Reef Report
Saturday, May 1
Key Largo, Island Ventures
Winds were 5- 7 knots, seas 1-2 feet.
Air temperature 80 degrees Fahrenheit, partly cloudy, beautiful day. 12 divers were on board Island
Ventures. Boat crew consisted of Captain Mike and first mate/divemaster Carry. Divemaster was very helpful
and professional. A great first boat dive of the season!
1st Dive: City of Washington –
Visibility 50+ feet, current minimal, water temperature 80 degrees. The SteamShip City of Washington (SS
City of Washington) was launched August 31, 1877 and was an iron hulled steamer used for passenger and cargo between
New York, Cuba, and Mexico. During the Spanish-American war she also carried troops. After the war she
returned to her passenger and cargo duties until 1908. A few years later refitted as a coal barge, she ran
aground on Elbow reef where she broke up and rests today. Spotted: Whitespotted triggerfish, large schools
of schoolmaster snapper, yellowtail snapper, blue chromis, rock beauty pair, glasseye snapper, harlequin bass,
assorted parrotfish, and other small reef fish. Several cleaning stations had wrasses cleaning parrotfish
actively. Also spotted were several rare flamingo tongue snails on sea fans and soft coral.
2nd Dive: Hannah M. Bell – Visibility 50
feet +, current minimal, water temperature 80 degrees. Built in 1893, the 315-foot ship grounded six miles
off Key Largo on April 11, 1911. In the 1980’s, Mike Butler, a dive operator, popularized the wreck earning it the
nickname Mike’s wreck. Scattered wreckage and spur and groove coral formations. 200-year-old canon revealed
by a hurricane a couple of years ago. Spotted: A nice stand of healthy elkhorn coral on top of the first
ledge, green sea turtle, moray eel, lettuce nudibranchs, nice sized black grouper, and the usual variety of snappers,
grunts, and reef fish. Several divers met at Tower of Pizza in Key Largo after the dive for a good meal,
fellowship, and debriefing.
-- Active Divers SO Mark Silverman |
