# 11/09 - Deep dive report - High Heel Reef



## WhackUmStackUm

This reconisance dive was on a structure I call "High Heel Reef." About 32 miles south of the pass, and as far as I can tell, it is uncharted. It is a fossil reef that was likely growing until the end of the last ice age. The deepest spots I visited were around 250' and the shallowest were around 225'. The water temp on the surface was 75 degrees and about 70 degrees at the bottom. There was a moderate current on the bottom out of the east. There was no surface current and a 5 knot breeze out of the east.

I drove my scooter around for a while but it was difficult to see much of the structure since the vis was only about 20 feet. The area of the reef that I saw was composed of large smooth mounds of limestone, 8-20 feet in height, separated by short stretches of sand. I did not observe many ledges or holes. The schools of fish seemed to be spread out. During my assent different schools would swim up from the depths to check me out as I drifted over the reef. The largest school was made up of about 100 AJs in the 25-35 lb range.

All-in-all it was a good first reconnaissance dive. I worked out a few kinks in my underwater communications gear and determined which gas mixes to use. This will make my next dives on High Heel easier. Since the reef is about 1.5 miles long, there are plenty of spots to check out.

Whack 'um


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## coolbluestreak

That's pretty cool Bryan!

Is that the whole 1.5mi pictured?


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## TONER

cool post just courious what are you looking to find ? that's a long way down to just look at big rocks!


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## below me

cool!


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## WhackUmStackUm

coolbluestreak said:


> Is that the whole 1.5mi pictured?


Yes


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## FenderBender

TONER said:


> cool post just courious what are you looking to find ? that's a long way down to just look at big rocks!


it's called going where possibly no human being has ever been, pretty cool if you ask me...


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## polar21

This is probably a dumb question, but how long can you stay down on a rebreather? What is the deco time like? 

I think I have read every post of yours WhackUm, always interesting stuff!


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## WhackUmStackUm

TONER said:


> cool post just courious what are you looking to find ? that's a long way down to just look at big rocks!


Indeed.

That's the thing about exploration, it's boring hard work 99% of the time, and amazing 1% of the time. 

The good news is that more men have been on the moon than have visited this spot. So the experience is somewhat unique. Some guys will go a long way to look at a bunch of rocks (see Apollo missions). However, this is a large and deep live-bottom area. I hope to find a few *Kraken* down there!


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## WhackUmStackUm

polar21 said:


> This is probably a dumb question, but how long can you stay down on a rebreather?


It depends on the rebreather and the O2 consumption of the diver. Mine is rated to 500' and I can go about 4 hours under water.



polar21 said:


> What is the deco time like?


Rebreathers don't reduce your deco time much over an open-circuit tech diving rig. Like all deco calculations, it depends on your time at depth and your gas mix. My dive plan for the first High Heel dive had me at 250' for about 20 minutes with about 50 minutes of deco.



polar21 said:


> I think I have read every post of yours WhackUm, always interesting stuff!


Thanks for your encouragement!


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## lobsterman

Were there any lobster hang outs down there?


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## WhackUmStackUm

lobsterman said:


> Were there any lobster hang outs down there?


Sadly no. However, I only explored a small section of the reef and the vis was poor.


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## Contender

Where is the image from? Google Earth? Another app? Thanks. Cool stuff


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## TONER

Your posts are my favorite read ! very informative .thanks for taking the time to post.


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## WhackUmStackUm

Contender said:


> Where is the image from? Google Earth? Another app? Thanks. Cool stuff


The maps were created with a custom software and hardware setup I built for my friend and PFF member FishEyeMaps. I'm pretty much a diving geek.


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## WhackUmStackUm

TONER said:


> Your posts are my favorite read ! very informative .thanks for taking the time to post.


Thanks!


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## whome

polar21 said:


> I think I have read every post of yours WhackUm, always interesting stuff!


I agree


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## Silent but Deadly

What mix did you use and why are you tweaking it? And what bailout did you take? That map is too cool. Do you have one of a wreck? Any wreck.


