Ever wanted to deploy your very own private artificial reef?  If you live in Alabama, all you need is a $25 license and the services of David Walter, The Reefmaker.  Walter has been creating and deploying artificial reefs for personal use (primarily for fishermen) since 1986.  His structures have been widely deployed along the coast of Alabama and in many parts of Florida.  Many of his customers are charter fishing boat captains and local community groups, which buy and deploy specially designed reefs to attract fish and promote fishing enterprises. 

Interested in diving these artificial reefs?  Good luck.  As you might imagine, GPS coordinates are closely guarded secrets.  Clients often invest big money to buy and deploy their private reefs.  But you can get your own reef for less than you might think, usually for under $1,000.

Private reefing is illegal throughout much of the United States.  Public artificial reefs are created directly by State and County departments. Alabama and Florida are two exceptions: They both have designated limited areas where private groups and individuals can deploy their own reefs. However, once the reefs are in the water, they become public property.  But the knowledge of where the reefs are located allows their "owners" to enjoy the reefs exclusively for as long as their locations remain secret.   Walter has extensive procedures in place to make sure your secret is safe.

Interesting side note: This past March, while diving the DEMA Trader off Key Biscayne, I noticed an "odd" triangular structure on the stern of the wreck (pictured above).  When I came across David Walter's site this past week, I immediately recognized the same familiar structure and realized that the object on the DEMA was his handy work.  Dive the DEMA and check it out.

Katrina made an unexpected turn south after making landfall last Thursday night and caught us all off guard. That B*tch! The DiveSpots.com office, located in South Miami, took a hard hit. We lost power around 9:15 pm on Thursday and, as I write this today on Saturday around 4:00 pm from a remote location, we?re still without power. It?s been a rough couple of days, but we are fortunate for three things: 1) Most importantly, we?re all safe. 2) The marina where we keep the dive boat did really well. Our Grady-White weathered the storm unscathed. What a great ship! Unfortunately, several neighboring boats did not do as well, completly sinking in their slips. 3) The DiveSpots.com Web servers are located in a fortified data center in the Midwest and we had no interruption of service.

If you're into treasure hunting, diving the sunken galleons after a hurricane could turn up rare coins and other treasures. The storms often move large amounts of sand and sediment, sometimes revealing ships' bounties.  Get out there!  Me? I just want some A/C, a hot shower, and some ice! 

One of the coolest things to come out of Google Labs recently is the Google Earth project.  If you haven't seen this, do yourself a favor and check it out.  Google Earth, formerly known as "Keyhole", is a desktop application that combines satellite imagery, maps, and the power of Google Search.  With it, you can enter just about any address or GPS position and "fly in" to that location.  You can zoom, tilt, rotate, get driving directions, e-mail, print and so much more.

Google has recently posted a virtual tour page on their site, highlighting some of the more interesting spots around the globe.  Other Websites have done the same, making it possible to tour the Earth without ever leaving the comfort of your keyboard and mouse!  Jetlag be gone!  In many cases, the resolution is truly spectacular! 

As you've probably noticed, we recently licensed and incorporated this awesome Google Mapping technology directly into our own site.  Now members can access satellite images of their favorite dive spots with a single click. 

After seeing some of the other virtual tour sites, we decided to take a good look at some of the dive spots on our own site -- close-up -- to see if we could spot anything interesting.  What we found was pretty cool!  Here?s one: Carysfort Lighthouse in Key Largo, Florida.  Click on the Map button, switch to Satellite mode, and then zoom all the way in.  You can actually see the lighthouse on the satellite image!  We'll be posting other interesting sites periodically.  Let us know if you find others -- happy hunting!

Remember Flipper?  The series ran for just three years, from 1964 - 1966 for a total of 88 episodes.  Flipper was one of my all-time favorite shows as a kid growing up in South Florida.  No, I?m not that old --  I saw the show in syndication years later, thank you.  Man, I remember wanting to be just like Sandy Ricks (Luke Halpin).  He had it made.  In the TV series, Sandy lived in a fictitious Florida nature preserve called Coral Key Park, and he swam all day in the clear blue ocean and snorkeled (and occasionally dove) with his bud Flipper.  How cool is that? 

So recently I decided to see if I could get the series on DVD to relive it all again.  But alas, after a few Google searches I discovered that the TV Series has not (yet?) made it to DVD.  I did however find that the original movie that kicked off the TV series has, and I quickly added it to the top of my Netflix queue. 

The movie arrived today.  Remember the simple round diving face masks?  And swimming with cut-offs?  The one diving scene in the movie was classic -- no weight belt, no BCD, and no wetsuit or skin.  Now that's diving! 

The underwater scenes were pretty good, although I laughed when I noticed that some were obviously filmed in California, while others were filmed in Florida.  There's a pretty ridiculous scene where Sandy is being chased by sharks, and Flipper saves him by darting into the sharks nose first.  I say ridiculous because Sandy somehow manages to hold his own for a short period by seemingly out-swimming the sharks!  And the shots of Flipper barreling into the sharks seem odd.  The sharks look drugged or fake. 

