The Atlantis Rangers' Archives

Past News & Reports on Meetings & Trips

A reource rich in information and links

2006 Great Year for Ranger Diving


Aboard the Emily C, September 3, 2006
Picture by Robin Sparer

Dec 1-4: Florida Treasure Coast FL - 10 dives in three days out of Pompano beach, Riviera Beach and Key Largo.

Sept 1-4: St Lawrence River - 20 Rangers and guests completed as many as 3 shore dives and 7 boats dives in surprisingly warm clear waters. New photos added 9/21.

August 5-6thBeaufort NC - two glorious days in the Graveyard of the Atlantic. Check out Ranger Jim Graham's outstanding photos in the trip report and Steve Smith's shark video now on Google Video.

Sept. 9th Pot Luck BBQ and Pool Party
What a great party it was!
Thanks for inviting us Brian.

Click here for photo montage.

U-1105: WWII Germansubmarine in lower Potomac River - 80', 20 minutes, no current, 80F, 10' viz. Conditions about as good as they get.

Oriskany: On May 17th 2006 this ex Navy aircraft carrier became the worlds largest artifical reef 25 miles off the coast of Pennsacola Florida. This is Ranger Lee Wahler's recent trip report

July 29thOcean City MD Click to read about trip rescheduled from Fenwick Shoals to the wreck of the Gordon Cooke (aka Jake's Wreck, aka Porthole Wreck). Conditions were great!

July 4thCape Hatteras - short report with link to shark video (now on Google).


Aboard the Seaquest II, August 5, 2006

Lake Tahoe Altitude Dive 07/02/06 - Ranger Gregory Constantios just got certified as a high altitude diver on a trip to Lake Tahoe. Click here to read his trip report.

Tuckerton NJ June 18th - Rangers visited the wreck of the Astra, 10 miles east of Atlantic City NJ. Depth 90'; water 50F; vis 20 ft; wreck in large pieces with up to 15' relief; 4 lobsters bagged; 1 brass valve handle recovered; boat fast and comfortable] crew friendly and helpful; value excellent. Click here for details.

Memorial Day in Myrtle Beach SC - Six divers and three "beachcombers" from the Atlantis Rangers traveled to South Myrtle Beach to Dive with Scuba Express out of Murrell's Inlet SC. We dove there last labor day and decided to go earlier this year to see if the condition were different. To beat the high cost of resort accomodations we rented a four bedroom house a block from the beach; it also had a pool! Click for details

February Meeting Report: David Helvarg "Blue Frontier"
The Blue Frontier Campaign was founded in 2003 by David Helvarg, author of Blue Frontier – Saving America’s Living Seas. It works to support seaweed (marine grassroots) efforts at the local, regional and national level, with an emphasis on bottom up organizing to bring the voice of citizen-activists into national decision-making that will impact our public seas. There are now some 2,000 blue groups working on ocean and coastal conservation but largely operating in isolation, and with little coordinated effort among them. Blue Frontier’s mission is to strengthen this ocean constituency through building unity, providing tools, and enhancing public awareness of both the challenges and solutions being offered by these groups to the various threats facing our living oceans.
February 2007: Tour and Guest Dive at the National Aquairium in Baltimore (NAIB)
Sunday February 25th club members took a behind the scenes tour of the National Aquarium in Baltimore and watched Jim Graham and Rob Matthew - who won the guest diver raffle - dive in the ray tank and Atlantic Coral Reef exhibit at feeding time. The raffle raised $295 to support the NAIB dive program CPR and O2 training.
Dive Safety Officer Chuck Eichholz guided us through a maze of corridors and rooms to see the dive equipment area, fish food preparation, nursery tanks, labs, and even an operating room. He talked about care, treatment and research for the animals on exhibit, including giving a male Sand Tiger hormone treatments to reduce his aggression. (Did they try counseling first
Photos by Ranger and NAIB volunteer diver George Cathcart

