user picture
  • Nº180 # Date: 2022-09-01 - 13:34
  • # Max Depth: 9.3m Duration: 37mins
Diver's Notes

Burner had a surprise instore for us for our next dive: the seldom visited Harry's Bait Patch isn't too far from the Benwood and showcases a much healthier reef than the larger French and Molasses nearby. The roughly circular-shaped reef is bordered by sand, with several lobster traps strewn about, mostly abandoned and broken that make for a unique feature.

Shortly into the dive, Jen found a large sea biscuit shell. And then another. And another... soon we noticed they were scattered everywhere! But her best find was a large, 6- to 8-inch colorful shell perfectly intact. After inspecting it for inhabitants, I carried the shell along with me for the rest of the dive. Unsure if we would be able to keep it, I was inclined to surface with the shell if nothing more than to take a photo for identification later.

We didn't make it quite all the way around the reef. About halfway through, and at our furthest point out (but still close to the boat), we started heading into the current. At this point, Jen paused to ask me to check my air, which I did and signaled back that I was at 'one-three' PSI: low, but not critical at this point of the dive. She turned and headed back the same way we came in at a fairly brisk pace. We all followed, surfaced and climbed back onto the boat. After a moment, I asked why she had decided to surface early. Apparently, she did not see the 'one' part of my sign, and thought I was down to 300 PSI! We all had a good laugh at that and there was no harm as none of us really wanted to fight the current on the last dive of a busy day. With that, we headed back inshore for dinner.

I chatted with Steve on the boat about diving the Spiegel Grove the next day. I mentioned my issue with air consumption, and having observed Dulcie and Jason today, decided I only felt comfortable if the conditions would be near-perfect (no current and high visibility). He agreed and we decided to see what the morning would bring.

Jen did have to throw the shell back, as we were still in the preserve, but I got a good photo of it and later identified it as a helmet shell of some kind, most likely from a king helmet snail (Cassis tuberosa).

Dive Profile
Dive Location

  • Temp: Surf 31°C Bottom 30°C
  • Dive type : Recreational, Reef
  • Visibility: Good Water: Salt
Specific gear used
  • Weights: 1.8 kg
Dive reviews
Overall review
Dive difficulty
Marine life quality
Recent Divers in Key Largo, FL
Recent Pictures in Key Largo, FL
Dive Shop & Buddies
#

Link to this spot:

  • Spot:
  • Country:
  • Area:
  • Body of water:

Dive Profile

  • 1. Air
  • 10L Aluminium     219 → 40 bar
  •  
  • Average depth: 3.7m
Data provided by EOL.org

Species Identified

Share on Social Networks

  • Facebook:

    personalize your shared text as well as its destination (wall, page...) or send as a private message to a friend

  • Twitter: personalize your tweet
  • Google Plus: +1 and add a comment

Direct link to this dive

  • Long link:
  • Short link:

#
#
Close

Species

(...)

Add		 Comments

(...)

Add
Loading

Loading...

What's up on Diveboard