http://www.ricstevenson.com/photoblog/ Sat, 13 Jun 2009 07:42:18 -0500 Sat, 13 Jun 2009 07:42:18 -0500 http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss phpblogger http://www.ricstevenson.com/photoblog/?action=entry&id=1244896938 http://www.ricstevenson.com/photoblog/?action=comments&id=1244896938 Sat, 13 Jun 2009 07:42:18 -0500 Ric news 1244896938 http://www.ricstevenson.com/photoblog/?action=entry&id=1241432168 http://www.ricstevenson.com/photoblog/?action=comments&id=1241432168 Mon, 04 May 2009 05:16:08 -0500 Ric news 1241432168 http://www.ricstevenson.com/photoblog/?action=entry&id=1222728973 http://www.ricstevenson.com/photoblog/?action=comments&id=1222728973 Mon, 29 Sep 2008 17:56:13 -0500 Ric news 1222728973 http://www.ricstevenson.com/photoblog/?action=entry&id=1219615200 http://www.ricstevenson.com/photoblog/?action=comments&id=1219615200 Sun, 24 Aug 2008 17:00:00 -0500 Ric news 1219615200 http://www.ricstevenson.com/photoblog/?action=entry&id=1216382684 http://www.ricstevenson.com/photoblog/?action=comments&id=1216382684 Fri, 18 Jul 2008 07:04:44 -0500 Ric news 1216382684 http://www.ricstevenson.com/photoblog/?action=entry&id=1214435484 http://www.ricstevenson.com/photoblog/?action=comments&id=1214435484
Next pic trip... Islamorada in 3 weeks.]]> Wed, 25 Jun 2008 18:11:24 -0500 Ric news 1214435484 http://www.ricstevenson.com/photoblog/?action=entry&id=1211240264 http://www.ricstevenson.com/photoblog/?action=comments&id=1211240264 Mon, 19 May 2008 18:37:44 -0500 Ric news 1211240264 http://www.ricstevenson.com/photoblog/?action=entry&id=1211239862 http://www.ricstevenson.com/photoblog/?action=comments&id=1211239862 Mon, 19 May 2008 18:31:02 -0500 Ric news 1211239862 http://www.ricstevenson.com/photoblog/?action=entry&id=1211237208 http://www.ricstevenson.com/photoblog/?action=comments&id=1211237208 Mon, 19 May 2008 17:46:48 -0500 Ric news 1211237208 http://www.ricstevenson.com/photoblog/?action=entry&id=1207236103 http://www.ricstevenson.com/photoblog/?action=comments&id=1207236103 Thu, 03 Apr 2008 10:21:43 -0500 Ric news 1207236103 http://www.ricstevenson.com/photoblog/?action=entry&id=1200440139 http://www.ricstevenson.com/photoblog/?action=comments&id=1200440139
Lots of Manatees were seen, petted, swam with.

Crystal River dive on Sunday was great as always too!]]> Tue, 15 Jan 2008 17:35:39 -0600 Ric news 1200440139 http://www.ricstevenson.com/photoblog/?action=entry&id=1190678446 http://www.ricstevenson.com/photoblog/?action=comments&id=1190678446
Sea Emporer/Aqua Zoo, Abbey Too Reef]]> Mon, 24 Sep 2007 19:00:46 -0500 Ric news 1190678446 http://www.ricstevenson.com/photoblog/?action=entry&id=1188560930 http://www.ricstevenson.com/photoblog/?action=comments&id=1188560930
{Beach - Jeff Davis Reef, Ole Blue, Karpata}]]> Fri, 31 Aug 2007 06:48:50 -0500 Ric news 1188560930 http://www.ricstevenson.com/photoblog/?action=entry&id=1188343673 http://www.ricstevenson.com/photoblog/?action=comments&id=1188343673
{Beach - Andrea I, Witches Hut}

{Boat - Small Wall, Bon Bini Na Cas}

{Beach - Tori's Reef, Buddy Reef}]]> Tue, 28 Aug 2007 18:27:53 -0500 Ric news 1188343673 http://www.ricstevenson.com/photoblog/?action=entry&id=1188157763 http://www.ricstevenson.com/photoblog/?action=comments&id=1188157763
{Boat - Hilma Hooker - Wreck, Hands Off Reef}

{Beach - Oil Slick, 1000 Steps}]]> Sun, 26 Aug 2007 14:49:23 -0500 Ric news 1188157763 http://www.ricstevenson.com/photoblog/?action=entry&id=1187920604 http://www.ricstevenson.com/photoblog/?action=comments&id=1187920604
As promised... Frog Fish and Sea Horses!