A great movie nonetheless!  Rent it.

Footnote: Mitzie, the Atlantic bottlenose that played Flipper in the movie, died in 1972.  Bebe ("B-B"), a dolphin that played Flipper in the TV series, died at the Miami Seaquarium in 1997.  She was 40 years old.  Most bottlenose live an average of 30 to 35 years.

My weekend began with a phone call on Saturday morning inviting me along on a dive trip planned for the next day. In my book, that's always a great way to start any weekend! The plan was to meet Sunday morning at 11:00a at the marina, then dive two (possibly three) of the more interesting dive spots in Ft. Lauderdale. So I downloaded my favorite Ft. Lauderdale dive spots from DiveSpots.com (of course) to my hand-held GPS and packed my gear for the trip.

We met at the marina as planned, and by noon we were anchored over the Mercedes wreck, our first planned dive of the day. We all geared up and my three dive buddies quickly made their way into the water and over to the anchor line. That's when it happened. As I opened my air valve, I heard the awful sound of air rapidly escaping from somewhere on my first stage. It didn't take long to figure out that the o-ring on the hose leading to my pressure gauge popped. I didn't have a spare (idiot!) and I had no repair tools handy (idiot!), so I told the group to go on down without me and tossed my camera to David so he could snap some photos of the wreck.  I sat on the boat and rolled and pitched in the 4-foot swells.

They came up a while later going on about how cool the wreck was, about the huge grouper they saw, and about the awesome amount of marine life.  Meanwhile I'm trying not to toss my cookies.  Ugh!  But it's all good -- Mike found me a wrench and I went to work on the reg.  I got it fixed -- that made me happy. 

So we moved on to check out the Copenhagen, a nearby shallow wreck in just 30 feet of water.  I decided to free-dive, took a few pics, snorkeled, and waited patiently while my dive buddies got some surface time after their last deep dive. 

Soon we were on our way to Spotfin, a drop-off in about 50 feet of water a couple of miles south.  This spot is known for it's beautiful ledges and larger fish (check out the fish David bagged).  We anchored, I carefully opened my air valve, and ... pop!  I worked on it a little more and tried a couple of o-rings Mike had on board.  I finally got it working and decided to give it a try.  But I was in the water maybe 30 seconds when I decided to abort.  The visibility was horrible and my left brain won out on a heated argument with my right brain.  It made no sense to risk a problem at depth given the poor visibility.  It just wasn't worth it.

But hey, it's a day on the water, we got some good photos, and we confirmed the GPS coordinates.  Still a good day!

Did you catch the program on Nightline the other night about Dave Shaw, a diver who attempted to recover the body of another diver from the bottom of Bushman's Hole? 

This is a both amazing and horrible story of an ambitious dive to one of the world's deepest, most dangerous underwater caves.  Bushman's Hole is the third deepest freshwater cave known to man, with a depth of over 900 feet!  To reach that depth takes about 10 minutes but requires over 10 hours to return to the surface.

Read the complete story here!

Florida's annual lobster mini-season is almost here! The two-day mini-season, which falls each year on the last consecutive Wednesday and Thursday in July, gives sport divers a chance to catch spiny lobsters before the eight-month commercial season begins Aug. 6th. 

This year, mini season will be July 27 and July 28.  The Regular Season runs August 6th through March 31st.  As always, a fishing license AND crawfish permit are required! Divers take note: The regulations have changed for 2005!  Here are a few rules to keep in mind:

• The bag limits are 6 per person per day for Monroe County and Biscayne National Park, and 12 per person per day for the rest of Florida.
• Spiny lobster has a minimum size limit that must be larger than 3" carapace, measured in the water.
• Possession and use of a measuring device is required at all times.
• Night diving is prohibited in Monroe County during the sport season.
• A recreational saltwater license and a crawfish permit are needed for harvest.

Remember that lobsters may only be taken using hands, hand-held nets, bully nets, or other means which permit the lobsters to be released unharmed if not of legal size.  The taking of lobsters is prohibited at any time of the year in the Biscayne Bay-Card Sound Lobster Sanctuary.

For complete and current regulations, visit the Fish & Wildlife Commission website.

Now the important question: Anyone willing to post GPS coordinates for their favorite lobster spot?  Good luck and don't forget your diver down flag!

We've added online maps with satellite images to DiveSpots.com!  Now you can pinpoint dive spots on either a graphic chart or on a satellite image.  Additionally, you can chart an entire destination to see where all the dive spots are in one view.  Charts can be generated for individual dive spots, for an entire destination, and for dive trips that you plan online using DiveSpots.com.

Using the maps function is easy.  When you view a map, you'll have controls on the top left for zooming in and out, and for panning left and right, and up and down.  Additionally, you can simply click on the map and drag it in any direction you want to move.  To switch between Graphic and Satellite mode, simply click the buttons on the top right labeled "Map" and "Satellite".  Dive spots will be marked with a red marker as shown in the picture here.  You can click on any marker to view the details for that spot.

