Mike & Dale Dive the Russian Frigate in Little Cayman (Cayman Brac)
In June 2022 Mike (Michaels) & longtime friend & diving buddy, Dale Purchase spent a week diving Little Cayman Island. On our final morning of diving, we were joined aby a small group of divers and traveled via dive boat from Little Cayman Island to Cayman Brac.
On Sept 17, 1996, the Cayman government sunk a Russian Frigate that they had purchased from Cuba. It was to serve as both an artificial reef and a diver's attraction! Dale & I were the first two divers in the water and made a penetration dive into the rapidly corroding and deteriorating wreck. While a "relatively simple" penetration in some metrics it is a dangerous wreck with lots of sharp metal and tight quarters. NOT FOR AMATUER DIVERS!
Share the dive we made and see the approach to the shipwreck, two penetrations into the wreck, both the severed stern and the severed bow. Finally, see the two gun turrets. Some stunning video.
The total video is longer then my normal shorter videos. The first part is a comparison of frigates to destroyers (both Russian & American). A "short" history is provided. Then the dive. Next is a history of the purchase, the people who "made it happen". The video concludes with shots of the actual sinking of the ship in 1996.
This is an amazing story ... with amazing history. And it is a fantastic dive ... one both Dale & I will long remember. ENJOY!!!!
On Sept 17, 1996, the Cayman government sunk a Russian Frigate that they had purchased from Cuba. It was to serve as both an artificial reef and a diver's attraction! Dale & I were the first two divers in the water and made a penetration dive into the rapidly corroding and deteriorating wreck. While a "relatively simple" penetration in some metrics it is a dangerous wreck with lots of sharp metal and tight quarters. NOT FOR AMATUER DIVERS!
Share the dive we made and see the approach to the shipwreck, two penetrations into the wreck, both the severed stern and the severed bow. Finally, see the two gun turrets. Some stunning video.
The total video is longer then my normal shorter videos. The first part is a comparison of frigates to destroyers (both Russian & American). A "short" history is provided. Then the dive. Next is a history of the purchase, the people who "made it happen". The video concludes with shots of the actual sinking of the ship in 1996.
This is an amazing story ... with amazing history. And it is a fantastic dive ... one both Dale & I will long remember. ENJOY!!!!
LINK to Video: Diving Russian Frigate
Mike, Larry, & Mary Dive Roatan 2022
Well ... we are still down here in Roatan, Honduras and we are still diving!!! This year we have not only Larry (Mike's brother & dive buddy) diving with me but my (pseudo) granddaughter, Mary Pufahl. We are spending two weeks with our outstanding friends Josh & Kim at the Blue Bahia (Sandy Bay, Roatan) but also with all the great friends we have made over the years at Turquoise Bay, Roatan.
Mary, who completed her book & pool training in Michigan, did her open water dive here in Roatan. She completed nearly forty dives and also completed her PADI "advanced diver" qualification. By the end of the trip she was actually becoming an accomplished diver! Congratulations, Mary!!
While we are still enjoying our trip and I"m taking video almost daily on our dives I finally had a few minutes to begin to post some of the initial "good stuff". This year instead of videos by individual dives I've decided to break it up in more but smaller/shorter video by topic. I have so much good stuff to draw from that I need to find a way to keep these short for people's interest. Not everyone is a diver and wants to see hours of each dive!!!!!
So, I'll post a few of my favorites up here first. BUT these are still a work in progress as I may well add something new that really "pops" as great video. Come back in April/May after I'm home and have both all the video and the time to finish these off.
Mary, who completed her book & pool training in Michigan, did her open water dive here in Roatan. She completed nearly forty dives and also completed her PADI "advanced diver" qualification. By the end of the trip she was actually becoming an accomplished diver! Congratulations, Mary!!
While we are still enjoying our trip and I"m taking video almost daily on our dives I finally had a few minutes to begin to post some of the initial "good stuff". This year instead of videos by individual dives I've decided to break it up in more but smaller/shorter video by topic. I have so much good stuff to draw from that I need to find a way to keep these short for people's interest. Not everyone is a diver and wants to see hours of each dive!!!!!
