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Adolphus Bush Wreck - Looe Key
Thursday, January 10, 1999
What a great wreck! We took a tiny Rubber Ducky with an outboard out on Saturday, but
about half way there, we realized that we wouldn't make it back by dark, so we
aborted the dive. We spent the night at the Key West Navy base and tried again
today. A front came through during the night and it rained all night and part of the day.
The trip out was rough and rainy much of the time. When we got to the wreck, we
could see no hint of land at all. It was obscured by the heavy rain all
around. It was an eerie feeling to be on the ocean in a tiny boat with no sight of land or any other
vessels in any direction. The ocean at the start of the dive was running about 3 feet.
The vis on the way down and on the wreck was only about 30 feet, but the dive was
really nice. All access to the internals of the ship were blocked by bars welded onto
the wreck before it was sunk, however, we found an open gate that should have been
locked when the ship was prepped for sinking. It let us into the engine room and
the bowels of the ship. I don't know how or why that gate was open, but it gave us a real
treat. We explored all over the inside of the engine room.
After the dive we did a long safety stop and by the time we got back on the boat, the
ocean was running up to three feet, it was raining, cold, and the wind was howling. We
had to go way out of our way to avoid hitting the waves head-on and it took over an
hour to get back.
The dive was really great, but would be mediocre if not for the easy access to the
engine room. I imagine next time I visit this wreck, the engine room will have been be
closed off, but I hope not.
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© 2001 Mike Rodriguez. All rights reserved. |