08x07 - Triple Wreck Dive

[bunniefuu]

- [Narrator] Coming up,
Jonathan and Zach investigate

three wrecks in one dive.

But first, the Blue World team
drifts along an underground

river hoping to reach the exit.

[upbeat music]

Meet Jonathan Bird, one of
the world's top underwater

nature cinematographers,

traveling the world on assignment

for all the major networks.

He is an Emmy Award-winning authority

on the underwater world.

In freshwater or salt,
reefs, wrecks or caves,

Jonathan documents the
world beneath the waves.

Welcome to the "Blue World."

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- Drift diving is a type of diving

where you jump into moving water

and go with the flow.

In the ocean, this usually
means that a boat follows you

and picks you up wherever
you decide to surface.

It's a lot of fun and super easy

because you don't have to swim hard

and you don't need to
worry about getting back to

where you started.

Cave diving is almost never done this way

because you can't surface
except where you started.

So cave divers usually
try not to get involved

in high-current situations,

but as with all things,
there are exceptions.

Cameraman Todd, cameraman Zach

and I have come to Central Florida

in search of a famous cave drift dive.

We stop at our favorite dive
shop to rent some scuba tanks

and get air fills.

Then it's off to Manatee
Springs State Park

where they do have manatees,
but that's not why we're here.

We start with a quick tour of the area.

Since Zach has done this dive before,

he explains how it will work.

Manatee Springs is a place

where an underground river
flows out of the ground

and joins into the Suwannee River.

So the state park has a
huge submerged cave system

underneath it, emerging
at both Manatee Spring

and a spring called Catfish Hotel.

Catfish Hotel is covered in duckweed

and looks like a little pond.

We take a walk into the woods
to find Friedman's Sink.

That does not look like
something that's divable.

It looks like a puddle in the woods.

- [Zach And Todd] It is
a puddle in the woods.

- [Zach] But it's a divable
puddle in the woods.

- Wow. That's crazy.

- This is...
- Where's the part

you go in?

- [Zach] Right there.

- Today we're gonna do a cave drift dive

where we're gonna go in here

and we're gonna come out
downstream at the Catfish Hotel.

I'm super excited,

but also a bit nervous
as we start gearing up.

[gentle music]

♪ Soon may the weatherman come ♪

♪ To bring us tea and sugar and rum ♪

[gentle music]

Don't worry, I'll get [indistinct].

Zach knows the way, so we let him lead.

Of course, the minute we move,

we kick up all kinds of sediment.

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Todd and I follow Zach down the hole

and emerge into the cave with
strong current passing by.

It's also filled with particulate matter.

I was definitely expecting
better visibility.

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Once we've gotten our buoyancy dialed in,

we start swimming gently with the current.

Fortunately, the current
is doing most of the work.

Zach keeps his primary
light on the guideline.

In this visibility, we
have to work extra hard

not to lose sight of it.

[gentle music]

It's a very disconcerting
feeling knowing that

after a few minutes of drifting,

we probably would not be able to get back

to Friedman's Sink if we
had to against the current.

[gentle music]

[gentle music]

Soon, we've traveled 700 feet,
which is the halfway point

between Friedman's Sink
and the next possible exit.

In larger sections of the cave,

the current gets slower

and the pace feels a little more relaxed,

but I still can't stop thinking about

how far the next exit will be.

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In a smaller low section,
the water moves faster

and we don't really even need to kick.

Zach points out the line
that will take us up

to a small possible exit
known as Sue's Spring.

But since we're doing fine
and have plenty of air,

we will keep going
towards the Catfish Hotel.

[gentle music]

Finally, we reach a section of the cave

that begins to angle upwards.

We're approaching the end of the line.

Finally, we enter the cavern
zone and we can see daylight.

[gentle music]

[gentle music continues]

Catfish Hotel might be known
for its large population

of catfish, but we're
not finding very many.

The holes in the rocks are
supposed to have catfish in them.

I guess there's a vacancy at the hotel.

I hunt around under a ledge
and find a few hiding.

[gentle music]

Hunting for catfish is a good way

to do a little decompression stop.

Since the dive was almost 90 feet,

I'll need some time to
decompress before surfacing.

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Zach has found a little
turtle hanging out.

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The surface of the spring
is covered in algae

and duckweed, which makes for
a dramatic underwater view.

I'm thinking that if I surface
through all of this stuff,

my gear will be covered in algae.

[gentle music]

[gentle music continues]

We head over to the swim platform

and I use my regulator to
clear out a spot to surface.

[gentle music]

Man, that was a wild ride.

