Florida has world class diving all year around. In addition to the Atlantic Ocean, Gulf of Mexico, and the Caribbean like Florida Keys, we have over three thousand diveable springs, rivers and lakes. Here's a collection of Dive Sites of the Month from previous months.
Dive Site of the Month March 2000-- Mexican Pride Loran numbers 14089.6 & 44898.6
Located 37 miles west of St. Petersburg, this is one of the area's best wreck dives. The Mexican Pride rests in 120' of water the top deck is at 80'.
Dive report 11/21/99 , Mexican Pride
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With seas running at about 1 foot we made the 36 mile run out of John's Pass to the (wreck)Mexican Pride. Arriving at the site there was so little current and wind that the captain had to try and set the anchor three times simply because there was no resistance to staying stationary as is usually provided by these elements. Tom Burke and I went over the side and down the slack anchor line. Visibility was great down to about 80 foot with the boat being visible overhead for the most part. After 80 and down to the deck of the Mexican Pride at 100 feet the water got kind of dark but still was about 20-25 foot. |
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Immediately upon hitting the deck we were treated with the sight of an airplane sized object passing overhead that turned out to be a manta ray with a wing span in excess of 15 feet. There were fish everywhere. Large mangrove snapper, schools of spade fish, angelfish, scamp, grouper, schools of amberjack and jack crevalle surrounded us. We had heard stories of the jew fish population before the dive and these stories were confirmed. At the same time, 4 jew fish of 5 foot lengths were visible. Small nurse sharks littered the deck in places. Giant amberjack, four feet in length, passed through the schools of smaller fish. It all made for an outrageous day of diving. |
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This was nature at its rawest. After the dives were completed the waves stayed at 1 foot which provided the perfect conditions for napping for satiated divers as we headed back to John's Pass. Back at the dock the fish cooler was emptied and a 4 lb mangrove snapper, a 10 lb gag grouper and a 45 lb greater amberjack were attributed to this writer. Others brought back underwater video and still pictures. Still others have memories to transcribe into their logs of a superlative day on the Gulf of Mexico. Ed Barrett Vice-President USF Dive Club |
Dive Site of the Month April 2000 -- USS Rankin (Ralph Evinrude Memorial) Stuart,Florida. Loran numbers 14373.1 and 61986.7
The USS Rankin is the largest ship sunk as an artificial reef on the east coast of Florida. Located 6 miles southeast of the St. Lucie Inlet, this 459 foot Liberty Ship lays on it's port side in 120' of water. The port side is in 80 feet of water. Liberty ships were used during WWll as troop transports. Sunk in the summer of 1988, this ship serves as a memorial to Ralph Evinrude ( Evinrude Outboards). The deck hatches are open and allow penetration. Inside the wreck are thousands of Atlantic Spiny Oysters (several of which are the crown jewels in my shell collection). A canon is attached to the bow and the super structure looms out of the deck some 50' to 75' feet.
Because of the size of this wreck and the depth, it is difficult to circumnavigate the entire wreck without the use of doubles and nitrox. Several dives should be made to fully enjoy this awesome wreck. This is not a easy dive to say the least. Visibility is sometimes poor and two to five knot currents are common. This wreck is not always in the Gulf Stream, so thermoclines are common. On one dive in summer months the surface temperature was 80 degrees and the bottom temperature was a bone chilling 66 degrees.
My most memorable dive was one summer 6 years ago. We had moved my boat "Sunsation" to Stuart for lobster season opening and decided to dive the Rankin. Because the current was very strong we decided to drift dive into the wreck. We dropped in south of the wreck, dropped to 110 feet, with me pulling a float ball and 100' of line. Six divers were with me. Visibility was about 30' and after 5 minutes at 110' without seeing the wreck I signaled the divers to ascend to 80', in order to conserve bottom time and air. Doug Mullholland, one of my divers got my attention and pointed below us. Looking down, I saw a huge Manta, with a wing spread of 15', the largest I had ever seen, off to it's right was another with a wing spread of 10'. I was in awe and thrilled. What came next was unbelievable....looking up I saw another Manta with horns six feet apart and a wing span of 25'! Six foot Cobia, 50 pound Amberjacks and a host of other fish were swimming with the big guy.
