Trip Report: Florida S.C.R.U.B.'s Dive On The Wreck Of The Mariner II Tug 06-21-2008

**sfldiver** · 22nd June 2008, 02:38

On Saturday June 21st, 2008, myself and four other Florida S.C.R.U.B.'s divers boarded the Miss Conduct in Pompano Beach, Florida for a PM dive to the Mariner II Tug. The Mariner II Tug is a 110foot long steel tug that was sunk in 1993 and sits in approximately 125 feet of water. The roster for this trip was:

Eric (mempilot)
James (Monkey)
Howard (ScubaDadMiami)
Rob (Vidodivr)
Adrian (SFLDiver)

Unfortunately, even though the topside weather was beautiful, underwater, conditions were less than ideal. We had a pretty good idea of what we were in for right from the time we hooked on the wreck, because the float ball connected to the anchor line was indicating strong current.

On the descent, mempilot had some trouble with his new scooter, and after a couple of attempts to straigten our the problem, decided to skip the dive, and instead worked on his tan topside.

After a good workout pulling ourself down the line through the 1.5 to 2 knot current, we made it to the wreck and spent about 30 minutes hiding from the current and checking out the wreck. The visibility was probably in the ares of 40+ feet and the water temperature at the wreck was probably 10 degrees colder than the surface temperature at about 72 degrees. The water also had a grayish haze to it, which is not very common in South Florida.

I took a few shots with my camera, but with the conditions and the current, I really wasn't getting any keeper shots. Then, I made my way to the stern of the wreck and found a good size Moray Eel that appeared to have no problem smiling for the camera.

After taking a few shots of the eel, ScubaDadMiami thumbed the dive, unhooked the downline and we headed for the surface. We completed our deco drifting underneath the floatball on the downline and underneath massive amounts of surface seaweed patches, which only made the already low visibility and murky water darker.

After making it to the surface and boarding the boat, we discussed the game plan for the second dive. Captain Conrad advised us that all other dive boats in the area were reporting similar conditions everywhere, so we made a group decision to head back to the dock and complete our second dive at Tee-Jay Thai Sushi Restaurant!

As always, here's a few pics that I took on the dive:

Here's a picture of VidoDivr on the wreck.

Here's a coule of pictures of the green Moray Eel that I spent some time with on the dive.

Here's a couple of pictures of ScubaDadMiami and his tiny scooter.

Here's a picture of the Remora that did everything possible to try to latch on to us during our deco hang.

Here's a picture of Monkey during our deco hang.

Here's a picture of us at the traditional post-dive meal.

And finally, since mempilot didn't make it down and consequently didn't get to see any fish, we made sure he ordered fish so he could at least see one fish all day!

mempilot · 22nd June 2008, 02:54

Current measured by GPS drift:

Over the wreck: 1.6 knots (3 divers drifted .8 miles during short deco)
Over 3rd reef: 1.8 - 2.0 knots

Not getting a chance to sort out the new N-19 on an easy dive, my trim was off, the bouyancy of the N-19 was off, and the #9 prop setting couldn't keep me over the wreck. I bagged the first dive and made a second attempt that was minimally better. Off to the shallows to sort it out.

BTW, the dead snapper was goooooood, and the eyeballs were the best!

jkaterenchuk · 22nd June 2008, 03:18

Guess I had a better dive in the quarry today then you had. Visited the front end loader wreck (you have seen the pics) and found a new structure at the far end in 120 ft. Named the bus stop since it looks like one. Viz was aboout the same down below 40ft. 72F down to 20ft and 42F below 60ft. 120 ft for 1hr 25 mins of swimming out and back. Scooter would have been nice.

Next time I come down i need to go to the Thai restaurant it my favorite.

John

**sfldiver** · 22nd June 2008, 04:05

Quote: (Originally Posted by jkaterenchuk)

Guess I had a better dive in the quarry today then you had. Visited the front end loader wreck (you have seen the pics) and found a new structure at the far end in 120 ft. Named the bus stop since it looks like one. Viz was aboout the same down below 40ft. 72F down to 20ft and 42F below 60ft. 120 ft for 1hr 25 mins of swimming out and back. Scooter would have been nice.