Jim Graham in Ray Tray

Rob Matthew in Ray Tray

Jim Graham in Reef Tank

Rob Matthew in Ray Tray

January 2007: FLorida Coverns/Manatee Trip
Over MLK weekend six Rangers and a guest headed down to Florida to do some diving and snorkeling with the manatees. We also took the opportunity to stroll over the Manatee festival which takes place in Crystal River on the MLK weekend.
Travel:
On Friday, January 12th the five members of the group that decided top drive to Florida meet in Greenbelt at 4 a.m. to form a mini convoy consisting of two fully loaded cars. According to MapQuest, the 866 miles distance can be done in 14 hours driving time–with no breaks or delays. With European’s doing most of the driving (or should we say speeding?), it’s no surprise that it took us a record time to get to Homosassa, FL. After only 16 hours, including three stops for gas, a breakfast (1 hour), and an extended lunch (1.5 hours), we reached our destination without getting any tickets. A second group decided to rather work most of the time on Friday, and hence flow down to Florida from DCA, with changing planes in Atlanta. They reached the cottages around 11:30 p.m. but unfortunately missed the Margaritas.
Accommodations:
We booked our cottages with Seagrass River Resort in Homosassa, FL. Each cottage is equipped with a small kitchen, bathroom, two queen sized beds and a sleeper sofa in the living room. Unfortunately, one of the sleeper beds in the living room did not fold up so one of us took a comfortable ret at the floor–which was not too bad–after all the driving, diving, snorkeling, and Margaritas one does not really feel the floor at all. The good thing about the accommodations is the location. They are right at the Homosassa River. Behind the cottages is the dock from where some of the manatee snorkeling tours start in the morning. While other have to meet at the dive shop in Crystal River at 6:30 a.m., people staying at the cottages of the resort can walk to the dock in a minute. This gives you one more hour of sleep in the morning ;-)
Snorkeling and Diving:
Our snorkeling and diving package where booked through American Pro Diving Center in Crystal River, FL. Crystal River is about 8 miles north of Homosassa, FL. Usually all tours start at the dive shop. From there you follow the boat or truck of the dive center to the location you are going to dive or snorkel. If one needs to rent tanks, they will be ready and waiting for you at the boat. If you want to snorkel with the manatees you have to watch a video at the shop that informs you about the rules and regulations.
On Saturday, we started with a Crystal River manatee snorkel tour in the morning. After a short ride from the shop we reached the marina from where the boats leave. Initially we did not get into the water to see some manatees since our guide and captain tried to find some remote spots which are not so popular by all other tour boats. However, after we did not find any manatees there, we headed back to the crowd. The first manatees we saw were a mother and a calf. Shortly after we spotted them the mother even started to feed the calf. After the snorkeling part the divers of our group had the opportunity to check out Kings Spring, a small cavern wit a maximum depth of 50 feet. Even though the water temperature is in the 70-ties everyone enjoyed the hot cocoa that was offered at the end of the tour.
In the afternoon we had booked two more dives: Blue Grotto and Devils Den. Both of these spring caverns are approximately 20 miles away from Crystal River. The maximum depth of Blue Grotto is about 100 feet while Devils Den is not deeper then 60 feet. Both spring caverns offer great visibility. No special certification is necessary–however, you have to make sure to either bring your own light or get a rental one.
On Sunday we started the day with a short walk to the docks to do another manatee snorkeling tour. The tour along the Homosassa River was not as crowded as the Crystal River one. Visibility was much better and we got plenty of time in the water enjoying the company of a 2000lbs Manatee which obviously enjoyed our visit, too. This tour also includes a nice breakfast at the end.
In the afternoon we all headed out to dive or snorkel Rainbow River. This is a shallow spring drift dive with a maximum depth of approximately 20 feet. The river is home to many different fishes. Visibility is excellent and time flies while snorkeling or diving through this beautiful environment. While the dive in the afternoon offered a nice variety of fish the night dive is something different! We saw a lot of turtles and enjoyed a different perspective of the river we already dove in the afternoon.
