Josh and Mrs. G.
Chadd acting as Dive Supervisor
Mother and Daughter
The “wreck site” of the S.S. Kaibab
Becky, Stacey, & Cori write their impressions
Jeremy & John hard at work
Project Participants and Sponsors
Dive Rite Manufacturing
Sartek Industries
Ocean Odyssey Dive Center
Ponce de Leon Inlet Lighthouse
Volusia County Marine Science Center
Sea Dog Diver
Spruce Creek Scuba
Golub Mechanical Contractors
Fuqua Schools
Underwater Dynamics
DAY 9: Last day for the Fuqua School Group
Thursday, May 9, 2002
The calmest day at sea yet for this project, beautiful skies, 79 degree water temperature. We couldn’t have asked for a better day. The dive team today was Kate & Terrence, Bill & Jimmy G, and Rick who was off videotaping the engine. The two buddy teams pretty much finished mapping the rest of the grids. Everything went smoothly until TNT and Kate heard this loud yelling from Jimmy G. It seams he was resting his hand in the wrong place and a rabbid angelfish came out and bit a hole through his thumb. But he miraculously carried on and lives to dive another day.
Today Josh O., John, Chadd, Mrs. G. and Mrs. W. went out on the boat. They had an experience today that the other groups did not. They were able, with the weather and waves fine, to swim above the divers on the wreck. The visibility was excellent. The wreck is about eighty feet deep and while swimming on the surface the divers were able to be seen.
The water was blue-green today and was plenty warm for us. The water temperature was about 70 degrees and lots of fish and jellyfish were swimming right up to us. The waves weren’t rough and the current was calm, it was a wonderful day to be out on the ocean.
Today before we were able to continue mapping our shipwreck, we had to overcome some obstacles. First we had to make some make-shift rulers because ours were stolen. Then we were able to continue with our dive plans.
The dive was nice even though we didn’t have rulers and finished mapping 8 grids. We all wore rebreathers. Alpha team mapped the starboard side while Bravo team mapped the port side.
Everyday this week, we had a lecture series about various topics relating to the Commodore Project. We learned about the Cambrian Foundation, how to produce a dive plan for a project, maritime archaeology, basic scuba, open circut vs. rebreathers, and preservation of artifacts. The lectures were very informative and a lot of laughs too.
Send questions or comments to the trilobite.
Questions and Comments To the Trilobite
What is a KAIBAB? As in “SS KAIBAB” Some kind of Persian vegetable?? Some people here say it is a drooling dog indigenous to Orlando. Can you tell us what it is and how the virtual wreck got its name??
Connie form ZelieGood question, Connie, although some people believe the S.S. Kaibab to be named after a boxer who resides in Orlando, I think it truly came from the Kaibab National Forest and Plateau in the West, close to the Grand Canyon. The S.S. Kaibab was a steamship very similar to the Commodore in size and was last known to be carrying a shipment of bricks to the Dry Tortugas.