The Keys may never be the same again.  Beginning sometime around Wednesday,
several of the rec.scuba regulars began their journey toward Key Largo.
I've heard stories about what went on before I arrived and, judging from the
condition of Limey Dave (out like a light) Popeye (awake, but hurt badly
enough to swear of serious partying for the duration of the trip), they must
have been true.

I got to Key Largo around 4:00 PM on Friday.  Dave and Popeye returned from
Marathon (lord only knows why they were in Marathon) shortly thereafter.
After an excellent dinner at Ganim's Steak and Rib restaurant (Dave hardly
tasted his), we headed back to the motel for some rest and, in their case,
recuperation, before our busy next day.

Up at the crack of . . . well, sometime Saturday AM, we headed out for some
breakfast.  Dave was mostly recovered and Popeye was back to his usual
gregarious self.  Fortified for the events to come, we then set out to
ensure adequate gas, equipment, etc. for the afternoon dives on the Spiegle
Grove.  Like the last time, we chose Silent World Dive Shop for our
transportation.  Rick and his wife Janet are salt of the earth kind of
people who run a nice, efficient and clean dive shop near the north end of
Key largo.  In addition to being a very nice person, Janet is easy on the
eyes.  If she, and I, weren't married . . . ah hell, she still would be too
good for me.  Their boat is well designed and maintained and their crew is
both skilled and experienced.  They were unobtrusive when they should have
been, but right there to help when help was needed.  More about that, in a
minute.

With everything we needed arranged, or so I thought, all that remained was
to hook up with Curtis and head for the boat.  We were successful at both.

We set up most equipment on the way to the dive site.  That's when I found
that none of my half dozen pairs of gloves were in the dive bag I brought.
No problem.  Popeye loaned me a pair.  At the site, I turned on my gas only
to have one of the O rings inside my contents gauge give up on the spot.
This was a bit more of a hassle and is also where our mate, AJ, came to the
rescue.  With borrowed gloves and a borrowed console, I was still one of the
first in the water.

The water was in the upper 80s and visibility was probably about the same.
We were tied off to the stern of the ship which lies at about 100 feet.  The
bottom lies at about 130.  The ship, or about half of it, began to be
visible at about 15 feet.  From there, things just got better and better.
There's no way to describe the quality of this dive except to say it was
every bit as spectacular as I had hoped.  I was disappointed when we dove
the ship on its side.  Frankly, it just didn't impress me at all.  Let me
tell you, that was not the case now that hurricane Dennis turned it right
side up.  The ship is impressive from a distance and interesting up close
and personal.  It's in great shape and offers all kinds of opportunities for
all levels of divers.  Just exploring the outside of the ship fully would
require half a dozen dives.  There are enough swim-throughs (light visible
at all times) to keep the more adventurous busy for a half dozen more.
Deeper penetration, which is beyond my interest, could keep the most
experienced wreck diver coming back for years. We spent about 30 minutes on
the wreck, maxing out at 130 feet, but spending most of our time in the 90
to 100 foot range and about 15 minutes making our way slowly back to the
surface.  We covered the well deck up to the superstructure.  On the second
dive, we tied off to the bow and, more or less, repeated our profiles, this
time covering the bow back to the front of the superstructure.  By covered,
of course, I mean we saw most of it and closely explored a very small
portion of it.

I seemed to be having a bit of a struggle with my buoyancy.  Eventually, the
problem became evident.  My low pressure inflator was leaking into my wing.
Once identified, it was not a big problem, but it was annoying for a while.
On trip home, it was kind of fun to watch my wing inflate itself.  So much
for my maintenance routine.  Lesson learned.  Both the gauge and inflator
had gone without service since I bought them, around 1999, I think.

On the trip back to shore we got to know Daniel and Carmen, a brother and
sister dive team.  He's from New Jersey and she's from somewhere else.  I'm
a married man.  I don't ask too many questions about single women.

Back at Silent World, Janet took about 2 minutes to identify the problem
with my depth gauge and about 30 seconds to fix it.  Most impressive
service.  She doesn't work on Halcyon products (hey, they're supposed to be
robust, no?), so, once again, I had to rely on Popeye.  He had a spare valve
end in his amazing bag full of dive stuff.  A few minutes later, all my
equipment problems were resolved.

Daniel and Carmen joined us for another great dinner at Ganims.  It was
Karaoke night, something I strongly recommend against.  On the other hand
the food was excellent . . . again.

Sometime around 10:00 PM, we headed back to the motel for more recuperation
for the dives we planned for Sunday.  Dave headed home to his lovely wife.