{Beach - 1000 Steps, Karpata}

{Boat - Petre's Pillar, Kallie's Reef}]]> Thu, 23 Aug 2007 20:56:44 -0500 Ric news 1187920604 http://www.ricstevenson.com/photoblog/?action=entry&id=1187822454 http://www.ricstevenson.com/photoblog/?action=comments&id=1187822454
{Boat - Mi Dushi, Jerry's Sponges}

{Beach - Pink Beach, Tori's Reef}]]> Wed, 22 Aug 2007 17:40:54 -0500 Ric news 1187822454 http://www.ricstevenson.com/photoblog/?action=entry&id=1187740533 http://www.ricstevenson.com/photoblog/?action=comments&id=1187740533
First day of the week... and it gets better through the week. Coming soon: Seahorses, frog fish, jelly fish, Eagle Rays and more!]]> Tue, 21 Aug 2007 18:55:33 -0500 Ric news 1187740533 http://www.ricstevenson.com/photoblog/?action=entry&id=1185232095 http://www.ricstevenson.com/photoblog/?action=comments&id=1185232095 Type: Anchor Dive
Depth range: 50 ft. - 70 ft.
Skill level: Open Water Certification
Length (160 ft.). Former USCG Cutter 'Nemesis' that was decommissioned and turned into a floating restaurant in Ft. Lauderdale. Due to her aging hull and the fact the restaurant was condemned for the largest outbreak of food poisoning in the history of Ft. Lauderdale, she was sunk as an artificial reef in 1991. (We recommend you don't eat anything while on the wreck.) Among it's most recent dinner guests are Great Barracudas and a large Moray Eel. The Mariner's close proximity to a natural reef create an abundance of marine life. Also 150 degrees 150 ft. SE of her bow lies The Berry Patch Tug. When the conditions are right you can actually do both on the same dive

Aqua Zoo/Sea Emperor (twi-light dive)
Type: Anchor Dive
Depth range: 50 ft. - 70 ft.
Skill level: Open Water Certification
The 'Aqua Zoo' is the nickname for an area next to the wreck of the Sea Emperor (*see Sea Emperor description). It was given this name for the diversity and size of marine life that inhabits this wreck. We began bringing food and interacting with one stingray in 1996 and since then it has blossomed into the 'Aqua Zoo'. We offer an interactive marine experience including large southern rays, Goliath Groupers (200-300 lbs.), nurse sharks, eels and hundreds of other fish. No longer due you need to travel to far off destinations.Named 'The stingray dive you can drive to' by Skin Diver Magazine. The Aqua Zoo has also been featured on numerous television shows around the world including 'Wild Things' and 'Adventure Crazy'.

*The Sea Emperor was formerly a hopper barge that was donated as part of a fine levied on a dredging company that destroyed some reef habitat of Palm Beach County. She was filled with large concrete culverts and sunk off Boca Raton. When the barge sank it flipped, scattering the culverts and landing upside down creating a fantastic playground for fish and divers alike. The Sea Emperor is also home to Goliath Groupers, eels, stingrays, nurse sharks and hundreds of other fish. This is a photographer's paradise! Penetration in this wreck is safe. There is light and access to surface in every chamber.

Lighthouse Ledge (night dive)
Type: Drift dive
Depth range: 45ft-67ft
Skill level: Open Water Diver

A favorite reef for Dive Operators on rough days due to the close proximity to Hillsboro Inlet and Lighthouse. Ironically Lighthouse Ledge is one the best reefs in Broward County. In addition to the abundance of marine life, there are large soft corals adorning the northern hook in the reef.