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## WhackUmStackUm

Silent said:


> What mix did you use and why are you tweaking it?


16/45 & Trying to simplify my mixing process.



Silent said:


> And what bailout did you take?


A 40 cf bottle with 16/45 and an 80 cf bottle with 65% NX.



Silent said:


> That map is too cool. Do you have one of a wreck? Any wreck.


It turns out that our topo scanning setup is great for mapping bottom areas, but the resolution is too low to get a good picture of a wreck. A wreck just looks like a bump on the bottom. Side-scan gives a much better picture of high resolution targets such as wrecks, but it is not well suited for mapping bottom contours.


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## Eastern Tackle

Awesome. Just awesome.


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## Salty Daze

I agree, your post are always cool. I only wish I understood half the stuff. This side scan sonar you show is incredible looking but I dont think I grasp it fully. 

250"! crap! I get scared going down to 80'. Of course I grew up spoiled and dived the keys all the time so I am only comfortable in the first atmosphere. lol. 

really cool post though, i enjoy reading them seeing what your seeing. I also completely understand going somewhere no one else has gone. the adventure of it is fun. I hope you find a big gold bar one day! And then a bunch more. tom


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## SaltAddict

I'm doing a support dive for an advanced trimix class this weekend (weather permitting). I hope to knock out trimix by years end (2013). Advanced shortly after that. 

Most people ask why. I say, why not. Like you said, most of it is looking around. But, every once in a while...


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## WhackUmStackUm

SaltAddict said:


> I'm doing a support dive for an advanced trimix class this weekend (weather permitting). I hope to knock out trimix by years end (2013). Advanced shortly after that.


Cool. 

Let me know if you need a safety diver when the time comes.


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## stauty trout

Whack Um,

on your Deco for these deep dives is it a series of deep water stops that you have to take?


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## WhackUmStackUm

ata0002 said:


> Whack Um,
> 
> on your Deco for these deep dives is it a series of deep water stops that you have to take?


My computer gives me a "ceiling" depth during ascent. I need to stop when I hit the ceiling. However, the ceiling is constantly moving up. Since I ascend very slowly (30'/min or slower), I often do not hit the ceiling until I reach my last stop at 20'.

If my computer were to crap-out, I have a watch and a table written on a wrist-slate that tells me how long to stop at each depth. I also commit the table to memory before the dive.


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## hjorgan

What were those coordinates again? I must have missed it in the post.


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## Naby

hjorgan said:


> What were those coordinates again? I must have missed it in the post.


+1 Haha, good luck with that.

Awesome report and thanks.


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## Captdroot

Enjoy those posts from down below. You fellas be careful, that is hard on a body. Makes an old man out of you a little faster.

Whackum, I see they are poisoning 20 million rats on the Galapagos. They hope to have them eradicated by 2020. ie like Republicans!


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## WhackUmStackUm

Captdroot said:


> Whackum, I see they are poisoning 20 million rats on the Galapagos.


Seems like a good move. The rats kill many baby tortoises.


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## PorknBeans

That is some cool stuff....have you dove past 300ft yet?


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## GWally

Whackum, I see they are poisoning 20 million rats on the Galapagos. They hope to have them eradicated by 2020. ie like Republicans![/QUOTE]


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## WhackUmStackUm

PorknBeans said:


> That is some cool stuff....have you dove past 300ft yet?


Yes. I have been down to 370' so far.


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## tkh329

Awesome post. It's always fun to read about your adventures. Thanks for sharing.


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## waterninja

Wow! That is really cool! I would love to dive some of my stuff out that deep! I have always been courious if it would be worth the trouble. I may put a little more thought into it. My email is waterninja at yahoo.com If you would be willing to chat with me about, please send me an email there.


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## ashcreek

I love this site....
Thanks PFF for providing such awesomeness.....


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## KKDONOVAN

I would love to see some videos of those deep reefs!


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