On Monday we all returned safely to the DC area. The drivers made another record time by only needing 15 hours for the way back home. Everybody seemed to have enjoyed the trip. Most of us were able to add five dives to their log books and everyone had a remarkable experience while snorkeling with the manatees.
December 2006: Florida, 3 days, 10 dives, wrecks, reefs, tropical fish, rays, turtles, lobster, moray eels, goliath grouper, dive show, beach, food
Five Rangers participated in the fall 2006 Florida outing. Lee Wahler, Steve Getlein and Steve Smith (reporting) rendezvoused in Pompano Beach on Friday December 1 for four dives with Parrot Island Scuba (http://www.parrotislandscuba.com ). On Saturday they met Kathy Erno and Mike Spangler in West Palm Beach to do four dives with Pura Vida Divers (http://www.puravidadivers.com/ ). On Sunday, Lee, Kathy and Mike dove again in West Palm and attended the Palm Beach Dive Show. (http://www.floridadiveshow.com/ ) The two Steves traveled to Key Largo to dive with Ocean Divers (http://www.oceandivers.com/ ). Weather was warm (80F) and sunny with a pleasant breeze. Seas were more than a bit lumpy (50% sea sickness), but warm (75F) and clear (50’ viz). All agreed it was a busy, but very enjoyable weekend.
Pompano
The dives out of Pompano Beach were aboard Parrot Island’s 32’ Island Hopper “Fish Food”. The boat can carry 16 divers, but there were just 4 aboard in the AM and 8 for the PM trip. 9:00 AM departure allowed us to sleep in. Short boat rides (10-20 minutes) and short surface intervals (30-40 minutes) make these trips compact and allow the charter operator to go out with just a few divers and charge modest fees ($40-50 for a 2 tank trip). Tanks of nitrox were waiting for us on board and cost $15/dive. Only water was provided and Fish Food has no head (marine toilet).
Our dives included one wreck and three reefs. The first dive was on the Rodeo 25, a 214’ twin-masted freighter sunk as an artificial reef in 1990. It sits upright in 130 feet of water with the main deck at 100’ and super structure rising to 60’. When I (Steve Smith) dove this wreck 3 years ago it was completely intact. Today the masts lie on the bottom and the bow is torn open. You can swim through the wreck at the bow and penetrate the aft superstructure. It is still not heavily encrusted, but tropical and game fish were abundant. Our three remaining dives were drifts along 60’ deep reefs. Each buddy team or group was dropped separately and carried its own diver-down float. We drifted at our own pace, surfaced when we were low on gas and were picked up promptly by the boat. Conditions were similar to - but maybe not quite as good as - those in Palm Beach (see “Natural Reefs” below).
West Palm Beach
We boarded Pura Vida’s 30’ Island Hopper “Sirena” at the Riviera Beach Marina. Sirena carries 12 divers, but again our groups were smaller. Again, tanks of nitrox were waiting for us on board, but in addition Pura Vida loaded and unloaded all our gear and provided a an array of amenities including dry towels, a freshwater shower, shampoo, conditioner, sun block, marine head, fresh seasonal fruit, sodas and bottled water. The extra amenities were nice because slightly longer boat rides and surface intervals made these outings about an hour longer than the ones out of Pompano. At $85 including tanks (nitrox) and weights they were also a little more expensive.
Our 4 dives were drifts over 3 natural reefs and 1 artificial reef. For each dive, all divers were dropped together and stayed in a group with the dive master carrying the line attached to a large diver down float. Contrast this scheme with the Pompano practice of giving each buddy team a float. Every one drifts at the same speed anyway. As divers run low on gas, they ascend along the line to the float on the surface and are picked up by the boat. You can stray quite a way from the large group and still find your way back, or you can stay close to the dive master and take advantage of their knowledge of where the cool sights are.
Our artificial reef dive was on a site called “Playpen”. We dropped onto a barge full of cement blocks. The barge blocked the current enough for us to tour the inside and outside. We saw a huge ray, a school of barracuda and got some great pictures of a small turtle. After 15 minutes, the dive master signaled us to move on and we drifted to gigantic rubble field that is home to several goliath groupers. I found one hiding in a piece of concrete culvert and we later saw another out in the open. Referred to locally as BFGs, they are very big fish.