Next time I come down i need to go to the Thai restaurant it my favorite.

John

Hi John, glad you had a nice dive today. Are dive was not terrible, but you know we are just a bit spoiled down here, which is why we opted to pass on the second dive.

On the 4th of July we're headed out to the Doc De Milly again. Actually, we're doing a 3-dive all day trip, but departing from Miami this time - It should be fun!

BTW, I have not forgotten about sending you the disk with the pics from your visit; truthfully, I've just kind of procrastinated, but I promise I will get then to you!

Any chance we'll see you down in our neck of the woods in the near future? That livaboard trip out of Ft. Lauderdale that Monkey is putting together sounds fun - Hint!

Hope all is well in your neck of the woods!

jkaterenchuk · 22nd June 2008, 22:04

Quote: (Originally Posted by sfldiver)

BTW, I have not forgotten about sending you the disk with the pics from your visit; truthfully, I've just kind of procrastinated, but I promise I will get then to you!

Any chance we'll see you down in our neck of the woods in the near future? That livaboard trip out of Ft. Lauderdale that Monkey is putting together sounds fun - Hint!

Hope all is well in your neck of the woods!

Send them when you get a chance no rush here.

I was interested in Monkey's trip but the date conflict with my trip to Asia.

I am hoping to get down before going to Asia in Sept. Maybe for the Wreck week once I see what SCRUBs has planned.

John

22nd June 2008, 02:38	#1 (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	Trip Report: Florida S.C.R.U.B.'s Dive On The Wreck Of The Mariner II Tug 06-21-2008 On Saturday June 21st, 2008, myself and four other Florida S.C.R.U.B.'s divers boarded the Miss Conduct in Pompano Beach, Florida for a PM dive to the Mariner II Tug. The Mariner II Tug is a 110foot long steel tug that was sunk in 1993 and sits in approximately 125 feet of water. The roster for this trip was: Eric (mempilot) James (Monkey) Howard (ScubaDadMiami) Rob (Vidodivr) Adrian (SFLDiver) Unfortunately, even though the topside weather was beautiful, underwater, conditions were less than ideal. We had a pretty good idea of what we were in for right from the time we hooked on the wreck, because the float ball connected to the anchor line was indicating strong current. On the descent, mempilot had some trouble with his new scooter, and after a couple of attempts to straigten our the problem, decided to skip the dive, and instead worked on his tan topside. After a good workout pulling ourself down the line through the 1.5 to 2 knot current, we made it to the wreck and spent about 30 minutes hiding from the current and checking out the wreck. The visibility was probably in the ares of 40+ feet and the water temperature at the wreck was probably 10 degrees colder than the surface temperature at about 72 degrees. The water also had a grayish haze to it, which is not very common in South Florida. I took a few shots with my camera, but with the conditions and the current, I really wasn't getting any keeper shots. Then, I made my way to the stern of the wreck and found a good size Moray Eel that appeared to have no problem smiling for the camera. After taking a few shots of the eel, ScubaDadMiami thumbed the dive, unhooked the downline and we headed for the surface. We completed our deco drifting underneath the floatball on the downline and underneath massive amounts of surface seaweed patches, which only made the already low visibility and murky water darker. After making it to the surface and boarding the boat, we discussed the game plan for the second dive. Captain Conrad advised us that all other dive boats in the area were reporting similar conditions everywhere, so we made a group decision to head back to the dock and complete our second dive at Tee-Jay Thai Sushi Restaurant! As always, here's a few pics that I took on the dive: Here's a picture of VidoDivr on the wreck. Here's a coule of pictures of the green Moray Eel that I spent some time with on the dive. Here's a couple of pictures of ScubaDadMiami and his tiny scooter. Here's a picture of the Remora that did everything possible to try to latch on to us during our deco hang. Here's a picture of Monkey during our deco hang. Here's a picture of us at the traditional post-dive meal. And finally, since mempilot didn't make it down and consequently didn't get to see any fish, we made sure he ordered fish so he could at least see one fish all day! __________________ *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. Last edited by sfldiver : 22nd June 2008 at 08:59.*
(Offline)