Captain Dan
Type: Anchor Dive
Depth range: 75ft-110ft
Skill level: Advanced Open Water certification or proof of experience. Length (175ft). The Captain Dan, formerly a US Coast Guard buoy tender, was sunk in February 1990 as part of the Rodeo Reef. This is also a Florida Boating Improvement Program Reef. Hurricane Andrew caused very little damage to this wreck. Large barracuda, grouper, amberjack, and other schools of fish frequent this wreck.

Touchdown Reef
Type: Drift dive]]> Mon, 23 Jul 2007 18:08:15 -0500 Ric news 1185232095 http://www.ricstevenson.com/photoblog/?action=entry&id=1184633692 http://www.ricstevenson.com/photoblog/?action=comments&id=1184633692
Carysfort Reef Light is located six miles (10 km or 11 km) east of Key Largo, Florida (25° 13' 18" N, 80° 12' 42" W). The lighthouse has an iron screw-pile foundation with a platform, and a skeletal octagonal pyramidal tower, which is painted red. The light is 100 feet (30 m) above the water. The original lens was a first order Fresnel lens. The light is currently a xenon flashtube beacon. It is the oldest functioning lighthouse of its type in the United States, completed in 1852. Carysfort Reef is named for the Royal Navy ship HMS Carysford, a 20-gun frigate, which ran aground on the reef in 1770.

The original Carysfort Reef light was a lightship, starting in 1825. The first lightship was built in New York City. While being sailed to its station, it went aground near Key Biscayne during a storm, and its crew abandoned the ship. The ship was salvaged by wreckers and taken to Key West, Florida. The owners bought the ship back and it was placed on station at Carysfort Reef. The lightship was often blown off-station by storms, and even went aground on the reef at one point. That first lightship had to be replaced after only five years because of dry rot. The second lightship was named Florida.

The lightship keeper had moved his family to a small house on Key Largo, and kept a garden there. After the Cape Florida Lighthouse was burned by Seminoles in 1836, the keeper moved his family to the lightship. The loss of the Cape Florida Lighthouse left the Carysfort Reef lightship as the only navigational light on the Florida coast between St. Augustine and Key West. In 1836 Seminoles attacked the keeper and four of his helpers as they went ashore on Key Largo to tend their garden. The keeper and one helper were killed, and two of the other three were wounded, but the three managed to escape back to the ship.

Congress appropriated funds for a lighthouse at Carysfort Reef in the 1840s. It was the third screw-pile lighthouse in the United States. The interchangeable parts were manufactured in 1848 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and a construction crew was trained there. The erection of the lighthouse was more difficult than expected. The site was under four-and-a-half feet of water,and the reef was not solid, as expected, but consisted of a hard shell over compacted sand. The plans had to be modified by adding large plates to the piles to spread the weight of the lighthouse over a larger area of the reef. When the supervisor of the construction died, the Army Corps of Topographical Engineers sent Lieutenant George Meade to complete the project. This was Meade's first command of a lighthouse project.

The structure originally had a balcony that encircled the enclosed, circular light keeper's quarters. The balcony and its railing were later removed]]> Mon, 16 Jul 2007 19:54:52 -0500 Ric news 1184633692 http://www.ricstevenson.com/photoblog/?action=entry&id=1184630632 http://www.ricstevenson.com/photoblog/?action=comments&id=1184630632
Career

Spiegel Grove was laid down on 7 September 1954 by the Ingalls Shipbuilding Corp., Pascagoula, Miss., launched on 10 November 1955; sponsored by Mrs. Webb C. Hayes, and commissioned on 8 June 1956, Captain S. Filippone in command.

Spiegel Grove sailed for Hampton Roads and arrived at Norfolk, Va., on 7 July. She headed for the Guantanamo Bay area on her shakedown cruise on 26 July and returned on 15 September. The ship was in the yard during October; and, in November, she participated in amphibious exercises off Onslow Beach, N.C.