Natural Reefs
Although each of our natural reef dive sites had its own name (based on drop-off points) they are really all part of the same reef running parallel to the shore, perhaps ½ mile out. Off the reef, the depth is about 60’. On the reef it varies from 60’ to as little as 45’. Usually the edge of the reef is a well defined ledge 4’ to 10’ high. There are spurs of reef that run east or west out into the sand plenty of undercuts that might be home to a turtle or nurse shark and a variety of features that often give the site its name (e.g. Trench, Ron’s Rock). The top of the reef is covered with hard and soft corals, barrel sponges, sea fans, whip, etc. Tropical fish are everywhere, and I’ve never made one of these dives without finding a moray eel. On these trips, lobster were in season and plentiful enough to fill a couple of catch bags. After a little time passes, the reef dives seem to blend together, but each time we surfaced, we had unique experiences to relate.
Key Largo
It should take about 2½ hours to drive from West Palm to Key Largo, if you don’t run down the battery on your rental car, take I-95 instead of the turnpike, and get stopped behind a serious accident on one of the only two roads leading to the Keys. We (Steve Getlein and Steve Smith) experienced all three and arrived in Key Largo rather late on Saturday evening. Never-the-less, we were determined to dive the Spiegel Grove (http://spiegelgrove.com/ ) in its now upright position.
We were in a group of about 16 divers, but found the 50’ custom dive vessel “Ocean Diver” to be very roomy. The boat carries enough low-pressure steel 80 cu.ft. tanks to provide two for every diver. The tanks stay on the boat and are refilled at the dock. If you purchase a nitrox upgrade (as we did) you check out a tank (also low pressure steel) at the fill station and carry it to the boat where a crew member swaps it for one of the boat tanks. There is a water cooler to keep you hydrated and head for when you are hydrated enough. Cost of this dive was $85 plus $6/tank to upgrade to nitrox plus $10 for the required Florida Keys Shipwreck Medallion (good for 1 year)
It was a 30 minute trip to the Spiegel Grove where we joined a group of five boats already moored there. (I believe there 8 mooring balls on the wreck). The dive boat tied in by its bow. We went in off the stern and pulled ourselves along a surface line to the mooring ball, then down to the wreck. We reached the wreck at 70’ and although it sits in 135 fsw, our max depth for this dive was only 104’. The wreck is 510’ long and 84’ wide. When we first reached the wreck at the port side, you could see all the way to the starboard side. We made a circle around the aft portion, and on returning to our mooring, found the visibility looking forward much reduced by a cloud of divers. We called the dive early.
The boat made a surprising short trip from the Spiegel Grove in 135’ to our next dive site, the Benwood, in only 20-30’. This dive was probably the best of the trip. The Captain told us that the area around the Benwood is mostly bare sand, so the wreck has become a fish magnet. This is a great wreck to carry a fish ID card. We did a giant stride off the stern and a free descent onto the wreck. There is 10-15 feet of relief on much of the site, so there are plenty of nooks and crannies to explore. An hour later, we looked up, spotted the boat, and popped up right next to the ladder.
30 minutes later we were back at the dock. We found a big tub to rinse our gear and left it to drain while we enjoyed lunch at a dockside table. Both of these sites we visited are within the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary. (http://www.oceandivers.com/charter/fknms.htm ) The collection of artifacts such as shells, and coral, and the harassment of reef creatures are prohibited.
Dive Show
Lee, Kathy and Mike attended the Florida Dive Show at the Palm Beach County Convention Center on Sunday. Lee latter commented that it was small and focused on travel versus equipment. (The on-line program lists about 100 exhibitors). Lee was able to talk with noted underwater photography Cathy Church and found someone specializing in dive trips for singles. If Lee, Kathy or Mike sends more information I’ll post it here.
Accommodations