Forgetting myself and my other divers I grabbed a rail of the Manta's wing. I could not get my hand around the rail so I looped my arm around the wing and off I went with the float ball and line to the dismay of my divers. Fortunately the Mantas were on their way to the Rankin and all of us found the site. My ride was short lived as the float ball and line caused the Manta to loop and once we were upside down I dropped off onto the port side of the Rankin. The Mantas played and cavorted around the wreck for the whole dive.
The Rankin sports large snapper, grouper, jew fish, cobia, sharks, barracuda and a plethora of tropicals and shells. All of my dives on the Rankin have been memorable. Like the time Richard Blunt lost a fin in the current as he pulled himself down the anchor line. He didn't realize he'd lost a fin until he was on the wreck. Scott Bock shot a huge Amberjack only to have is shredded by Barracuda in seconds. Flustered, he left his $200.00 spear gun on the wreck.
Divers diving the Rankin should be advanced divers, nitrox certified and insured by Dan. I will be diving the Rankin in July 2000, if you would like to dive with me (I promise not to leave you stranded while I ride the Manta), email me, Capt John Russell.
Dive Site of the Month -- Pinellas County Artificial Reef #2 (Anclote #2), heading of 289 degrees, 10.5 nautical miles from N. Anclote Island Marker # 4
The Ghost Barge -- Loran Number 14274.7 and 45048.1 -- This barge has been a favorite diving spot of mine for over 10 years. We call it the ghost barge cause it looks like it is moving in the surge and is a spooky night dive. It lays in 33' of water and runs east and west. What used to be the stern is on the east end. This is a scattered barge, formally a crane barge that is 160' x 60'. Schools of bait fish, barracuda and little tuney frequent this wreck. Grouper hide in the rocks on the south side when divers are on the wreck. Mangrove snapper play hide and seek under the deck plates. I have seen the largest jew fish I have ever seen here, over 10' long and as big as a VW Beetle. On the north west side is an artificial fish haven made of PVC. This is a great place to take a compass heading of 5 degrees north 150 yards to locate the following two sites. Caution, the current can be strong here at time so make the compass run on calmer days. One of my dive buddies lost an $800.00 gold chain there that has never been found, so happy treasure hunting!
Culverts and Bridge Rubble -- Loran Number 14276.1 and 45049.3 -- GPS Number 2817.637 and 8301.123 -- This rubble pile is one of four different loads dropped in the Anclote #2 area in April of 1997, in 30'-35' of water. Lots of fish hide in culverts large and small. The larger culverts are large enough to stand up in. I have seen very large jew fish and grouper in this area. Lots of anchors from unlucky fishermen to collect here to. This site can be found underwater by following a compass course of 5 degrees from the Ghost Barge. About 80 to 100 yards from the Ghost Barge is this rubble pile.
M60 Army Tank #10 -- Loran number 14276.2 and 45049.3 -- GPS Number 2817.637 and 8301.083 -- This is one of 10 Army M60 Tanks sunk on 4/21/95. I watched them drop them all and got the numbers for them all as they were marked with crab markers for a few days after their sinking. I still have the marker for this tank #10. These tanks were dropped intact, with turrets and cannons, only the engines were removed. The hatches are all open and this is the perfect "Kodak moment" for those who wish to pose as "tank commander". Two of the other tanks are within 30' to 50' of #10 and on good vis days you should be able to see them from #10. This tank can be reached underwater by following a compass course of 5 degrees, 150 yards from the ghost barge. Grouper, Snapper and Hog fish hang about the tanks.
Best Wreck in Florida The USS Spiegel Grove, Key Largo Florida ~ additional information here.
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