- That was fun.
- That was so pretty.

- [Jonathan] It goes
against all my training,

but it was fun.

The drift from Friedman's
Sink to Catfish Hotel

is an exhilarating

but extremely unusual cave dive.

This practice goes against
standard cave training

and is only undertaken here

because of the short distance,
multiple exit points,

and long history.

This is one of the only dives
of its type in the world,

and it's a thrill every cave
diver should experience.

It's another amazing
place in the "Blue World."

- [Narrator] Don't go away.

Jonathan is about to explore
three fishy shipwrecks

in Florida.

[upbeat music]

- The Blue Heron Bridge
in Riviera Beach, Florida

is one of the most famous
muck dives in the world,

but it's not the only dive in town.

Just offshore lie fabulous coral reefs

and wrecks to explore,

and today we're going to check them out.

Riviera Beach is located on
the eastern shore of Florida,

bathed in the warm, clear
waters of the Gulf Stream.

Our adventure begins at Pura Vida Divers.

I show up first thing
to check out the shop

and sign my waiver.

Then I'm off to the dive
boat with dive master

Andrea Whitaker.

Down at the dock, Zach and
I load our gear on the boat.

Whoa!

Thank you.
- You're welcome.

[group chattering]

Then we take a few minutes
to set everything up

before we depart.

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Soon we're on our way to one

of the great dive sites just offshore.

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Andrea's not only a dive master,

but a talented underwater photographer,

so she knows where to take
us for some good shots.

Finally, it's time to suit up.

[upbeat music]

Woo!

Andrea and I hit the water
with our cameras ready.

Zach is not far behind.

We're diving a site called
Governor's River Walk.

It's three small shipwrecks

with a chain leading the
way from one to the next.

Three wreck dives in one dive.

On the first wreck, we find a
goliath grouper hiding inside.

[gentle music]

All the wrecks have tons of
fish schooling around them.

[gentle music]

Andrea's leading the way
looking for great shots.

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The wrecks are covered in coral,

so they have a lot of color

if you have lights to make the color pop.

[gentle music]

Andrea grabs a shot of me and Zach.

[camera shoots]

Next, she trains her lens on a barracuda.

[gentle music]

There are sea fans and swim throughs,

[gentle music]

and if she gets really desperate,

there are always divers

[camera shoots]
willing to model.

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We pass over a small reef on
our way to the last wreck.

This one's smaller, but
it has a lot of color.

[gentle music]

[gentle music]

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Finally, it's time to end the first dive.

Andrea sends up an SMB,
a surface marker buoy,

or as most divers call
it, a safety sausage.

[gentle music]

This allows the captain to
keep track of us while we drift

with the current doing our safety stop.

Woo, that was great!

We have a nice surface
interval while Captain Scott

moves the boat to another site.

We switch tanks and then
it's time to dive again.

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This site is a nice
reef called Juno Ledge.

It's pretty popular site.

There are overhangs and
drop offs filled with fish.

[gentle music]

You have to keep an eye peeled

because sometimes interesting subjects

conceal themselves with camouflage,

but not this guy.

A scorpion fish sits in a
sponge like it's a couch.

He looks pretty comfortable

[gentle music]

and Andrea gets a great portrait.

[camera shoots]

[gentle music]

Andrea also points out a
nurse shark swimming by.

[gentle music]

The shark makes a close pass
but doesn't stick around.

[gentle music]

A lionfish is an invasive
species in Florida,

but it's still a beautiful fish to film.

[gentle music]

The long spines are quite venomous,

so this is a fish you
don't mess around with.

We continue along the reef
looking in the various cracks

and holes for hidden subjects.

[gentle music]

I come across a pair of gray angelfish.

[gentle music]

Gray angel fish like to work in pairs,

so you very rarely see just one.

I also find a blue angelfish,

which is common here on
the reefs of Florida,

but not very common in
the rest of the Caribbean.

We find a filefish, which
swims with its pelvic

and dorsal fins rather than its tail.

[gentle music]

The reef has some really
nice healthy barrel sponges.

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A big overhang has a
huge school of snapper.

[gentle music]

We make it down to about

before we need to head up.

[gentle music]

Once again, Andrea deploys the SMB.

[gentle music]

Woo! What a great dive.

So many fish.

It's hard to believe how much
healthy marine life there is

just a short distance from
the Riviera Beach skyline.

There are colorful wrecks, healthy reefs,

and a ton of fish, less
than a mile off shore.

The east coast of Florida
is an often underappreciated

dive destination,

and it just goes to show that
there are amazing wonders

to be seen all over the "Blue World."

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