We used three different motels on this trip. In Pompano, we stayed at the Dolphin (http://www.dolphinmotel.com) a block from the beach and just a couple of miles from the dive boat. The Dolphin is modest and old, but inexpensive ($56/night including tax), well maintained and well run by a French Canadian couple. It has a small heated pool, a nice balcony, a shuffle board court, and bicycles for guest use. Many of the guests were Canadian and regular customers who stay there up to a month at a time. In Key Largo we stayed at the Key Largo Inn, a formed Travelodge that claims to be one of the first motels on Key Largo. It is also well maintained and inexpensive and very convenient to our dive boat. Motels near West Palm were more expensive. Lee thought he’d found a bargain at the La Quinta, but reported that he was not happy with the accommodations.
We had a variety of meals, but one was really memorable. Steve Getlein spotted a little place in a strip mall called “Sol e Mar” that features Portuguese cuisine (900 E Atlantic Ave. Pompano Beach FL 33060: 954-941-0906). We heartily recommend the braised quail appetizer, and Steve G said his barbequed sardine entrée was exactly as he had read about in a recent book and hoped to find.
Next Year:
We will certainly go back and encourage more Rangers to join us. Early December is still the off season - airfares and motels rates are low – but the weather is mild and the ocean is warm. Maybe we’ll go for a few more days.
We’ll return to the Dolphin Motel if we are using nearby dive operators. It’s quiet, but just a short walk to the beach. Nearby are sight-seeing, shopping, restaurants, etc. It’s about an hour drive to West Palm in the early morning – longer in afternoon or evening traffic. OK for a one time trip, but too far for regular commuting.
  • Parrot Island Scuba was good for its short trips. Making 4 dives a day, even with a 9:00 AM start was very doable. They have a number of fairly new, reefed ships on their site list. There are, however, a lot of other operators from Ft Lauderdale northward and we’ll check them out before committing.
  • We’ll use Pura Vida again. The little extras they offer are really welcome and the reefs diving off Palm Beach is among the best in the area. However, we won’t do an afternoon trip. By the time we made the second dive the sun was going down, it was getting cooler, and we noticed the loss of natural light on the reefs. If we go to the Keys, we should go on weekdays versus the weekend. The only time we saw other divers was in the Keys and if we saw 1 there, we saw 100. Key Largo also has some good snorkeling sites.
  • We’ll do some shore dives – perhaps instead of afternoon boat dives. Mike Spangler loaned the club a book showing 28 shore dives between Hollywood and Jupiter.
  • Finally, we’ll do more than dive, eat and sleep. The dive show may be on again; there is a lovely butterfly farm I’d like to revisit; there are numerous eco-tours and nature centers nearby; and window shopping on Worth Avenue in Palm Beach is easy (because you can’t possibly afford to buy anything there).
November 29 to December 4, 2007 – BE THERE!
November 2006: Lewis DE Shipwreck Identified
Suspicions about an underwater colony or shipwreck surfaced in November 2004 when beachcombers began finding pieces of pottery, ceramics and metal military miniatures along a section of beach that had been built up through a replenishment project that fall. Archaeologists and beachcombers have found 43,000 artifacts to date - with a many more still untouched underwater.
At the Rangers November 10th meeting Project leaders Daniel R. Griffith and Charles Fithian walked the Rangers through the process of identifying the ship, from discovery to the present. 21 months ago, artifacts began washing up on the beach near Lewsi DE after nearby dreding in Roosevelt Inlet. The archeologists began studying the finds and after determining it was a shipwreck and locating the site in April 2005, sent diver to investigate. Divers found that the vessel was 80 feet long and was facing the shore, but divers did not find any masts, rigging or other supplies sugesting that some parts of the ship were salvaged by Lewes residents at the time of the wreck. Based on artifacts and the divers' survey archaeologists were able to narrow down the date of the vessel through the various ceramics, earthenware and glass from the ship, pinpointing a range of 1769-75. The most likely candidate is the Severn, a three-mast ship, piloted by a Capt. Hathorn, who knew the Delaware waters well It was reported shipwrecked in the Delaware Bay in 1774 on its way to Philadelphia from Bristol.
The Severn predates the well known HMS DeBraak by nearly a quarter-century. That shipwrecked British brig found off the Lewes coast 20 years ago sank in 1798.
October 2006:Surface Interval Retrospective

