Dive Report: Clinton - Sunday 8/22/99

The trip was scheduled to leave the dock at 1:30pm.  We arrived
at 1pm to a heavy rain with lightning and thunder coming out of
the east.  There was talk of cancelling the dive, but the Florida
weather was true to form, and by 1:30pm, the rain stopped,
and the sky opened up a bit.  It wasn't exactly sunny, but it
was bright and the seas were fairly calm with long-period waves
running mostly two feet.

When we reached the site we found the surface current running
to the north at about 3/4 knot with the wind out of the east
and the waves from the south; strange mix of conditions.  The
plan was for the divemaster, Nick, to tie-in the float-line.
Nick got within sight of the wreck, but was unable to swim the
line against the current to tie-in.

I volunteered to try next.  We added some scope to the float-line
and Bob set me up.  I headed down at about 70 FPM.  When I got
down to about 130 feet, I could make out the vague, dark outline
of the wreck, but was way too far to swim the line against the
surface current even though there was no bottom current at all.
I headed up, did my 'Plan-B' deco and got on the boat.  Somehow,
the shackle on the end of the chain was lost during this attempt
and we had to switch to a grapple-hook.

I breathed O2 for 10 minutes as called for in my contingency deco
plan and Bob set me up again.

At about 100 feet, I could make out the wreck.  Although there
still was no bottom current, the surface current was pulling
against the line, and I knew that if I didn't get down immediately,
I'd miss again.  I pointed straight down and with no air in my
wings, my arms pulled in tight to reduce drag, a fairly vigorous
kick, plus the weight of the grapple hook I decended *very*
quickly... at least 90 feet per minute.  I managed to just snag
some debris near the sand (167 feet) at the stern of the wreck.
I sat there in the sand for a minute or so to dump CO2, then I
wrapped the line once around a piece of steel sticking out (I
wanted to make sure the line wasn't going anywhere) and started
exploring.

The line was taught against the surface current, but interestingly,
there was still no bottom current at all.  I was able to easily
swim the length of the wreck several times.  The viz was about 60
feet and the water was cool (around 75F) at the bottom with hot water
(around 87F) near the surface.  The thermocline boundary was at about
130 feet; it wasn't very sharp, but there was some shimmering at
the cold-hot interface.

The Clinton is not a big ship (maybe 150 feet long), but it is an
interesting one.  It has a crows-nest at the stern and a large
crain-like structure in the middle.  There is no propeller or rudder
and the hull is a strange catamaran-like design.  The middle of
the ship is a single hull, but it splits at the bow and stern into two
hulls.  The stern has two big rings on each of the hulls that might
have held rudders at one time.  The middle of the wreck has several
holds and the sides splay out almost flat like a barge.  There
are a few openings to penetrate and the inside of the wreck is dark
and spooky with several corridors and rooms.  It's very interesting
inside, but if you enter, take a guidline, light, and have cave
training first.  The wheelhouse is large and has some interesting
growth on it; it makes for a fun swim-through.  I didn't see many
big fish during the dive, but there was a large school of smaller fish
swimming near the wheelhouse.  The current had picked up by this time,
and I had a few more minutes available, so I grabbed on to a handly
ladder and hung out relaxing in the current for a while with a smile
on my face as the school of fish weaved around me.  It beat the hell
out of watching fish in an aquarium!

Eventually, my abbreviated (due to my first missed attempt) bottom
time was almost over.  I headed back toward the float-line
and met the other divers as they arrived on the wreck.  By this
time, the current was up around 3/4 knot and getting stronger; it's
scary how quickly conditions in the ocean can change!

During my 20-foot stop, I saw two divers with what looked like
recreational dive gear below me.  They were strugling to get to
the float-line against the current.  Swimming virgoursly, they
were barely holding position and decending below me.  As they
got deeper, the slope of the down-line took it further and further
away from them.  I was concerned because I didn't know who they
were or if they knew how deep the water they were in was, but
there was nothing I could do, so I watched as they decended with
no hope of reaching the float-line.  I started to lose sight of
them and I turned on my dive light and pointed it at them.
I knew that by this time, they would be out-of-sight of the line
and certainly couldn't see the wreck either, and I hoped that
if they looked up, they might see my light and use it as a
point of reference.  I never saw them again; later found
out that they were dropped by a private fishing boat and
apparently they made it back OK.

Averyone in our group made it back without trouble and everyone
had a great time.  This wreck is really a pleasure to dive and
is a nice change-of-pace from the other more popular local
wrecks.