22nd June 2008, 02:54	#2 (permalink)
mempilot Eric Stadtmueller Current Rebreather/s: Megalodon Other Rebreather/s: Megalodon Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Ft. Lauderdale Posts: 1,469	Re: Trip Report: Florida S.C.R.U.B.'s Dive On The Wreck Of The Mariner II Tug 06-21-2 Current measured by GPS drift: Over the wreck: 1.6 knots (3 divers drifted .8 miles during short deco) Over 3rd reef: 1.8 - 2.0 knots Not getting a chance to sort out the new N-19 on an easy dive, my trim was off, the bouyancy of the N-19 was off, and the #9 prop setting couldn't keep me over the wreck. I bagged the first dive and made a second attempt that was minimally better. Off to the shallows to sort it out. BTW, the dead snapper was goooooood, and the eyeballs were the best! __________________ Eric Stadtmueller, otherwise known as, MEM "Da Pilot"
(Online)

22nd June 2008, 03:18	#3 (permalink)
jkaterenchuk . Current Rebreather/s: Inspiration Classic Megalodon Classic Kiss Other Rebreather/s: Join Date: May 2006 Location: Lititz, PA Posts: 827	Re: Trip Report: Florida S.C.R.U.B.'s Dive On The Wreck Of The Mariner II Tug 06-21-2 Guess I had a better dive in the quarry today then you had. Visited the front end loader wreck (you have seen the pics) and found a new structure at the far end in 120 ft. Named the bus stop since it looks like one. Viz was aboout the same down below 40ft. 72F down to 20ft and 42F below 60ft. 120 ft for 1hr 25 mins of swimming out and back. Scooter would have been nice. Next time I come down i need to go to the Thai restaurant it my favorite. John
(Online)

22nd June 2008, 04:05	#4 (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: Florida S.C.R.U.B.'s Dive On The Wreck Of The Mariner II Tug 06-21-2 Quote: (Originally Posted by jkaterenchuk) Guess I had a better dive in the quarry today then you had. Visited the front end loader wreck (you have seen the pics) and found a new structure at the far end in 120 ft. Named the bus stop since it looks like one. Viz was aboout the same down below 40ft. 72F down to 20ft and 42F below 60ft. 120 ft for 1hr 25 mins of swimming out and back. Scooter would have been nice. Next time I come down i need to go to the Thai restaurant it my favorite. John Hi John, glad you had a nice dive today. Are dive was not terrible, but you know we are just a bit spoiled down here, which is why we opted to pass on the second dive. On the 4th of July we're headed out to the Doc De Milly again. Actually, we're doing a 3-dive all day trip, but departing from Miami this time - It should be fun! BTW, I have not forgotten about sending you the disk with the pics from your visit; truthfully, I've just kind of procrastinated, but I promise I will get then to you! Any chance we'll see you down in our neck of the woods in the near future? That livaboard trip out of Ft. Lauderdale that Monkey is putting together sounds fun - Hint! Hope all is well in your neck of the woods! __________________ *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.
(Offline)

22nd June 2008, 22:04	#5 (permalink)
jkaterenchuk . Current Rebreather/s: Inspiration Classic Megalodon Classic Kiss Other Rebreather/s: Join Date: May 2006 Location: Lititz, PA Posts: 827	Re: Trip Report: Florida S.C.R.U.B.'s Dive On The Wreck Of The Mariner II Tug 06-21-2 Quote: (Originally Posted by sfldiver) BTW, I have not forgotten about sending you the disk with the pics from your visit; truthfully, I've just kind of procrastinated, but I promise I will get then to you! Any chance we'll see you down in our neck of the woods in the near future? That livaboard trip out of Ft. Lauderdale that Monkey is putting together sounds fun - Hint! Hope all is well in your neck of the woods! Send them when you get a chance no rush here. I was interested in Monkey's trip but the date conflict with my trip to Asia. I am hoping to get down before going to Asia in Sept. Maybe for the Wreck week once I see what SCRUBs has planned. John
(Online)

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