 w/ Jill up in cave country.... -Tim
(Online)

19th November 2007, 21:01	#3 (permalink)
airbornediver New Member Current Rebreather/s: Not Bought Yet Other Rebreather/s: Not Bought Yet Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Miami,FL Posts: 12	Re: Trip Report: Sea Emperor, United Caribbean and Noula Express Wrecks 11/18/2007 That was a very good dive yesteray. Especially being greeted by a school of dolphins during the deco stop. Yes a rebreather is in my future plans.
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19th November 2007, 21:34	#4 (permalink)
JCdesign97 My unit can beat up yours Current Rebreather/s: Optima Other Rebreather/s: Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: PA, USA Posts: 366	Re: Trip Report: Sea Emperor, United Caribbean and Noula Express Wrecks 11/18/2007 Great report, Howard and sounds like an equally great trip. You guys just better not use up all of your favors with the Weather Gods before next Friday!! __________________ Cheers, John
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19th November 2007, 22:48	#6 (permalink)
MarcLaukien Custom Title Allowed! Current Rebreather/s: Other CCR Other Rebreather/s: Optima Other CCR Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: South East Florida Posts: 181	Re: Trip Report: Sea Emperor, United Caribbean and Noula Express Wrecks 11/18/2007 Thanks for the trip report and the pictures. The camera might be small, but the pictures are great!
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26th November 2007, 21:22	#8 (permalink)
LEDiveVideo New Member Current Rebreather/s: Optima Other Rebreather/s: Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Pompano Beach, FL Posts: 27	Re: Trip Report: Sea Emperor, United Caribbean and Noula Express Wrecks 11/18/2007 Great pictures sfldiver! It was a very nice trip, ScubaTyme is a great boat with a great crew and very rebreather friendly. After goliath groupers, a stingray, and a moray eel, seeing the dolphins at the deco stop was the icing on the cake! Hopefully the weather gods will smile on us again this Friday for the all rebreather trip on ScubaTyme.
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