So, I'll post a few of my favorites up here first. BUT these are still a work in progress as I may well add something new that really "pops" as great video. Come back in April/May after I'm home and have both all the video and the time to finish these off.
Title |
Content |
The Eels ... |
Great sequence of aggressive Moray eel |
The Turtles |
One of my favorites ... graceful turtles |
Diving with Mary |
Novice new SCUBA diver Mary Pufahl |
Ballet of the Blue Tang |
The ballet of schools of Blue Tang fish |
Robert Herb Turquoise Bay Video |
A video about Turquoise Bay & diving with Bob Herb - Absolutely AWESOME spotted ray video! |
The Eels ...
Lots of great stuff with eels, but a ANOTHER (last year and now) great sequence of one of the aggressive Moray eels that I encountered. Actually had to hit him in his nose several times to keep him in front of my camera and not come over or around to back where my hands were. We (the eel & me) had an audience of about 6-8 other divers whose eyes looked the size of a dinner plate after seeing the encounter!!!
The Turtles
Clearly one my most favorite marine life are the turtles They are so beautiful, so graceful, so awesome to just watch as they move with that of a ballerina ... slow, methodical, capable of impressive bursts of speed. Join me for some of the 2022 turtles of Roatan!
Diving with Mary
This past summer I was helping my "granddaughter" study for MCAT. She saw several screen saver images pop up on my computer & we naturally began talking about SCUBA. My brother, Larry, and I have been SCUBA diving in Roatan, Honduras for many years and I suggested if she had a real interest she should take SCUBA classes and join us in Feb/March of 2022.
Mary did so. She took her e-learning and her pool lessons from Underwater Antics in Midland, MI. And, then finished her certification by taking her 'open water check out dives" in Roatan immediately after we arrived. She really took to SCUBA and decided to take ... and complete ... the PADI Advanced Diver certification.
Here is a short video that is a summary of her first 21 dives with us in Roatan. From deep dives, to night dives, to a wreck dive, to cleaning coral in the reef's nursery. As of right now we are still in Roatan ...so she will have more to add to her adventure for the next week +. Enjoy her learning experiences ...
Mary did so. She took her e-learning and her pool lessons from Underwater Antics in Midland, MI. And, then finished her certification by taking her 'open water check out dives" in Roatan immediately after we arrived. She really took to SCUBA and decided to take ... and complete ... the PADI Advanced Diver certification.
Here is a short video that is a summary of her first 21 dives with us in Roatan. From deep dives, to night dives, to a wreck dive, to cleaning coral in the reef's nursery. As of right now we are still in Roatan ...so she will have more to add to her adventure for the next week +. Enjoy her learning experiences ...
Ballet of the Blue Tang
Here is a short on one of my favorite fish ... the Blue Tang. Graceful schools moving as a swimming train and two who helped me clean the coral restoration nursery trees!
Robert Herb Turquoise Bay Video
As mentioned in the 2021 webpage Robert Herb is a good friend of Larry & Mike who runs the Subway dive shop at Turquoise Bay Resort. We have been diving with Bob for several years & enjoy breakfast & coffee with Bob each morning while at Turquoise Bay. He is an AWESOME videographer & still photographer!!! His work is stellar.
While on one of the last dives in Roatan WITH BOB my GoPro battery ran out near the middle of the dive. So, I missed some stunning video of the spotted rays which Bob did get in his video. He tries to dive with all the people at Turquoise Bay and does video of them and then sells his videos as a side business. The video link below is a “lower resolution” video then the ones he sells. You can also see this video (& purchase his work) on his personal website (Robert Herb Photography<https://www.robertherb.com/>).
Here is the link to his 2022 video while we were diving with Bob: Bob Herb Video
While on one of the last dives in Roatan WITH BOB my GoPro battery ran out near the middle of the dive. So, I missed some stunning video of the spotted rays which Bob did get in his video. He tries to dive with all the people at Turquoise Bay and does video of them and then sells his videos as a side business. The video link below is a “lower resolution” video then the ones he sells. You can also see this video (& purchase his work) on his personal website (Robert Herb Photography<https://www.robertherb.com/>).
Here is the link to his 2022 video while we were diving with Bob: Bob Herb Video