On Friday September 13th the Atlantis Rangers hosted Trish & Darryl Boyer, Clay Walton, Martin Aldred and a large group of people who dove with the Surface Interval to reminisce about 15 Years of Wreck Diving. Trish presented a slide-show highlighting photos of their two boats, many events, huge fish and lobsters, and a myriad of artifacts recovered from the waters of Indian River Inlet DE. Many of us were surprised and a bit saddened to hear that Surface Interval was sold about 6 months ago, and this was our opportunity for closure.

September 2006: Civil War Submarines
On September 8th Ranger Mark Ragan spoke on the USS Alligator and CSS Hunley, comparing the histories of Union and Confederate submarines During the Civil War.

Many people have heard of the Hunley, the experimental Confederate submarine that sank the USS Housatonic in a daring nighttime operation. Less well known, however, is that the Hunley was not alone under the waters of America during the Civil War. Both the Union and Confederacy built a wide and incredible array of vessels that could maneuver underwater, and many were put to use patrolling enemy waters. In Submarine Warfare in the Civil War, Mark Ragan, who spent years mining factory records and log books, brings this little-known history to the surface.

Mark K. Ragan is the author of The Hunley: Submarines, Sacrifice, and Success in the Civil War and Submarine Warfare In The Civil War. He was a consultant on the TNT movie "Hunley." Mark owns and operates a two-man submarine and lives and works in the Annpolis area.

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July 2006: Rangers Find New (to us), Nearby Dive Location

On Wednesday evening, June 21, Atlantis Rangers Mark Ragan, Brian Hughes, and Rob Matthew tried out a new (for them) quarry located just outside of Westminster, MD. Deb Feng was there last weekend for the first time. She too has good things to say about the place.

Leased and operated by Undersea Outfitters of Westminster, this quarry may well end up a "must go there again this year" for the club. Its local, has decent visibility (20 feet in June - 55 in spring and fall!), a gentle sloping old gravel road entry and *lots* of fish. Max depth is somewhere around 60 feet, but we were warned the last five feet or so is nothing but goose poop on the bottom. No geese in sight that evening, but we decided to take their word for it. Cost was only $15.00. Here's the best part; in the summer they're open the first and third Wednesday evenings from 4:00 PM until dark. They even provided free hotdogs after our dive! Leave work early (beat the traffic out of town); go diving; and be home before it gets dark. The quarry is also open on weekends.

For those divers expecting a more developed site, this won't be for you. No hot water showers, no flush toilets (real live outhouse instead) and no air fills. But hey, the shop is 20 minutes away if you need a tank. One of the shop owners (George Carter) is very open to hosting an Atlantis Rangers Day. He's also open to Mark launching his K250 personal dry submarine so people can learn to dive a mini submersible as they putt-putt around the quarry. George also expressed openness to letting Brian bring along a couple of shallow water diving helmets so people can walk about on the bottom, feeding fish and experiencing this older form of diving.

It's close, easy access, decent visibility and a huge cloud of fish will follow you around. Just the thing for that early summer tune-up or a mid-week unwind dive!

June 2006: Meeting Report: Submerged Historical Inventory Project (SHIP)
SHIP is a program of the Institute of Maritime History to reconnoiter and inventory shipwreck sites under the supervision of Historic Preservation Officers in multiple states. SHIP uses volunteer divers and researchers to scout for shipwrecks, assess them, gather archival data, and report their findings. Dive sites include oceans, bays and rivers, some with low visibility, strong current, or surge. You can learn more at the on-line project page

Sonar image of a 1912 wreck in Maryland.
Our speaker David Howe developed and now leads SHIP for IMH. He is a former president of the Maritime Archaeological and Historical Society (MAHS) and program manager for the underwater archaeology branch at the Naval Historical Center. He holds a Juris Doctor with honors from Syracuse University and before retiring from maritime law was Assistant Supervisor of Salvage (USN) and a trial attorney with the admiralty section of the U.S. Department of Justice. A retired USNR Commander, and a sailor since childhood, Dave currently and owns and operates Roper, a small research vessel for archaeological survey work in Chesapeake Bay. He is certified in SCUBA and hard-hat diving.
Memorial Day in Myrtle Beach SC
Six divers and three "beachcombers" from the Atlantis Rangers traveled to South Myrtle Beach to Dive with Scuba Express out of Murrell's Inlet SC. We dove there last labor day and decided to go earlier this year to see if the condition were different. To beat the high cost of resort accomodations we rented a four bedroom house a block from the beach; it also had a pool!
Sunday May 28
Artificial wreck called "Bill Perry." Depth: 50-60 feet: vis (bad) 5-10 feet: water temp mid 70s on the surface but less than 70 at depth. We hooked to a scuttled Navy landing craft. Despite poor viz, the small, intact wreck was easy to navigate. Not a bad choice for our first ocean dive of the season.
Monday May 29
Civil War Wreck also known as the Govenor or Shawnee. Depth: 70-80 feet: Viz (worse) 6 feet. Water temp mid-70s on the surface dropping to upper 60s below 40 feet. This wreck is thought to be a side wheel steamer but only a debris field is visible. This is a true treasure hunter's site! Many artifacts have been taken from this site, and some (like cases of guns) still remain. We didn't find much, but we had fun diggin'.
Tuesday May 30
We had planned to dive the twin wrecks of the St.Cathan and the Hebe - well off-shore where we expected great vis. Everyone was excited about this dive including the crew and staff. However, on our trip back on Monday something happened to the boat and they couldn't get it fixed in time for the Tuesday trip.
Other Featured Dive Reports

