Trip Report: Wreck Of The Doc De Milly/Spiegel Grove Dives 05-20-2008

jkaterenchuk · 22nd May 2008, 01:32

Adrian

Great report. The pictures are wonderful but as is normal everything looks much further away then in person and the perpective of scale is lost. I had a great time and some of the most memorable dives to date.

I won't be able to come down for the Wreckfest week Aug 2-10 that is being sponsored by Chris and Silent World Diving but I looked at the schedule and the Doc De Milly is listed as one of the dive trips. It would be great to do it again.

To bad you got the ship length incorrect. Now was the Bull Shark 9, 10 or 12 ft?

John

barney · 22nd May 2008, 01:41

Quote: (Originally Posted by sfldiver)

I appreciate the the heads-up on the erroneous information about the Doc De Milly and I'm glad you enjoyed my pics - Thanks Mike!

no worries - I only posted as I thought others might like to see what the ship looked like before it sunk...
cheers,
mike

mempilot · 22nd May 2008, 02:12

Quote: (Originally Posted by jkaterenchuk)

Now was the Bull Shark 9, 10 or 12 ft?

John

My guess was it was a very large bull at about 9 to 10 feet. When it turned to swim up toward us, the head was freaking wide! Of course, I'm looking at everything through a, read, Panorama mask now!

**sfldiver** · 22nd May 2008, 02:40

Quote: (Originally Posted by mempilot)

My guess was it was a very large bull at about 9 to 10 feet. When it turned to swim up toward us, the head was freaking wide! Of course, I'm looking at everything through a, read, Panorama mask now!

Panorama mask or not, it was definitely a big boy!

Mike448 · 22nd May 2008, 02:42

Great report and fantastic pics as always Adrien. Nice to see the Megs marking their territory

mempilot · 22nd May 2008, 02:51

After thoroghly reading Adrian's report, I don't have much to add. I'll just post a few things from my point of view on the dives.

The current was very strong, and Chris from SWD and myself figured about 2 knots. If we download our deco profiles from the VR3's we should be able to figure it out since we drifted 1.6 miles from the wreck while drift deco'ing. Once I felt the strength of the current while on the granny line, I decided to utilize the BOV for the pull to the down line. Once at about 20 feet, I went back on the loop. Being the only one diving dry, I couldn't effectively use the 'ride the top of the line by straddling it' method that Adrian and John did. This would cause some very bouyant feet in my drysuit. So, I turned sideways and pulled hand over hand with an occasional break to equalize the Drager FFM. John was right. There was 400 feet of scope to get down 147 feet to the bottom. At 75 fsw I still had 200 feet of rope to pull. I was freaking tired.

At 100 feet, I couldn't see the wreck and realized the anchor was not on the Doc Demilly. All I could think was, damn it! All this work for a sand dive! However, I did see many containers and debris telling me the wreck was close by. At 120 fsw I decided to give my arms a break and kick for the bottom. There was plenty of stuff to grab onto once there and catch my breath. This worked great and I disturbed a huge stingray that started circling me on the bottom. He was the size of the big ones at Stingray City in Grand Cayman. His barb was missing, chewed off by something bigger probably. I looked back up at the line and saw the guys working their way down. I decided to claw across the bottom to the anchor and await their arrival.

As I approached the anchor, I noticed that up current it was darker than down current. As my eyes focussed and I glanced up, I noticed a broken line between blue water and gloom. Guess where the Doc is?

Once the guys got down to me and we rested a bit, we moved off towards the wreck. From there, Adrian's report is dead nuts on, so I won't repeat anything.

On the second dive, I was fraught with problems. I had a slowly flooding drysuit from my pee valve which made me soggy and mad. My borrowed HID went dim. My legs were cramping (Thanks for the help John! Much appreciated.). And I was just plain worn out from the first dive and my subsequent sun burn during the surface interval!

I thumbed it and let the guys escort me to the line and continue their dive. Chris and AJ joined me on the line and I did my short deco obligation and boarded the boat for my remaining half sandwich!