On 9 January 1957, Spiegel Grove, with other ships of Transport Amphibious Squadron 4 (TransPhibRon 4), sailed from Morehead City, N.C., with elements of the 6th Marines embarked, for a tour with the 6th Fleet in the Mediterranean. She returned to Norfolk on 3 June and operated along the east coast for the remainder of the year. In November, she transported 364 Army troops to Labrador. In January 1958, the LSD was deployed with her squadron to the 6th Fleet on an extended tour which did not end until 6 October. On October 22, Spiegel Grove was assigned to PhibRon 10, the new Fast Squadron. The years 1959 and 1960 saw the LSD participating in numerous operations along the east coast and in the Caribbean.

Spiegel Grove stood out of Norfolk in April 1961 with Task Force 88 (TF 88) for "Solant Amity II", a good-will tour to the African coast. The force carried tons of medical supplies, food and disaster supplies, toys, books, and seed. During the four-month cruise, the ships visited Gambia, Durban, the Malagasy Republic, the Seychelles Islands, Zanzibar, Kenya, the Union of South Africa, Togo, and Gabon before returning home on 8 September. She then entered Horne Brothers Shipyard, Newport News, Va., for an overhaul that was not completed until early January 1962.

Spiegel Grove conducted refresher training and then spent March and April in amphibious exercises in the Caribbean. In May, she took part in operations supporting Malcolm Scott Carpenter's manned space flight. In July and August, she returned to the Caribbean for "Phibulex 2-62". On 1 December 1962 a tender availability period was begun to prepare the ship for "Solant Amity IV". The LSD loaded supplies during January 1963 and sailed, on 15 February, for her second good-will tour which lasted until late May. The ship steamed over 21,000 miles (39,000 km) and visited nine countries before returning home. Spiegel Grove next deployed to the Caribbean from July to September with PhibRon 8.

The landing ship has spent the greater part of her active service participating in amphibious exercises along the eastern seaboard and in the Caribbean. Spiegel Grove was deployed to the 6th Fleet from January to June 1964, 3 November 1966 to 11 May 1967; and from 17 April to 9 October 1971. She participated in Operation Steel Pike I off Spain in October 1964 and made a midshipman cruise to England and Denmark in 1970.

In 1983, she won the Marjorie Sterrett Battleship Fund Award for the Atlantic Fleet.

Post Commission Career

Spiegel Grove was decommissioned 2 October 1989 and her name struck from the Navy list 13 December 1989. The vessel was transferred to the Maritime Administration in the James River fleet.

In 1998, title passed to the state of Florida, with the plan of sinking the hull to make an artificial reef off Key Largo. But to achieve this, EPA had to accept to increase the amount of PCB (a toxic chemical substance) remaining in future wrecks from 2 ppm to 50 ppm...

Sinking For Reef

Red tape and financial problems delayed the sinking of USS Spiegel Grove for several years, but the ship was finally moved from Virginia to Florida in May, 2002 ... whereupon the ship sank prematurely, on 17 May 2002. During the sinking the ex-Spiegel Grove suddenly started rolling on her starboard side, ending up upside down on the sea bottom and leaving her bow protruding slightly out of the ocean.

On June 10–11 June the ship was rolled onto her starboard side, and on 26 June the site was opened to recreational divers. In the next week, over a thousand divers visited the site. The ex-Spiegel Grove is located on Dixie Shoal, 6 miles (10 km) off the Florida Keys in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary. Her exact location is 25°04′00.2″N, 80°18′00.7″W.

In July of 2005, Hurricane Dennis forced the former USS Spiegel Grove onto her keel, right-side-up, which was the position originally intended when she was sunk.

Deaths

On March 16, 2007, three divers (Kevin Coughlin, 51; Jonathan Walsweer, 38; and Scott Stanley, 55 - all from New Jersey) died while attempting a penetration dive inside the remains of the USS Spiegel Grove.[1] This brings the total number of diver fatalities at the wreck to six.]]> Mon, 16 Jul 2007 19:03:52 -0500 Ric news 1184630632