Photo Gallery
The boat was full of gear carrying 6 divers. We put the scooter less divers in first, Stacey, Jim, and Ralph. The scooterful followed with Jody, Jan, and Matt. The first teams lift bag broke the surface as we dropped in.
Jody had to untangle at the surface, Jan and I slowly worked out way down. I looked up to see Jody’s thumb at 15ft of water. I flashed Jan and we aborted. It seems the scooter with the $1,200 repair bill from Brownies was flooded in the engine compartment, which is separated from the battery compartment, limiting the damage. Jody saw the trim was off and there was no power.
On the surface I noted the lack of current. I told Jody to have Buck switch out “Joel 1” for “Joel 2” and we could scooter back to the site without a pick up and re-drop. In two minutes we were right back to the Atlas Recycling Barge. A big Rough tail Stingray was resting in the sand. I shot photos of the barge and limited fish life.
From the North end we found the Tortuga in visual range. I didn’t recall the wreck at all. It was a fishing vessel similar to the Parasio, but a little bigger. We circled the wreck and made a swim through the cargo hold to the main deck. The bow has a large triangle hole in it for easy penetration and water flow.
Buck dropped us right on the wall. I set the scooter pitch for “AARP Sunday Driver” and cruised up current. I was shocked to find a 200lb Goliath looking back at me. He ducked into a hole in the ledge. The top of the site is 50 ft and at one point you can get to 100 ft in the sand. Our plan was to average 80ft.
I found two separate Morey Eels and school after school of grunts. The vis was about 30ft, but there was a lot of life on the reef. After 20 minutes we caught up with Stacey and Jim on the reef. I kicked up the speed and buzzed underneath them with a traditional fly by. Stacey said she gave me the traditional reply, a one-finger salute, but scootering also means never looking back! J
Dive 1: Tortuga
The boat was full of gear carrying 6 divers. We put the scooter less divers in first, Stacey, Jim, and Ralph. The scooterful followed with Jody, Jan, and Matt. The first teams lift bag broke the surface as we dropped in.
Jody had to untangle at the surface, Jan and I slowly worked out way down. I looked up to see Jody’s thumb at 15ft of water. I flashed Jan and we aborted. It seems the scooter with the $1,200 repair bill from Brownies was flooded in the engine compartment, which is separated from the battery compartment, limiting the damage. Jody saw the trim was off and there was no power.
On the surface I noted the lack of current. I told Jody to have Buck switch out “Joel 1” for “Joel 2” and we could scooter back to the site without a pick up and re-drop. In two minutes we were right back to the Atlas Recycling Barge. A big Rough tail Stingray was resting in the sand. I shot photos of the barge and limited fish life.
From the North end we found the Tortuga in visual range. I didn’t recall the wreck at all. It was a fishing vessel similar to the Parasio, but a little bigger. We circled the wreck and made a swim through the cargo hold to the main deck. The bow has a large triangle hole in it for easy penetration and water flow.
Dive 2: Miami Wall
Buck dropped us right on the wall. I set the scooter pitch for “AARP Sunday Driver” and cruised up current. I was shocked to find a 200lb Goliath looking back at me. He ducked into a hole in the ledge. The top of the site is 50 ft and at one point you can get to 100 ft in the sand. Our plan was to average 80ft.
I found two separate Morey Eels and school after school of grunts. The vis was about 30ft, but there was a lot of life on the reef. After 20 minutes we caught up with Stacey and Jim on the reef. I kicked up the speed and buzzed underneath them with a traditional fly by. Stacey said she gave me the traditional reply, a one-finger salute, but scootering also means never looking back! J