This ranks as one of my most memorable dives. The divers were outstanding. The operator was outstanding. The wreck was outstanding. The sea life was outstanding. I couldn't ask for more and I look forward to a return dive on the Doc Demilly during Wreck Fest 08 being sponsored by Silent World Diving in Key Largo.

Thanks big time to Adrian for his photos and John for taking time to visit the SCRUBs.

See you all next time!

Eric

Chris at Silent World · 22nd May 2008, 03:45

Well, we wont be needing to go to the gym for a while will we??

Great trip reports, and a memorable day for all of us. Its nice to be able to take some decent divers to some of the more remote locations where the wrecks aren't dived that often.

When we got up to Biscayne (and the heavens opened) there was only a slight current. By the time we had hooked the wreck, it had picked up significantly and the grapnel got pulled off the wreck. After this happened for the second time, we switched to the dankforth, which seemed to stick, then come loose and stick again. (It turned out that the current had pulled it a good hundred yards from the wreck before it got stuck again)

We splashed about 15 mins after the Rebreather guys, with a plan of coming back up the line as we like to be onboard managing the recovery of divers doing drifting deco as opposed to having two teams drifting 15 mins apart. The current had picked up even more when we got in and was now screaming. When we hit the bottom after a good work out pulling down to the wreck, we knew that the guys wouldnt bother trying to come up the line and would drift off for their deco. As we were obliged to ride it out on the line we headed up after a quick look around in order to minimize the deco. Sharks, stingrays, eagle rays, goliath groupers it was all happening!

The SG was its usual excellent dive. AJ and I did a bit of digging around by the engine room trying some new hatches that didnt want to let us in. Nice turtle on the way back up, which Adrian got some awesome shots of.

Next time we should do the Northern Light or the Queen of Nassau. I would also like to rent a small boat and take it down South and do the Wilkes Barre and the Curb etc, all are welcome! I have a friend in Germany who is writing a book and is desperate to get on the Wilkes!

Thanks Adrian, Eric and John for a good trip out - now where did I put that aftersun....

mempilot · 22nd May 2008, 04:02

Chris,

You have the after sun? Pass it this way! I look like an Optima diver whose red dye is running! Lot's of aloe for me today.

Chris at Silent World · 22nd May 2008, 04:06

Lol!

Yeah, and I look like an OMS bungee wing!

Quote: (Originally Posted by mempilot)

Chris,

You have the after sun? Pass it this way! I look like an Optima diver whose red dye is running! Lot's of aloe for me today.

