Dive Report: Jim Atria
Date: Saturday afternoon December 2, 2000
Boat: ReefCat

By: Mike Rodriguez

The Jim Atria was a Dutch freighter built in 1961. The ship is 277
feet long with a 34 foot beam.  Originally named the Poinciana, the
Jim Atria gained notoriety after capsizing and sinking in the Miami
River.  The vessel was raised, towed off shore and then sunk as an
artificial reef on September 23, 1987.  When the Jim Atria settled
to the bottom, she landed on her port side in 112 feet of water.
There she remained until hurricane Andrew in August of 1993. The
strength of this killer storm was such that it righted the vessel
and moved it off shore to 132 feet of water!  Today, some commercial
boats will not book the Jim Atria since it lies in 132 feet of
water... two feet more than the recreational limit.

Over a dozen divers (I lost count) were on the boat and ready to go
by early in the afternoon.  The ride to the site didn't take long,
and as we approached the site we found the current to be very
light to the south.  The seas were nearly flat with a light wind.
Water temperature was about 77F, and the air was around 78F.  I was
diving trimix 28/10/62 with 100% oxygen for decompression.  Most of
the people on the boat were recreational divers doing no-deco dives,
so the technical divers all kept their deco times brief so none
of the other divers would have to wait too long for us.

As the captain prepared for our drop, I geared up and stood ready
with a grapple hook in-hand.  We jumped in and were on the wreck
in seconds.  I hooked in near the deck and began exploring.  The
visibility was good at around 60 feet.  I noticed numerous small
tropical fish all around but no larger fish at all.  Swimming
toward the bow, I noticed a large ray pass by near the sand.  After
reaching the bow, I turned around, swam back and entered the
engine room.  I studied the engine and assorted gauges and valves
for a while, then I was joined by one of the other divers.  He
poked around a bit, then a thing-a-ma-jig on the floor caught
his attention and he pulled it up to take home.  All the movement
clobbered the viz, so I left to explore other areas of the ship.
I exited through a door, then out an opening near deck level and
into open water where I dropped to the sand and swam aft.  At
the stern, I swam under the rudder then back up to the deck.  I
stopped for a few minutes to enjoy a school of tiny colorful fish
swimming in unison.  One of the other technical divers signaled
to me that he was leaving and that I should pull the hook.  I
signaled that I understood and waived as he left.  I spent my
last few minutes watching the school of small fish, then swam the
length of the wreck to make sure everyone was gone.  I unhooked
us and fouled the grapple, then I followed the line up to complete
the brief decompression.

I was back on the boat a few minutes later shivering in the wind.
The air wasn't actually cold, but the wind chilled me I had
forgotten to bring a jacket.  I huddled behind a bulkhead out of
the wind anxiously waiting for us to reach the Captain Dan, our
second dive of the day, so I could get back in the warm water.
Despite being cold during the surface interval, I had a great
time enjoyed diving with all the new faces.