Sunday AM, we dropped in to the ship to pick up Popeye's tanks (Curtis, Dave
and I took our own) and headed to the boat.  Another dive on the Spiegle
Grove, this time hooked amidships.  We formed a 3 man dive team for this
dive and covered all of the ship we hadn't seen in the previous two dives.
Another spectacular dive in paradise.

Popeye headed up first and Curtis and I followed a bit later.  It was a very
good thing he left . . . for one of our fellow divers.  Just after Popeye
boarded the boat, a diver in distress appeared at the ladder.  He had almost
no control of his arms or legs and required assistance to get into the boat.
He was not a small person.  If it had been me helping, he's still be in the
water.  Popeye, true to his name, put his spinach to work and got the guy
aboard where his wife, a paramedic, and a dive instructor/former paramedic,
took over his care.

Curtis and I were the last two aboard.  When we boarded, all lines were
pulled in, the mooring was released and we headed to shore with all possible
speed.  There aren't many times it's OK to cut one of my dive trips short,
but this was certainly one of them.  Nobody, from beginner to most advanced,
even questioned the need.  Our injured diver was in serious condition.  The
oxygen helped.  On the way in, he partially recovered.  Nevertheless, he was
still in pretty serious condition when we reached to dock.  The EMTs were
waiting for us at the dock.  Popeye, Curtis and I helped get the victim on
the stretcher and onto the dock for transportation to the hospital.  We
later heard that he was not bent, but had, instead, had an embolism due to
an existing heart problem.  Curtis's guess was arterial gas embolism due to
a PFO.  He might be right.  Personally, I suspect he stayed too deep, for
two long and did no deco to mitigate it.  We later got word that he was in
the chamber and was expected to be OK.  I suspect he'll take more than one
chamber ride.  I'm sure he's very lucky to be alive.

Rick offered those who were on the first trip, a free second trip to make up
for the missed dive.  That's the kind of consideration I associate with good
shops and earned quite a few points for Silent World in my book.  Curtis,
Daniel, Carmen and I took him up on the offer.  Popeye declined, taking the
time to get his equipment rinsed, dried and sorted for his trip back to
Miami and to work.  Frankly, I kind of wish I'd declined too.  The first
dive was on a sparse section of reef without much color or particularly
interesting life.  The max depth was 21 feet and I averaged 12.  I darned
near went to sleep.  The second dive, on North North Dry Rocks, was also
shallow, but better.  It maxed at about 30 feet, but had a lot of high
relief.  It was nice, but not something I would travel a couple hundred
miles to dive.

When all was said and done, we headed back, cleaned up ourselves and
equipment and said our goodbyes.

Jayna loves Key Lime Pound Cake from Islamorada Bakery.  Not knowing
anything was amiss, I headed 20 miles further south to get her one.  On the
way, I learned that the Keys were under a tropical storm warning, soon to be
upgraded to a hurricane warning.  Rita was on the way.  Going south was not
problem, but the traffic picked up on the way back north thanks to a
voluntary tourist evacuation recommendation.

Around 8:00 PM, I got home, a bit tired, very happy I made the trip and
almost as happy to be back home.

So, here are a few things worth knowing about the trip:
1. Silent World just earned a spot on my very short "Shops I Recommend"
list.  Their shop, their personnel and their consideration for their
customers combined to put them on the list of operators I'll go out of my
way to use again and that I will recommend to others.  They did OK the first
time we used them.  They did very well this time.  Thanks to Rick and Janet.
2. Ganim's restaurants are all excellent.  Breakfast, lunch or dinner,
they're a good choice.
3. Gloria Teague, the former owner of Lady Cyana Divers, is now in the
restaurant business.  Along with Bob Spencer, she owns the Islamorada
Bakery/Bob's Buns.  The restaurant is outstanding for Breakfast and Bob is a
master baker.  I drive 40 miles round trip, in the face of a tropical storm
warning and evacuation, to bring Jayna some of their Key Lime Pound Cake.
Incidentally, I ordered the cake from Gloria the night before . . . while
she was eating dinner someplace else.  She set it aside and even offered to
bring it home to Key Largo, where she lives, when she left work.  That's
service above and beyond.  All she asked in return is that I bring the crowd
back for breakfast sometime.  I'll certainly try.  If you happen to make it
down there, stop in and feel free to tell her I sent you.
4. The Spiegle Grove is worth the trip.  Enough said.
5. The next time I figure it's only a few dives in the Keys, I'll bring my
spare regulator anyway.  I'll also improve my care and maintenance
procedures to try to ensure I don't need that spare.
6. Dave, Popeye and Curtis are the kind of dive buddies I like to share dive
trips with.  I also enjoy partying with them . . . when they last long
enough for me to get to the party.

Lee