Key West Flordia 11/15-16/2000

Day #1-

Joe's Tug (Wreck Dive) By the sound of her name, you would think "Joe's Tug" is actually a tugboat. In reality it is an old steel hulled shrimper. Please don't quote us but rumor has it that it was scuttled under the cover of darkness by a band of pirates, led by a once famous, or quite possibly infamous boat Captain after consuming large quantities of Cuban Rum. Joe's Tug sits upright in 68 feet of water and is about 65 feet long. This wreck is home to a large number of fish, particularly snapper who congregate inside the cabin area. Also home to Joe's Tug is the famous Jewfish named "Elvis". Elvis usually makes his home here at Joe's Tug when not on extended vacation. So, when you go back home after your diving vacation with Subtropic, you can tell your friends you actually saw Elvis in Key West diving with Subtropic! The Experience: JELLYFISH!!  Lots of jellyfish!  But we were told they don't attack you and it doesn't hurt that bad.  Amy liked the idea of staying on the boat! After the water entry we had some fun dodging the jelly fish and waiting for my ears to clear.  After about 5 minutes my ears cleared and we held on to the rope to descend to approx. 55-70ft to the wreck.  The water was alot more cloudy than we had expected but it was a fun dive.

The Experience:

The highlight of this dive was a giant Jewfish that Amy spotted peeking out from under some corral.  We moved up really close and flipped upside down to look under the reef.  When I saw the size of the fish up that close it kinda startled me.  What we will never forget it what looked like a big cowhead on the fish.

Day #2-

The Cayman Salvager (Wreck Dive)

The "Cayman", as she is called, was sunk prematurely on her way out to become a fishing attraction for visiting anglers. Fortunately for those of us who enjoy the underwater world, she met her fate in waters accessible to established recreational limits and therefore we enjoy her today. The Cayman is almost 187 feet in length and lies upright in 93 feet of water at the rudder. The top of the deck is around 72 feet depending on reference to where you are in her length. As you approach the bow of the ship you will see a wheel that cable use to track on. Normally, there is a large green moray hanging around in this area waiting for a hand out. Please don't offer any food or "hand" outs. They have been accustomed to being fed and can become anxious and expect something to eat. It is better to leave their culinary requirements to mother nature. Also taking up somewhat permanent residence are a couple of famous Key West attractions called Jewfish. These large curious fish are part of the Grouper family. BIG GROUPERS! The ones here on the Cayman range in size from 100-200 pounds. The Jewfish use to be abundant here in the Keys and can grow as large as 700 pounds. They are protected now and you are prohibited from inviting them home to dinner. They are making a comeback. Overall, the Cayman is an excellent dive and very popular. It is considered an advanced dive because of its depth and occasional strong currents. Bottom times are limited to about 20 minutes or your diving computers recommendations.

The Experience: This was a funny dive.  When we reached the top of the wreck at about 70 feet we first saw, get this, a bicycle standing perfectly up straight.  It look ready for someone to take it for a ride.  We then proceeded along the outside of the ship and spotted a giant Green Moray Eel sticking out of a hole in the ship just below the deck.  The head on the eel was enormouse and I didn't really like being too close to it.  We continues to follow real close to the outside of the ship and came into a couple of really big schools of fish.  The most comical part of the dive was attempting to ascend back up the rope from the ship.  The jellyfish were all the way down to 60ft and each time we started up the rope we had to go back down to avoid the jellyfish. We didn't think we were ever gonna get back up!

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Nine Foot Stake (Reef Dive)

The remains of an old navigational marker, pieces of the wreckage lying near the reef underwater are so thickly encrusted as to be hard to spot unless you look carefully. The surrounding reef, at 15-30 geet abounds with reef creatures. Especially notable are very large supermale parrotfish.

The Experience: Tons of fish!  Immediately when we got in the water we saw some huge blue parrotfish!  I just watched a couple of them because I could believe the colors and the size of them. As we continues the dive we just saw more and more fish.  All different types and colors.  But the most interesting was all the Great Barricuda's that we saw.  We got really close to a few and as they hovered watching us they gave me the creeps.  They looked like they were guarding the corral entries and I made Amy turn back a couple of times.  Next was the coolest fish that we saw.  Amy spotted a 5-6ft nurse shark hiding part way under a corral ridge.  Initially we could see the body but not the head. As we got closer for a better view the shark spun around and we got a really good view. I also grabbed Amy and pointed to get out of there.