Dive Report: Tuesday Night 9/16/03 Rio Miami, Paraisio, and Princess Britney

With all the fun everyone had Saturday on the wreck trek I asked Jody if he was up for navigating again at night assuming we still has a South current? Buck came down to drive boat and not dive so we would be free to drift live boat instead of anchoring.

Team 1 A: Jody & Matt
B: Charlie & Andrea

Seas 2-3 ft rising to 4-6 after the dive
Temp: 84 degrees surface and 82 water
Visibility: Excellent, top to bottom, as far as the HID would glow

Plan:
80ft dive
50 minutes
32% Nitrox
3min @20 and 3min @ 10
Rock Bottom 700 PSI dubs or single tank

While gearing up we found Ballyhoo jumping and skipping over the water. It was really cool, one almost hit the boat! So where they feeding? Or was something feeding no them? We would just have to jump in and see!

Buck gave us a good drop on the Rio Miami. I saw it from 20ft and we landed right in the middle. It was a small wreck with several penetration options. The current was mild, but we didn't try to swim back to the stern. We explored the bow and headed out to the Paraisio. Swimming over the sand is a empty feeling, like being in a desert. There were holes all over the place where sting rays buried themselves to sleep during the day. Only creatures with heavy armor like crabs and conch brave crossing this exposed area.

The best part of the dive is the anticipation in wondering IF your going to hit the next wreck? The sand had a coating of algae on it. After a couple of minutes the sand turned pure white and I started to see Grunts our foraging for detrius (plant and animal matter in the sand). There was a mound of sand and over it a huge valley where the prop of the Paraisio was supposed to be. Swimming up to a wreck from the sand really gives you a good impression of how big a ship is.

This one looked like a work boat. It had a A frame lift at the stern. The bottom deck was exposed and several pieces of concrete were placed inside. We planned on A team penetrating the wreck and B team staying outside. Being new to the wreck I left Jody lead in. The main deck was a large open area about 15ft wide. We swam in a ways, further then I've been inside a wreck without knowing a way out. I looked for other exits, but without natural light pouring in, they were hidden to me. I though, "I'm now in a steel cave and I haven't run a guideline." I could still see the exit and any of the four walls would lead me out. Just when I was thinking, "We really should have run a line," Jody turned. I though we were going to head out. He pointed to hole in the floor that was about 3ft square and gestured down and out.

He slipped through with ease, I didn't look so pretty. I noted some cables on the right side that I didn't want to tangle in (Remember John Ornsby from Deep Descent?). I went head first down the hole and barely wiggled my shoulders through. I tried to move ahead and realized I wasn't down enough and my manifold was hitting the ceiling. I saw Jody ahead of me, now were returning through a hallway just big enough for a person without scuba gear to walk through. There were racks on each side and huge air conditioners hanging from the ceiling. I looked ahead and see a plum of rust colored silt poof up ahead of me. Jody switched from the frog kick to modified flutter because there wasn't enough room to expand your legs for full kick. I flashed him and gave him the "silting" hand signal. As my heart rate increased and stress level raised up and I fell back on my cave training. Relax, you got plenty of gas and bottom time. Kick easy, look around, and enjoy the dive. A small modified frog kick, gave just enough thrust to move me forward. I could always pull and glide off the storage racks. Once I started looking around there were 5-7 terminal phase parrotfish sleeping inside the wreck. They were tucked way back in the corners. I was back to the stern in no time and came out of one of the bigger holes in the aft deck.

B team had circled the wreck from the outside and watched our progress through some of the smaller holes. As Jody was untying the reel I though, "this wreck would be good for a whole dive, I need to come back here!" We drifted back over the sand heading SE. We were buzzed by a small Southern Stingray out looking for a meal. Also, there were little tiny squid all over the place. Another 5 minute swim and the sand turned pure white again. We looked around and couldn't see the wreck until one light finally hit this huge wall in the water.

We came up on the stern of the Princess Britney, the latest wreck to be sunk off Miami. The prop was big and the name was still painted on the back of the ship. The teams split up again and I lead into the ship. I went into the crew deck, there is still Linoleum on the floor, a toilet and sink. I forgot its the deck below that leads the engine room. Andrea and Charlie were waiting for us outside.

Andrea was diving a single tank and we knew she would be the limit on the planned dive and everyone was cool with that. We went back to where the flag was tied off and I tried to signal that we should untie and swim to the bow of the Britney. We hadn't seen the bow of any of the ships yet. Then we could drift off and ascend. Jody thought I wanted to press my luck and try for one more wreck. He untied and we drifted off out over the sand. This time we found two huge craps digging away at the sand like back hoes. There was a path of clean sand behind them. It reminded me of the spice mining factories in the movie Dune. There was a silt trail drifting away from each crab.

After 45 minutes of bottom time at an average depth of 66ft it was time to make our ascent. Andrea pulled her thumb and we all followed suit. Charlie was to run the ascent time, to my surprise Jody handed me off the reel. Reeling up, staying with the group, venting my BC and keeping my light in my hand was a little more than what I had expected. I should get a DIR demotion for venting to much gas, going vertical and swimming up while reeling in. I was below everyone on ascent until we got to 20 ft when I could hover again, lock the reel off and get into position to look at the team leader. I could see the white sandy bottom. There were more squid and a school of little 4 inch fish circling around us. I saw one out in the distance and it changed me and swam into my stomach! I blurted out so everyone could hear me as I tried to swat it away. It was pretty funny!

When we popped up on the surface conditions had gotten a lot worse. Inside the Paraisio I could here the diesel engines idling. I just realized that I was missing that sound. The seas had kicked up and there were a few waves breaking over our heads. There were "disco boats" (dinner cruise ships) on both sides and one had us right between the red and green (aka heading right for us). I found our boat off in the distance, but it was not underway to pick us up. I locked the reel, clipped it to the flag and held in between my legs to get he sausage underwater enough so it would stand up. That put the glow stick high in the air and my HID lit up the orange marker and reflective tape at the top. After a couple minutes at the surface Buck came over and backed up to us. The disco boat changed coarse to avoid us. I wonder what the diners were thinking?

After we stowed to the gear we exchanged smiles and multiple, "that was awesome" were exclaimed. Jody guesses were not that far from the South Seas, but I'll take 3 wrecks on a swimming dive any day on the week. We headed in from another good night of diving. I wonder how many we could hit with scooters?

--Matt