22nd May 2008, 01:32	#11 (permalink)
jkaterenchuk . Current Rebreather/s: Inspiration Classic Megalodon Classic Kiss Other Rebreather/s: Join Date: May 2006 Location: Lititz, PA Posts: 745	Re: Trip Report: Wreck Of The Doc De Milly/Spiegel Grove Dives 05-20-2008 Adrian Great report. The pictures are wonderful but as is normal everything looks much further away then in person and the perpective of scale is lost. I had a great time and some of the most memorable dives to date. I won't be able to come down for the Wreckfest week Aug 2-10 that is being sponsored by Chris and Silent World Diving but I looked at the schedule and the Doc De Milly is listed as one of the dive trips. It would be great to do it again. To bad you got the ship length incorrect. Now was the Bull Shark 9, 10 or 12 ft? John
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22nd May 2008, 01:41	#12 (permalink)
barney Custom Title Allowed! Current Rebreather/s: Megalodon Other Rebreather/s: Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: St. Petersburg, FL Posts: 263	Re: Trip Report: Wreck Of The Doc De Milly/Spiegel Grove Dives 05-20-2008 Quote: (Originally Posted by sfldiver) I appreciate the the heads-up on the erroneous information about the Doc De Milly and I'm glad you enjoyed my pics - Thanks Mike! no worries - I only posted as I thought others might like to see what the ship looked like before it sunk... cheers, mike __________________ Michael C. Barnette ASSOCIATION OF UNDERWATER EXPLORERS
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22nd May 2008, 02:12	#13 (permalink)
mempilot What is this..terrafirma? Current Rebreather/s: Megalodon Other Rebreather/s: Megalodon Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Ft. Lauderdale Posts: 1,269	Re: Trip Report: Wreck Of The Doc De Milly/Spiegel Grove Dives 05-20-2008 Quote: (Originally Posted by jkaterenchuk) Now was the Bull Shark 9, 10 or 12 ft? John My guess was it was a very large bull at about 9 to 10 feet. When it turned to swim up toward us, the head was freaking wide! Of course, I'm looking at everything through a, read, Panorama mask now! __________________ MEM "Da Pilot" Black holes are where God divided by zero. "If at first you don't succeed, don't dive silent." "Would you mind not shooting at the thermo-nuclear weapons." ~ Vic Deakins "Donkey's kill more people annually than plane crashes."
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22nd May 2008, 02:40	#14 (permalink)
sfldiver Optima Army Current Rebreather/s: Optima Other Rebreather/s: Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Pompano Beach, FL Posts: 734	Re: Trip Report: Wreck Of The Doc De Milly/Spiegel Grove Dives 05-20-2008 Quote: (Originally Posted by mempilot) My guess was it was a very large bull at about 9 to 10 feet. When it turned to swim up toward us, the head was freaking wide! Of course, I'm looking at everything through a, read, Panorama mask now! Panorama mask or not, it was definitely a big boy! __________________ *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 May 2008, 02:42	#15 (permalink)
Mike448 New Member Current Rebreather/s: Megalodon Other Rebreather/s: Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Knysna (South Africa) & Florida Posts: 34	Re: Trip Report: Wreck Of The Doc De Milly/Spiegel Grove Dives 05-20-2008 Great report and fantastic pics as always Adrien. Nice to see the Megs marking their territory __________________ Cheers Mike mike448 @ mac.com www.shadowdivers.net
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22nd May 2008, 02:51	#16 (permalink)
mempilot What is this..terrafirma? Current Rebreather/s: Megalodon Other Rebreather/s: Megalodon Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Ft. Lauderdale Posts: 1,269	Re: Trip Report: Wreck Of The Doc De Milly/Spiegel Grove Dives 05-20-2008 After thoroghly reading Adrian's report, I don't have much to add. I'll just post a few things from my point of view on the dives. The current was very strong, and Chris from SWD and myself figured about 2 knots. If we download our deco profiles from the VR3's we should be able to figure it out since we drifted 1.6 miles from the wreck while drift deco'ing. Once I felt the strength of the current while on the granny line, I decided to utilize the BOV for the pull to the down line. Once at about 20 feet, I went back on the loop. Being the only one diving dry, I couldn't effectively use the 'ride the top of the line by straddling it' method that Adrian and John did. This would cause some very bouyant feet in my drysuit. So, I turned sideways and pulled hand over hand with an occasional break to equalize the Drager FFM. John was right. There was 400 feet of scope to get down 147 feet to the bottom. At 75 fsw I still had 200 feet of rope to pull. I was freaking tired. At 100 feet, I couldn't see the wreck and realized the anchor was not on the Doc Demilly. All I could think was, damn it! All this work for a sand dive! However, I did see many containers and debris telling me the wreck was close by. At 120 fsw I decided to give my arms a break and kick for the bottom. There was plenty of stuff to grab onto once there and catch my breath. This worked great and I disturbed a huge stingray that started circling me on the bottom. He was the size of the big ones at Stingray City in Grand Cayman. His barb was missing, chewed off by something bigger probably. I looked back up at the line and saw the guys working their way down. I decided to claw across the bottom to the anchor and await their arrival. As I approached the anchor, I noticed that up current it was darker than down current. As my eyes focussed and I glanced up, I noticed a broken line between blue water and gloom. Guess where the Doc is? Once the guys got down to me and we rested a bit, we moved off towards the wreck. From there, Adrian's report is dead nuts on, so I won't repeat anything. On the second dive, I was fraught with problems. I had a slowly flooding drysuit from my pee valve which made me soggy and mad. My borrowed HID went dim. My legs were cramping (Thanks for the help John! Much appreciated.). And I was just plain worn out from the first dive and my subsequent sun burn during the surface interval! I thumbed it and let the guys escort me to the line and continue their dive. Chris and AJ joined me on the line and I did my short deco obligation and boarded the boat for my remaining half sandwich! This ranks as one of my most memorable dives. The divers were outstanding. The operator was outstanding. The wreck was outstanding. The sea life was outstanding. I couldn't ask for more and I look forward to a return dive on the Doc Demilly during Wreck Fest 08 being sponsored by Silent World Diving in Key Largo. Thanks big time to Adrian for his photos and John for taking time to visit the SCRUBs. See you all next time! Eric __________________ MEM "Da Pilot" Black holes are where God divided by zero. "If at first you don't succeed, don't dive silent." "Would you mind not shooting at the thermo-nuclear weapons." ~ Vic Deakins "Donkey's kill more people annually than plane crashes."
(Offline)