Akyla, Cape Hatteras NC - July 2005.
Discovery Diving, Beaufort NC - May 2005.
May 2006 - Two Spring Tune Up Dives!
The Rangers' sceduled two Spring Tune-up dives for the weekend of May 20-21 at two locqal quarries. The 8 Rangers met a Guppy Gulch in Delta PA on Saturday May 20th and several more at Millbrook Quarry, Haymarket VA on Sunday May 21st.

Directions - Haymarket -- Guppy Gulch

Quarry Map - Haymarket -- Guppy Gulch

Millbrook quarry had been closed to allow VA DNR to treat it for Zebra mussels, but it is now open ot he public. Qaurry passes are available at the entrance, but are less expensive if purchased at local dive shops.

Virginia Scuba,6884 Wellington Rd, Manassas VA 20109
(703-369-0098) www.vascuba.com
is open at 7:00 AM so you can get your pass on the way to Haymarket.
April 2006
Our speaker was new Ranger member Jim Graham. Jim is an instructor at the Naval Academy and an avid under water photographer. He burned some of his favorite images to DVD and we were able to view them on the Greenbriar big screen TV.
Dave Dalton from the Northern Virginia Technical Diving Community was scheduled to talk to the club about the DIR philosophy of diving. Dave has asked to postpone his take until the fall. We had earlier asked Jim about giving us a presentation later in the year and he graciously agreed to move it up.
March 2006 - Dive Clubs See Behind the Scenes at National Geographic

Atlantis Ranger Robin Sparer arranged a special visit for members of four area clubs to the National Geographic Society (NGS) HQ in Washington DC. They had a talk by renowned underwater photographer Emory Kristof and got insight into how photos like this one are processed for print and on-line display. This tour is one of several activities sponsored by the Atlantis Rangers to promote cooperation among local dive clubs.
(Click the photo for the related story at National Geographic)

March 2006 - Rangers See Presentation on Mona Island Trip

At our March 10 meeting, local dive instructor and Montgomery College Prof. Esat Atikkan gave a presentation on his recent trip to Mona Island. Mona (approximately 42 miles from Puerto Rico) has been named the "Galapagos of the Caribbean". The steep walls and remote location produce a plethora of unusual marine life. Dr. Atikkan treated the Ranger to stunning images and his unique insights into the location and trip.

Dr. Atikkan is teaching an adult education class in Coral Reef Ecology at Montgomery College this summer. Click here for details.

February 2006 - Outerbanks Diving has a new boat
When John and Amy Pieno from Outer Banks Diving talked to us about artifact hunting at our February meeting, they dropped some hints about a new charter boat. It has arrived! Check it out in our Dive Boat Gallery. Click HERE to be taken to our links page. As you rollover the links in the "dive boats" section you'll see pictures of the boats. Note that your web browser must be set to allow java scripts for the pictures to appear.
February 2006 - Rangers named "Silver Dan Donor Club"

The Divers Alert Network has recognized the Atlantis Rangers as one of just 5 clubs nationwide for fund raising at the silver ($750-$2000) level. This year our DAN benefit auction will be held at the Friday May 12 meeting. We need good member participation to continue our fund raising success - contribute items to be auctined and come on out to bid!

January 2006 - Rangers Celebrate the Holidays
We held our annual holiday pot-luck on Friday December 9th. In addition to great food and fellowship, we raffled off a dozen door prizes ranging from $25 gas cards to a new Sherwood Maximus regulator. We thank Brass Anchor in Frederick MD (www.brassanchor.com) for contributing to the prizes.
December 2005 - Remembering 2005
We had dives in Beaufort NC, Indian River DE and Hatteras NC with no blow outs! Next we travelled to the St. Lawrence River for - Yes! - warm water diving in Canada. Our final trip of the year was to Myrtle Beach SC over Labor Day. Despite questionable weather, we got out for an outstanding off-shore day. In addition, members arranged regular local dives (quarries) and trips to exotic locales from San Salvador to the Red Sea.