|
Dive Report: Baja California
Date: Sunday morning September 9, 2001
Boat: Gulf Business
Captain: Jeff Hunter
By: Mike Rodriguez
Eight of the guys made numerous dives on the Rhein, Araby Maid, U-2315, and the
Oil Wreck over the last couple of days. This dive on the Baja California was to be the
final dive of the Association of Underwater Explorers (AUE) fourth Tortugas Tour.
The Baja California was a freighter built in 1914 in England. The ship was 266 feet
long with a 38 foot beam. During WWII, it was en-route from New Orleans to Key
West when it was sunk by U-84 which probably also sank the nearby Oil Wreck. The
ship landed in the sand in 115 feet of water. It was carrying a cargo of assorted
household items like mirrors, hair combs, inkwells, various bottles and silverware, and,
it's rumored, a large cache of morphine ampules.
The Baja California is a popular wreck for open water divers out of the Ft. Myers and
Naples area. Since it's frequently visited, a permanent sub-surface buoy has been
attached to the wreck about 15 feet down for easy mooring. To secure a mooring,
though, it's necessary for someone to take a line down and thread it through a loop just
beneath the buoy. Somehow, I was volunteered, so with a snorkel borrowed
from one of the other divers, I suited up and jumped in, then swam down and threaded a line
through the buoy. The captain attached the line to the boat and the second boat tied up
behind us. Then I got aboard and geared up and jumped back in for the dive.
I followed the line down past the submerged buoy and reached the wreck near the
stern there a group of about 20 jewfish of various sizes were hovering around near a
wheelhouse-like structure. All around the jewfish were thousands and thousands of tiny
fish swarming in unison. I was so amazed by the beautiful sight, that rather than explore
the ship, I dropped into the cloud of fish and relaxed to slow my breathing which was
disturbing the fish. It was an astonishing spectacle to be engulfed by so many tiny fish
that it actually became too dark to see. As i relaxed, my breathing slowed to about
once every 90 seconds or so and the jewfish began to accept my presence and get
closer. At one point, one of them brushed up against my face while another rested on
top of my head... through the cloud of tiny fish i was sometimes surprised
to see part of the wreck moving only to realize it was just another jewfish swimming inches from my
face. At one point, I had nine of them within a foot or two of me, some settling down
to rest right on top of my arms and legs. I breathed when i had to but exhaled slowly
to avoid disturbing them. One big jewfish passed by a few feet away and
I saw it had a small tag attached near the dorsal fin. The number on the tag was 2215.
I spent about 40 minutes sitting there in bliss, then i finally, reluctantly, had to leave. I
gently nudged all the jewfish off my head, arms, and legs, then slowly moved up and
out of the structure of the ship and joined my buddies who were returning from various
directions to start up for deco.
As we ascended, one of the jewfish got hungry and began gulping down the tiny fish
that surrounded it. Each time, it would open its mouth with a loud thump and several of
the tiny fish vanished into its maw. The school of tiny fish weaved and swarmed, then
settled back around the jewfish only to be eaten again. The view of the hungry jewfish
and dozens of others swimming just above a cloud of low visibility that hangs over the
sand near the ship was surreal, and indescribably beautiful. I could have stayed there
forever...
Copyright
© 2001 Mike Rodriguez. All rights reserved. |