22nd May 2008, 03:45	#17 (permalink)
Chris at Silent World New Member Current Rebreather/s: Not Bought Yet Other Rebreather/s: Not Bought Yet Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Key Largo Posts: 18	Re: Trip Report: Wreck Of The Doc De Milly/Spiegel Grove Dives 05-20-2008 Well, we wont be needing to go to the gym for a while will we?? Great trip reports, and a memorable day for all of us. Its nice to be able to take some decent divers to some of the more remote locations where the wrecks aren't dived that often. When we got up to Biscayne (and the heavens opened) there was only a slight current. By the time we had hooked the wreck, it had picked up significantly and the grapnel got pulled off the wreck. After this happened for the second time, we switched to the dankforth, which seemed to stick, then come loose and stick again. (It turned out that the current had pulled it a good hundred yards from the wreck before it got stuck again) We splashed about 15 mins after the Rebreather guys, with a plan of coming back up the line as we like to be onboard managing the recovery of divers doing drifting deco as opposed to having two teams drifting 15 mins apart. The current had picked up even more when we got in and was now screaming. When we hit the bottom after a good work out pulling down to the wreck, we knew that the guys wouldnt bother trying to come up the line and would drift off for their deco. As we were obliged to ride it out on the line we headed up after a quick look around in order to minimize the deco. Sharks, stingrays, eagle rays, goliath groupers it was all happening! The SG was its usual excellent dive. AJ and I did a bit of digging around by the engine room trying some new hatches that didnt want to let us in. Nice turtle on the way back up, which Adrian got some awesome shots of. Next time we should do the Northern Light or the Queen of Nassau. I would also like to rent a small boat and take it down South and do the Wilkes Barre and the Curb etc, all are welcome! I have a friend in Germany who is writing a book and is desperate to get on the Wilkes! Thanks Adrian, Eric and John for a good trip out - now where did I put that aftersun.... __________________ Chris http://www.silentworldkeylargo.com
(Offline)

22nd May 2008, 04:02	#18 (permalink)
mempilot What is this..terrafirma? Current Rebreather/s: Megalodon Other Rebreather/s: Megalodon Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Ft. Lauderdale Posts: 1,269	Re: Trip Report: Wreck Of The Doc De Milly/Spiegel Grove Dives 05-20-2008 Chris, You have the after sun? Pass it this way! I look like an Optima diver whose red dye is running! Lot's of aloe for me today. __________________ MEM "Da Pilot" Black holes are where God divided by zero. "If at first you don't succeed, don't dive silent." "Would you mind not shooting at the thermo-nuclear weapons." ~ Vic Deakins "Donkey's kill more people annually than plane crashes."
(Offline)

22nd May 2008, 04:06	#19 (permalink)
Chris at Silent World New Member Current Rebreather/s: Not Bought Yet Other Rebreather/s: Not Bought Yet Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Key Largo Posts: 18	Re: Trip Report: Wreck Of The Doc De Milly/Spiegel Grove Dives 05-20-2008 Lol! Yeah, and I look like an OMS bungee wing! Quote: (Originally Posted by mempilot) Chris, You have the after sun? Pass it this way! I look like an Optima diver whose red dye is running! Lot's of aloe for me today. __________________ Chris http://www.silentworldkeylargo.com
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