To view a map, simply click the "Get Map" button on the graphic of the GPS device that appears on the main page for each dive spot.  To see a map for an entire destination, go to that destination (e.g., Miami), select the "View All" tab, then select the "Show Map" link that appears on the top right.

Let us know what you think.  Ideas for improvements are always welcome!

The mooring buoys from the Spiegel Grove artificial reef were removed Tuesday and Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary officials called for a voluntary closure of the wreck.  The closure of the site is a safety precaution while officials complete an assessment of the ship's stability and its general condition.   Mooring buoys will be re-installed once the assessment is completed and the wreck is determined to be safe.

In related news, divers have reported that another intentionally sunk ship -- the Adolphus Busch -- was also moved by Hurricane Dennis.  The ship has listed to starboard by 5 to 10 degrees, exposing the entire keel and the propeller.  Divers report that the ship's starboard bow anchor broke and the starboard stern anchor is very taut, indicating strong seas from the southeast.

There are reports today of what can only be called a SCUBA miracle! Several credible sources are reporting that the Spiegel Grove, after years of resting on its right side, is now keel-up!  I need confirmation, folks!  Someone get out there and get me some pictures.

Wow, what kind of forces must have been at play for that to happen? Dennis was hundreds of miles away off the opposite coast of Florida.  And yet the seas were reported to be over 20 feet over the Spiegel.

You're 20 miles south of Key West on a sailboat. There's a Category 4 Hurricane closing in fast. You're having engine trouble. A Coast Guard C-130 happens to spot you and offers assistance.  What would you do?  "Hell yeah, I need help!", I'd reply in my VHF.  But maybe that's just me. 

Here's a report about a guy who turned down the offer and decided to ride out the storm.  The report does not give a LOA for the sailboat, but to me, any boat is too small to ride out a storm like that!  Seas were reported at 20+ feet!  Not surprisingly, the boat sank and the guy ended up in the drink.  Fortunately for him, he made it ashore alive.  So here's my thought: the guy was either hoping to avoid a tow bill, or he was hiding something.  The whole story seems fishy to me, especially the part about swiming for 10 hours to reach shore.

Check out the Coast Guard Press Release.

Because of the threat from Hurricane Dennis, organizers of the Lower Keys annual Underwater Music Festival postponed the underwater concert one week to Saturday, July 16th. Staged by Keys radio station WCNK 98.7 Conch FM, the eccentric concert is scheduled for 10 am to 4 pm. Marine melodies are to range from the Beatles' "Yellow Submarine" to Jimmy Buffett's "Fins" and other water-themed selections. Music will be broadcast underwater via Lubell Laboratory speakers suspended beneath boats positioned over the reef.

Past events have included appearances by a troupe of snorkeling Elvis look-alikes playing underwater guitar, a long-haired mermaid with a harp, a submerged symphony and a trio of divas of the deep. The 21st edition of the event is to feature the concept of "Aquaculture: Music and Art in the Key of Sea", where divers and snorkelers listen to music as they explore an undersea art gallery.

In addition, an underwater exhibition is to showcase approximately 20 pieces of "new wave" art created by Lower Keys artist Barbara Hettinger and her cohorts at Artists in Paradise Gallery on Big Pine Key.

It appears that Dennis is going to make a close pass just off the west coast of Florida, then slam into the Panhandle or Louisiana this coming weekend. Damn, you'd think we'd get a break after last year's pummeling by Charley, Frances, Ivan, & Jeanne. After Andrew, most people in Miami take Hurricane warnings pretty seriously. Last year, we took the DiveSpots.com boat out of the water 2 of the 3 times Miami was "in the cone of death". But after two iterations of hauling the boat out (and boarding up the houses), the third threat we just kinda ignored. Dumb I know, but we got lucky. For us, it's a huge hassle hauling out the boat because 1) it's a catamaran (which means you need a special trailer), 2) it has very high gunwales, and 3) it exceeds the trailer weight limitations of most SUVs. And then once you pull it out, where do you put it? Is having it ashore really any safer than securing it at the slip?

According to a post on boats.com, if you're going to leave your boat in the water, anchoring is about your worst option. Anchors will not hold on soft bottoms. One report estimates that the survival rate of boats at anchor is 5 to 10 percent. Your next best option might be to secure it at the marina, but keep in mind that even a secure marina may not be the most hospitable location during a hurricane. Despite your best planning efforts, your neighbor may not have been so diligent in his. Loose boats in a marina wreak havoc.

If you have the option, taking it out of the water might be the way to go. A study conducted by MIT after Hurricane Gloria (1985) found that boats stored ashore were far more likely to survive than boats on the water. The simplest and most obvious solution if your boat is on a trailer is to drive it far enough out of the path of the hurricane. Your second best bet is to park your boat inside a garage that is strong enough to weather the storm.

Here are a few good articles on the subject:

• BoatUS
• Marine Survey
• Boat Safe