Dive Report: Ocean Freeze Date: Saturday Afternoon March 10, 2001 Boat: Dual Porpoise Captain: Steve Schalk By: Mike Rodriguez The Association of Underwater Explorers (AUE) core team had been trying to get a ride out to the Ocean Freeze for quite a while when one of the guys finally managed to set up a deal with a Key Largo boat operator to take us out there. The team of five drove south through rain and thunderstorms which ended near the upper Keys. We arrived to clear skies in Key Largo early in the afternoon and loaded the boat for the long (26 miles) ride out to the wreck site. The Ocean Freeze was a 297 foot long refrigerated freighter sunk as an artificial reef on July 28, 1998 just north of Pacific Reef southeast of Miami. The ship, originally owned by a Vietnamese company which went bankrupt, was bought at auction by a prominent local lawyer. After extensive financial maneuvering and run-ins with the Coast Guard, the lawyer donated the ship to be sunk in 250 feet of water for the reef program. The team finally arrived at the site around mid-afternoon. We made very good time to the site on the quick boat averaging 22 knots. The seas were about two feet with a few threes here and there. At the site we found beautiful blue water and a moderate southward surface current. The water temperature at the surface was 73F but we would find the water temperature around 68F on the bottom. It was a warm, somewhat cloudy day with air temperature around 80F. I dove trimix 16/47/37 with 50% and 100% oxygen for decompression. We rigged our tackle and when the captain had us over the wreck, we dropped our grapple on the wreck. It took a few tries, but we finally managed to snag some debris in the sand near the stern. The team quickly geared up and all five splashed in together. I was last on the line following the team down. The current on the bottom was light and the visibility was wonderful at close to 100 feet. The deep, clear water gave everything a beautiful blue glow. Before heading off to explore, I swam down to the hook and made sure it was secure, then I took off toward the bow. The ship is turtled, but due to the large wheelhouse near the stern and other superstructure near the bow, it's completely suspended off the sand. The deck is about 20 feet above the sea floor so divers can easily swim under the entire ship. It's a *really* cool sight to see the huge hull suspended up-side-down above the sand. I was studying the wreck looking for a good way into the wheelhouse when my buddy signaled me. He hadn't wasted any time digging in the sand for goodies; I swam over and he showed me what he'd found: a champaign bottle and one of the ship's running lights with the fresnel lens intact. I looked toward the bow and in the sand I saw the most surreal thing I've ever seen underwater: a picnic table sitting in the sand next to the ship and behind it one of the ship's tire-fenders hanging from a rope off the deck like a tire swing hanging off a tree. The picnic table in the sand and the tire swing behind it looked like a a park - nevermind that it was 250 feet underwater. The only thing missing was a few kids running around. I couldn't resist the urge to swim over to the picnic table and have a seat. The rest of the team followed my lead and had sat down with me. The fifth team member took pictures of the four of us sitting at the table as if we were discussing current events in a park on a nice day. It was very humorous. Then, as if the scene wasn't odd enough already, my buddy handed me some Mardi Gras beads he'd found hanging off the ship. Apparently, another team of local divers had recently visited the wreck and, knowing full-well we would soon be there, were kind enough to leave us these nice gifts. :) I put the beads around my neck and waved at the camera some more. After my buddy took a few pictures, I swam over to the tire-swing and sat in it, but I was disappointed when nobody would push me. :) I waved at the camera as my buddy snapped a few more pictures, then I took off toward the bow. I rounded the bow, then let the current drift me back toward the rudder. A small jewfish was there guarding the wreck. The ship's propeller is missing and the rudder is hard over to one side. On my tour around the wreck I noticed there were not many fish or other sealife, though there were a lot of bristle worms - yikes! The ship has only been down a few years, though, so it's not had time to develop a large ecosystem yet. I'm looking forward to returning in a few years to see the change as the ship becomes a living reef. I had a few minutes left, so I dropped to the sand by the hook and swam forward again, then into one of the holds through a hole in the side of the hull. My time ran out, and I dropped down out of the hold to the sand. I stopped for one last look up into the dark cargo hold and considered the enormous weight of the ship suspended above me, then I swam out to meet the rest of the team near the line. My buddy and I waited for everyone to start up the line and after a quick head-count, we pulled the hook and fouled it in a loop well above the sand. Decompression was uneventful though a little chilly and I was glad to get back on the boat to warm up. We made good time back to the dock as we discussed the dive on the Whistle Buoy (AKA Harris Freighter) scheduled for the following morning. After unloading the boat, I headed to a friend's place in Islamorada to cook the lobsters I'd caught the previous weekend diving off West Palm Beach and prepare for the dive the next day. What a blast; I love living in Florida!