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Home :: USA : Florida :: The Florida Keys :: Marathon :: Dive Sites :: Thunderbolt

Thunderbolt

Novice Divers Intermediate Divers Advanced Divers   Overall Total Reviews: 1   6   8   15   Average Rating: 3.0   4.0   3.8   3.6   This spot is considered Intermediate.

Reviewed By: ematheus		June 26, 2008
Great wreck dive! Dove the Thunderbolt twice last week. Finding the mooring bouys is not too bad if you have the GPS coordinates. The bouys are white and reflect well. Depending on current they are 15 to 25 foot deep. They are easy to reach with mask and finns. On top of the bouys is a large eye through which you feed your mooring line. Decending to the Thunderbolt on the bow line reveales the large cable wheel first. Once on the wheel platform, divers can make their way to the super structure which is wide open and allows for easy penetration. On the way there is a big cut out in the deck wich will lead into a cargo area. Once you pass the tower, you can dive into the engine room, which was cut wide open. The opening is about 30 by 60 foot. Twoards the stern of the boat the decking is still in place and this is also a nice overhead environment. Besides the wreck itself, which can be done in one dive, there is lots of wildlife to see. Goliath Grooper, Tarpon, Jacks, huge Moray Eal in the engine room on the right hand side when diving into the rear overhead area. The dive is between 75' and 125'. The bottom of the engine room is 120', the bottom at the sern where you can see the props is 125'. It's a great dive if you use NITROX - 30% to 32% is perfect. :-) Ernst

Reviewed By: seahunt215		June 25, 2008
Once tied up great dive Mooring buoys are attached to the bow and stern of the Thunderbolt however they are 10-20 feet beneath surface depending on current. So if your not diving with a company be prepared to dive down to tie off. Super structure visible at 80 ft with jacks, grouper, tarpon and jewfish. Vis was prob 60 ft, great dive!

Reviewed By: bobbydive08		March 22, 2008
Awesome First Dive First dive since check-out. Hired instructor as buddy. Took about 20 min just to find the buoy. Low viz so not much to see that day but quite a rush being at 100' for my 1st dive. Saw large amberjack, smaller fish. Other couple saw goliath grouper.

Reviewed By: LandoCalarusso		December 20, 2007
Sometimes its tough to find.... The coordinates are listed for the public, but go to a local dive shop. We would just get near it and send one of us over freediving around till you could see the buoys then tie in. 50' vis you should be able to see them... if you tie a jug, it interferes with shipping lanes to that area, has nothing to do with control, except for fisherman that would tie in and leave you floatin

Reviewed By: chriskimer		September 11, 2007
Help! GPS Coordinates? Searched for 2 hours over labor Day weekend and could not find the site. Viz was 50+. 3 other boats showed up on the same coordinates and we formed a skirmish line. 2 of the boats had Depth Sounders and 2 boats were "locals" and none of us could find it. The coordinates as listed here are the same on the "hot spot" maps. Please help! I do not know why someone does not tie a line attached to a milk jug or someother locator to the yellow barrel that is supposed to be there? Could it be Dive Shop control or manipulation?

Reviewed By: CaptFrank2001		August 3, 2007
A Great Dive Spot I have over 135 dives on this wreck including about a dozen night dives. I have the portholes to prove it. Me and a buddy got the last of them. Definitely an advanced dive but on a good day can easily be dove by anyone with a little deep diving experience. The top of the wreck can be reached at about 65' and the bow area around 80'-85'. Parts of the inside are as deep as 110' with the bottom near the screw at a little over 120'. Lots of area's to penetrate and although you can get in a tight spot or two the majority of the wreck is safe and was well prepared for divers.

Reviewed By: Bugg		July 24, 2007
It's deep, it's fun, it's a must. Fun wreck to dive. It's easy to get in and out and hard to get lost. Bubba is still in the wheel house and barracuda still hang around the bow of the wreck. If you haven't hit this one you should.

Reviewed By: cbengochea		July 23, 2007
Great Dive if you can find the bouy Great wreck if you can find the bouy. We were unable to find it, but did get lucky on the anchor drop (depth sounder required on your boat). Easy to get into the wreck and find your way around. Real deep if you decide to go to the lower decks 120'. If you don't have a sounder go with a dive boat or try to find the bouy, but either way if you find it you won't be disappointed.

Reviewed By: rkelley		July 21, 2007
GPS Coordinates Off This wreck is very hard to locate. There is only one bouy tied off to the vessel and it is 15' below the surface. The GPS coordinate provided on this site are not accurate. I will post accurate numbers tomorrow.

Reviewed By: chsganga		March 4, 2007
Great spot Nice Wreck We dove it March 3rd. We saw over 15 Barracudas while going down the line. It took us a while to find the buoy and tie. A lot of people where diving it so we had to wait about 40 minutes in line to tie. Saw the big Jewfish and two big black groupers. It is a very small wreck, so make sure you don't go too deep, or you'll have to come up with a lot of air in the tank. Take your time and explore the top firs. We had to come back with more than 1000 pounds of air because of depth.

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